MSPmentor

I’ve spent the past two days at OSCON (Open Source Convention) in Portland, Oregon. There isn’t much managed services news here — or is there? In fact, MSPs can leverage at least five key lessons from the open source movement. Take a look.

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Dell continues to launch Web 2.0 sites to drive dialog with partners (managed service providers, VARs and ISVs). The latest is a Dell PartnerDirect Group on FaceBook. It joins the Dell Channel Blog (http://direct2dell.com/channel/) and several other discussion-oriented sites for Dell partners.

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I’m speaking with David Farajun, president of Asigra, later today (July 22). Asigra specializes in online/offsite backup and recovery software, and works closely with managed service providers. If you have questions or thoughts for David, feel free to post comments below or send me email (joe [at] ninelivesmediainc.com).

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Small businesses with 20 to 100 employees are the most ideal targets for managed service providers, according to Dan Shapero, senior VP of marketing at Kaseya. Dan made that statement during lunch with me on July 21. I was quick to agree with Dan. But why? Was I guilty of shaking my head in agreement without really crunching the numbers?

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While speaking with a few trusted sources on July 21, I heard Kaseya has generated record quarterly revenue in North America and Europe, among other regions. Sales were also strong and continued to grow in Australia. Here’s a bit more on the rumblings, and their implications for the broader managed service market.

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Back in January, I noted a growing number of managed service providers are embracing PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard). Now a quick update: Envysion, which specializes in managed video as a service, says it has passed its PCI-DSS certification audit.

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As small business owners, many managed service providers join their local chambers of commerce — but they don’t know how to truly build a business relationship with such entities. TechAssist, one of our MSPmentor 100 members, doesn’t suffer from such confusion. The company recently inked a partnership with the DC Chamber of Commerce.

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I’ll be in Los Angeles Monday afternoon meeting with Dan Shapero, senior VP of marketing for Kaseya. I’ve known Dan for about two years now, and he’s a straight-shooter when it comes to answering key questions about the company or the broader managed services industry. If you have questions, you can post comments below or email me (joe [at] ninelivesmediainc.com).

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Amazon.com’s Simple Storage Service (S3) suffered its second big service outage this year on Sunday, July 20, notes GigaOm. Om Malik reports that some S3 services were down for eight hours.

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A lot of people talk about “going green” — but have you ever done the math to see how power management can assist your company — and your customers? Take a look at this quick example, involving the cost of running 500 PC desktops year-round in California.

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Led by Blackboard Inc., Salesforce.com and several other strong showings, the SaaS 20 Stock Index climbed 3.64% for the week ended July 18. The index’s one-week performance slightly beat the Dow (+3.57%) and easily outpaced the Nasdaq (+1.95%).

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Symantec Protection Network (SPN), a software as a service (SaaS) platform launched in May 2008, is off to a solid start with managed service providers and VARs, according to Symantec Senior Director Chris Schin.

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As the hype about software as a service (SaaS) and managed services continues, it’s sometimes difficult to keep track of all the startups and young companies that receive venture funding. But I just stumbled across a Web site that may help you track how investors are pumping money into SaaS and MSP start-ups.

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I spent Wednesday at Zenith Infotech in Pittsburgh. After participating in a Zenith videocast, I sat down with Maurice Saluan, VP of channel management, to get a feel for some of the managed services trends at Zenith. Here are three key takeaways from our discussion.

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Who’s your top rival? Dell Silverback? A local managed service provider? Actually, it’s somebody you know far better. Here’s how to compete with them — and beat them in the market.

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Pick up today’s paper and you’ll see a stunning contrast between Intel and the broader economy. As economic indicators continue to weaken, Intel has announced record quarterly revenue — providing some welcome news to managed service providers and other IT-centric businesses.

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I’m in Pittsburgh Wednesday, meeting with Zenith Infotech and participating in a managed services videocast the company is hosting. If you have any questions for Zenith Infotech, feel free to send me email (joe [at] ninelivesmediainc.com) and I’ll raise them during my meetings. Or join me on the videocast, where I’ll share thoughts about trends culled from the MSPmentor 100 report.

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Quick observation: Over the next few weeks it’s safe to expect managed service platform providers to voice support for Intel’s Centrino 2 processors for notebooks.

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When it comes to hosted email, why zig when you can zag? That explains the strategy at EtomicMail, a managed service provider that’s hosting Zimbra — an open source email platform — rather than Microsoft Exchange.

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I mentioned earlier today a flood of managed services-oriented research reports from Untangle and other organizations. But here’s another interesting twist on the managed services industry: Research and Markets has announced a Microsoft Excel data file that forecasts US business managed services spending for 2007 through 2012.

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A quick reminder: MSPmentor Editorial Director Joe Panettieri will be the featured guest speaker on Industry Perspective, a videocast hosted by Zenith Infotech’s MSPTV. To register for the July 16 videocast, which starts at 12:30pm eastern, visit here.

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Untangle, the open source security specialist, has released the results of its benchmark study for managed service providers. The study, the latest in a growing list of MSP-oriented research, features several key findings. Here’s a look at the survey results, based on responses from more than 200 MSPs in the United States. 

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I’m upbeat about the managed services market and the IT channel, but I wonder: Will the mortgage crisis at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and IndyMac Bankcorp (among others) begin to impact small business IT spending, lending to small businesses, and the IT channel as a whole?

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