MSPmentor

At what point does the online backup market become saturated? I ask myself that question at least once a week. The reason: I get flooded with emails, voicemails and press releases about managed service providers and resellers signing up for online backup services.

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Sometimes business owners have a habit of complicating things. We spend numerous hours talking about go-to-market strategies and lead generation programs. But we forget to focus on the most basic key to success: Keeping customers happy.

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In the past week, I’ve run into four of the most successful software as a service (SaaS) companies that Wall Street investors don’t know — at least not yet. Here’s a quick look at the companies, and their critical importance to the SaaS industry.

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I’m starting to hear a familiar trend from some managed services platform providers: They’re saying no thanks to potential investors. The latest example involves N-able CEO Gavin Garbutt, who says he’s receiving roughly three calls a week from potential investors, hedge fund experts and other financial gurus. But so far N-able hasn’t grabbed the cash. Why not take the money and run? Here are some answers.

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Telepresence. Video surveillance. Managed video services. Can small managed service providers compete in those markets with big broadband providers like Cablevision?

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Avnet Technology Solutions (ATS) is expanding its OneTech Managed Services initiative. At the New Frontiers Conference in Colorado Springs, Colo., ATS unveiled a “new family of remote monitoring and management services, enabling its value-added reseller partners to expand their service offerings.” Here’s a bit more info.

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During the Ingram Micro Seismic partner conference last week, a managed service provider mentioned to me that his business region has 17 percent unemployment. Yet, the MSP claims his business is thriving. Is that too good to be true?

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It’s official. Autotask and OnForce have integrated their online platforms, allowing managed service providers and solutions providers to more easily outsource IT projects to one another. The integration work debuted at Everything Channel’s Xchange ’08 Summit, held this week in Dallas, Texas. Here’s why MSPs should care.

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Move over, Salesforce.com and SugarCRM. Concursive Corp., a small open source software company, is offering free software as a service (SaaS) for up to 100 CRM (customer relationship management) users for up to one year.

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The SaaS 20 Stock Index has climbed for five consecutive weeks, but all eyes are now on Salesforce.com (CRM) — one of our key software as a service index members. Salesforce.com is expected to announce quarterly results on Wednesday, Aug. 20. But Wall Street analysts have divided outlooks on the company.

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What role will Linux and open source middleware play in the managed services market? Gus Robertson, vice president of global business development at Red Hat, is weighing that question right now.Robertson is evaluating how Red Hat can work more closely with systems integrators, managed service providers and other key partners, according to Mark Enzweiler, vice president of global channel sales at Red Hat.I’m not predicting that Red Hat will directly enter the MSP space. Rather, Red Hat will likely follow the lead of Untangle and Calyptix Security – two open source companies that already cater to MSPs. I don’t sense that Red Hat will formally “announce” an MSP strategy — contrary to my earlier feelings from April 2008. But I’m seeking a follow-up interview with Robertson to get some of his views on the convergence of open source with managed services. 

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Sometimes, I find the most innovative managed service providers where I least expect them. A case in point: I visited Sytec Business Solutions — a managed service provider in Raleigh, North Carolina — on August 15. The company occupies an old Victorian home a few minutes from the heart of the city. There’s nothing flashy about Sytec Business Solutions or its headquarters.

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Sytec Business Solutions, a managed service provider in Raleigh, N.C., is developing middleware that bridges the gap between N-able and Cisco’s Unified Communications platform, dubbed Call Manager.

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I’m in Cary, N.C., today meeting with a few companies — including Red Hat, which is widely considered the most successful publicly held open source company. Here’s what I hope to learn.

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The last time I visited N-able CEO Gavin Garbutt at the company’s headquarters in Ottawa, he was celebrating N-able landing on Deloitte Canada’s Technology Fast 50 list. This time around, I expect to see Garbutt in New York the week of August 18, where he’ll be meeting with customers and investors. Yes, investors.

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I asked several managed service providers yesterday whether their customers were interested in Macs and Linux as secure, easy-to-manage alternatives to Windows PCs. The answer was a resounding “no.” Instead, the MSPs said, many of their customers are willing to virtualize their desktops, shifting most applications up to a server.

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Sometimes, I get distracted by Web 2.0 marketing strategies. I’m always telling managed service providers how they can leverage blogs, Web video, etc., to improve their search engine optimization (SEO) and attract new customers.

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Some of the most successful managed service providers have discovered a rather troubling trend: Their best sales pros are getting a little lazy living off recurring commissions, and aren’t motivated enough to go out and close new business toward the end of a fiscal year.

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Worried about the credit crunch? Progressive managed service providers with solid business plans seem to be finding money when they need it. For instance, Leveraged Technology Inc. (LTI), which positions itself as a “total managed service provider,” has  secured a $2 million financing facility from De Lage Landen Commercial Finance (DLL).

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Based on a series of phone calls and emails in recent weeks, I’ve reached the following conclusion: Most PC companies don’t understand the managed services market, nor do they understand emerging demand for hardware as a service (HaaS). Here’s why.

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During a private roundtable at the Ingram Micro Seismic partner conference in Chicago, a managed service provider shared a rather intriguing approach to sales lead generation. Here it is.

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There are roughly 8,000 managed service providers in the United States, and the typical managed service provider generates $3.9 million in annual revenue.

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Roughly 750 managed service providers now leverage Ingram Micro Seismic, and Ingram hopes Seismic tops the 1,000 MSP mark by the end of this year, according to Justin Crotty, VP of services, North America, Ingram Micro.

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