MSPmentor

After some lengthy business travel, Nimsoft CEO Gary Read (pictured) updated his blog on October 29. In it, he mentions that Nimsoft’s business (focused on corporate IT management as well as managed services) remains strong.

However, Read offered this view of Nimsoft expenses and the economy:

“we’ve decided to watch our costs in some areas. This is not a reflection of actual business which has continued to be very strong (Q3 results announced soon, I promise!) but more a precautionary measure because of everything that all the analysts and experts are telling us. We’ve actually had a very good start to Q4, and the sales forecasts are really strong but, as I say, we cannot ignore all the advice that’s being given that spending will slow, it would be irresponsible of us to do so.”

You can catch Read’s entire blog entry here.

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What an amazing week. After meeting more than 150 VARs and managed service providers in Australia, I’ve got a much better feel for the emerging managed services market in the land down under. Here’s a recap of my trip, along with some key trends from Australia’s managed services industry. Read More >

Greetings from 35,000 feet. I’m blogging live during my flight from Los Angeles to New York. The American Airlines flight features Go Go Inflight WiFi service. For better or for worse, inflight WiFi service is a game changer for road warriors. Here are the details. Read More >

Cisco Systems plans to make a major announcement involving service providers, mobile and video technologies on November 11. In order to generate interest in the news, Cisco has launched a fake blog of sorts. We’ve got the scoop over on our sister site, The VAR Guy.

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Microsoft’s new cloud service — known as Azure — has multiple implications for managed service providers and the IT channel.

According to the software giant, Microsoft is positioning Azure to help MSPs:

“build new applications in the cloud — or use interoperable services that run on Microsoft infrastructure to extend and enhance your existing applications. You choose what’s right for you.”

That’s a pretty generic statement. So, what exactly is Azure? Let’s take a closer look.

Read More >

This just in: Ingram Micro Seismic, the distributor’s family of hosted services for VARs, signed up 52 new partners in September — the largest single month for net new partners, according to Ingram VP Justin Crotty.

“October numbers may tell a different story when they come in but Sept was strong,” says Crotty.

Ingram Micro Seismic is among the industry’s highest profile Master MSPs, which host services for other managed service providers. Roughly 20 percent of MSPs are shifting to the Master MSP model, according to our ongoing MSPmentor 100 research.

While some managed service providers are wary of Amazon.com, a growing number of MSP software companies see strong potential for the Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3), Amazon cloud services and distribution services. Two prime examples:

• Vembu, which makes storage software for MSPs, has announced support for S3.
• Clean Machine Inc. has signed a national (US) distribution Amazon.com.

Here’s a closer look at each deal, and their implications for managed service providers. Read More >

I’m not suggesting managed service providers are immune to the economic turmoil, but here’s a piece of good news all MSPs should note: DirectPointe, ranked No. 1 on last year’s MSPmentor 100 list, announced record-setting revenue for its third quarter. How does that compare with other MSPs? Here’s the scoop.

Read More >