MSPmentor

As I look back on 2008, it’s clear to me that the biggest challenge facing managed service providers involves business rather than technology. When we host our MSPmentor Live: CEO Exchange Webcasts, marketing and sales questions often push aside technology questions.

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Kaseya pulled back the curtains (slightly…) on its 2009 product roadmap for managed service providers and corporate IT managers.

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Thanks to hundreds of managed service providers who participated in our annual MSPmentor 100 Survey, which closed yesterday (December 18). Dozens of MSPs have emailed me over the past 24 hours, asking me (A) when will the survey results be announced and (B) what metrics do we use to rank MSPs?

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MSPmentor’s sister site — The VAR Guy — reveals what’s next in the IT channel. Here’s a look at the top nine headlines on The VAR Guy’s blog this week.

1. Polycom, Alteva Push TelePresence Into Small Business
2. Digium: Asterisk VoIP Accelerates As Economy Crumbles
3. F5 Networks Changes Channel Chiefs
4. Novell Cancels Brainshare
5. Novell OpenSUSE 11.1: Only Part of the Story
6. Avnet Considers Hosted Microsoft Office Communications Server
7. Dell: We Made $1 Million From Twitter
8. Mandriva Linux Attracts 2,000 Partners
9. Video Conferencing: TelePresence Boom or Bust?
10. Sorry, this is a top nine list. Get to know The VAR Guy and you’ll realize he doesn’t play by the rules.

MSPmentor is updated multiple times daily. Don’t miss a single post. Subscribe to our Enewsletter, RSS and Twitter feeds.

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If you’re seeeking a career in managed services, the MSPmentor Career Center (www.mspmentor.net/careers) has a few new job postings. It’s a rudimentary (and free) job board but we plan to make some enhancements in January. If you want to advertise a managed services or SaaS (software as a service) career opportunity, feel free to post it in the comments section of the job board.

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A quick heads up: I just spotted a 148-page managed services research report and market forecast covering 2008 through 2013. I think the primary audience is mobile and cellular carriers, but there’s also a section that describes how managed service and hosting providers can leverage the mobile industry.

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Today (December 18) is the final day you can participate in the MSPmentor 100 survey. If your company lands on the resulting MSPmentor 100 list, your organization will be ranked among the world’s top managed service providers. Don’t delay: Fill out the survey now.

Many of last year’s MSPmentor 100 members earned free publicity across the web and in local media. And they used their ranking as a marketing tool when meeting with prospective customers. Participating in the survey is free and only requires a few minutes of your time.

If you have questions about the MSPmentor 100 survey and research report, contact Editorial Director Joe Panettieri (joe [at] ninelivesmediainc.com).

MSPmentor is updated multiple times daily. Don’t miss a single post. Subscribe to ourEnewsletter, RSS and Twitter feeds.

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Imagine managing 14.1 million web sites, 57,000 Dell servers and the second largest number of Red Hat hosting licenses in the country.

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Siemens has unveiled a virtualized contact center platform for managed service providers. The system, called OpenScape Contact Center, allows MSPs to host the software for multiple tenants. It’s slated to debut in February 2009.

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An interesting trend continues to accelerate in the managed services market: In a bad economy, it seems, smart managed service providers continue to raise the volume of their marketing messages.

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As Detroit’s Big 3 automakers struggle to survive, a local managed service provider is driving its business forward. Yes, MSPs can flourish even in terrible local economies.

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Yes, travel budgets are under extreme pressure for 2009. But if you plan carefully and book early, you can stretch your dollar and attend some worthwhile managed services summits.

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As a blogger who leaps from topic to topic, it’s difficult for me to imagine sitting down long enough to write books about managed services. Besides, multiple experts have already filled that void.

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Question: How do you succeed as a global managed services software company? Answer: You localize and open international offices. In the age of software as a service (SaaS), some people debate me on that answer. Specifically, some experts believe SaaS and cloud computing allow North American companies to go global.

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I’m hearing a familiar trend in the managed services market: MSPs seem to be embracing more and more open source tools. The latest example involves Zenoss, a commercial open source company that specializes in applications, systems and network monitoring.

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Momentum Advanced Solutions Inc., a publicly held IT service provider in Canada, says its 2Q managed services revenue jumped 48% to $2.24 million, up from $1.51 million for 2Q the previous year. I’m assuming the results are in Canadian dollars. Regardless, the percentage growth is impressive and reassuring for those promoting managed services.

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This is the final week for you to participate in the MSPmentor 100 survey. If your company lands on the resulting MSPmentor 100 list, your organization will be ranked among the world’s top managed service providers. Don’t delay: Fill out the survey now. Deadline for submissions is Thursday, December 18.

Many of last year’s MSPmentor 100 members earned free publicity across the web and in local media. And they used their ranking as a marketing tool when meeting with prospective customers. Participating in the survey is free and only requires a few minutes of your time.

If you have questions about the MSPmentor 100 survey and research report, contact Editorial Director Joe Panettieri (joe [at] ninelivesmediainc.com).

MSPmentor is updated multiple times daily. Don’t miss a single post. Subscribe to ourEnewsletter, RSS and Twitter feeds.

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I hinted earlier this month that ADTRAN, which competes with Cisco Systems on some fronts, would be making aggressive moves into the managed services market. An official release about the managed services strategy surfaced today, with ADTRAN announcing n-Command MSP, a remote monitoring and management tool for VARs.

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Software as a Service (SaaS) stocks are showing some strength, climbing three consecutive weeks. In the latest winning round, our SaaS 20 Stock Index climbed a modest 1.28 percent for the week ended Dec. 12.

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MSPmentor’s sister site — The VAR Guy — reveals what’s next in the IT channel. Here’s a look at the top nine headlines on The VAR Guy’s blog this week.

1. Microsoft Veterans Launch Unified Communications Consulting Firm
2. Twenty-Three Ways to Take Your Business to the Next Level
3. Internet Explorer: Fewer Bugs Than Firefox?
4. Novell, Hewlett-Packard Push SUSE Linux for Schools
5. Unison And Canonical’s Ubuntu Attack Microsoft Exchange
6. Red Hat Invests In Open Source Company
7. Acer Partners Take NetBooks to School
8. Marketing to Weather the Recession
9. Pentaho Channel Chief Talks Open Source Business Intelligence
10. Sorry, this is a top nine list. Get to know The VAR Guy and you’ll realize he doesn’t play by the rules.

MSPmentor is updated multiple times daily. Don’t miss a single post. Subscribe to our Enewsletter, RSS and Twitter feeds.

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Open-Xchange, which makes open source groupware, is quietly gaining momentum with European managed service providers and solutions providers that are moving into the hosting market.

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Despite the recession, the vast majority of managed service providers say they plan to create new staff positions and fill them in the first quarter of 2009, according to MSPmentor’s latest weekly readership poll.

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Nine Lives Media Inc. — publisher of MSPmentor — is seeking lively, engaging bloggers who can contribute regularly to our market-leading media platforms:

• MSPmentor, www.MSPmentor.net, the ultimate guide to managed services
• The VAR Guy, www.theVARguy.com, what’s next in the IT channel
• Works With U, www.workswithu.com, the independent guide to Ubuntu Linux

Bloggers should be reliable, creative and able to submit one to two blog entries per week with minimal editing. One-month trial to see if you’re serious about delivering great content that attracts reader interest. Here’s what we’re seeking:

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