Anecdotal evidence and our MSPmentor 100 research confirm the European managed services market is growing up fast. I’m hearing rumblings from ConnectWise, N-able and Intel (yes, Intel) about some new European efforts. And we’ve uncovered some of Europe’s top managed service providers in our latest MSPmentor 100 survey results, which we’ll unveil in February. Here are some early details on the European trends.
Yes, many MSP software providers (there are too many to list) have established a foothold in Europe. But consider some of the latest buzz I’ve heard in the past 48 hours:
- ConnectWise: I hear CEO Arnie Bellini recently returned from Europe, where he launched ConnectWise user group and solidified the company’s international strategy. I expect to speak with Bellini in the next few days about the efforts.
- N-able: Word on the street (at least on my street…) says N-able is expanding its reach into Europe and looking to expand their footprint from the UK. The company is opening an office in Utrecht, and some sort of alliance seems to be looming. Watch for N-able VP of Sales Mike Cullen to land in Europe soon as part of a six-city road show.
- Intel: Now here’s a rather interesting tidbit: Did you know Intel offers a hosted managed service in Europe called Multi-Site Director? In North America, Intel continues to evangelize vPro technology to MSPs that want easier-to-manage endpoints. But in Europe, Intel is in the SaaS game, signing up MSPs for its hosted service. I expect to learn more about Multi-Site Director in the next few days.
- Kaseya: I mentioned yesterday that mindSHIFT veteran Gary Pica will be speaking at a range of Kaseya events. The events include stops in Europe.
- Successful European MSPs: And yes, our own MSPmentor 100 survey results reveal a range of fast-growing MSPs across the European landscape. Details coming this February. But here’s a teaser: Check out the stats on Eurodata Systems PLC, which is working closely with Nimsoft.
- Other vendors: If you’re making new European moves, send me some information via email me (joe [at] ninelivesmediainc.com). We’ll be posting follow-up European coverage in the next few days.
Is the European managed services market recession-proof? Will all European MSPs succeed? Certainly not. But clearly, MSP software companies (and European resellers) see an opportunity to extend and solidify the North American managed services model across Europe.
MSPmentor is updated multiple times daily. Don’t miss a single post. Subscribe to our Enewsletter, RSS and Twitter feeds.
Read More About This Topic
Share This Post
Posted In: EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) | Platforms
Tags: ConnectWise CEO Arnie Bellinie | ConnectWise Europe User Group | Gary Pica | Intel Multi-Site Director | Kaseya Revolution | Managed Services | Mike Cullen | mindSHIFT | MSPmentor 100 | N-able
Interact: Add a Comment | Trackback Link | Permalink
Subscribe: RSS Feed
Take a look at our 
JP – we had a great trip…Solution Providers in the UK are hungry for best practices, tools and platforms to maximize their investments in the MS practices. Great to see!
I think the most important vendor shift I’m witnessing is a commitment to “feet on the street” in Europe. North American companies need European offices in order to provide localized support to VARs and MSPs. Some software companies have those offices in place. Some still don’t. But many more will open new European bases this year.
Hi, Joe…
We agree that “feet on the street” is really important in Europe,but this is not a new phenomenon. We opened our office in the UK over a year ago, and we were far from being the first vendor in the IT services ecosystem show up there.
Having said that, I think we’ll continue to see more US based companies creating outposts in Europe, as well as opening new offices. We’ll have some exciting news about this soon.
But our big news today is that we recently made our entry level product, Autotask Go! available in the UK, and that can be purchased right frot om the web, making it easy and convenient for solution providers “across the pond” to order. This is part of a global roll-out of this product that will soon make it available literally anywhere in the world.
Hey Bob: MSPmentor realizes that quite a few folks (Autotask, Level Platforms, etc.) have had a strong presence in Europe, either directly or through hosting parters, etc. But this “critical mass” of MSP activity seems to indicate that we’re moving from early adopter to more of a mass MSP movement in Europe.
And I think you’re onto something with the hybrid approach: Localized, regional offices coupled with on-demand software that can be purchased on the Web. I think some companies have bet everything on SaaS/Cloud or online purchases, and aren’t investing in localized office support. That’s a mistake.
I believe Intel is selling re-badged N-Able in Europe? Will that not get a little messy
cm515348: I have to concede my expertise on Intel Europe is a bit limited right now but I’m being briefed in the next few days. I will report back with more perspectives.
Hi Joe
Sorry I’m a bit late into this one, but wanted to add in a UK MSP perspective.
Bob is quite right with his strategy. UK and Continental Europe customers EXPECT to engage with a territory rep. Our last 2 major purchases (both niche storage hardware) have been made with Silicon Valley based vendors who have a strong UK support network. We don’t want to wait until mid afternoon to raise a support ticket or chat with our account manager.
A word of warning, though, to my US vendor friends. There is a huge difference between dealing with UK businesses and those on the continent. Furthermore, selling into Germany is TOTALLY different to selling into Italy/Spain/France – and different again from Scandinavia and Holland/Belgium
Our business does not have a European base – we are solely focussed on the UK/Ireland. For occasional transactions we do find it easier to trade with Scandinavia and Holland/Belgium – because they speak English as a first language.
We have not tried to enter France/Spain/Italy or Germany because we simply don’t have the resource to staff a local office.
Reports of the UK’s demise have been a little overblown in recent weeks. There are amazing opportunities for the right vendors to make big waves over this side of the Atlantic.
Simon
Simon: Thanks for bringing us the UK perspective as only you (and other local UK MSPs) can.
best,
-jp