MSPmentor

At some point in their evolution, most mid-size MSPs will come to a critical juncture — one that will determine whether the future will be characterized by minimal growth and stagnancy, or by dramatic expansion. This juncture comes when the MSP looks to land a major, large account; one that can establish an entirely new level of validation and revenue.

Read More >

It’s a busy few days for managed services conferences: MSPWorld (April 30-May 1, Orlando), SMB Nation Spring (May 1-3, New Jersey) and the Ingram Micro Seismic Partner Conference (May 4-6, Dallas) are all on my radar. Here are five key managed services topics/trends I expect to emerge from the conferences.

Read More >

Larger managed service providers and hosting providers continue to bang the drum for SAS 70 Type II,  a standard for auditing service organizations. But I wonder: How many MSPs want — and need — to jump on the SAS 70 bandwagon? Here are some thoughts.

Read More >

If you could provide Microsoft Office as a managed subscription service, would you do it? Before you answer, check out a new development from AllenPort Co. Apparently, the New Jersey-based company is working closely with Microsoft to connect the dots between Microsoft Office, Software as a Service (SaaS) and managed services.

Read More >

I keep hearing from managed service providers who are scouring the market for potential acquisitions. But that MSP trend appears to be the exception to the rule. The number of small businesses that were purchased/sold in Q1 fell by 36 percent compared to Q1 2008, and small business valuations are falling. Can MSPs really buck those macroeconomic trends?

Read More >

Paglo, which debuted its SaaS-based IT management offering in January 2009, continues to flesh out its service for MSPs. In its latest move, Paglo unveiled patch management and reporting applications. The new additions, according to Paglo CEO Brian de Haaff (pictured), join others such as server health, inventory management and network monitoring. All build upon the IT data Paglo collects and stores. Here’s more about Paglo’s strategy.

Read More >

When it comes to understanding Microsoft’s SaaS (software as a service) strategy, there are only four letters managed service providers need to know: BPOS, short for Business Productivity Online Suite. Most of Microsoft’s major SaaS applications fit under the BPOS umbrella, and the software giant has started evangelizing BPOS opportunities to MSPs. Now, the big question: Is BPOS a real opportunity for channel partners?

Read More >

Chances are, you closely track your service levels and key business metrics. And you try to improve against those internal metrics each month. But what if there was a way to measure your performance and your customer environments against hundreds of other managed service providers? That scenario may soon be possible for Ingram Micro Seismic’s partners. Here’s how.

Read More >

More than 275 managed service providers are expected to attend the Ingram Micro Seismic partner conference, May 4 to 6 in Dallas. And at least four pieces of news will surface at the event, including two new Seismic partnerships plus two new business management tools. Here’s the early word on Ingram’s latest Seismic moves, and their implications for the managed services market.

Read More >

Let’s fast forward three years in the managed services market. By 2012, I expect most major IT vendors to offer SaaS (software as a service) options directly to customers. How will MSPs make a living as on-demand services increasingly go direct? And how will the best MSPs maximize their valuations during potential company sales, mergers and acquisitions? I put that question to Arlin Sorensen during last week’s HTG Summit in Dallas. Sorensen offered a concise answer.

Read More >

MSPmentor has been tracking Australia’s managed services market for about a year now. Overall, I suspect the Australia MSP opportunity is about one-tenth the size of the North American opportunity. But that’s still a big chunk of revenue up for grabs — which explains why Nimsoft is evangalizing a big managed services win in Australia.

Read More >

TARP — the U.S. government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program — continues to make headlines. But Anexio, a managed service provider in Sarasota, Fla., is putting its own spin on TARP in an attempt to stimulate small business IT spending.

Read More >

Within the next few years, I believe virtually all major technology companies will offer SaaS (software as a service) options directly to customers — in some cases, circumventing channel partners and managed service providers. But two fast-growing software companies are taking a stand against my assertion — directing all SaaS opportunities to channel partners and managed service providers. Here’s the scoop.

Read More >

It sounds like a simple strategy: Host a contest to give one small business customer a free extreme technology makeover. And use all the publicity around the event to fuel your lead generation efforts. But here’s what can go right — and wrong — with the extreme technology makeover contests that VARs and managed service providers are hosting.

Read More >

In the managed services market, a growing number of MSPs are partnering up and coordinating their business engagements.  This so-called MSP-to-MSP Collaboration is the central topic for our May 13 webcast. Here are some more details.

Read More >

Horizon Data Center Solutions of Dallas has moved into the managed services market by acquiring Mareechi. Elsewhere, additional MSP-oriented acquisitions could be coming, according to buzz at last week’s 2009 HTG Summit and peer group meetings. Here’s the scoop.

Read More >

After a two-month hot streak, software as a service stocks cooled off for the week ending April 24. Our SaaS 20 Stock Index slipped 2.19 percent for the one-week period. Amazon.com and Salary.com were the index’s biggest weekly winners; Omniture and RightNow Technologies were the biggest weekly losers. Here’s what went wrong — and right — for SaaS during the week.

Read More >

Despite the recession, managed services conferences hosted by vendors seem to be maintaining their momentum. The latest case in point: The upcoming Kaseya Connect user conference — which typically attracts more than 250 MSPs and corporate IT managers — is sold out for 2009, according to Kevin McGuirk, executive VP of corporate marketing for Kaseya.

Read More >

The stat of the day: During the HTG 2009 Summit and Q2 peer group meeting in Dallas, virtually all of the 300-plus attending solutions providers indicated that they’re using PSA (professional services automation) software.

Read More >

Azaleos made its name managing Microsoft Exchange environments. Now, the managed service provider is taking a similar path with Microsoft SharePoint. Here are the details.

Read More >

If you’re a managed service provider (MSP) that expects to participate in mergers or acquisitions, here’s an interesting point from Manage to Win CEO David Russell: Don’t just show potential suitors and investors your financials. Be sure to tout your employees, and show suitors your documented HR processes (without releasing confidential employee info). Here’s why.

Read More >

I don’t want to suggest that easy profits await managed service providers. The recession has hit some MSPs hard. But it’s still a very viable and often lucrative business model. To wit, 44 percent of resellers say “managed services” is the most profitable segment of their business, according to a new channel survey conducted by MX Logic. Here are some more survey highlights.

Read More >

Question: When do you know a technology industry is starting to grow up? Answer: The technology vendors themselves begin to offer vendor-neutral business education. The latest case in point involves N-able, which has launched online training tools called Business e-Training Essentials. Here’s a bit more about N-able’s move based on a phone chat with CEO Gavin Garbutt (pictured), and the broader MSP education market.

Read More >