MSPmentor

Do IT Smarter, a master managed service provider (Master MSP), is adding CompuVault’s online data backup services to its suite of offerings. The relationship is the latest in a series of storage-centric moves across the Master MSP landscape. Here’s a look at recent activity.

Generally speaking, Master MSPs offer a range of managed services to VARs that want to quickly enter the MSP industry.

According to a joint Do IT Smarter-CompuVault press release:

Through this partnership, Do IT Smarter’s network of Managed Service Providers will now be able to provide a “best of breed” backup and recovery solution to their end users.

Several Master MSPs have made storage and data management moves in recent months. A couple of examples:

• Ingram Micro Seismic, which serves more than 1,000 MSPs, has launched an instant recovery service in partnership with CA Inc. (formerly Computer Associates International Inc.).
• VirtualAdministrator, which started as a hosted Kaseya specialist, recently added Intronis online backup and recovery to its offerings.

Generally speaking, storage and security seem to be the “low hanging fruit” in the managed services market. In our latest MSPmentor 100 report, the overwhelming majority of MSP survey participants had managed storage and managed security offerings.

Sleeping Giants

For me, the big mystery involves traditional sofrware companies like Symantec — which have dominated the on-premise storage and security markets but trailed in the world of SaaS (software as a service). Symantec CEO Enrique Salem in mid-June said the company would soon launch more concerted SaaS efforts.

I’m keeping a close eye on Symantec Protection Network to see where that fits in Symantec’s managed storage strategy.

In the meantime, MSPs seem to be opting quickly for emerging vendor options as well as Master MSP offerings.

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