The current economy is really opening the door for MSP’s to enter this larger segment of the market as companies struggle to keep existing IT Staff in place but, most certainly need the support as data continues to grow. Use your vendor relationships to help you get introduced to these bigger prospects.

The exciting part, IMHO, is that MSP’s have only begun to scratch the surface with their ability to reach the end user. Best estimates suggest that there might be around 1 million companies in the market place being supported by an MSP. Direct/Indirect…Let’s focus as an industry on how we attract the other estimated 23 Million companies here in the US. http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/smallbus.html

The best providers will win the majority of the business.

Way to keep them honest Lane!

Regards,
Todd McKendrick

Plus the fact that Kaseya is on the VAR500, put out a press release about it and yet still insist they did not apply for it just does not make any since. Why wouldn’t they apply for it? It certainly is good PR.

Anyway I certainly here your points Rich and Jim L as I cannot image that they would truly be competing with their partners. I have posted blogs on a similar scenario with Dell. The reality as that the reason there is a channel is because it takes a personal realationship to properly service the SMB marketplace. These large companies know this and that is why they have a channel. While individual sales reps may step on some toes every now and then it is generally in the companies best interest to work with their channel and not compete.

Back to that 100 seat issue,whether you are using Kaseya or LPI or N-Able or an opensource solution, I cannot stress enough that managed services fit very well in the 100-1000 seat marketplace. You can create very good relationships with these companies and you provide your team with a challenging environment to keep them excited about coming to work.

As a Master MSP whose primary reach is to small VARs to want to become bigger MSPs, I can tell you from personal experience that I strongly lean toward believing Jim Alves in this statement.

We know many of the personnel at Kaseya personally. Most are good people, driven as much by making a difference as they are by money. Some, including the sales staff, are driven by money as well (they have to be – that’s what commission is for).

Yet we have had situations where the sales staff will refer potential Kaseya partners (channel only) to VirtualAdministrator.com so that they can receive an extended ramp-up period, training, etc. They would not do this if they were going after everyone. They do this, honestly, because it’s best for the prospect, and good salespeople recognize the value in doing right by their prospects.

Salespeople, especially those in a direct environment, only have 40 hrs in a week. They have to make the effort they put into a sale, especially a long term one, worth their time. 100 units can often take MORE time to sell than 1000 due to the cash flow / trepidation of the client. It’s simply not worth it to them. This is why smart companies set parameters like Jim has mentioned.

I think the question we need to raise as Master MSPs is, “What are we doing each day to add value with and to the services we provide to our partners?” While we are aware of our competition in this market, if we focus more on them than we do on the difference we make, we don’t grow as quickly as we could. I would encourage all Master MSPs, and all MSPs in general, to maintain this type of focus.

Thanks for the forum, Joe. Always interesting. Sometimes like talk radio .

Rich Forsen
VirtualAdministrator.com

Joe, I think you hit the nail on the head. If there was a mistake, it was by Kaseya’s PR department in not anticipating the negative feedback they got for winning the VAR award. Although somedays it just doesn’t pay to get out of bed in the morning.

http://www.kaseya.co.uk/company/news/en-GB/pr-uk-eclecticbars-oct08.aspx

The release states “By placing a Kaseya ‘agent’ across its four servers and 50 work stations, Eclectic Bars can remotely manage its entire IT infrastructure through a single, integrated web interface”.

Clearly looks like this account is under 100 seats however the press release does not appear to mentioned any reseller at all.

Perhaps they have a different strategy in the UK?

Two follow-up thoughts…

1. Channel: Jim Alves and the rest of the Kaseya team have stated repeatedly that the aren’t going after businesses with 100 or fewer employees. So to say Kaseya is “turning its back” on the channel, at least in the small business market, is wrong. However… Kaseya could certainly wind up competing with VARs in accounts with 100 or more seats, which could be a legitimate concern for VARs and MSPs that service larger customers.

2. PR: This is where the real error occurred. If you’re running a high-tech company and a research report mentions your name you DON’T put out a press release unless you’re (A) 100 percent comfortable with the data and (B) 100 percent comfortable with the message. In retrospect, I wonder if Kaseya is comfortable with A and B.

Let’s call it for what it is: Kaseya is one of the top VAR’s because they generate a lot of business going direct! Personally, we don’t care because we use an open source product to get the job done, but that’s not for everybody!

Methodology

The VAR 500 is the definitive listing of the largest IT solution providers, system integrators, IT consultants and services companies with headquarters in North America, as measured by worldwide gross revenue.

The survey was fielded in February 2009. Rankings were determined by 2008 fiscal year gross revenue generated by the sale of IT goods (hardware and software), software licensing, customer software sales, professional services and managed services. The editorial team reviewed the financial performance of hundreds of companies. Public and private companies were asked to participate. Applications are vetted and cross-checked against multiple independent resources including “Hoovers” and “Selectory.”

http://www.crn.com/it-channel/217700120;jsessionid=ALDJIVTM30BXUQSNDLPCKHSCJUNN2JVN?pgno=3

If Kaseya did not fill out the application than I wonder who did? Interesting??

“… the definitive listing of the largest IT solution providers, system integrators, IT consultants and services companies in North America…”

Kaseya is a solution provider and a services company, just like many other software and services companies who made the list, including: IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Symantec and HP.

Kaseya issued a press release about it because it is proud to be among these prestigious industry names considering it is an appropriate list of “solution providers.” Nothing in this public relations effort effects any change to the way Kaseya works with its Managed Service provider partners.