MSPmentor

We didn’t exactly race across the finish line this week. A range of deadlines consumed our team’s collective bandwidth. Lots of blogs didn’t get written. Here are seven managed services blog entries the MSPmentor team didn’t have a chance to write for the week ending Jan. 29, 2010.

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When I want to learn about a business topic, I always try to get the scoop from people who are battling it out in the trenches. Real-world success trumps the white board gurus any day. So, for this blog post, I’m culling business insights, sales advice and cloud strategies from three MSP All-Stars. Here’s their guidance.

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In a tough economy, the largest IT service providers — outsourcing firms and systems integrators — have been known to move downstream, seeking smaller deals with smaller customers. Cloud computing — and the ability to reduce the vendors’ cost of service — may also tempt the multi-billion-dollar, multinational IT firms to journey downmarket. Whatever the motivation, $6 billion Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is making moves in the small and medium business (SMB) arena. Here’s how.

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Microsoft is doubling down on the SaaS market through Avanade, the company’s joint consulting and integration venture with Accenture. Avanade’s SaaS platform, called Avanade Online Services, will initially focus on Microsoft Dynamics CRM. That space already has plenty of players — including Microsoft itself. Here are the details.

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Yes, you likely know the City of Los Angeles is making a big move to Google Apps. But week after week, Google also seems to be promoting school district wins, too. For MSPs serving the education vertical, studying up on Google Apps is now a requirement. Here’s why.

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Call it an MSP industry mashup. CharTec, in addition to working more closely with ConnectWise, is also building a close relationship with Level Platforms, according to multiple sources familiar with the strategy. Do I have the exact details? Um, not really. But here’s some speculation.

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A software market for MSP middleware seems to be emerging. From Rezitech to Directive Technology Integrators, managed services providers (MSPs) are writing middleware for PSA (professional services automation) platforms like Autotask and ConnectWise. Here’s a closer look at the trend.

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For about two months or so, I’ve been pursuing an update on Dell ProManage-Managed Services. How is the initiative performing? And have any new MSPs pursued Dell’s various certifications? No doubt, portions of the MSP community have dismissed Dell’s strategy. And some skeptical voices are growing louder. I’ve got plenty of questions — and observations. Here they are.

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While it may seem counter-intuitive to launch a business during a down economy, for IT professionals the worst of times may in fact prove to be the best of times. If you are an IT professional out of work, your chances of finding full-time employment with a vendor or IT services firm are quite narrow. That’s no reflection on your abilities necessarily, but rather an acknowledgment of the realities of the market. What should you do?

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A declining real estate market generally qualifies as bad news. But perhaps not for MSPs looking to expand. SunGard Availability Services is readying a data center for a May 2010 opening in the Sacramento, California area. Here’s the strategy. I wonder: Are rival MSPs considering similar moves?

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Last week, I reported that NaviSite was bringing hosted Lotus services to their NaviCloud application platform, including messaging through Domino. It takes guts to compete with Microsoft Exchange’s apparent stronghold on the e-mail space. To get some perspective on NaviSite’s strategy and the implications for managed services providers, I spoke with NaviSite’s Product Manager, Tony Rorai. Here’s a recap.

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We’re set to unveil the third-annual MSPmentor 100 results during our February 10 MSPmentor live webcast. The research identifies 100 of the most progressive, most successful MSPs across the globe. What are some key business trends among those companies? Here are three quick trends culled from the research data.

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Re-read the headline. I’m not suggesting that you need to buy the Apple iPad tablet. Nor am I saying your customers will buy the iPad. But yes, managed services providers (MSPs) need to try Apple’s iPad while closely monitoring the tablet market. Here’s why. And yes, it involves Hardware as a Service.

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Back in October 2009, I wrote a bit about Eucalyptus Systems — which develops open-source cloud computing software. In some ways, it’s positioned as an open, private cloud alternative to Amazon Web Services. Fast forward to the present, and Eucalyptus seems to be showing some momentum. Here’s an update, including perspectives from Eucalyptus CTO and co-founder Rich Wolski.

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Thousands of MSPs and VARs flock to traditional technology events each year — from the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) to the Cisco Partner Summit. I still find those events valuable. But I’ve also penciled in a new event on my calendar: The Google I/O conference. The reason: Google will start to describe how partners can become Google Wave Service Providers (GWSPs). Here are the details.

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Intermedia, which specializes in hosted Exchange solutions for VARs and their end-customers, has launched hosted Exchange 2010 service in the United Kingdom. Here’s some background. Plus, some chatter about where Intermedia may be heading next.

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The hosted email security market is getting pretty darn crowded. While companies like Exchange Defender, Reflexion and SpamSoap continue to network at MSP-centric events, upstarts like GFI Software are making hosted email security moves. Here’s a quick look at GFI’s strategy.

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When Hewlett-Packard this week launched a security services portfolio, the announcement included a brief mention of managed security services. No doubt, HP promotes managed services to large enterprises. But is the hardware giant starting to take a closer look at channel-centric managed services? Here are some thoughts.

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The year of the cloud/on-premises hybrid model marches on. The latest example: Asigra, a cloud backup and recovery software provider that works closely with MSPs, says its Hybrid Cloud Backup and Recovery software is now open to a who’s who of cloud service providers. Here’s the list, and why I think this move is a sign of things to come.

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I’ve spent the past 24 hours reaching out to software companies that partner with ConnectWise. My question: What’s your initial reaction to ConnectWise Capital, the company’s $20 million effort to incubate channel-centric technology companies. The responses ranged from skepticism to applause. Here’s a recap.

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After overhauling its managed services partner program in 2009, Cisco Systems is pushing into another new area: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). The networking giant says it now has an IaaS offering for service providers that want to tackle computing-on-demand, network-on-demand and storage-on-demand. Here are some details.

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Videoconferencing vendor Polycom is again making inroads in the unified communications space through strategic alliances – this time with Juniper Networks. But there’s also a managed services story here, since more and more of these video partnerships ultimately target service providers. Here are some perspectives.

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The New York Internet Company (NYI) recently landed a colocation deal with Meetup, a social network site for coordinating local get-togethers. Now here’s the twist: The customer’s selection decision was based, in part, on NYI’s business experience with startups. Is it time for MSPs to specifically target startups as customers? Here are some insights.

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