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Cross-Platform Clouds Coming To Storage?
Posted January 11th, 2010 by John Moore
Companies and developers are taking early steps toward making proprietary clouds interoperable. Stephen Foskett, director of consulting at Nirvanix, believes the cross-platform cloud may first arrive in storage. Here’s why.
Help Wanted: Managed Services Career Opportunities
Posted January 11th, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
Even as the economy shows anecdotal signs of improvement, roughly 84,000 private sector U.S. jobs disappeared in December 2009, according to Automatic Data Processing Inc. Still, some folks — including many managed services providers (MSPs) — are hiring. Here’s a sampling of positions now advertised in the free MSPmentor Career Center.
Kaseya Pursues Smart Phone, Linux Managed Services Markets
Posted January 10th, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
As Kaseya gears up to launch the Kaseya 2 managed services framework in late January 2010, the company also is preparing Kaseya Mobile — a suite of applications for smart phones. After that, watch for Kaseya to introduce remote management capabilities for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Novell SUSE Linux, and other Linux distributions. Here are the details.
Seven Managed Services Blog Entries We Didn’t Write: Jan 8
Posted January 8th, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
I’ve got a backlog of content on my hard drive just waiting to get published up on MSPmentor. But once again, there weren’t enough hours in the week to get everything done. Here are seven managed services blog entries our team didn’t have time to write for the week ending Jan. 8, 2010.
Kaseya 2: The Emerging Story
Posted January 8th, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
Kaseya in late January 2010 will officially unwrap Kaseya 2, the company’s next generation software framework. Earlier today, Kaseya Executive VP Jim Alves (pictured) described Kaseya 2 and the company’s plans to push into multiple areas — including SaaS (software as a service), online back and some low-end professional services automation (PSA). What’s more, Kaseya appears to be taking aim at everyone from Citrix Systems to LogMeIn. Here’s the scoop.
Kaseya Prepares Major Moves
Posted January 8th, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
This Just In: Kaseya around January 25 is expected to officially announced Kaseya 2, a next generation framework for managed services, remote access and even a bit of professional services automation (PSA). The framework is a platform of sorts designed for on-premise or SaaS (software as a service) users. We’ve got details about the strategy. – which targets everyone from large enterprise IT shops down to small break-fix resellers. We’ll be back later today with a complete report, analysis and multiple FastChat videos.
Managed Storage: Carbonite Raises $20 Million
Posted January 8th, 2010 by Matthew Weinberger
Carbonite Inc., the company behind a consumer cloud backup solution, has just raised $20 million in fourth round venture capital. This is the second big consumer-oriented managed service investment we’ve spotted this week — reinforcing the fact that commodity players could potentially gain some ground in the SMB space. Here’s why.
IBM Making Managed Services Moves?
Posted January 8th, 2010 by Matthew Weinberger
We spend quite a bit of time on MSPmentor covering small but fast-growing software companies that cater to the managed services market. But occasionally an industry titan will catch our attention. A case in point: IBM made a key move this week, and it involved small and midsized communication service providers (CSPs). Does this mean the Big 4 systems management companies (BMC, CA, HP, IBM) are finally waking up to managed services? Here’s some perspective and speculation.
iYogi: Remote Support Specialist Raises $15 Million
Posted January 7th, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
iYogi, which provides remote PC support to consumers and small businesses, has raised roughly $15 million in its third round of funding. On the upside: The news shows continued financial investment in remote managed services. On the downside: The investment is another warning sign that MSPs need to move beyond basic remote management. Here’s why.
Glowpoint Highlights Managed Telepresence Growth
Posted January 7th, 2010 by John Moore
Telepresence is growing as a managed services opportunity, as more business look to conduct business virtually as a cost-savings measure. Recent evidence of that expansion comes from Glowpoint Inc. The company, which offers managed telepresence and video communications services, says it expects year-over-year monthly recurring core revenue to climb more than 13 percent for its 2009 Q4. But that’s not all.
Counter Trend: Software Companies Leave SaaS to Partners
Posted January 7th, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
A counter-trend is emerging in the applications market. Over and over again, I’m hearing about application companies downplaying their own SaaS (software as a service) efforts — and instead delegating SaaS opportunities to VARs and managed service providers. Here’s a look at the counter-trend, which involves everyone from Oracle to a range of software upstarts.
Symantec Falls Victim to Y2K10 Bug
Posted January 7th, 2010 by Matthew Weinberger
A potential headache has emerged for managed security service providers: Symantec has revealed the existence of a seriously embarrassing bug in their Endpoint Security products: any definition file dated later than 11:59 PM on 12/31/2009 is regarded as out of date. Symantec has a workaround, but weren’t we supposed to have learned our lesson ten years ago?
Two VAR500 Companies Merge; Form Managed Services Giant
Posted January 6th, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
Just when I was set to unplug for the night, I noticed another managed services industry merger — the second of the day. This one involves Presidio Inc. and Coleman Technologies Inc. — two VAR500 companies. The duo will combine to create a $1.1 billion Cisco-centric managed service provider that also has VMware, HP and Microsoft expertise. Here are the preliminary details plus some analysis.
Managed Services M&A: FusionStorm Acquires CentriServ
Posted January 6th, 2010 by John Moore
FusionStorm, an MSP 100 company, has purchased CentriServ, a consulting company that focuses on client-side virtualization. This is the latest in a flurry of mergers and acquisitions across the managed services market. And it’s the second acquisition for FusionStorm in recent months.
Cisco TelePresence Heads for Home (Will You Follow?)
Posted January 6th, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Cisco Systems is fulfilling a promise to push TelePresence (high-end video conferencing) into the home. It’s a timely reminder that managed service providers need to figure out a video strategy. Here’s why.
Freemium, Part II: Microsoft Office Starter 2010
Posted January 6th, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
Talk about timing. I spent the bulk of my morning writing about the Freemium trend across the managed services market. Within a few hours I spotted this little item: Microsoft is building a free, advertising-based suite called Office 2010 Starter. Here are the details.
Free and Freemium Managed Services: What’s the Business Model?
Posted January 6th, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
Free. Freemium. Free trial. Free education. Free content. More and more, I hear the word “free” across the managed services market. I’m not pressing the panic button — good managed service providers are still charging a premium for their offerings. But I do wonder how the “free” story is going to play out. Here are some thoughts.
Kaspersky Lab Planning Managed Security Services Strategy
Posted January 5th, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
Kaspersky Lab, the fast-growing anti-virus software provider, is planning a managed services partner strategy that will likely surface within 30 to 60 days, according to Senior VP of Corporate Sales Nancy Reynolds. Kaspersky’s move is part of a larger trend: Multiple anti-virus companies — McAfee, Panda Security, Sophos, Symantec and Trend Micro — are polishing their managed services strategies. Here’s a sampling of where we’re heading.
MSPs: Do You Open Your Books to Employees?
Posted January 5th, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
I’m hearing more and more buzz about open-book management across the managed services market. In theory, opening your financial books to employees allows everyone within your company to focus more aggressively on business results and profitability. But does open-book management really work?
Peak 10 Scores $95 Million for Managed Services Expansion
Posted January 5th, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
Apparently, credit markets continue to open up and lenders are interested in well-run managed service providers. The latest evidence: Peak 10, which specializes in managed services, has expanded its credit facility to $95 million. Here’s how Peak 10 plans to use the money.
MSPs: Four Ways to Boost Customer Satisfaction
Posted January 5th, 2010 by Paul Barnett
Do you want a few quick and easy ways to upgrade your customer satisfaction now? The answer lies in your phone — and the following four tips. They’re simple tips. But will you actually embrace them?
Not All MSPs Will Smile in 2010
Posted January 4th, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
A new wave of optimism is building across the managed services market. Executives from Nimsoft, N-able and other software providers are making upbeat statements about 2010. I certainly agree with the core thesis — many MSPs are going to benefit from an improving economy. But I will repeat a familiar theme around MSPmentor: The rising economic tide won’t lift all MSP boats. Here’s why.
Join Us January 20: MSPmentor Live
Posted January 4th, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
Our first MSPmentor Live webcast of 2010 is scheduled for January 20. Our guest speakers — representing three top managed service providers and Nimsoft — will cover key questions for growth-oriented small, midsize and large MSPs. Here’s a closer look at the webcast.
