MSPmentor

Greetings from 30,000 feet. I’m flying home from Cisco Partner Summit. The flight marks the end of a rather amazing month of business travel — though MSPmentor’s team will stay on the road in May to keep covering the MSP and channel partner events. In the meantime, here are seven managed services blog entries our team didn’t have a chance to write for the week ending April 30, 2010.

Read More >

The headline poses a question that I get asked all the time: How many VARs will truly become managed services providers? My answer varies day to day, hour by hour. But during this week’s HP Americas Partner Conference and Cisco Partner Summit, my thoughts became clearer. Here are some observations.

Read More >

For the most part, many of the major MSP software providers are doing business in Europe. Now there are signs that those efforts are expanding. The latest examples involve ConnectWise getting its first French partner and N-able signing a Swedish distribution agreement. Here’s a quick look at the news…

Read More >

Azaleos Corp., the managed messaging and collaboration provider, has released the results of a study that finds that 44% of companies with 1,000 seats or more plan a move to Microsoft Exchange 2010 in the next 18 months. Here’s what Azaleos has to say about the stats.

Read More >

I’m seated in an audience filled with thousands of VARs and MSPs. We’re watching John Chambers deliver the closing keynote at Cisco Partner Summit. Rewind 24 hours, and a top MSP — HEIT CEO Dan Holt (pictured) — told me he was leaving the Cisco conference a bit early. Why’s that? Here’s the answer.

Read More >

There’s something to be said when managed service technology meets clothes. BT is using ‘virtual fitting room’s for Tommy Hilfiger, and it’s being delivered by a ubiquitous Cisco Telepresence solution. It’s designed to reduce travel time and costs, while speeding up the time new products see the light of day in the market. Here’s the techno nitty gritty…

Read More >

More chatter from the Microsoft Hosting Summit 2010: Hosting providers Fasthosts Internet Ltd. and nGenX Corp. have successfully leveraged the Microsoft Dynamic Data Center Toolkit to launch cloud-delivered managed services through their channel partners and to SMBs, or so says a statement issued from Redmond itself. Here’s the scoop.

Read More >

CWPS, a managed services provider in Washington, D.C., is using unified communications to uncover recurring revenue opportunities within small and midsize business. Jason Waldrop, CEO of CWPS, shared his managed services strategy during an SMB panel today at the Cisco Partner Summit. Here’s how Waldrop is working the managed services market.

Read More >

During an HTG Partner Summit in Irving, Texas, this week, dozens of VARs and MSPs discussed a range of well-defined goals for the organization and member companies. And as expected, HTG entered a relationship with Ingram Micro’s VTN organization. Here are the details.

Read More >

CloudShare now has another offering in its collection of cloud services for end-customers. The latest move involves VMforce, the joint technology offering recently announced between VMware and Salesforce.com. Here are details.

Read More >

How’s this for ironic: A service provider may host numerous Web sites, but still not know much about promoting itself on the Web. LaDezign, a Los Angeles-based Web site design and Internet marketing solutions company, thinks it can fill that void.

Read More >

SonicWALL is launching “SuperMassive” firewall and a new virtualized appliance for e-mail security. And it’s all happening at the Interop show in Las Vegas, Nevada. Here are the details.

Read More >

At the recent Cloud Computing Expo, Unisys VP of Global Outsourcing Solutions Sam Gross told MSPs that they needed to move to the cloud or go the way of the dodo. I promised I would ask him how this could be when so many MSPs were having trouble monetizing the cloud. Here’s his answer.

Read More >

As Hewlett-Packard’s channel chief, Stephen DiFranco (pictured) has two top priorities — fine-tuning a channel partner program that’s (1) consistent and (2) predictable. So far, most of this week’s HP Americas Partner Conference has focused on taking profitable market share from Cisco Systems and Dell. But if you quiz DiFranco, he’s more than happy to share his thoughts on emerging managed services opportunities for HP’s channel partners. Here are the details.

Read More >

When it comes to Hewlett-Packard’s managed print services strategy, I’m finally starting to see the light. HP CEO Mark Hurd discussed managed print a bit today during the HP Americas Partner Conference in Las Vegas. Then, HP VP Scott Dunsire (pictured) gave me a more complete picture — including a list of four key partners that can help VARs and MSPs embrace managed print services. Here are the details.

Read More >

No doubt, MSPs have a lengthy list of remote monitoring and management software from which to choose. Plus, many managed services platforms are now available on premises or as a SaaS (software as a service) configuration. Not sure which path to choose? Join us May 5 at 2:00 p.m. eastern for our next MSPmentor Live webcast: SaaS vs. On Premises MSP Software. Here’s what we’ll cover.

Read More >

Back in October 2009, Palisade Systems announced its first data loss prevention (DLP) offering geared toward managed services providers. The company, which targets the SMB market, has since received a boost from an unexpected source: Connecticut’s attorney general’s office. Here’s how.

Read More >

Hostway Corp., which provides infrastructure and Web application hosting, now offers automated database administration services in the cloud. Here are some quick details for MSPs that are looking for application-centric cloud services.

Read More >

Microsoft Hosting Summit 2010 opens this week in Bellevue, Washington, at a critical time. The Redmond, Wash.-based software titan is trying to rally web hosts even as Microsoft continues to promote its own BPOS (Business Productivity Online Suite) SaaS platform to resellers. Here’s a preview.

Read More >

At the HP Americas Partner Conference in Las Vegas, Hewlett-Packard’s channel keynote focused heavily on SMB opportunities. Most of the hour-long discussion, led by Channel Chief Stephen DiFranco, focused on traditional product sales into the SMB space. But for one brief minute, DiFranco said the magic words: Managed services. Here’s a recap.

Read More >

As the HP Americas Partner Conference kicks off in Las Vegas, I believe Hewlett-Packard is finally going to get serious about managed services providers in the SMB market. When HP Channel Chief Stephen DiFranco steps to the stage later today, he’ll likely offer a broad, sweeping update on HP’s channel partner program. But somewhere within the message, DiFranco has to address MSPs. Here’s why.

Read More >

Spiceworks, the free systems management solution, today announces a partnership with Rackspace Hosting to enable users to manage their cloud e-mail servers from the same dashboard as their other IT assets. The idea, Spiceworks says, is to give SMBs and the MSPs that service them control over both cloud and on-premises assets without getting tangled up in multiple portals. Here’s the scoop.

Read More >

Add Tokyo-based Fujitsu to the list of technology giants offering a cloud platform to the channel, as they announce the launch of their infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) solution to the global market. But don’t expect to see the platform in the U.S. until around 2011. Here’s the scoop.

Read More >