MSPmentor

The Ingram Micro Cloud Summit is wrapping up in Dallas today. Roughly 250 VARs and managed services providers attended the conference. So what were the key takeaways? And better yet… what rumors surfaced behind the scenes? Here are some observations from MSPmentor.

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Virtela, which bills itself as the world’s largest independent managed network services company, has launched the Virtela Enterprise Services Cloud (ESC), a carrier-independent open cloud architecture to deliver anything as a service from anywhere across any network. Moreover, they’re launching the “Virtela Cloud-Based Application Acceleration Service,” which does exactly what it says on the tin for $5 a day. All of those claims sound pretty lofty. Here’s a closer look at the Virtela effort.

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During my flight to the Ingram Micro Cloud Summit in Dallas, I struck up a conversation with the passenger seated next to me. At first, he wanted to know all about my iPad. But 10 minutes into the conversation, I wanted to know all about his business — which offers virtual office space to small businesses. The more I heard, the more I wondered why really small MSPs would ever sign a full-blown office lease. Here’s a recap.

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I caught up with Mike Jones, CEO of ETG, last night at the Ingram Micro Cloud Summit in Dallas. Jones, as you may recall, leads one of North America’s most successful managed services providers focused on the health care vertical. During a discussion about merger and acquisition activity, Jones offered this gem: “We’re for sale but not on sale.” What did Jones mean? Here are some clues.

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The rumors were true: Ingram Micro is developing cloud-centric business relationships with Amazon.com, Rackspace Hosting, Salesforce.com and several other heavy hitters. The relationships are linked to Ingram Micro’s new Cloud Conduit initiative. Here are details about the moves, and the potential implications for managed services providers (MSPs) and VARs.

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During the Ingram Micro Cloud Summit in Dallas this morning, Services VP Justin Crotty described where Ingram Micro will and won’t play in the cloud. He also described how the smartest solutions providers are succeeding in the cloud. Here’s a rapid recap.

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Asigra, whose any-cloud-goes approach to storage and disaster recovery caught our attention earlier this year, today launches what they describe as the biggest update to their flagship Asigra Cloud Backup product ever. Version 10 brings a long list of new features, but of biggest note to MSPs is the new support for laptop data protection, the release of Asigra’s API, and the ability to bulk-purchase licenses for virtual servers and manage them yourself. Here’s the scoop.

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I’ve returned home from the Kaseya Connect User Conference, and I’ll be heading off to the Ingram Micro Cloud and Seismic Partner conferences on June 6. In between, here are seven managed services blog entries MSPmentor didn’t have a chance to write for the week ending June 4, 2010.

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The sleeping giant has finally awoken. Hewlett-Packard is making managed services moves — without necessarily mentioning managed services by name. The effort involves a platform called 48Upper and HP Insight Remote Support. Here’s the strategy and potential implications for MSPs and VARs.

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Where’s the money to be found by IT solution providers in this Great Recession? I’ll tell you what I’m seeing, it’s a takeover. A takeover of midsize companies’ IT departments by savvy solution providers. Now this isn’t a hostile takeover by any means. And this isn’t a new strategy either. Here are the details.

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NetSuite, which increasingly promotes SaaS through the channel, has launched the NetSuite Manufacturing Edition, a cloud solution for global midsize manufacturers. Here’s the scoop.

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It’s another major SaaS win in the education space for Microsoft as the Kentucky Department of Education (DOE) deploys Live@edu to over 700,000 students, faculty, and staff. Microsoft claims it’s the largest cloud date to deal in the United States. Plus it highlights intensifying Google vs. Microsoft SaaS competition in the education market. Here are the details.

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In India, IBM has teamed up for the next 10 years with ElectraCard Services (ECS) to provide the backbone for ECS’s disaster recovery infrastructure. Here’s the quick rundown about the agreement.

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Savvis Inc. appears set to purchase a kindred northern spirit in Fusepoint Managed Services Inc. In fact, Savvis inked an agreement May 28 to purchase Fusepoint, which is based in the Toronto area and markets to mid-sized and larger companies in Canada. Here’s a closer look at this managed services acquisition, including the deal’s valuation and financial multiple.

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More than 1 million IT professionals and managed services providers now leverage Spiceworks, a free advertising-driven remote management platform, according to the latest company news release. But instead of promoting “Managed IT,” Spiceworks is taking up “Social IT.” Here’s why.

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As the Kaseya Connect User Conference wraps up in Las Vegas, I’m busy digesting a range of news and chatter from dozens of managed services providers (MSPs) and technology companies. Based on everything I’m hearing, there are four reasons I worry about the managed services market (and four reasons I think this market is here to stay and poised for more growth). Here’s both sides of the story.

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How do you build wealth in turbulent times? William Danko, author of The Millionaire Next Door, is answering that question right now during the Kaseya Connect User Conference in Las Vegas. Here are some tips from Danko, which he shared with roughly 250 managed services providers this morning.

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Mezeo Software, which caught my interest with their approach to Windows integration, has launched the “Mezeo Ready” program, targeted at enabling developers to more easily integrate their applications with the Mezeo Cloud Storage platform.

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Google continues its merciless PR campaign against Microsoft as it announces that two billion e-mail messages have been migrated from other platforms onto Google Apps by way of their bevy of tools designed to do just that. Given that Google’s the source of that impressive statistic, it’s important to keep things in perspective. But here’s why services providers should pay attention anyway.

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Managed messaging and collaboration provider Azaleos Corporation dropped MSPmentor a line to let us know that they’ve recently closed a deal with the US Government to provide managed Microsoft Exchange 2010 services for 20,000 seats at the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta. Here’s the scoop.

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Scorpion Software is one of the first software developers to plug into the Kaseya 2 platform. I’m intrigued for a couple of reasons. First, Scorpion develops authentication and identity assurance software — an emerging opportunity for MSPs. Second, Kaseys is quietly speaking with a range of ISVs (folks like Symantec, MSPintegrations and Spam Soap) about additional plug-ins for Kaseya 2. Is this the start of a larger trend? Here’s my best guess.

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Kaseya is preparing to launch two new versions of its Kaseya 2 managed services platform. The efforts include an entry-level on-premises offering code-named G1, plus a SaaS approach that’s set to launch July 1. At the same time, Kaseya is in discussions with Symantec and several other software companies that may plug into the K2 managed services platform. Here are the details.

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The surest way for solution providers to sell cloud computing to SMB customers is to talk about the technology’s business advantages throughout the sale cycle. It’s not just a starting point for the conversation.  If presented correctly, these benefits combined with your services will be what ultimately seals the deal.

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