Several months ago, MSP coach Stuart Selbst told me to keep an eye on Live Virtual Help Desk (LiveVHD), an upstart provider of NOC (network operations center) and help desk services. It was a quick, generic comment from Selbst. But he had a point: Fast forward to the present, and LiveVHD seems to be inking relationships with a range of MSP-oriented software companies — including a deal with Quest Software’s PacketTrap team. So, what’s LiveVHD’s strategy? My best guess: Competing against NOC and help desk services from the likes of Ingram Micro Seismic, NetEnrich and Zenith Infotech. Here’s some speculation…
First, the news. The PacketTrap-Live Virtual Help Desk (LiveVHD) relationship will provide “MSPs an immediate opportunity to offer second-level front-end phone support answering customer calls while addressing tickets and NOC alarms for desktops, laptops, handheld and network devices, and server-related problems at the same time,” according to a PacketTrap statement.
Still, I don’t think this will be an exclusive relationship. In recent days, multiple sources have told me LiveVHD has been working to line up a range of RMM (remote monitoring and management) integrations and MSP industry partnerships. You can see some early partners listed here.
Selbst, my original source on LiveVHD, is listed as a company partner. So it’s easy to understand his brief but favorable statement to me a few months ago. Still, Selbst was right: In early 2010, he predicted a range of LiveVHD partnerships would emerge in the market. And now, they’re materializing. The latest example is PacketTrap.
Fierce Competition
Is LiveVHD gaining momentum? I can’t say for sure since the company is privately held. Plus, there’s plenty of NOC and help desk outsourcing competition in the MSP market.
- Many Master MSPs offer such services to aspiring MSPs and VARs.
- NetEnrich offers its global NOC services to third-parties such as Ingram Micro Seismic partners and N-able partners. And Ingram veteran Justin Crotty is set to join NetEnrich in a few days, so I suspect NetEnrich will pursue more distributor-oriented NOC partnerships in the weeks ahead.
- Also of note: Open source companies like OTRS (Open Technology Real Services) may have their eye on the MSP help desk market.
Translation: More competition is likely on the way for LiveVHD and other NOC providers that are pushing into the MSP market.
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Posted In: Partner Program | Service Level Agreements
Tags: Global NOC | Ingram Micro Seismic | Justin Crotty | Live Virtual Help Desk | LiveVHD | N-able | NetEnrich | PacketTrap
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Joe,
Thanks for the mention. Many of the partners that I work with are using LiveVHD rather than hiring staff. Some of the feedback that I am hearing from my partners is that the Live staff is extremely knowledgeable and you are not just getting a Level 1 person who will open a ticket and escalate, rather you are getting a certified engineer who will troubleshoot, resolve and close a large percentage of the tickets. It is this type of feedback that makes me glad that I am engaged with the team Live.
JP, I am looking forward to see you at Breakaway. Oh by the way, both Live VHD and PacketTrap will be at CompTIA Breakaway.
Have a great week.
Stu
JP…Stuart Selbst told me about these guys as well and I got to meet Neil and others at Spring Training For Business. Plus Dan and I have had regular chats over the past few months. If you had a Top 50 MSPs to look out for list…these guys would top it.
Stuart Crawford
Calgary, AB
http://stuart.calgarybloggers.ca
Stuart & Stuart: Am I the only Joe in the room? I will keep my eye on LiveVHD and catch up at Breakaway.
-jp
I remember talking with Dan earlier in the year and felt he had a compelling vision for LiveVHD.
Stuart – the team is looking forward to seeing you at CompTIA.
Justin
Axcient, Inc.
We have been a Live VHD partner for a few months and have been extremely happy and excited about the relationship. The quality of technicians and level of customer communication is stellar! So far, our clients love the responsiveness and efficiency that VHD has delivered.
-Jamie
Netology, LLC
We have been utilizing LVHD services for several months now. To say that we are happy with their service is an understatement. They handle tickets from beginning to end. They dont take the call and escalate! Their follow through is the best I’ve seen. They have eliminated roughly 70% of our workflow by being our tier 1 and tier 2 support. This has freed up the rest of my team to work on projects and tackle onsite issues that couldn’t be resolved remotely. Dan is motivated and gets it! He is a valuable asset to the MSP community.
We also starting using the Live VHD helpdesk back in April and have been pleased with the quality of service. The feedback has been positive from our clients.
Stephen
Cybernut Solutions, LLC
Thank you for the kind words. It is rewarding to see our efforts validated. We strive to make the best partner possible.
Our ability and willingness to integrate with other entities and successfully close a high percentage of calls should ensure our upward swing continues. We truly do “Support Your Clients, Your Way”
Personally, I find the MSP space the best I have ever been fortunate enough to be a part of and I hope to finish my career here.
Feel free to reach out if you care to learn more about Live Virtual Help Desk.
Dan
The comments above prove how little bloggers (including me) know about their audiences. I serve up content but I never know if/how readers will respond. Glad to read all the interest in help desk/NOC solutions, and it sounds like the LiveVHD folks are building an outspoken community of customers…
-jp
We’ve been using LiveVHD since the beginning of the year. They have been amazing, and far exceeded our expectations. I just want to echo what others have said – their support team solves problems, not just escalates them. It is the rare issue that my team has to troubleshoot personally, and this has freed us up to do more than just put out fires.
-Chris Michalec
Dan and LiveVHD are a rare find. I started working with Dan in March and I have been extremely happy. The LiveVHD staff are flexible and consistently go above and beyond in all aspects, most importantly, they put the client first. LiveVHD is a definite asset to my business.
-JJ Mitchell
Joe,
Back in November you made mention of the company below.
10. Calling Canada: Several MSPs mentioned to me that they’re leveraging PC Helpline Computer Support Inc., a Victoria, Canada-based help desk support service.
http://www.mspmentor.net/2009/11/05/connectwise-partner-summit-top-15-day-1-highlights/
http://www.pchelpline.com
Do you know if PC Help Line and Live Virtual Help Desk are related. I looked at both of their addresses and they are practically walking distance from each other. I found that quite interesting as both are offering similar services.
Wow! It’s like one big group hug for LVHD. I hope Dan is grabbing all these great testimonies and adding them to his marketing material. The comments above are consistent with everything I have heard about LVHD. In my few conversations with Dan (where I’m lucky to get a work in edgewise
) I’ve found his vision clear and his passion contagious. They are absolutely a company to watch!
- Mark
Exec Dir of Biz Dev, Autotask
Hi Ricardo,
The two companies are not related, although situated quite closely. We have been around since 2001, and are proud to be serving the MSP community since that time. Its good to hear that there are new companies out there helping to raise the bar in the MSP arena.
Thank you very much Adam.
Will PC Helpline be at the Comptia Breakaway next week.
Ricardo – We will be in booth #416
Hi Ricardo, regretfully I will not be there. I will be taking our 9 month old son on his first vacation during this time. Our channel partner Cloud Services Depot will have a booth there. Stop by and see Frank and Nancy.
Hi Ricardo; If you have any questions about our services, you can give us a call at 1.866.677.3256 and I would be happy to help you. I am having a difficult time finding a phone number or webbsite for your company.
Thanks for the info everyone.
I will be stopping by to get more information.
This is very interesting. I heard Cloud Services Depot had their own helpdesk with CSD employees manning it and supporting the VAR’s clients. Can someone can explain how Cloud Services Depot is outsourcing their outsourced helpdesk?
We have been using LVHD for about 2 months and have been very happy.
[...] (that’s why smaller MSPs are turning to partners that are larger for help according to a recent MSPmentor blog post. But in our experience, this creates service degradation). Many providers claim to have 24/7 [...]
I do agree with the fact that there are many challenges in delivering true 24 x 7.
A caller deserves someone alive and alert which is exactly why we staff internally 24 hours a day. Those overnights are a great time for patching and other NOC related tasks/projects as well.