MSPmentor

They are the Three Tenors of the PSA (professional service automation) software market. ConnectWise, Autotask… and The Other Guy. But starting in October, The Other Guy — Tigerpaw Software — will step out of the shadows and into the spotlight. Indeed, the first Tigerpaw User Conference runs Oct. 6-8 in Dallas, Texas. The gathering is expected to attract a couple hundred attendees. Perhaps for the first time, Tigerpaw’s user base will come into vivid focus for the IT channel media. And Tigerpaw President James Foxall will have his chance to describe his vision on his stage in front of his crowd. Here’s a preview.

Read More >

How can managed services providers (MSPs) continue to differentiate from cross-town competitors and regional rivals? Instead of focusing on price, features and functions, Kaseya Executive VP Jim Alves says it’s time for MSPs to focus on documented business processes. Here’s why.

Read More >

At first glance, ConnectWise is largely an on-premise PSA (professional services automation) platform. But take a closer look and you’ll learn that roughly one-third of ConnectWise users have shifted to the company’s cloud offering. And ConnectWise has also launched a free, publicly available status dashboard to let users — and anyone else — know how the company’s cloud services are performing. Here’s the update and a look at  the broader state of the PSA industry.

Read More >

The growing cloud and data center relationship between Cisco, EMC and VMware just got another big vote of confidence. Specifically, Orange Business Services is working with the three technology giants on a “global business alliance” to meet customers’ cloud computing needs. The move signals another big win for Vblock within the service provider community. Here’s why.

Read More >

At this point, it’s well-known that Microsoft caught a lot of heat for BPOS outages in September 2010. In an effort to restore customer and channel confidence, Microsoft Online Services has launched a Service Health Dashboard designed to increase visibility into the status of all their cloud services and tools. Meanwhile, third-party software companies like Level Platforms and Nimsoft also offer monitoring tools for BPOS. Here’s the skinny.

Read More >

In the past year, we’ve heard a lot about the tremendous opportunities available to channel partners who are willing to jump into cloud computing. And in my previous columns, I’ve described how the cloud offers channel partners a unique chance to provide customers with top notch service, adding more value at lower prices while still making steady profits doing it. But how do you get started? Here are some clues.

Read More >

Can two managed services providers really merge to conquer a single vertical market? Before you answer, consider the situation at HEIT and Simpler-Webb, which are merging to serve community banks and credit unions across the United States. In this MSPmentor FastChat Video, HEIT CEO Dan Holt and Simpler-Webb Co-Founder Jeff Simpler describe why they are combining forces and the opportunities ahead — including virtualization, backup and other services in the cloud.

Read More >

MailChimp probably has its fans among the MSP community already: they’re an email marketing service that bills itself as the best way to reach customers regularly with HTML newsletters. And now company co-founder Ben Chestnut is highlighting in a blog entry their freemium success a year after MailChimp decided to go free for low-usage customers. Here are some key takeaways.

Read More >

Todd Croteau has been CEO of All Covered for less than two months. But he has big plans for the managed services provider. Specifically, Croteau says All Covered can potentially acquire roughly 50 MSPs over the next three years. And two such deals appear to be in the works right now. Here’s a closer look at Croteau’s MSP acquisition strategy.

Read More >

Microsoft apparently has scored a major coup in the cloud market. The software giant says as many as 33,000 State of Minnesota employees will be going over to their BPOS productivity and collaboration suite. Here’s the straight dope.

Read More >

The big question: How do you develop a SaaS compensation plan for your sales team? The simple answer: Steal a few ideas from MJ Shoer, a solutions provider who’s willing to share his company’s SaaS and cloud compensation strategy. Shoer and other experts are set to speak during The VAR Guy Live webcast today (Wednesday, Sept. 29 at 2:00 p.m. eastern). Here are the details.

Read More >

Nimsoft, the remote monitoring software specialist, has always claimed to serve midsize and larger managed services providers (MSPs). Now, a new Nimsoft effort — involving Vblock data center monitoring — reinforces that point. Here are the potential implications for VARs and MSPs that want to monitor integrated Cisco, EMC and VMware data centers.

Read More >

I’m not suggesting there’s a hiring boom in the managed services market. But I am pleased to say we continue to see MSP-centric career opportunities pop up in our MSPmentor Career Center. Check our job board and you’ll find new MSP-oriented career openings — including technical and sales positions, in particular. Here are some quick details.

Read More >

HEIT and Simpler-Webb have confirmed plans to merge, apparently forming the largest U.S. managed services provider focused on the financial services vertical market — serving more than 450 banks and credit unions. Here’s a closer look at the deal, and potential takeaways for peer MSPs that want to blend cloud services with vertical market expertise.

Read More >

Regardless of the combination of managed services you offer to your clients, your success hinges on your ability to clearly demonstrate the value of those services.  You can have a killer software lineup, 24 hour service, and an iron-clad SLA, and you’ll still find prospects who hem and haw over everything from price to minute implementation details.  However, there are a few common objections that frequently come up in sales conversations with SMB owners. Here are the three most common objections and how to handle them.

Read More >

Virtual Administrator, a well-known Master MSP, has selected Live Virtual Help Desk (LVHD, pictured) to offer 24×7 help desk services to its community of managed services providers. The move highlights Virtual Administrator’s continued partner program expansion, and LVHD’s growing ecosystem of relationships across the MSP market. Here’s a bit more on the deal, plus some more background on help desk services for MSPs.

Read More >

Alabama-based TekLinks may have started its existence as a traditional VAR, but they’ve built out their managed services business to the point where the company was ranked No. 29 on the 2010 MSPmentor 100. Here’s how TekLinks says they rode the cloud to MSP success.

Read More >

At a trade show last week, I ran into an old colleague of mine, Clint Harder, an independent consultant with the Corvid Group, a consulting firm that works extensively with MSPs. Clint mentioned how he often sees that hiring outside experts is often not a priority or a budgetary option for many early-stage MSP executives. He then outlined how MSPs often hit a wall when it comes to growth. To overcome that wall, here are six traits to look for in a consultant or coach who seeks to assist your MSP business performance.

Read More >

The big question: How do you develop a SaaS compensation plan for your sales team? The simple answer: Steal a few ideas from MJ Shoer, a solutions provider who’s willing to share his company’s SaaS and cloud compensation strategy. Shoer and other experts are set to speak during The VAR Guy Live webcast this Wednesday, Sept. 29 at 2:00 p.m. eastern. Here are the details.

Read More >

Online Tech, a managed data center operator in Michigan, is promoting HIPAA expertise, SAS 70 compliance and virtualization know-how to win business in the health care vertical. One prime example: AccuMedWeb, which develops electronic patient care reporting (ePCR) software, now leverages Online Tech’s managed servers and off-site disaster recovery capabilities. Here’s why.

Read More >

A Microsoft Windows Live Team blog entry says the free Office Web Apps suite of cloud productivity apps has hit a milestone with 20 million users at home and abroad. And to mark the occasion, Office Web Apps is getting a few new features, including mobile phone Excel spreadsheet viewing. Here’s the skinny.

Read More >

The MSPmentor blogging team was pulled in multiple directions this week. Alas, here are seven managed services blog entries we didn’t have a chance to write for the week ending Sept. 24, 2010.

Read More >

It’s been a while since MSPmentor heard from Zyrion, the business service management (BSM) and IT monitoring solution vendor. But it’s time to break that silence with the announcement that Zyrion has added so-called Configuration Management to their Traverse 5.1 enterprise network management platform. Here’s the story.

Read More >