As Synnex and itControl Solutions end their managed services partnership, both companies are vowing to support VARs and MSPs affected by the divorce. Here’s the update… including continued rumors that Synnex is planning a major freemium managed services move in December 2010.
In case you missed the news, Synnex and itControl Solutions this week ended a two-year managed services partnership. Synnex, a major distributor, had leveraged itControl Solutions’ remote monitoring and management (RMM) software. itControl Solutions CEO Sheldon Waters sent an email to partners earlier this week, disclosing the divorce with Synnex but vowing to support partners through the transition.
Transition Time
Now Synnex is stepping up to the microphone. In an email exchange with MSPmentor, Bob Stegner, senior VP of marketing for Synnex North America, wrote: “We have mutually agreed to part ways. We will begin a phased approach over the next six months that keeps the best interest of our shared customers in mind.”
What becomes of the itControl users that work thru Synnex? Stegner wrote:
“Over the next six months, resellers who are currently using itControl Suite will continue to be billed through SYNNEX and supported by itControl Suite. During this transition, our shared resellers will decide whether they want to stay with itControl or migrate to a different SYNNEX supported platform. SYNNEX will make every effort to make the transition as painless as possible for our customers.”
Re-read that paragraph carefully and it’s clear Synnex is planning to introduce a new managed services platform. Several sources point to another Canadian MSP software provider as a potential Synnex platform partner. We’re checking in with the platform provider now for comment. And there are signals that Synnex plans to offer some sort of freemium monitoring strategy that may scale to one million nodes. Asked about the freemium rumor, Stegner wrote:
“We are excited about the future and what it will bring for our resellers. We will officially announce our plans in early December.”
I could sit around two weeks waiting for more information… Or I could keep digging for info… Stay tuned.
Sign up for MSPmentor’s Weekly Enewsletter, Webcasts and Resource Center. Follow us via RSS, Facebook, Identi.ca and Twitter. Check out more MSP voices at www.MSPtweet.com. Read our editorial disclosure here.
Read More About This Topic
Share This Post
Posted In: North America | Partner Program | Platforms | Remote Monitoring & Management Software | Software as a Service and Hardware as a Service
Tags: Bob Stegner | itControl Solutions | itControl Suite | Robert Stegner | Sheldon Waters | Synnex | Synnex OnDemand
Interact: Add a Comment | Trackback Link | Permalink
Subscribe: RSS Feed
Take a look at our 
Joe,
I am sure there is more to the story, and that over time, we will all get a clearer picture – for now, my take is that itControl is undertaking a shift in strategy and this must be some logical step. Both parties have committed to supporting their partners, and knowing Bob Stegner and company at Synnex for many years, I am certain that the channel will have little to worry about.
The bigger story here is about RMM’s. A few years ago, these tools were all the rage, and in some camps continue to be the only game in town. In my mind, they are enablers. Important to business, but not the only element to building a strong managed services practice. At the end of the day, the service and deliverables are more important than the tools we all use, right?
I envision a time, in the not too distant future, where RMM’s, while important, are not driving the business…but rather supporting the strategic goals. More importantly, I believe we are entering a phase whereupon a reseller will employ multiple RMM’s to help them proactively manage their end-customers more effectively. A hybrid model that will incorporate one or more RMM tools be they Level, itControl, Labtech or Kaseya — in a solution that leverages the nuances and capabilities of each product to its fullest capacity. This approach will allow the reseller to differentiate themselves and more importantly deliver a higher degree of support.
Let’s be honest, each RMM has its strengths and weaknesses so why not utilize those characteristics. To some degree this will commoditize the Remote Monitoring and Management toolsets, but isn’t that part of the natural product cycle? RMM’s are not sexy anymore; they are now part of the managed services fabric…important and critical that they function properly, but not the end-all-be-all.
Lastly, it has been and always will be about information. As a channel, the more data we can gather on the customers and sites we support, the more adept we will become at supporting the clients business objectives. As you know from our previous conversations, I feel strongly about the ability to understand and utilize information (as in Business Analytics) to up-sell and support our partner’s customers – and I believe we will be the better off as an industry if we embrace this approach.
As always, the industry is changing, but the underlying fundamentals remain the same – delivering quality solutions to the end-customer that are strategic and business oriented. It is not about technical, speeds and feeds aspects anymore, and I believe that shift is now hitting the RMM space.
Good luck to all,
Gerard
http://www.mspsn.com
Gerard: Let us know which directions you head in next. Generally speaking I think MSPs need RMM the way cable companies need broadband.
Once you’ve got the broadband in, you can deliver so many additional services (VoIP, movies on demand, etc.). Similarly, I think RMM allows MSPs to gain visibility into customers sites so you can decide what to upsell and cross sell.
Your point about using multiple RMM tools is interesting: I’m curious to know if small MSPs can afford to mix and match multiple RMM options… We’ll be sure to watch the trends as they unfold.
-jp
Joe – I’m hearing that there was a data collection/data sharing issue between Synnex and itControl. Can you dig deeper on that? Thanks!
Hey Harry: I’m aware of the rumors but hesitate to say much since I don’t have confirmed information. Rumors… for… now
-jp
Hi All,
I have first hand experience with Synnex and IT Control so my information is direct and true. I will summarize here but please feel free to ask me any questions.
We signed up for IT Control through Synnex earlier in 2010 and we were given some pricing models which were never followed through with once we began our services. Apparently there was some communication issues between IT Control and Synnex and the sales person from IT Control is no longer with the company. Synnex never did give us a solid pricing commitment nor did they provide any type of contract.
After going back and forth on pricing as well as some initial service problems we decided to call it quits with IT Control. Soon after we requested to leave the platform I received calls from IT Control executives and they really stepped up to the plate for me. After hearing my horror story with Synnex, IT Control offered to keep busines moving forward and were very helpful with every one of my issues. Now we are running full steam ahead with IT Control and very happy so far. In the past, we did use Kaseya and Level Platforms but these never fullfiled our needs as a customer or service provider(that is another long story).
Ok, here we are now freshly on board with IT Control and no Synnex in the picture from the MSP standpoint. I recently received a phone call from one of Synnex channel reps (Symantec to be precise) and the following information was given to me… The rep told me the name of the customers where I had IT Control Suite installed and running and she also provided me with the software installations that were running on that customers network. Her sales pitch was that Synnex was identifying sales opportunities for us. This information was all “stolen” from the IT Control Suite service that we previously used with Synnex. I say “stolen” because we never authorized Synnex to pull any data for any reason including their internal sales staff. The channel rep informed me that she was given IT Control reports by her superiors for the sole purpose of making sales calls to their customers. My company uses IT Control for identifying our own internal sales opportunities and we do not employ any other corporation to sift the data for us. I was appalled with this phone call and have informed IT Control that my customers information was being used outside of any ethical business manner. Furthermore, I have confidentiality agreements as well as compliancy agreements with my customers, a few being financial industry customers who are regulated directly by the SEC. Perhaps there is no legal problem with this type of report getting into others hands when under strict regulations but I don’t want the liability risk nor do I want anyone taking information from a service that I am paying money for unless I explicity authorize them to do so.
To clarify my relationship with Synnex….we have been purchasing hardware and software from them for many years and have had very good service, we try to use them as our primary resource for this. However, we will never contract them for any MSP offerings again as it is our belief that Synnex is going to be a much stronger distrubutor rather than IT support and service provider.
BT: Thanks for your comments. I will keep them in mind as we continue our Synnex and IT Control Solutions coverage.
Readers: After BT posted his comment, I communicated with him directly to confirm his identity and thoughts. I cannot, however, confirm his claims at the current time. I will check in with Synnex and IT Control Solutions to see if they have a comment.
-jp