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LogMeIn: Freemium Strategy Generates Revenues
Posted January 7th, 2011 by Nicholas Mukhar
Give something away for free, then convince customers to spend money with you on something that’s even more valuable. That just about sums up the freemium craze in the managed services software market. But the craze is hardly new. LogMeIn, the remote access desktop control software provider, has offered a free limited version of its product ever since the company launched in 2003, notes VP of Sales Andrew Burton (pictured). Here’s background on the freemium strategy, and some updates on how LogMeIn works with MSPs.
Do IT Smarter: Behind a Managed Services M&A
Posted January 7th, 2011 by Nicholas Mukhar
It’s been roughly three months since ClearPointe acquired Do IT Smarter, a well-known Master MSP. We decided to check back in with Do IT Smarter’s Lane Smith (pictured) to get some perspective on (A) how he built Do IT Smarter and (B) key lessons learned from the M&A process. Here’s the update.
Field Solutions Prepares Managed Print Services Push
Posted January 7th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
It has been a busy week for the managed print services industry, with three major pieces of news to track. The latest involves Field Solutions, which has a network of 17,000 field technicians that can provide on-premise break-fix support. Looking ahead, Field Solutions plans to increase its focus on managed print services.
Managed Services Acquisition: Konica Minolta Buys All Covered
Posted January 6th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
For the fourth time in recent days, a managed services provider has been acquired. And this appears to be the biggest deal yet: Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. has acquired All Covered, a national IT service provider with 350 employees. The deal, completed in December 2010, was announced today. Here are the details, including insights from All Covered President Todd Croteau and Konica Minolta COO Rick Taylor. Plus, thoughts on how Konica Minolta will attempt to balance is channel partner program and All Covered ownership.
Microsoft Prepares Windows Azure Cloud Appliances for MSPs
Posted January 6th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
When Microsoft Channel Chief Jon Roskill (pictured) first spoke about Windows Azure appliances for private clouds in mid-2010, the software giant planned to target really big hardware deployments and large enterprises. But during a phone conversation today, Roskill said Microsoft plans to ensure Windows Azure appliances also appeal to smaller managed services providers (MSPs). Here’s how.
Webcast: 6 Questions to Ask Before Upgrading Your RMM in 2011
Posted January 6th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
Our next MSPmentor Live webcast is set for January 26 at 2:00 p.m. eastern. The topic: Six questions MSPs must ask before upgrading or selecting an RMM (remote monitoring and management) tool. Here’s a bit more about the webcast and our guest speakers.
Managed Services: 5 Biggest Surprises in First 5 Days of 2011
Posted January 6th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
I have a confession. I was a little depressed on Monday, January 3. The news cycle was a little slow and it seemed like the managed services market was trying to wake up from a holiday hangover. (I despise slow news days.) And then: Boom. Lots of managed services news and surprises that, quite frankly, I didn’t expect. We’re only five (and a half) days into the New Year. But here are the biggest managed services surprises I’ve seen so far.
Apparent Networks Launches Cloud Performance Reports for MSPs
Posted January 6th, 2011 by Matthew Weinberger
Remote Performance Management (RPM) specialists Apparent Networks has launched CloudSmart, a managed services framework for MSPs to offer customers cloud monitoring services. In theory, members of Apparent’s PathView Cloud partner program can keep an eye on cloud-based application deployments and troubleshoot proactively.
Metro Ethernet for the SMB Crowd, Courtesy of MegaPath
Posted January 5th, 2011 by Charlene OHanlon
The proliferation of cloud computing, software as a service, VoIP and video communications has been a boon for companies that can handle the load on their networks. But for smaller companies, such bandwidth-intensive applications just don’t – or can’t – work on their existing connections. Enter Metro Ethernet.
Mergers and Acquisitions: Suitors are Dialing ETG
Posted January 5th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
When mindSHIFT acquired Alpheon (an MSP focused on health care) earlier today, I picked up the phone and dialed Mike Jones, CEO of ETG — another MSP focused on the health care vertical. I asked the obvious question: Has mindSHIFT also approached ETG about a potential buyout as part of a deeper health care push?
Update – mindSHIFT CEO: Why We Acquired Alpheon
Posted January 5th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
Why did mindSHIFT acquire Alpheon, and will mindSHIFT make more managed services acquisitions this year? I posed both questions (and a few others) to mindSHIFT CEO Paul Chisholm (pictured) a few minutes ago. Here are Chisholm’s replies.
mindSHIFT Acquires Alpheon Amid MSP Buying Spree
Posted January 5th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
So much for a slowdown in the M&A market. The New Year has started with a flurry of managed services mergers and acquisitions. The latest deal involves mindSHIFT — consistently ranked atop our MSPmentor 100 list — buying Alpheon, another MSPmentor 100 company that focuses on health care. Here are the details, plus rumors about more M&A activity ahead.
Korean Software Titan ESTsoft Seeks U.S. Service Provider Partners
Posted January 5th, 2011 by Matthew Weinberger
If you’re not familiar with the Korean computer market, ESTsoft’s name may not ring a bell. But its desktop application suites have led the company to market dominance in Asian markets, with a claimed 90 percent of all PCs in Korea running the company’s antivirus, file compression, image viewing and media player applications. And as of today, ESTsoft is making a play in the United States for the consumer desktop with its ALtools suite. Here’s why service providers should pay attention.
FusionStorm: From Managed Services to Cloud Services
Posted January 5th, 2011 by Sponsored Video
Sponsored Video: FusionStorm, one of the industry’s best-known managed services providers (MSPs), also has a growing cloud services business practice. But how can peer MSPs develop cloud solutions for end customers? In this FastChat Video, FusionStorm Chief Technology Officer Vince Conroy offers some clues and also describes where FusionStorm is heading next.
Printelligent Acquires Managed Print Services Business
Posted January 5th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
For the second time in recent hours, I’m blogging about an acquisition within the managed services market. This time the deal involves Printelligent acquiring DirectPointe‘s printing and imaging group. The deal is newsworthy for two reasons. On the one hand: Printelligent is increasing its managed print services investments. On the other hand, DirectPointe — a seasoned MSP — is exiting managed print services to focus more on Platform as a Service. Here’s the update.
Ask A Mentor: India-Based MSP Seeks Guidance
Posted January 4th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
Each Tuesday, MSPmentor’s Ask a Mentor service publishes a reader question and invites you to weigh in with recommendations. This week’s question comes from an MSP based in Bangalore, India. Here’s the question and our reply…
Canadian MSP Starts New Year With Acquisition
Posted January 4th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
Fully Managed, a managed services provider in Vancouver, Canada, has acquired HIT Business Solutions, an IT service provider in Edmonton, AB. The deal makes me wonder: Will MSPs accelerate their merger and acquisition activity in 2011 — or did the M&A market peak in 2010? Here are some thoughts.
Will Dell Promote SecureWorks to MSPs?
Posted January 4th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
Dell is making another IT services acquisition — this time gobbling up SecureWorks, which promotes managed security security services and works with MSPs. Sorry to state the obvious question: But I wonder whether SecureWorks’ channel partner program — particularly work with MSPs — will potentially evolve under Dell’s ownership? I raise the question because Dell hasn’t made much noise with MSPs over the past year or so.
Can StorageCraft Stand Out In Disaster Recovery Market?
Posted January 4th, 2011 by Nicholas Mukhar
No doubt, the disaster recovery market is filled with vendors trying to engage VARs and managed services providers. So how does a company like StorageCraft Technology Corp. hope to stand out from the crowd? We went searching for answers and here’s what we learned.
DirectPointe Builds PaaS Monitoring Platform for Peer MSPs
Posted January 4th, 2011 by John Moore
DirectPointe, an MSP based in Lindon, Utah, has launched a platform-as-a-service monitoring solution for its customers and will eventually let other MSPs tap the tool.
New Managed Services Vertical: Country Clubs?
Posted January 3rd, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
Caddyshack references aside, Computer Service Partners (CSP), a managed services provider in Raleigh, N.C., has discovered a vertical market niche that most rival MSPs have overlooked. Indeed, CSP has signed managed services deals with Prestonwood Country Club, MacGregor Downs Country Club, and several other country clubs in the region.
European MSP Offers Free Server to Small Businesses
Posted January 3rd, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
Is it a worthless gimmick or a smart promotion? You decide: SysFix Group, a managed services provider in the United Kingdom, is offering new customers a free small business server for the duration of their IT contract. This doesn’t exactly qualify as a freemium promotion, since customers have to have at least three computers under a SysFix Group support contract. But the SysFix offer sounds somewhat similar to hardware as a service (HaaS). Hree’s what the free offer covers.
ManageEngine: Yes, We Support Non-Windows Devices
Posted January 3rd, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
When ManageEngine unveiled its Desktop Central MSP platform in December 2010, MSPmentor openly wondered if the software provider planned to support non-Windows devices. Ashish Kuriakose, ManageEngine’s marketing communications manager, followed up via email and offered some additional insights. Here they are.
