add a comment
Data Centers In New Jersey: Overbuilt or Room for Expansion?
Posted June 20th, 2011 by John Moore
Is the current enthusiasm for launching data centers trending toward oversupply? Here are two developments out of New Jersey that suggest different answers…
CharTec Academy: The Lightning Round
Posted June 20th, 2011 by Matthew Weinberger
The CharTec Academy conference wound down as I wrote this, with most of the second day dedicated to vendor presentations and nuts-and-bolts sales and technical workshops. If one thing has really stuck with me, it’s that while CharTec’s entire executive team has been available to the over 120 partners in attendance, this is really CEO Alex Rogers’ show.
Seven Managed Services Blogs MSPmentor Didn’t Write: June 17
Posted June 17th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
So long. Farewell. It’s time to spend some quality time with our families. But before we log off here are seven managed services blog entries the MSPmentor team didn’t have time to write for the week ending June 17, 2011.
In Case You Missed Them: 15 Most Read Channel Blogs, June 17
Posted June 17th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
We realize you may not have time to track all conversations across our websites: MSPmentor, The VAR Guy and TalkinCloud. So, here are the 15 most read channel blog entries across our channel blog network for the week ending June 17, 2011.
mindSHIFT CEO Paul Chisholm’s Top Four Business Priorities
Posted June 17th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
During an interview at mindSHIFT‘s Long Island offices yesterday, CEO Paul Chisholm revealed his top priorities for the rest of 2011. More managed services acquisitions? More cloud marketing? Instead of guessing simply read on for a recap of my conversation with Chisholm.
Join Us: Vertical Market Managed Services Strategies
Posted June 17th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
Our next two MSPmentor Live webcasts are approaching fast. First up, we’ll discuss Vertical Market Managed Services Strategies (this coming Wed., June 22, 2:00 p.m. eastern). Then, we’ll show you how to Building Your Service Desk to Build Business (Wed., July 20, 2:00 p.m. eastern). Use this single link to get more information about either webcast. We look forward to answering your questions during both online events.
Managed Services and Healthcare Vertical Continue to Converge
Posted June 17th, 2011 by John Moore
We’re tracking several new managed services developments in the health care market. They include Beacon Partners’s push into managed services, MyHealthDirect’s SaaS offering, and a new PriceWaterhouseCoopers report are among the developments in healthcare IT. Here’s the run down…
NovaStor Introduces Cloud Backup for MSPs
Posted June 17th, 2011 by Nicholas Mukhar
NovaStor, a U.S.-based backup software and data protection solution provider, has released NovaBACKUP xSP 12.1, a cloud backup platform for managed service providers. NovaBACKUP xSP 12.1 features data transfers up to 30 times faster than any previous version of NovaBACKUP xSP, better customer management, Microsoft Exchange 2010 support, and global data availability for MSP, the company asserts.
Will LANDesk Upgrade Target Managed Services Providers?
Posted June 17th, 2011 by Nicholas Mukhar
LANDesk continues to promote asset management software to corporate IT managers. But we keep hearing some chatter about LANDesk more aggressively targeting managed services providers as well. One prime example: The new LANDesk Asset Lifecycle Manager 5.0 could let MSPs to manage, update and protect customers’ hardware and software assets. Here’s a look at the strategy.
CharTec CEO: MSPs Need Less Tech, More Sales
Posted June 17th, 2011 by Matthew Weinberger
At the CharTec Academy conference, CEO Alex Rogers updated me on the HaaS specialist’s new partner sales and marketing strategies. In a nutshell — if you don’t have the expertise or time to hire a dedicated sales rep or run a marketing campaign, CharTec wants to do it for you. Why? Because MSPs have the technical expertise to thrive — but not always the business acumen. Here are some highlights of our discussion.
CharTec Memo to MSPs: Time To Refine Your Offering
Posted June 16th, 2011 by Matthew Weinberger
As you may guess from the name, CharTec Academy isn’t exactly your traditional partner summit. Rather than share key milestones and promote their HaaS and BDR solutions directly to partners, CharTec CEO Alex Rogers — along with a healthy number of event sponsors and guest speakers — are aiming to promote better business practices for MSPs. And the top tip Rogers had for MSPs in his introductory presentation: Refine your offering and be exactly what your customer needs.
You Stink At Sales; Here’s Why
Posted June 16th, 2011 by David Bellini
If you’re like me, you were a great technician who decided to start your own business. As your company grew, you learned to be a good leader by being the best engineer your company. But sales? In order to be a good sales leader, you have to embrace sales and drive the adherence to a sales process. Not easy when you’re a techie at heart.
TDS Pursues Managed Services Acquisitions
Posted June 16th, 2011 by Nicholas Mukhar
TDS Telecommunications Corp., the eighth largest telecom provider in the United States, has hired former Nimsoft VP Phil LaForge as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of TDS Hosted & Managed Services LLC. LaForge will play a key role in the organization’s merger and acquisition strategy, which apparently includes some deals that could be announced soon. Here’s the update.
Top MSPs Grow Cloud Revenues 50 Percent (Or More)
Posted June 16th, 2011 by Nicholas Mukhar
I spoke with GFI MAX General Manager Alistair Forbes earlier this week about GFI MAX integrating VIPRE Antivirus into GFI MAX RemoteManagement. After he described GFI’s integration strategy our conversation quickly turned, as it so often does these days, to cloud computing. Forbes, like many other industry experts, told me that some solutions providers continue to see the cloud as a threat rather than an opportunity. That’s unfortunate considering the best MSPs experienced 50 percent (or more) cloud-related revenue growth in 2010, according to our own research.
CharTec Opens The Doors On MSP Training Facility
Posted June 16th, 2011 by Matthew Weinberger
I just got back to my hotel room from hardware-as-a-service specialist CharTec’s party in honor of the opening of their new MSP training facility in Bakersfield, Calif. It’s a 10,000-square-foot extension, bringing the total blueprint to 20,000 square feet. The company knows how to throw a party — there were fire dancers, juggling bartenders, and big-screen TVs airing last night’s big Bruins vs. Canucks Stanley Cup final. But I’m more interested to get a few questions answered over the next two days here at CharTec Academy.
SunGard Offers IaaS For E-discovery App
Posted June 15th, 2011 by John Moore
Interest in e-discovery as a managed or hosted service shows no signs of abating. In the latest data point, ZL Technologies, which offers e-discovery, has tapped SunGard Availability Services for hosting and managed services. SunGard now supports ZL’s Unified Archive production applications, which include e-discovery, regulatory compliance, and data archiving. SunGard offers its virtual private data centers along with such managed services as monitoring, patching, backup, maintenance, and trouble resolution, according to the company.
BT, Xerox Win Managed Print Services Deal
Posted June 15th, 2011 by Nicholas Mukhar
BT — the European service provider — and Xerox have scored a managed print services contract with Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, which represents the Sandwell municipality in the United Kingdom. The win is an important reminder that Xerox continues to work with channel partners on managed print services engagements.
MKAdvantage Embraces GroundWork for Managed Services
Posted June 15th, 2011 by Nicholas Mukhar
MKAdvantage, a solutions provider in Chicago, has embraced GroudWork Inc.‘s software platform for network and application monitoring. Specifically, MKAdvantage is customizing and extending GroundWork Monitor Enterprise software for specific vertical markets. The MKAdvantage-GroundWork relationship shows where open source may ultimately fit in the managed services market.
4 Ways You Can (Indirectly) Profit From Google Chromebooks
Posted June 15th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
Google Chromebooks officially debut today (June 15). Google is preparing some sort of partner program to help promote Chromebooks for Business into the channel. But in the meantime, MSPmentor sees at least four potential ways MSPs can indirectly profit from Chromebooks. Here they are…
SMBs Increase Their Social Media Marketing Budgets; Did You?
Posted June 15th, 2011 by Dan Berthiaume
According to AMI Partners, U.S. SMBs with fewer than 100 employees are expected to spend $36 billion on marketing in 2012, up 4 percent from 2011. Now here’s the big question: Are managed services providers (MSPs) also increasing their marketing dollars? And if so, where should MSPs focus their marketing efforts? Here are some educated guesses.
The Economy vs. MSPs: Is There A Disconnect?
Posted June 15th, 2011 by Dan Berthiaume
Picture this: At the recent TruMethods Schnizzfest conference, managed services providers like masterIT said annual revenues were growing roughly 30 percent. And at the recent Ingram Micro Cloud Summit, scores of MSPs expressed optimism about their growth prospects. Meanwhile, U.S. financial markets have declined for six consecutive weeks. And there are growing fears on Wall Street that the U.S. economy is heading for a double-dip recession. What’s an MSP to do? Here are some clues.
An Outsourcing Certification for Call Centers? Yes Indeed
Posted June 14th, 2011 by Nicholas Mukhar
When an IT market is growing, a related certification or accreditation program usually emerges. Such is the case in the call center market, where the Resource Center for Customer Service Professionals (RCCSP) has embraced a call center certification from the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP). Before we get in to the details here’s a little background on what the RCCSP does.
Per User vs. Per Device: Managed Services Pricing Debate Ends
Posted June 14th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
Within the SMB managed services market a multi-year debate has been raging: Should managed services providers develop price-per-user or price-per-device business models for MRR (monthly recurring revenues)? I heard a surprising answer to that debate during the recent TruMethods Schnizzfest event in Philadelphia, Pa. Here’s the answer and the background.
