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Unveiled: The Top 50 MSPs in Cloud Computing
Posted June 14th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
MSPmentor’s sister site, Talkin’ Cloud, officially unveiled the Talkin’ Cloud 50 report today. The report tracks the top 50 MSPs, VARs and channel partners working in cloud computing. So what’s the difference between the Talkin’ Cloud 50 and the MSPmentor 100 report? Glad you asked. Here’s some basic guidance.
Dell Preparing New Managed Services Provider Partner Push
Posted June 14th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
Say hello to Dell‘s managed services partner program — for the second time. The hardware giant is preparing to make some new MSP-centric moves, this time with plenty of cloud-centric offerings as well. Nothing is official yet but here’s what MSPmentor expects from Dell within the next few weeks or so.
LevelCloud Leverages OS33 for Managed Services, Cloud Moves
Posted June 14th, 2011 by Nicholas Mukhar
LevelCloud, a Corona, Calif.-based cloud and managed services company, has embraced OS33 as its platform for IT automation. LevelCloud has branded its services as “IT Anytime, Anywhere.” Here’s some background on the strategy.
Managed Services Merger: Cogent Advises Mother Network-DSPI Deal
Posted June 14th, 2011 by Nicholas Mukhar
Mother Network Guardians, a Chicago-based IT service provider, has acquired Decisions Systems Plus Inc. (DSPI) to potentially grow its SMB customer base. Cogent Growth Partners, LLC — a merger and acquisition advisory firm — advised Mother Network on the deal, which highlights continued consolidation in the MSP and VAR markets.
Can Google Take Hardware as a Service (HaaS) Mainstream?
Posted June 13th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
Google Chromebooks remain set for launch on June 15. The low-cost notebook and netbook devices run Google’s Chrome OS, working closely with Google Apps. But here’s the really interesting part: Google is also preparing to launch Chromebook for Business — which essentially is a hardware as a service (HaaS) plan for enterprise customers. Here are the details, plus the potential implications for managed services providers (MSPs).
Seven Managed Services Blogs MSPmentor Didn’t Write: June 10
Posted June 13th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
Our managed services coverage stretched into the weekend as we blogged live from the TruMethods Schnizzfest conference in Philadelphia, Pa. But what blogs didn’t we have time to write for the week ending June 10, 2011? I’m glad you asked. Here are the top seven…
Nuspire, Sonitel S.A. Pursue Central America Managed Services
Posted June 13th, 2011 by Nicholas Mukhar
Grupo Sonitel S.A. of Panama has joined the Nuspire Partner Program. Nuspire and Sonitel will combine Nuspire’s network management, monitoring and security services with Sonitels’ customer service and support. The partnership is the result of a two year effort to bring Nuspire Network’s security solutions to Central and South America. I spoke recently with Nuspire Director of Business Development Daniel Hoban to learn more about the partnership.
Quadrant 4 Targets 3 Verticals With Cloud, Managed Services
Posted June 13th, 2011 by Nicholas Mukhar
Quadrant 4 Systems Corp. (formerly Zolon Corp.), an IT service firm, has launched new cloud services and managed services that target three key verticals: finance, retail and healthcare. Along the way, Quadrant 4 hopes to leverage growing consumer cloud computing buzz. Indeed, as consumers discover Apple iCloud, Quadrant 4 expects SMB customers to seek commercial cloud services. Here’s a closer look at the effort.
Flat Employment Gives Rise to MSP Prospects
Posted June 13th, 2011 by Dan Berthiaume
The Bureau of Labor Statistics last week released the May unemployment figures, and they were pretty mediocre. Nonfarm payroll employment changed little (a net total of 54,000 jobs added) in May, and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 9.1%. Private sector employment continued to trend up (83,000 net jobs added), although by a much smaller amount than the monthly 244,000-job average for the prior three months. The computer systems design and related services subsector added 8,000 net jobs for the month. For most people, these statistics are not especially heartening. However, for MSPs, especially those serving the SMB market, they should offer some comfort. Here’s why.
How 3 Top Managed Services Providers Built Their Businesses
Posted June 10th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
At TruMethods Schnizzfest, top managed services providers are on stage describing how they grew their businesses, developed their pricing philosophies and stay energized. The session, moderated by TruMethods CEO Gary Pica, includes MSPmentor 100 companies and leaders such as White Glove Technologies CEO Tommy Wald; EndSight CEO Mike Chaput; and IT Solutions CEO Ted Swanson (pictured left to right). Here’s the recap.
Break Points: 7 Challenges That Hold Small Businesses Back
Posted June 10th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
Larry Kesslin, a consultant to VARs and MSPs and author of Break Points, thinks he has found the key “break point” areas that prevent small businesses (1 to 100 employees) from growing. Kesslin described the break points during a keynote today at TruMethods Schnizzfest, a managed services conference held in Philadelphia, Pa. Here’s a recap.
mindSHIFT CEO: Managed Services Merger, Acquisition Insights
Posted June 10th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
Paul Chisholm, CEO of mindSHIFT (an MSPmentor 100 and Talkin’ Cloud 50 company), is sharing some secrets to managed services success; merger and acquisition valuation points; and growth strategies during Schnizzfest, a TruMethods conference held today in Philadelphia, Pa. TruMethods CEO Gary Pica just wrapped up an on-stage interview of Chisholm (pictured), who addressed roughly 150 managed services providers. Here’s the recap.
How to Simplify the Managed Services Sales Process
Posted June 10th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
Three top managed services executives are discussing sales strategies during a TruMethods SchnizzFest conference panel here in Philadelphia. The experts: Moderator Gary Pica interviewing masterIT CEO Michael Drake, Spade Technology CEO Myles Keough and ActiveCo President James Ford (pictured, left to right). So, what are their sales-driven recommendations? Here’s the update.
TruMethods Schnizzfest: 10 Managed Services Keynote Highlights
Posted June 10th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
Roughly 150 managed services providers (MSPs) have gathered for Schnizzfest, a sales-driven conference hosted by TruMethods CTO Bob Penland and CEO Gary Pica (pictured, left to right). The opening theme here in Philadelphia: Growing monthly recurring revenues (MRR) — while succeeding in work and life. Here are 10 highlights from this morning’s keynotes.
The ABCs of Managed Services Success (Part I)
Posted June 10th, 2011 by Ted Roller
Every successful MSP business should offer three critical deliverables that apply to almost any IT VAR / Reseller business, but each can be crafted and honed to perfection as part of a managed services practice. Over the next several months I plan to leverage my ongoing guest blog to explore each of those items in more depth and discuss ways to create opportunities from each deliverable. In this post, I’d like to introduce these concepts and get the discussion started. What are the ABCs of MSP success? They are…
Help Wanted: Managed Services and Cloud Job Opportunities
Posted June 10th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
The MSPmentor job board has received several new career listings across sales, marketing, technology and more. We’re not out to compete with big career centers. But MSPmentor does want to connect experts with highly targeted careers in managed services and cloud computing. Take a look at the job board. It’s free to all.
Can Small MSPs Keep Up With Rising Health Care Costs?
Posted June 9th, 2011 by Dan Berthiaume
In addition to serving SMBs, many MSPs are small businesses themselves. As a result, small MSPs and small business customers sometimes face similar challenges. Chief among them: Keeping up with health care costs.
Intermedia: Still Committed to MSPs and Channel Partners?
Posted June 9th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
During Ingram Micro Cloud Summit last week, a few MSPs pulled me aside to ask a key question: Is Intermedia, the hosted Exchange specialist, still committed to managed services providers (MSPs) and channel partners? The question popped up because Oak Hill Capital Partners, an investment firm, acquired Intermedia in May 2011. The change in control has some MSPs wondering how Intermedia will evolve. Here’s the answer.
TruMethods Schnizzfest: Five Questions Worth Asking
Posted June 9th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
I’m heading to TruMethods Schnizzfest — a conference that will attract roughly 150 MSPs — later today. As you may recall, TruMethods is a consulting firm that helps MSPs with sales and business development. But off stage I’ll be poking around and asking at least five key questions about the managed services industry. Here they are…
Buy 1, Get 1: NetEx WAN Optimization Meets Virtualization
Posted June 9th, 2011 by Nicholas Mukhar
TigerPaw, Servoyant Integrate Their Managed Services Software
Posted June 9th, 2011 by Nicholas Mukhar
Tigerpaw Software Inc., the PSA (professional services automation) software provider and Servoyant, a remote monitoring and management firm, have integrated their respective products. It’s safe to expect Tigerpaw to announce additional integration updates during the Tigerpaw User Conference in October. Here’s the near-term update.
Asigra Partner Summit: What’s Next In Cloud Storage?
Posted June 8th, 2011 by Matthew Weinberger
At first glance, Asigra Executive VP Eran Farajun started the obvious at this week’s Asigra Partner Summit 2011 in Toronto: Cloud storage is important. But listen closely and you’ll hear Farajun share some key messages. For instance, he’s calling on MSPs to realign their businesses to deal with the fact that cloud storage is increasingly commoditized. And he shared some key company milestones, to boot. Here are the details.
E-discovery: Best of Breed Options Emerge for MSPs
Posted June 8th, 2011 by John Moore
The handling of electronic evidence is a complicated, multi-faceted process. There’s the identification and collection of records, review and analysis, and then production and presentation. A deployment might call for several products to cover the spectrum of e-discovery activities. With that in mind, some software houses have opted to pursue all-in-one solutions. Here’s the update for MSPs.
