MSPmentor

It’s been about a week since I returned home from Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2011. Now that I’ve had some time to digest what I heard and saw, I’ve come to a conclusion: Lync is rapidly emerging as Microsoft’s next killer platform for channel partners, including MSPs. Here’s why.

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Winston Churchill once said, “To improve is to change. To be perfect is to change often.” Whether the impetus for change is driven internally, or imposed on organizations by external factors, the reality is that business organizations are constantly changing and evolving. This includes Managed Service Providers (MSPs) as well. Whether the transformation is at a macro or micro level, the IT infrastructure will invariably be impacted given the critical role IT plays in enabling and executing business processes today.

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Circle Computer Resources (CCR), an MSPMentor 100 company, has acquired Cramer IT, a Coralville, Ia.-based IT consulting firm. Cogent Growth Partners advised CCR on the acquisition. I spoke with Cogent Managing Partner David Schafran for more insights on the deal.

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It’s been about two months since Technology Services Group Ltd. (TSG), an open source software and consulting firm, acquired Concentrix in an effort to market its cloud computing solutions in the UK. Since the April acquisition, TSG has decided to make more of an effort to brand itself. The proof: TSG has hired Carole Beverly — a consumer branding expert — as group marketing and communications director.

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The cloud is making its way from the business world to the education sector. Need proof? EMC and VMware have teamed to build and deploy a cloud computing environment to deliver IT-as-a-Service throughout the Lone Star College System, the fastest growing community college system in Texas. In all, the VMware – EMC cloud environment will connect more than 90,000 faculty, staff and students at 13 Lone Star College System campus locations.

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Alert Logic, the managed IT security specialist, says Q2 revenues were $5.1 million, up  a healthy 41 percent from Q2 2010. Equally interesting, Alert Logic President and CEO Gray Hall said that the company’s book of business is now over $20 million in recurring revenue. Among the big reasons for that success: Growing support from channel partners for its SaaS solutions.

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How can you optimize your service desk to (A) improve customer satisfaction and (B) scale your managed services business? Join our next MSPmentor Live webcast today (Wednesday, July 20, 2:00 p.m. eastern) and ask our experts your top questions. Our guest speakers will describe how to build, automate and scale your service desk to improve operational efficiency, customer support and customer loyalty.

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When it comes to Microsoft’s managed services strategy, most folks focus on Windows Intune. But Microsoft appears to be making additional progress elsewhere. One prime example: Microsoft recently released Windows Server Solutions Phone Connector. It’s a Windows Phone 7 application that allows MSPs to remotely manage Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials.

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When the managed services industry got its start, many MSPs charged customers on a per device basis — per desktop and per server. Fast forward to the present and the old per-device model may be breaking down, especially as users juggle multiple devices — desktops, notebooks, tablets and smart phones. The big question: Can MSPs generate incremental revenues from mobile device management?

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Do your customers know what the cloud is? Chances are they have some vague ideas about cloud computing, but if you pressed them on how the cloud fits into their IT needs, most would stumble.

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Loss of data ranks as a “worst nightmare” for businesses of any size, but for players in the SMB space data loss can be especially catastrophic. SMBs often operate on the narrowest of margins and with the tightest of deadlines, meaning that even as little as a few hours spent without access to critical data, or trying to retrieve it, can have a serious negative impact on the bottom line.

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ChamberofCommerce.com, a business directory for small business services, has signed a partnership with MegaPath, the managed services provider. What’s the potential upside for MegaPath? ChamberofCommerce.com claims to have relationships with more than 7,000 chambers of commerce worldwide, which means MegaPath could be gaining a valuable pipeline for reaching new target customers.

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It’s one small step for the Dell PartnerDirect Program, and a strategic move for K&M Systems Integration (KMSI). Indeed, KMSI is the latest IT support firm to join the PartnerDirect channel program. And there are signs that more MSPs are starting to give Dell a look for a range of storage-related solutions.

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It’s been a few months since Roaring Penguin Software Inc. introduced its CanIT Archiver – an e-mail archiving and continuity platform that the company released in early May, 2011. How is the strategy progressing? I checked in for a brief update with Roaring Penguin Vice President of Sales and Marketing  and Co-Founder Bill White. He described what the anti-spam and e-mail filtering provider has been up to since CanIT Archiver debuted.

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What if application developers could become managed services providers (MSPs) — managing software through its entire customer lifecycle, whether on premise or in the cloud? Perhaps Hewlett-Packard and Tasktop Technologies can assist with that goal. Indeed, HP and Tasktop are working together on a range of ALM solutions that might interest channel partners.

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Compushare, an MSPmentor 100 company, continues to gain momentum delivering cloud services to community banks, credit unions and financial services customers. Moreover, Compushare seems to be setting the stage for more acquisitions within the managed services and cloud services markets.

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The MSPmentor job board contains several new listings for managed services and cloud computing expertise who are looking for a new opportunity in such areas as sales, marketing and technical support. The latest opportunities include…

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My next business trip is CompTIA Breakaway 2011 (Aug. 1-4, Washington, D.C.). Predictably, the worlds of cloud services and managed services will converge at Breakaway. But I expect several other trends to emerge at the conference. Here’s a preview, along with seven trends that I hope to track at CompTIA Breakaway.

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Zenith Infotech has launched a NOC Service Miles rewards initiative as part of its Network Operations Center partner program. The NOC Services Miles effort allows Zenith partners to earn monthly service credits that can be redeemed for project work executed by Zenith’s NOC. Here are the potential implications for managed services providers (MSPs).

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Kaseya and Ingram Micro, which already work together in Australia, are set to expand their managed services partnership into North America sometime in Q4, a spokeswoman for the distributor confirms. Here are the potential implications for managed services providers.

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Quest Software, owner of PacketTrap MSP, has quietly invested in Jaspersoft, which develops open source business intelligence software. The big question: Will Quest eventually connect the dots between PacketTrap, managed services and BI software capabilities?

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Phoenix Health Systems, a managed services provider and IT consulting company, has won a deal to help deploy Meditech’s Electronic Health Records (EHR) system at Cheboygan Memorial Hospital (CMH) in Cheboygan, Mich. The deal reinforces the trend of blending EHR services with managed IT services.

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Warwick Valley Telephone (WVT) of New York has acquired Alteva LLC, a cloud-based unified communications (UC) solutions and VoIP provider, for $17 million. Alteva, based in Philadelphia, Pa., claims to be North America’s largest provider of enterprise VoIP services. WVT plans to integrate its USA Datanet (a CLEC) business with Alteva, which also has a growing Microsoft business practice.

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