MSPmentor

Both N-able Technologies and Zenith RMM have embraced private equity funding in the past week or so. At first glance, the deals are similar: Two private equity firms are pumping money into managed services software companies. Plus, N-able and Zenith RMM compete with one another. But take a closer look and I think you’ll see the private equity approaches are quite different.

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Last week was a pretty interesting time in the channel and, as usual, much of the interesting news was announced at SMB Nation. Some of it was made publicly, and some of it was not. What were some of the interesting trends — and the potential implications for MSPs? Read on.

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Before you pitch a technology upgrade to your SMB customers, consider this: SMB owners and entrepreneurs prefer proposals that help recruit new customers and drive revenue. And remember this: SMBs are generally not too anxious to borrow money these days, according to a recent blog posting on the website of The Boston Globe. Here’s why.

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I didn’t know much about SmarterTools, the mail server software, help desk software and web analytics provider before Smarter Tools VPs Jeff Hardy and Derek Curtis reached out to me. The first thing that caught my attention: Curtis and Hardy didn’t want to schedule a 10 minute phone briefing. They wanted to meet face-to-face to discuss how SmarterTools has been competing with the likes of Zendesk and Salesforce.com since its founding in 2003. Here are the details.

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In the crowded mobile device management (MDM) market, AirWatch wants to stand out from the MDM crowd. “Nobody wants to be the T.J.Maxx of mobility,” quipped AirWatch Chairman Alan Dabbiere. In my opinion, the 300-person AirWatch team has been among the most active MDM companies this year.

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Many MSPs offer vulnerability scanning services to help customers meet their Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard duties. A newly released Verizon report suggests they may need to do more than run occasional checks. About one fifth of organizations studied were fully PCI compliant at the time of their Initial Report on Compliance, according to Verizon’s 2011 Payment Card Industry Compliance Report. But where do we go from here — especially if you’re a managed services provider (MSP) focused on corporate compliance issues?

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INX Inc., an infrastructure solutions integrator and MSP, recently landed a five-year managed services pact with a community health organization in Southern California. INX, based in Dallas, said the deal with Community Memorial Health System (CMHS), a not-for-profit in Ventura County, is worth $750,000. Here are some details and some key takeaways for peer MSPs.

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Within the SMB market, basic IT help desk and service desk support is evolving to include smartphone tech support, according to a new study from Parks Associates. Combine smartphone support with traditional PC, server and network support, and you’ve got a $20 billion IT support opportunity across the U.S. by 2015, according to the research firm. Here’s where managed services providers fit in vs. big telecom providers.

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Techaisle predicts that managed IT services spending within U.S.-based small and midsize businesses will grow from $7 billion this year to $12 billion in 2015. We’re always skeptical when we read research reports because long-term IT spending forecasts can change from one year to the next. But generally speaking, MSPmentor is confident the managed IT services market continues to grow. We’ve got our own built-in biases — yes, we’re bet a portion of our business on this market — but we also have a pretty good feel for why managed services demand continues to climb.

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Paessler AG, the network monitoring software company, has released version 9 of its Paessler PRTG Network Monitoring solution. It’s designed for managed services providers. I caught up with Paessler North American General Manager Ken Sanofsky to learn about some of the new networking monitoring features and  capabilities that Paessler has included in version 9.

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SunGard Availability Services, the disaster recovery and managed IT services specialist, has expanded a Philadelphia, Pa., data center to meet growing demand for cloud services. At times we wonder if the world has too many data centers and too few cloud customers amid all the cloud hype. But SunGard’s data center investment appears to eliminate our concerns.

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Former Apple CEO and Pixar CEO Steve Jobs has died, Apple has confirmed. Another great life lost to cancer. We’ve got to beat that damn disease. Apple’s official statement: “Apple has lost a visionary and a creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of you who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.”

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Dan Shapero, formerly executive VP and GM of Kaseya’s On Demand division, left Kaseya in August. Next up, Shapero appears to be involved in ClikCloud, a digital marketing company that will offer search engine optimized websites to managed services providers (MSPs). Translation: Shapero and ClikCloud are trying to address one of the most glaring weak points in the managed services industry: Marketing to SMB customers.

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Has it really been five years? Absolutely yes. The fifth annual MSPmentor 100 survey is now open to all managed services providers worldwide. Find details and a survey link here. But before you participate in the survey read the rest of this blog entry. The FAQ below explains some of the key updates, enhancements and deadlines for the survey.

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Numara Software, which develops help desk software, has released Numara Track-It! version 10.5. The software now includes an On the Go capability, which allows IT administrators and MSPs to handle help desk workloads from Apple iPhone or Google Android mobile devices,.

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DataCore Software and TwinStrata are connecting the dots between storage virtualization and cloud storage. Specifically, DataCore’s storage virtualization software will now come bundled with a free TwinStrata CloudArray virtual appliance. How do managed service providers potentially benifit? Here are some thoughts.

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ScienceLogic, which develops cloud management solutions, has named Antonio Piraino chief technology officer (CTO). Piraino spent the last four years as VP of Tier 1 Research, where he watched ScienceLogic from afar. Piraino identified several reasons why he jumped to ScienceLogic when we spoke Oct. 4. Here’s a recap.

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Accel-KKR, a private equity firm, has made a minority investment in N-able Technologies, the managed services software provider. The news comes one week after Zenith Infotech spun off Zenith RMM in a private equity deal. The big questions: How will N-able Technologies leverage the cash infusion? And is the RMM (remote monitoring and management) software market set to accelerate or consolidation?

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LabTech Software has launched LabTech 2011.2, a managed services software upgrade that includes so-called “direct tunneling” capabilities. Apparently, direct tunneling creates an IP tunnel from an MSP to a customer PC or remote system that requires management. LabTech 2011.2 arrives at a key time for the software company, which must balance rapid growth with continued innovations and expanded partner support services.

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Our next Webcast is today (Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 2:00 p.m. eastern). You’ll gain early access to our fifth-annual MSPmentor 100 survey. More importantly: We’ll review Five SaaS Habits of Highly Profitable MSPs. Two Top MSPs and CA Technologies will describe the five moves in deep detail, while answering your questions throughout. I look forward to your questions, and I’ll share some updates on the next MSPmentor 100 survey during the webcast.

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The cloud backup and online backup markets are both expanding and consolidating. Two recent examples: VaultLogix has acquired assets from Utility Backup Solutions, and Vembu recently acquired Cloud Nucleus. Those deals surfaced around the same time that Axcient — a hybrid cloud storage specialist – raised $15.5 million in venture capital funding. Plus, more private equity is expected to flow into the managed services software market really soon, MSPmentor has learned. So how can markets expand and contract at the same time? Here’s some perspective.

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LogMeIn apparently sees growing remote management and remote control opportunities in the tablet market. One example: The LogMeIn Ignition app for Android is now available pre-installed on ViewSonics’ ViewPad 7x Android tablet. Admittedly, ViewSonic is a relative underdog in the tablet market. But I think the LogMeIn-ViewSonic deal is a sign of things to come in the tablet and remote access markets.

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Oracle CEO Larry Ellison will likely update Oracle’s cloud computing and cloud services strategy on October 5. Meanwhile, Oracle is polishing its managed services partner strategy at Oracle OpenWorld in San Francisco. Channel Chief Judson Althoff today told me the new Oracle Database Appliance is ideally suited for MSPs that want to remotely manage scalable applications. Here’s why.

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