MSPmentor

When CA Technologies kicks off its MSP Symposium (Jan. 29-31, Miami, Fla.), the company will arrive with considerable momentum. Indeed, CA announced surprisingly strong Q3 results yesterday. Revenues rose a healthy 10 percent to $1.263 billion. Dig a little deeper and you’ll see managed services and cloud services platforms like Nimsoft and AppLogic gaining momentum with partners. So what’s next? The answers will likely surface at CA’s MSP Symposium.

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Gartner has created one heck of a brand with its Gartner Magic Quadrant research. Hundreds of vendors scramble to qualify for the Magic Quadrant — which identifies top technology companies in dozens of different markets. CIOs, in turn, often use Gartner’s Magic Quadrant research to help select IT products and services. Sounds great — but some of Gartner’s Magic Quadrant Leader picks make me scratch my head. Here’s one example…

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ManageEngine, the IT management software provider and a division of Zoho Corp.,  has added Zoho Reports support to MSP Center Plus, a multi-tenant management environment for managed service providers. The software provider’s goal is to give MSPs a solution to create more comprehensive network environment reports and pull more detailed analytics to improve their network performance.

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LogicMonitor, the network, hosting and cloud monitoring software provider, has added new features to its Monitoring-as-a-Service (MaaS) solution for managed service providers. The move falls in line with what LogicMonitor CEO Kevin McGibben told me just one week ago about the company expanding its monitoring offering into Asia and further into Europe. A major part of LogicMonitor’s plan, according to McGibben, is to add more MSP customers. Here are more details on LogicMonitor’s first move as part of its regional expansion push.

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DataCore Software, a data storage virtualization software provider, has integrated Hitachi Data Systems’ IT Operations Analyzer to provide detailed monitoring of DataCore’s SANsymphony-V environments. Here’s how it works.

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How can MSPs connect the dots between their help desks, online chat capabilities and remote support technologies? Get the answers today (Jan. 25, 2:00 p.m. ET/11:00 a.m. PT) during our next Channel Expert Hour webcast, hosted by MSPmentor. Our guest speakers will include…

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Apple delivered insanely great quarterly results today. Take a closer look at the latest Apple and Google earnings, and you’ll see just how big the mobile device management (MDM) opportunity could be for MSPs that master Apple iOS and Google Android.

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When LabTech Software launched a cloud edition yesterday, it completed a ConnectWise Capital triple play. Indeed, ConnectWise now essentially has at least three cloud services — ConnectWise Cloud, LabTech Cloud and Quosal On Demand — that MSPs can piece together into an extended business management platform. The net result: I think ConnectWise CEO has found a way to further increase ConnectWise’s valuation.

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Opengear, which develops remote infrastructure management solutions, is launching a remote monitoring and management (RMM) product for managed service providers. Opengear claims the new ACM5500 gateway overcomes many remote management limitations that MSPs currently face.

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The MSPmentor Job Board continues to promote career openings for executives, sales professionals and technical experts in the managed services and cloud computing services markets. The latest opportunities include careers for customer service and sales representatives, account managers and IT professionals.

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Avaya has expanded the reach of its Avaya Flare Communicator to include support for the Apple iPad. Avaya claims the Avaya Flare Communicator gives enterprise workers using mobile devices a secure, unified communications (UC) platform that can be used over Wifi and 3G networks.

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Net Optics, which develops network monitoring solutions, has made two acquisitions in an attempt to expand its global reach and provide its customers deeper and more insightful network reports. Specifically, Net Optics acquired TripleLayer (an Australian technology distributor) and TripleLayer’s sister company nMetrics (a network and application software provider).

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SysAid Technologies, which develops IT service management (ITSM) and customer service support software, has added two new executives as part of its plan to expand its international presence.

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The lines between managed services software, NOC (network operations center) services and help desk services continue to blur. The latest example involves Level Platforms introducing NOC and Help Desk services tied to its Managed Workplace platform for MSPs in the small business IT services market. This is part of a growing trend in the MSP market.

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Bradford Networks, which specializes in Network Access Control (NAC) security solutions, remains committed to  small managed services providers (MSPs) as SMB channel partners, though the company no longer has a dedicated, separate group to pursue that market, according to CEO Dan Haley.

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LabTech Software is the latest managed services software company to introduce a cloud edition. Indeed, LabTech’s flagship RMM (remote monitoring and management) software is now available as a LabTech Cloud edition. CEO Matt Nachtrab offered additional perspectives.

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It will come as no surprise that we anticipate continuing — and explosive — cloud computing growth this year. What does surprise me is the number of resellers who remain unprepared to take advantage of this trend. As you hone your cloud strategy for 2012, keep in mind these four elements of a successful cloud plan.

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It was only matter of time before some of the “big boys” who traditionally serve Tier I clients started discovering the opportunity SMBs represent. Communications services provider Comcast, which has an established $2 billion managed services business for companies with 20 or fewer employees, is now focusing attention on slightly larger SMBs with 250 t0 500 employees.

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It’s no secret that the federal government is cracking down on immigration and more forcefully policing the documentation of foreign workers in the US. A recent New York Times article outlines how the federal agency known as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is stepping up its audits of workplaces across the US to ensure all workers are properly documented and are allowed to live and work in this country.

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Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC) has partnered with Proximetry, a wireless network and performance management software provider, to offer a new cloud-based network management solution for utility companies. Here’s some insight on the relationship.

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This week unfolded a little differently than I expected. I had been scheduled to meet Avnet Technology Solutions in New York on Tuesday before heading up to Connecticut to talk shop with Amy Katz (my business partner) on Wednesday. But before I hit the road my sister-in-law went into labor… and I finally started to act like a family guy. Perhaps HTG Peer Groups‘ focus on life-work balance is finally starting to sink in with me. Here’s why.

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The MSPmentor team just returned from Juniper’s first-ever global partner conference. Next up, we’ll be attending a private CA Technologies gathering of MSPs in Miami. But in the meantime, here are seven managed services blogs and MSP news stories the MSPmentor team didn’t have a chance to write for the week ending January 20, 2012.

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SolarWinds, an IT management software provider, has unveiled version 2.0 of its User Device Tracker (UDT) platform. The software allows managed services providers (MSPs) to tackle the Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) trend. Sure, BYOD can increase productivity. But it also introduces new network security risks. That’s where SolarWinds’ UDT enters the picture.

UDT is designed to help IT network admins track the location of different users and computers that are connected to the network before they log-off so that IT admins can catch the devices responsible for malicious behavior on their network, if there is any at all. The main upgrade within version 2.0 is a faster switch port management service. Switch port management is used to find a network-connected device before it logs the network.

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