MSPmentor

At first glance, VMware’s cloud strategy can be difficult for MSPs and VARs to get their arms around. And this week’s VMware Partner Exchange conference will generate a lot of noise from scores of VMware cloud partners. But what do aspiring partners really need to know? I think I can sum-up VMware’s cloud strategy in roughly four sentences…

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Question: If you’re a managed service provider that resells laptops and other hardware to your customer base, how do you promote your company brand over the hardware maker’s brand? The answer comes from MJ Shoer, president of Jenaly Technology Group, a managed service provider in New Hampshire.

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Here’s a smart move involving Architel, a managed services provider in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Architel says more than 10,000 users now depend on the company’s outsourced IT support services. Question: When was the last time you took a moment to brag (responsibly) about customer trust and company growth?

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How can managed services providers formulate merger and acquisition strategies? We’ll find some answers during our next MSPmentor Live webcast, scheduled for February 10. Two CEOs representing top MSPs will discuss their M&A objectives during the webcast. Plus, we’ll unveil the third-annual MSPmentor 100 list during the discussion. Here’s what else we’ll cover.

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Talk about timing: BlueLock, which will land on our third annual MSPmentor 100 list later this week, has unveiled a CloudSuite platform at the VMware Partner Exchange conference. Here are some preliminary details, and the implications for managed services providers.

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Forgive me for being distracted (again). Our team is busy polishing and posting the MSPmentor 100 report onto a hidden section of our website. The complete report debuts Feb. 10, shortly after a webcast on the topic. In the meantime, here are seven managed services blog entries our team didn’t have the time to write for the week ending Feb. 5, 2010.

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In preparation for next week’s third-annual MSPmentor 100 report, I reached out to PEQ Services + Solutions President and CEO Jason Evans for an update on the company’s 2010 strategy. When we spoke earlier today about PEQ’s managed services growth, Evans offered several key insights — including three anecdotes that surprised me.

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We’re officially in the cloud bubble. Plenty of money continues to flow into the cloud market. Some businesses will succeed. Many will fail. We — many readers and the media — are forgetting the lessons of the dot-com and ASP (application service provider) bubbles. It’s time to get back to discussions about profits, earnings and financial fundamentals. Fast. Here’s why.

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Sometimes I jump to the wrong conclusions. A few weeks ago, when the MSPAlliance said there was a potentially “urgent” tax issue facing Florida managed services providers, I dismissed the report because sometimes I think the alliance cries wolf. But to the MSPAlliance’s credit, there’s now a healthy, growing discussion around MSP taxation in certain states. Here’s the update.

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Merger mania continues in the managed services market. The latest example involves PEQ Services + Solutions of Miamisburg, Ohio, merging with Buchanan Technologies of Dallas, Texas. The resulting MSP will have $60 million in annual revenue and 500 employees worldwide. Here’s a closer look.

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Sometimes broad business discussions relate pretty darn well to the managed services market. A prime example: Marketing guru Mary Schmidt says there are three types of people that every start-up needs to employ. Her points definitely relate to aspiring MSPs. Let’s take a look.

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We’re careful not to hype the managed services market. Not everyone succeeds. But anecdotal evidence reinforces the fact that the managed services industry continues to grow. The latest example comes from Nimsoft CEO Gary Read’s personal blog, and some follow-up emails with MSPmentor.

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Back in October 2009, some MSPs were chatting up ChannelCloud, a forthcoming platform that may help VARs and managed services providers provision cloud and SaaS applications. Fast forward to the present and there are signs ChannelCloud is nearing an official launch.

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Even as the managed services market expands, the world shrinks. A case in point: MSPs located in Europe and Australia are beginning to network with one another through HTG Peer Groups. Here are some perspectives, including views from HTG President Scott Scrogin, who recently returned from a series of MSP-related meetings in Australia.

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Where did the top managed services providers find new customers in 2009? The surprising answer: Many of the best performing MSPs secured revenue in 2009 from target customers that had previously said no in 2008. Want more sales and business tips? Join our next MSPmentor live webcast, scheduled for February 10 at 2:00 p.m. eastern. Here’s what we’ll cover.

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I’ve gotta admit: I don’t listen to many of the messages from Washington, D.C. Instead of worrying about what the government is going to do for our small business, I worry about what our own management team is going to do for our business. Still, President Obama’s Small Business Jobs and Wages Tax Cut caught my attention. I wonder: Will it really benefit MSPs and their small-business customers?

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Windows Azure, Microsoft’s cloud for independent software vendors and partners, officially debuts with a paid pricing model today. Matt Weinberger offers some timely Azure perspectives over on The VAR Guy. But I’d like to weigh in with a few perspectives for managed services providers — particularly thoughts on Azure vs. Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite. Here they are.

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Kaseya appears poised to launch the Kaseya 2 platform this week. The effort includes on-premise and SaaS (software as a service) tools for managed services providers and IT administrators. In fact, I think Kaseya is set to debut at least three SaaS tools for MSPs and IT administrators. Here are some perspectives.

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Investment money is starting to flow into the hardware as a service (HaaS) market. A prime example: ConnectWise Capital today announced a “joint venture” with CharTec — which specializes in hardware as a service. Financial details of the relationship were not disclosed. But here are some perspectives.

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We didn’t exactly race across the finish line this week. A range of deadlines consumed our team’s collective bandwidth. Lots of blogs didn’t get written. Here are seven managed services blog entries the MSPmentor team didn’t have a chance to write for the week ending Jan. 29, 2010.

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Call it an MSP industry mashup. CharTec, in addition to working more closely with ConnectWise, is also building a close relationship with Level Platforms, according to multiple sources familiar with the strategy. Do I have the exact details? Um, not really. But here’s some speculation.

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A software market for MSP middleware seems to be emerging. From Rezitech to Directive Technology Integrators, managed services providers (MSPs) are writing middleware for PSA (professional services automation) platforms like Autotask and ConnectWise. Here’s a closer look at the trend.

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For about two months or so, I’ve been pursuing an update on Dell ProManage-Managed Services. How is the initiative performing? And have any new MSPs pursued Dell’s various certifications? No doubt, portions of the MSP community have dismissed Dell’s strategy. And some skeptical voices are growing louder. I’ve got plenty of questions — and observations. Here they are.

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