MSPmentor

Another week has flown by. Missed deadlines. Dropped cell phone calls. Delayed video posts. Boy, I’m on a roll. Kidding aside, here are seven managed services blog entries that MSPmentor didn’t have time to write for the week ending March 19, 2010.

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A friendly (and timely) reminder. Our next MSPmentor Live webcast, focused on Hardware as a Service (HaaS) and Technology as a Service (TaaS), is scheduled for this Wednesday, March 24 at 2:00 p.m. eastern. Two fast-growing MSPs — Everon Technology Services and Black’s Support Services — will describe how they promote, sell and profit from HaaS. Executives from both MSPs and CharTec (a HaaS specialist and the event’s sponsor) will answer questions throughout the webcast. We look forward to your participation and questions.

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A quiet race to recruit managed service providers into associations and user groups continues. The latest example: CompTIA MSP Partners has announced a relationship with PartnerConduit Network, an online community that helps solutions providers to manage collaborative opportunities. Here’s a look at the relationship. Plus, a broader look at the effort to find and recruit MSPs into associations, organizations and user groups.

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GreatAmerica Leasing Corp., a U.S. commercial equipment finance company, is making multiple moves to engage managed services providers, managed print experts, and VARs that participate in HTG Peer Groups. Here are some of the emerging details.

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I concede: I often blog about the fact that many SaaS applications like Microsoft BPOS (Business Productivity Online Suite) don’t offer VARs and MSPs enough profit margin opportunity. But I had a rather enlightening conversation yesterday with Next Level Cafe, a managed services provider based in Minnesota. CEO Richard Anderson offered some timely perspective on the true SaaS opportunity. Here it is.

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And now for something completely different. Autotask has acquired VARStreet. The move potentially allows VARs and MSPs to have a single dashboard for managing distributor relationships and product sourcing (VARStreet) and IT services automation (Autotask). Here’s some analysis of the deal, the potential implications, and a FastChat video conversation with Autotask CEO Bob Godgart.

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Call it a small step for the managed services market, but a significant move for the Utility Company. The Master MSP, which works with a range of managed services providers, has attracted $1 million in financing, led by BDC Capital Inc. The Utility Company plans to use the money for a mid-market push, among other things. Here are the details.

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I’ve been promising this story for a few weeks. Here it is, at long last: An Australia managed services provider is acquiring four peer MSPs to form a national managed services provider. One of the MSPs involved in the deal — Tim Brewer from Accord — sat down for a FastChat video interview to explain the deal. Here’s the discussion plus some quick details about the five companies involved.

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When we were piecing together our MSPmentor 100 report in February, a regional manager from Kaseya reached out to me and asked if we could highlight some managed services trends from South Africa. I concede: MSPmentor doesn’t have that much information (yet) about the South African managed services market. But the anecdotal information we’re tracking looks pretty promising. Here’s a look at some trends, along with 12 South Africa-based MSPs that caught our attention.

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Now for something completely different. Generally speaking, advertisements on our MSPmentor job board promote career opportunities that need to be filled. But somebody — allegedly a member of our MSPmentor 250 list — has posted an advertisement offering his expertise to potential employers. That post, along with submissions promoting MSP-centric sales and technical positions — are now advertised in our free MSPmentor Career Center. Here are some quick details.

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We got a bit distracted this week by CA Inc.’s surprise buyout of Nimsoft for $350 million. Several other stories and deadlines slipped through he cracks. Here are seven managed services blog entries our team didn’t have time to write for the week ending March 12, 2010.

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Apple iPad pre-orders started today. I took a look at some of the peripherals Apple is offering with the iPad. And here’s a thought: Slide the iPad into Apple’s iPad Keyboard Dock, and the iPad potentially becomes a sleek thin client for your customers. Or does it? I know quite a few folks think the iPad won’t live up to its hype. But I have a suspicion the iPad will eventually evolve to complete head-on with traditional thin clients and netbooks. Here’s why.

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All Covered, a $45 million managed services specialist operating in 20 cities across the U.S., is preparing to make yet another acquisition — marking the 10th time in roughly 12 months that All Covered has made an M&A move in the managed services market, according to a company spokesman. Here’s a quick look at the strategy.

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This is my 1,539th blog entry for MSPmentor. Readers often ask me how I come up with content ideas. There are some obvious approaches (vendor cat fights…) and not so obvious approaches (checking the help wanted pages on Dice.com). If you’ve ever thought about launching or writing a blog for your customers and partners, here are 10 ways to find and generate new content.

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It’s finally starting to happen: mid-size to large software companies are starting to acquire small (but fast-growing) MSP software providers. So far, the buyers include CA Inc., Citrix Systems and Quest Software. The big question: When will the really big IT titans — Microsoft, Cisco Systems, HP and others — open their wallets and get into the managed services software game? Here are some educated guesses.

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CA’s Chris O’Malley (pictured) and Nimsoft’s Gary Read dialed me about an hour ago to offer additional insights on CA’s $350 million buyout of Nimsoft. When did the negotiations start, how did Nimsoft initially react — and why is CA so intrigued by the managed services market? O’Malley and Read provide the answers. Here they are.

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During a media call that continues now, CA and Nimsoft executive team members described why CA paid $350 million in cash to acquire Nimsoft — or a bit more than 10 times Nimsoft’s 2009 revenue. Also, CA explained how Nimsoft will potentially help CA to move deeper into cloud computing and the managed services market.

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Another day, another MSP deal. The latest: CA Inc. has purchased privately held Nimsoft for $350 million in cold hard cash. The move has far-reaching implications for managed services providers as well as the MSP software industry. Here’s a first look at the deal, and how we expect it to impact the MSP landscape.

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The managed services software market continues to consolidate. The latest move involves CA Inc. acquiring privately held Nimsoft for $350 million. We’ll be back shortly with more analysis, and the implications for rival software providers as well as managed services providers. Here are two four updates…

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Microsoft unveiled the latest chapter in its cloud strategy today, as Channel Chief Allison Watson outlined potential cloud opportunities for VARs and MSPs. Watson held a webcast for channel partners earlier today. And she sat down for a FastChat video with The VAR Guy to answer additional cloud-centric channel questions. In the FastChat videos, Watson discusses opportunities involving Windows Azure and BPOS (Business Productivity Online Suite), competition with Google, first cloud steps for VARs, and the SaaS pricing questions that sometimes pop up within Microsoft’s channel ecosystem. Here are the videos.

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How do you continue to “build” a managed services business — even as you try to “run” day-to-day operations while maintaining your existing customer engagements? I must concede: We deal with that balancing act Nine Lives Media Inc. (MSPmentor’s parent). On the one hand, our team has to meet daily business and editorial deadlines. But on the other, we have to keep innovating. Otherwise, a market shift or competitive shift will surely sink us. It’s a careful balancing act that I suspect many MSPs are facing as well.

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For skeptics, Google Apps represents consumer-oriented SaaS applications that aren’t really designed for enterprises. But poke your head inside the new Google Apps Marketplace, and you’ll begin to see just how serious Google is when it comes to pushing SaaS deeper into businesses. Here are some observations for managed services providers who are trying to decide whether to cooperate  — or compete — with Google Apps.

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All of your customers carry mobile devices. The key question: Can managed services providers actually generate revenues and profits by seeking to manage iPhones, Google Android, BlackBerry and other customer devices? Before you answer the question consider a recent mobile managed services move by Orange Business Services. Here are the details.

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