MSPmentor

The pace of mergers and acquisitions in the managed services market seems to be accelerating. Our MSPmentor M&A Tracker now lists 10 such deals this year — and we suspect there are dozens more that we’ve yet to hear about.

Give our MSPmentor M&A Tracker a look and please let us know if there are any deals we’ve overlooked or should add to the list. You can alert us by posting a comment below or by emailing MSPmentor Editorial Director Joe Panettieri (joe [at] ninelivesmediainc.com).

Admittedly, some deals listed on the M&A Tracker aren’t pure MSP acquisitions, but each deal did have a managed services component attached to it.

It’s a question I get asked all the time: How much is a managed service provider (MSP) business worth, and what metrics should MSPs use to set their company valuations?

I still don’t have an exact answer for readers, but here are some clues based on anecdotal info I’ve gathered plus Hewlett-Packard’s buyout of Electronic Data Systems (EDS). Read More >

MSPmentor last month suggested Microsoft Dynamics would emerge as a major force in the managed services world. A new piece of anecdotal evidence backs up that theory.

Specifically, Tribridge, a Microsoft-focused consulting firm, says it has acquired Productive Gap, a Microsoft Dynamics CRM solutions expert in Austin, Texas. In recent months, Productive Gap has been promoting hosted CRM services, much like other Dynamics solutions providers across North America.

TheTribridge-Productive Gap combo is the latest addition to the MSPmentor M&A tracker, which closely follows mergers and acquisitions in the managed services sector. Read More >

If you’re in the managed services market, no doubt you’ve noticed a lot of merger and acquisition activity in recent months. That got us thinking: Is there a way for managed service providers to easily follow M&As as they happen? Also, is there an easy way to research the strategic business value (and financial value) of MSPs?

We searched the Web and didn’t find much help. So we decided to launch the MSPmentor M&A Tracker. Look at our site menu system above, scan to an area called Your Business, and you’ll notice a convenient M&As link.

Our MSPmentor M&A Tracker provides a running list of M&A deals, plus links to our ongoing coverage, M&A press releases and more. The M&A Tracker is a work in progress, so please give it a look and share your comments. Also, please alert us if you spot a deal that MSPmentor should be following.

Even amid a questionable economy, John Roberts (pictured) sounds upbeat. As CEO of SugarCRM, Roberts leads one of Silicon Valley’s fastest-growing open source software providers. But that’s not all. SugarCRM also offers its software as a service (SaaS).

Smart move. As this site has pointed out before, the worlds of open source, managed services and SaaS are converging. And for good reason: Customers and their solutions providers increasingly want open options with predictable pricing and low acquisition costs. “The new rules of the industry are no proprietary code and no lock-in techniques,” said Roberts during a phone chat with me on January 16. Those trends and SugarCRM’s market opportunities should allow the company to launch an initial public offering within two years, he added. Read More >

Instead of kicking back and relaxing for the holidays, managed service providers and integrators continue to discuss mergers, acquisitions and other potential business combinations. Two deals were announced on Jan. 2, and more are coming. Read More >

Byte and Switch, a web site that covers storage and networking, offers interesting perspective on recent acquisitions at IBM and Seagate. The IBM deal (acquiring Arsenal Digital) and Seagate’s move (buying MetaLINCS) both have strong managed services angles, according to the site. Surprised? You shouldn’t be.

As we mentioned in our 10 Managed Services Predictions for 2008, traditional IT vendors will continue to push deeper into managed services. Cisco, Dell, Microsoft, McAfee, Symantec… and the list goes on. Read More >