MSPmentor

BMC Software‘s recent buyout of Numara Software, a SaaS company, has potential implications for the IT management market. And some potential rivals such as ManageEngine are responding with competitive statements.

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Agiliant, which is blending managed network services with managed print services, has now launched MITOS (Managed Information Technology and Output Services). So what’s the strategy? Agiliant VP of Marketing and Product Development Jim Shulkin shared some insights.

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EarthLink, the IP infrastructure and services provider, has two businesses from Synergy Global Solutions: its IT Solution Center and its hosted application business. The purchases arrive as EarthLink continues to expand its managed services strategy.

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Collabrance, an emerging subsidiary of GreatAmerica Leasing Corp., sounds like it is taking a fresh look at the Master MSP market — offering managed services to independent telecommunication, office equipment and IT dealers. Collabrance, which just launched a new website, claims to “help technology resellers provide IT services and support to their customers.” Specifically, Collabrance promotes security, communication and data protection services to reseller partners.

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Tigerpaw Software, which develops on-premise PSA (professional services automation) software, is preparing to launch a convergence community in November, and cloud software platform sometime thereafter. The convergence community will be designed to help voice partners move into the data space. Tigerpaw President James Foxall (pictured) mentioned the forthcoming developments when we met last week at the  2011 Tigerpaw User Conference.

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It’s official: Everyone agrees that the last 10 years have been an economic nightmare. People everywhere are tightening their belts and stocking up expecting the worst over the next few years. And the worst may come, if the folks in Washington don’t get their act together. But all this is big picture. Let’s shift the focus to our own businesses. How much can we do to hedge against the future when we are still struggling to make it through today, right? The truth is, there is a lot of opportunity in a down economy. Here’s why.

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Geeks On Call apparently has overhauled its IT services franchising model. At its height in 2007, Geeks on Call claims it had more than 300 IT services franchises across the United States. But by 2009, the company fell off a cliff and SEC filings revealed deep financial problems. But by late 2010, there were signs that new owner Glenn Davis was overhauling Geeks on Call. Fast forward to the present and Geeks On Call is introducing a new IT services franchising model. Will VARs and MSPs give it a look?

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Treehouse Interactive has updated its SaaS-based Partner Relationship Management (PRM) platform, which helps to build closer channel relationships through coordinated marketing campaigns. Treehouse Interactive Director of Sales Reagan Wilson described some of the updates to me…

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Edgewave, a year after acquiring Red Condor, has released a hosted email protection suite that leverages the acquisition. Edgewave, based in San Diego, Califg., focuses on secure content management (SCM) for mid-market customers and managed services providers (MSPs). The new solution combines Red Condor’s email security platform – which Edgewave rebranded as Messaging Security Suite – with its redesigned archiving service, along with three newly-developed services.

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Sometimes a personal-life decision can lead to the career change of a lifetime. Just ask Jennifer Anaya, vice president of corporate marketing at NetEnrich Inc. and member of the MSPmentor 250. Anaya was part of the Ingram Micro team that launched the Ingram Micro Services Division in 2007 before leaving the company in 2009. Today, she’s driving a closet-to-cloud strategy at NetEnrich, which offers NOC (network operation center) services to VARs and MSPs.

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It’s been about two months since Technology Services Group Ltd. (TSG), an open source software and consulting firm, acquired Concentrix in an effort to market its cloud computing solutions in the UK. Since the April acquisition, TSG has decided to make more of an effort to brand itself. The proof: TSG has hired Carole Beverly — a consumer branding expert — as group marketing and communications director.

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Proving again that you can’t always trust the blogosphere, there’s a rumor Microsoft may eventually drop the Windows brand. But before you go chasing the rumor to see if it’s true consider the facts: Instead of abandoning the Windows brand, Microsoft continues to extend it into the PC management and cloud markets.

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What’s in a name? Just ask BHI Advanced Internet Inc., the Minnesota-based Internet security services provider decided to change its name to SecureConnect Inc. in early July. BHI has been operating as a subsidiary of SecureConnect for the past decade, so the name change doesn’t signify a huge shift. But it does bring an end to the 18 year history of BHI as a standalone branch.

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During an interview at mindSHIFT‘s Long Island offices yesterday, CEO Paul Chisholm revealed his top priorities for the rest of 2011. More managed services acquisitions? More cloud marketing? Instead of guessing simply read on for a recap of my conversation with Chisholm.

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At the CharTec Academy conference, CEO Alex Rogers updated me on the HaaS specialist’s new partner sales and marketing strategies. In a nutshell — if you don’t have the expertise or time to hire a dedicated sales rep or run a marketing campaign, CharTec wants to do it for you. Why? Because MSPs have the technical expertise to thrive — but not always the business acumen. Here are some highlights of our discussion.

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LevelCloud, a Corona, Calif.-based cloud and managed services company, has embraced OS33 as its platform for IT automation. LevelCloud has branded its services as “IT Anytime, Anywhere.” Here’s some background on the strategy.

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During a keynote at Autotask Community Live this morning, best-selling author Jackie Freiberg delivered a familiar theme to MSPs and VARs. Her key message: Build your brand to differentiate from the competition. The ultimate goal: If you were to close your business tomorrow, customers should miss you.

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Apptix , an MSPmentor 100 company, continues to pitch a familiar story with regular quarterly updates. The high-level pitch goes something like this: Apptix, a hosted Exchange specialist, began to refine and refocus its business when CEO Dave Ehrhardt arrived in 2008. At the time, Apptix was a hodgepodge of acquired brands and platforms. Today, Apptix seems to be keenly focused on key vertical markets that need hosted unified communications solutions. Here’s why.

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At first glance, NIU Solutions is a roll-up, formed through the acquisitions of  Pasporte, Ipitomi Solutions, Telinet LTD and Evolution Voice and Data LTD. The resulting company had more than 200 employees and 4,000 IT customers in the U.K. But just under a year ago NIU Solutions noticed the market was sharply shifting toward cloud computing and fully managed service solutions. So NIU made a decision to shift with the ebb and flow of the IT sector, focusing instead on 200 core customers. Here’s how.

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The Launch Pad is seeking VARs and MSPs to become managed services franchises. The company, based in Tampa, Fla., is leveraging ConnectWise, QuoteWerks, Zenith Infotech and other managed services platforms to help franchise MSPs promote “business in a box” solutions to SMB customers. We’re intrigued but we’re also curious about the larger question: Are managed services franchises taking off in North America? Here’s some perspective.

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GFI Software is continuing to create ripples through the managed services software market. The latest examples include hiring Tech Data veteran Jarred LeFebvre and recently launching the GFI Max MailArchive service. Those efforts follow the February 2010 hiring of Channel Chief Pat Hume (an SAP veteran). Here’s a closer look at each step, and the bigger picture at GFI.

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First, let’s state the obvious: Some managed services providers (MSPs) & VARs face branding challenges. Sometimes, corporate names don’t stand the test of time. Examples include legacy resellers that used “PC” or “Microcomputer” in their names, only to see the market shift to client-server, the Internet, and now managed cloud services. In some cases, MSPs break with the past and embrace a new corporate name. That’s the case at SSI Solutions, which is now F12 Networks Inc. Here’s what drove the branding change.

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The last time MSPmentor spoke at length with Mike Cooch, he was busy selling his managed services business (Everon Technology Services) to PlumChoice. But Cooch, a serial entrepreneur, always seems to have multiple irons in the fire. We were curious to know how his other business, Kutenda, has been evolving to support marketing and lead generation for MSPs. During a discussion with Cooch this week, he revealed that Kutenda is preparing to push into new verticals. Here’s the update.

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