In announcing the Numara’s acquisition, BMC said its product portfolio combined with Numara’s, will represent the most comprehensive set of SaaS and on-premise IT management solutions across all business segments. And in the following prepared statement, BMC President of Enterprise Service Management (ESM) Paul Avenant outlined what the acquisition means for current and prospective BMC customers:

“Now BMC can effectively serve the entire spectrum of organizations hungry for IT management with products that truly meet the specific needs of their businesses. Numara’s solutions, customer base and sales and channel partners will round out BMC’s market leadership in Business Service management (BSM), and focus on customer care and support.”

Some rivals are already responding to the move. In a blog post, ManageEngine President Raj Sabhlok took shots at the BMC-Numara combo. ManageEngine also launched a new program, inviting current Numara customers to switch to ManageEngine’s ServiceDesk Plus help desk software solution for free for an entire year. In order to receive the free, one year license, Numara customers have to show proof that they have purchased licenses for either Numara Track-It! or Numara FootPrints. The offer is valid until March 31, 2012.

It’s anyone’s guess how this most recent IT management feud will play out. Both BMC and ManageEngine are claiming the acquisition is a good sign for their businesses, as it opens new marketing opportunities. We do know that for the time being, BMC has increased its customer base and expanded its channel reach by taking over Numara’s current channel partnerships. Time will tel if ManageEngine can stop that momentum with its latest effort to steer both BMC and Numara customers toward ServiceDesk Plus.

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According to Shulkin:

“IT and customer data is the backbone of our business. People are interested in a cost-neutral solution. We show customers what they are spending on a monthly basis. When we show them that they can be cost neutral or even save money over a year, they want it. They are definitely going to save money over the course of multiple years.”

Shulkin said that many companies claim to deliver managed print services (MPS). But the new MITOS effort allows Aigliant to manage customers’ IT systems, assets and operations by combing MNS and MPS into a single solution. In addition, MITOS offers vendor management and billing consolidation services.

Only about 20 percent of top MSPs offer managed print services, according to our annual MSPmentor 100 survey. But the MPS market is generating more and more noise. Shulkin identified All Covered — owned by Konica Minolta — as a potential competitor. Both companies target the SMB market, and All Covered continues to acquire MSPs and regional VARs.

Shulkin expects to share more of the Agiliant strategy before the end of 2011.

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The acquired businesses potentially help EarthLink on several fronts: First, it gives the company a 24x7x365 IT service support center that EarthLink can offer to customers who are trying to outsource their own IT operations.

EarthLink serves more than 10,000 business end-users through its channel partnerships, so you can bet the company will pursue opportunities to sell IT service support within its current clientele.  The service support center includes the following:

• help desk
• network operations center (NOC)
• remote care platform
• tiered network support and monitoring
• remote technical management

EarthLink’s acquisition of Synergy’s IT Solution Center and hosted apps business also provides the company with about 120 new value added resellers (VARs). So Earthlink has a built-in sales pipeline for the acquired businesses. And EarthLink can also promote its cloud and communications services to those Synergy VARs.

EarthLink is also adding an executive to its management team and bringing on more support staff. Synergy President Clark Crook will become EarthLink Vice President of Solution Center Services, and EarthLink will retain 80 Synergy support specialists and engineers who represent the Synergy IT Solution Center. It sounds like current Synergy clients will be receiving services as normal, though they’ll be provided by EarthLink rather than Synergy. The acquisition is likely tied to Earthlink’s recent plan to promote its managed services and cloud services.

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No doubt, the Master MSP market has had hits and misses. Companies like Virtual Administrator continue to serve resellers and MSPs across North America. And distributors like Ingram Micro have evolved their master MSP services (Ingram Micro Seismic) into cloud services (Ingram Micro Cloud). But the Master MSP market has also had its share of setbacks and major evolutions. MSP Services Network (MSPSN), a once-promising Master MSP, exited the market about a year ago. And Do IT Smarter, acquired last year, has repositioned and transitioned its MSP partners to other companies.

Points of Differentiation

So how is Collabrance different? Perhaps the answer involves the target partner market. Generally speaking, most Master MSPs pursued traditional IT resellers and VARs as partners/customers. But Collabrance is clearly targeting office equipment deals — potential jargon for the copier and printer channels.

Collabrance offers white-label services, so partners can brand and customize the solution, and sell it to their SMB end-users under their own names. Collbarance’s goal is to help its technology partners incorporate managed services into their day-to-day operations. They also help partners scale their operations to remain competitive.

GreatAmerica, meanwhile, is well-known as a financing company within the MSP market. In October 2011, GreatAmerica partnered with MWA Intelligence Inc. (MWAI) on a managed print services offering, and now comes the Collabrance push. We’ll be watching those efforts for signs of progress and business milestones.

Additional insights from Nicholas Mukhar.

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The convergence community is part of Tigerpaw’s broader makeover that has been in effect throughout Foxall’s tenure as president. “We’ve changed out 80 percent of our management staff, added employees and shifted from a sales focus to a service focus,” Foxall said. Tigerpaw is looking to add to its sales team before the new year, and will hire more employees in other departments in early 2012. “We used to spend a lot of time looking at our competition. Now it’s about branding Tigerpaw and focusing on our customers.”

The Tigerpaw makeover involves the company’s forthcoming cloud offering. Foxall concedes that there was debate within Tigerpaw about making the cloud move. “I’ve never been excited about the cloud,” he admitted. “But we need to be there.” Foxall expects 80 percent of Tigerpaw customers to still use the company’s on-premise solution. The cloud, he says, is a good sales opportunity for new clients.

Tigerpaw is also working to snap more third party solutions into its new public API. The company is currently in talks with Reflexion Networks, Spam Soap and others to feed Tigerpaw their billing information, and Tigerpaw plans to plug ConnectSmart from Connections for Business into its API. The ultimate goal is to marry remote monitoring & reporting (RMM), voice solutions and Tigerpaw, though that’s a work in progress.

In the meantime, Foxall remains upbeat about Tigerpaw’s current 11R2 release. “It shows that we’re really getting in-tune with our clients’ needs.” The most notable aspect of 11R2 is its automated billing feature – something Foxall claims is unique in the market. Foxall said Tigerpaw has been winning more clients over from competitors than it has been losing during his time as president, though he didn’t have exact figures on hand. “Clients have been coming to us because our solution is all-inclusive. You can have your marketing and email analytics fully integrated in a single product, from a single vendor.”

(Side note: Autotask and ConnectWise also report continued growth across their respective PSA platforms.)

The Foxall family launched Tigerpaw Software more than 20 years ago. Dave Foxall, CEO of Tigerpaw, named son James president in April 2010. “My father told me ‘it’s your turn to see where to take this company’,” Foxall said. “And right now we are just hitting our stride.”

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The trick is to tighten procedures and lay a strong foundation for your company. If you can push forward with all your might now, when the economy opens back up (which it will eventually), you’ll be king of your industry.

For example, Coca-Cola did this to great effect during their humble beginnings. They were not always the staple brand that they are today. Coca-Cola began as a simple medication that a pharmacist created. It took decades for it to take hold, but the real break came during the decades of the 1920s and 1930s — some of the darkest economic times on record.

Coca-cola didn’t do anything particularly different. They just kept trucking onwards, relying heavily on advertising when their competitors were cutting costs because of the depression. They worked hard to reach out and grab customers and establish their brand. By the end of the depression, not only were they king of the soft drink world, they were practically the only contender for the title left. They grew steadily, and have continued on that trend ever since.

In light of this, there are a few things to take to heart:

First, a down economy is the most important time to push your business and grow.

Many small businesses fail simply because the founder doesn’t have the energy and/or structure to keep driving forward. Much like when I’m at the gym sweating it out on the cross-trainer — the pain doesn’t last forever. But if you push through the tough spots, you’ll eventually reach a point where you are lean, healthy, and stronger than those who quit.

Everyone else gave up and went home, but you stuck it out, and because of that you’re reaping the massive rewards: all the customers of everyone who went home.

Second, a systematic approach to business is vital to success.

You’re at a point in time, where if you can make a system that makes your business grow slowly in a down economy, when the economy turn around, you’ll grow quickly. This is trial by fire for your business model.

I always recommend reading The E-Myth: Revisited to learn more about how to tackle creating a solid foundation for your business.

Third, Your Competition is Fragile

They don’t have the strength they once had to fend you off. Your advertising can carry farther than it once did. Your competitors are fighting against clients who won’t pay or want out of contracts, they don’t notice the little guy who is growing up and chipping away at their business. Even if they do notice, there isn’t much they can do about it.

The beauty of recurring revenue is that you have less to worry about. While standard IT companies are searching for new contracts in an economy that has few to offer, the contracts that you get are indefinite in length. Your business is growing, their business is surviving (maybe ).

Fourth, Customers Need You

As IT businesses lapse or are embattled by the economy, their customers are firing them but still require IT service. We live in an IT driven world, and so the need is always there for those who are smart (read: persistent) enough to find it and grab it.

There is also opportunity to buy businesses out for their customer portfolio and employees if you have capital to invest.

Finally, Inexpensive Talent is at Hand

More people are out of work now than even during the Great Depression. There are tens of thousands of people graduating from colleges across the nation, only to move home because they cannot find work.

If you’re growing at this time, you can snag talent for less than the going rate. As always, any salary is preferable to no salary. So you have an opportunity to invest in the growth of your company at a lower cost, with better people.

You are working with a unique and highly profitable business model in a time where you have a chance to make a huge difference in the success of your company. Plan smart and work hard and you might find yourself the next Coca-Cola of the IT Services industry. Throw your hands up now and you’ll be giving up the chance of a lifetime.

Dan Kolansky is director of sales and marketing for Virtual Administrator, which helps IT organizations identify and seize recurring revenue. Virtual Administrator provides training and resources for MSPs to establish programs in remote management, backup and constant data protection, SonicWall networking, helpdesk and hosted Exchange services. Monthly guest blogs such as this one are part of MSPmentor’s annual platinum sponsorship.

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In a prepared statement, Geeks On Call President Rich Artese said: “We took two years to build a new model, and we believe the result is an opportunity that is unique to our industry and attractive to entrepreneurs.”

The new model involves the following:

• Geeks On Call offers a range of third-party telecom and Internet services to its IT services franchises.
• IT services also gain back-end support services like national brand marketing, sales advisors, a national call center, and access to a national network of technical experts.
• IT service providers pay $20,000 for a Geeks on Call territory. There is no royalty fee based on revenue. Instead, Geeks on Call charges a flat monthly membership fee of $500.

Geeks On Call isn’t the only game in town. A range of companies have offered IT services franchise opportunities in recent years. Key names that come to mind include CMIT Solutions, TeamLogic IT and The Utility Company. Many of the companies have executive teams that include familiar names. At CMIT Solutions, VP of Product Strategy Melanie Fricke is an Autotask MVP; TeamLogic IT President Chuck Lennon is an active CompTIA member; and The Utility Company President Mark Scott previously was CEO and co-founder of N-able Technologies.

In recent years, many of the IT franchising organizations have promoted remote monitoring software and PSA (professional services automation) software to franchises as a way to increase automation and standardize best practices.

Still, we encourage readers to closely study the IT services franchise model before signing on the dotted line. Some models may certainly work, but check in with existing franchisees to see if they’re satisfied with the franchise parent, support, cost and profit structures, and more.

Additional reporting by Nicholas Mukhar.

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… they include:

• Automatically Co-branded Marketing Content: Partners can create co-branded materials like direct mail pieces or HTML files from a single portal. All a partner has to do is insert its logo, address and text into the template sheet and the Treehouse system will spill out print-ready or HTML-ready marketing materials.
• Full-Service Email Campaign Execution: It works very similarly to the co-branded marketing content in that partners only need to insert logos, partner lists and original text. This time, according to Wils, the information is placed into one of several email templates that the Treehouse system sends out for partners. The system then shoots an email back to Treehouse partners with a link through which partners can view a real-time report of who opens and clicks through the emails.
• Co-branded Partner Mini Sites: Treehouse’s code allows all co-branded materials to be directly integrated to a partner’s site, creating a co-branded partner mini site. “When content is changed on the master site, it is automatically syndicated throughout all of the partner’s sites,” Wilson said. Treehouse partners also get custom made “Contact Us” forms that provide real-time lead generation for partners.

“We’re helping clients provide all of the information about their product line as a manufacturer and we’re helping them gather leads,” Treehouse Interactive Director of Marketing Chris Frank added. “This is all within the context of our full partner manager system. They have the ability to centrally manage all of the content and decide how to deal information out.”

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Those three services include:

1. A Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solution that the company released in April 2011.
2. Continuity services that EdgeWave released this August.
3. An encryption solution that is currently in beta and is expected to be released during Q4 of 2011.

The Result? The EdgeWave Messaging Security Suite, a hosted platform that EdgeWave says protects users against internal and external email threats. The new solution is part of EdgeWave’s larger rebranding process that began in January 2011 when the company changed its name from St. Bernard Software to  EdgeWave. EdgeWave Director of Product Management Ron Kaplan explained the rebranding effort in a prepared statement: “We renamed the company after the [Red Condor] acquisition to rebrand the company not only for Red Condor, but in terms of the overall strategy of the company as a managed services provider.”

Don’t expect EdgeWave to stop here. The company is developing more services, “for email and beyond email,” according to Kaplan, as the managed services market continues to tilt in favor of companies offering more functionality.

Still, Edgewave will face plenty of competition as it promotes hosted security to MSPs. VAR Dynamics and MXSweep recently partnered to promote an email security solution to MSPs; also, Exchange Defender (from Own Web Now), Reflexion and Spam Soap are well-known email security services within the managed IT services market.

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Anaya’s path from Ingram to NetEnrich was anything but a straight line. Back in 2009, “I had 4 ½ and six year-old daughters,” Anaya said. “I wanted to work from home and find that family/work balance.” So Anaya, the daughter of two entrepreneurs, followed her bloodline and started her own business. She assisted Ingram Micro, Autotask, and additional clients on branding, communications and channel strategies. One of those clients was NetEnrich.

“I saw with great opportunity with them [NetEnrich] and with managed service providers in general,” said Anaya, who joined NetEnrich in March 2011. Heading into 2011, NetEnrich was fully focused on network operations center (NOC) services. But Anaya and the NetEnrich executive team had a broader vision for the emerging cloud managed services market. Anaya Explains: “NetEnrich has a very unique, proprietary tech platform to deliver services to our MSP partners. We give those MSPs a view of the infrastructure that they manage.”

NetEnrich calls the new value position Closet to Cloud. “’Closet’ is a term for the data center,” Anaya explained. “Our belief is that as the cloud becomes more prevalent, more complexity will be added to MSPs. They will have to figure out how to manage all of the technology that exists in different places. So giving MSPs an easy way to handle the complexity is really critical.”

Contrary to some skeptics, Anaya believes that the future for MSPs in the cloud is very bright: “I think MSPs are in the right place at the right time as far as cloud is concerned because they already have a recurring revenue strategy. The cloud is a pay-per-use monthly revenue model, and MSPs are already designed to deliver on that. Smart MSPs already have a consulting model built-in.”

NetEnrich is out to prove that MSPs will flourish in a cloud environment. The company has roughly 250 MSP partners and plans to reach 400 by the end of 2011. “I know it sounds cliché, but service is the killer app,” Anaya said. “We want to make MSPs more profitable by showing them new ways to manage and deliver their services more efficiently and at a lower cost.”

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