MSPmentor

There’s nothing like healthy competition to keep a market growing globally. In recent days, managed service platform providers have been busy leapfrogging each other with new announcements about their international efforts and milestones.

Here’s a sampling of the blow-by-blow involving Kaseya, Level Platforms and N-able. Read More >

Competition drives innovation. A case in point: Because the PC market is now wide-open to competition (Windows, Mac OS, Linux), managed service platform providers are working overtime to support customer choice. Kaseya’s latest platform release, for instance, embraces Intel vPro technology and Mac OS X. Going broad with Intel support and deep with Mac OS X support creates some compelling opportunities for MSPs. Here’s why. Read More >

N-able, the managed service platform provider, is looking to make a splash in Australia. Smart move. A few weeks ago, MSPmentor described how the managed services market is growing more than 20 percent annually in Australia. And N-able CEO Gavin Garbutt (pictured) estimates that there are nearly 2 million small and midsize businesses in Australia, providing fertile ground for managed service providers. Here’s how N-able — and some of its rivals — hope to grow that market.

Read More >

According to Ziff Davis Enterprise (Bright Future for Managed Service Providers, 2007), the top three issues facing MSPs today include: determining SLAs, pricing and transitioning customers to managed service.

Fortunately, MSPs can turn to key resources to help hone their skills, keep abreast of industry trends and learn from the experts. The unique needs of Managed Service Providers require access to strategic business insight for issues like business transformation, growth management, lead generation, sales training and positioning.

They also need to keep their finger on the pulse of the industry with immediate access to tools and resources that can help them to establish and maintain that competitive edge. Read More >

There’s good news for MSPmentor’s growing readership in Australia. Demand for managed security services in that country will grow 20 percent annually through 2013, predicts Frost & Sullivan, a market research firm. Much like Frost & Sullivan, we’re watching the Australia market closely. And for good reason. Read More >

I still maintain that no tech sector is immune to an economic slowdown. But even the biggest bears have to admit the bull run continues for the managed services sector. The latest example: Nimsoft’s 2007 revenue hit $29.4 million, up 77 percent from 2006.

Nimsoft is the latest MSP platform provider to deliver bullish results amid the turbulent economy. Executives from Autotask and Kaseya, respectively, earlier this month made optimistic statements about their recent business performance. And our recent MSPmentor 100 report shows that leading managed service providers easily doubled their revenue in 2007 vs. 2006. Read More >

It’s no secret that economic indicators point to a possible US recession in 2008. Financial markets have recently declined, driving key stock indexes to their lowest levels in more than a year. In an economic downturn, some businesses are more vulnerable to recession than others.

When times get tough, people tend to tighten their belts and look for ways to fix or cut expenses and increase revenue. There are a variety of ways that businesses can leverage & better managed their IT assets to accomplish both. Read More >

It’s one small piece of information that provides big-time hope to the managed services market. Kaseya says its annual revenue more than doubled in 2007 compared to 2006. Solutions providers can breathe a collective sigh of relief — at least for the next few weeks — as they digest the Kaseya news. But we should all keep the news in perspective. Here’s why. Read More >