MSPmentor

After a string of stunning announcements yesterday, it’s fair to say Hewlett-Packard is undergoing the most dramatic changes in the company’s history. So, what can small MSPs and IT service providers learn from a $120 billion technology company’s missteps? Plenty. Here are five lessons involving distractions, focus, vision, execution and differentiation.

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N-Able Technologies VP of Marketing and Business Development Derik Belair , an MSPmentor 250 member, has spent over a decade interacting with MSPs and learning their businesses. He’s worked in and around the channel for two decades but most folks know him as one of N-able’s original employees since April, 2000. N-able has since grown to become one of the best-known providers of RMM (remote monitoring and management) software to MSPs. So what’s on Belair’s mind right now? Here are some perspectives.

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Our fourth-annual MSPmentor 250 list debuted last week. Now, we’re busy profiling many of the managed services experts, executives and entrepreneurs who landed on the list. Today, we turn our attention to Australia and New Zealand, where Rob Anderson and Clint Bratton – co-Founders of Winning New Clients – are teaching MSPs an invaluable lesson: talking tech works behind the servers, but talking finance works in front of customers.

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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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Generally speaking, I think most MSPmentor readers have been building their managed services businesses for five to 10 years. But what if you were building that business from scratch right now? Here are 10 steps to consider for startup MSPs — though the steps certainly apply to established MSPs that are looking to rethink their strategies for the second half of 2011.

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Bob Vogel, most recently executive director of demand generation at Autotask, has left the company to launch B2 Marketing, which offers “specialized marketing products and strategic marketing consulting, exclusively for MSPs, VARs, IT Solution Providers, Systems Integrators and IT consultants.” Vogel’s departure is the latest change at Autotask since the company hired CEO Mark Cattini in December 2010. Here’s the update.

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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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According to AMI Partners, U.S. SMBs with fewer than 100 employees are expected to spend $36 billion on marketing in 2012, up 4 percent from 2011. Now here’s the big question: Are managed services providers (MSPs) also increasing their marketing dollars? And if so, where should MSPs focus their marketing efforts? Here are some educated guesses.

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At TruMethods Schnizzfest, top managed services providers are on stage describing how they grew their businesses, developed their pricing philosophies and stay energized. The session, moderated by TruMethods CEO Gary Pica, includes MSPmentor 100 companies and leaders such as White Glove Technologies CEO Tommy Wald; EndSight CEO Mike Chaput; and IT Solutions CEO Ted Swanson (pictured left to right). Here’s the recap.

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Larry Kesslin, a consultant to VARs and MSPs and author of Break Points, thinks he has found the key “break point” areas that prevent small businesses (1 to 100 employees) from growing. Kesslin described the break points during a keynote today at TruMethods Schnizzfest, a managed services conference held in Philadelphia, Pa. Here’s a recap.

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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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Over the past several months, MSPmentor has quietly investigated several alleged complaints against MSP University — which helps managed services providers with education and marketing services. We’ve spoken with three MSPs who allege they are each owed roughly $5,000 or less from MSP University. We’ve also spoken with dozens of VARs and MSPs who continue to applaud MSP University’s services. Now, MSP University has issued an official statement about the alleged complaints, which involved a marketing program that apparently did not meet certain customer expectations.

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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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Managed services providers (MSPs) use everything from Google Adwords to Kutenda for their online marketing programs. But marketing experts like Robin Robins continue to promote direct mail strategies as well. Fortunately, a range of companies have designed direct mail templates to help small business owners — including MSPs — with their marketing efforts. One recent example: Postcard Services has designed a marketing campaign platform for small businesses.

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Pronto Marketing and Ulistic Inc. have formed a partnership that both sides say will help them more fully meet the needs of their clientele. Pronto is an international IT marketing company. Ulistic is a social media consulting firm focused on managed services providers. Here’s what each company brings to the table for MSPs that need marketing and SEO assistance.

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At the Managed Print Services Conference this week, I spoke to Photizo Group Senior Client Advisor David Cameron, who focuses on managed print channels and programs. He’s also president and CEO of Cameron Consulting Group. I asked Cameron to fill me in on the evolving managed print market. We also discussed how VARs and MSPs can overcome barriers to entry in the managed print market, while owning customer relationships for the long haul.

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At the Managed Print Services Conference in Orlando, Fla., this week, Photizo Group CEO and Founder Edward Crowley and Auxilio CEO Joseph Flynn shared a familiar recipe for successful customer engagements: Dedication and trust, with a heaping tablespoon of education. Those seem to be the ongoing themes here, and the keynote was replete with ideas on how MSPs and VARs could start tackling managed print services (MPS) But wait, there’s more…

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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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NetProspex Inc. recently launched version 5.0 of its business contacts sharing system. NetProspex claims to be the largest business-to-business cooperative in North America. According to Chief Revenue Officer Michael Bird, the website has tens of thousands of users who have uploaded nearly 100 million contacts. So, is this a potential lead generation and prospecting system for MSPs? Here are some thoughts.

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OS33 President Jacob Kazakevich (pictured) has joined the Board of Directors of Technology Capital Investors (TCI). The move should help the New York-based investment group — and its portfolio of MSPs — map out cloud computing strategies. It’s a move that TCI Managing Partner Sam Attias called, “a natural progression.”

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When it comes to the IT channel, sometimes the media — MSPmentor included — is guilty of focusing too much on massive VARs and MSPs. Meanwhile, there are thousands of micro MSPs (sub $1 million annual recurring revenues) navigating the SMB market. Can those micro MSPs thrive as big vendors promote SMB cloud solutions?

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In an economy of limited budgets and shrinking workforces, selling new services can be a tricky proposition. How can an MSP leverage the changing nature of how business is done as a value proposition for businesses to invest in new managed services?

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