MSPmentor

Jeff Auerbach, CEO of EMR Group, sent me an email highlighting a key challenge that’s also an opportunity for managed service providers (MSPs). Auerbach noted an AP story, indicating that 43 percent of large U.S. and European businesses have cut their overall spending on IT products and services for 2008, according to Forrester Research Inc. Here’s the bad news and good news for managed service providers (MSPs). Read More >

I’m hearing a familiar theme from multiple managed service providers: MSPs want to strengthen their branding and marketing efforts, yet local advertising firms and marketing consultants don’t understand the IT industry. As a result, local consultants who specialize in marketing aren’t very good at shaping an MSP’s brand.

So, what’s an MSP to do? Here are two options.

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If there is a Gartner Hype Cycle for “Green IT” we are probably near the top.  That is typically where the conversation turns from undeserved over optimism to widespread skepticism, before ultimately emerging as a practical everyday reality.  Now is the time to begin to move beyond the hype to focus on practical results.  And nowhere is this search for practical results more lucrative than in SMB managed services.

Today we released a Green Industry Report titled Green IT:  A Big Opportunity for Managed Services, describing the direct implications for solution providers and their customers that can result from the adoption of remote monitoring and management using Managed Workplace. Here’s a look at our findings. Read More >

AdventNet, which develops the ManageEngine managed services platform, has launched a new pricing program designed for MSPAlliance members. Here are some quick details. Read More >

Earlier this week I noticed both ConnectWise and Nimsoft on the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest growing privately held US companies. But I overlooked Everon Technology Services, one of the industry’s most vocal managed service providers. Read More >

Sometimes, I find the most innovative managed service providers where I least expect them. A case in point: I visited Sytec Business Solutions — a managed service provider in Raleigh, North Carolina — on August 15. The company occupies an old Victorian home a few minutes from the heart of the city. There’s nothing flashy about Sytec Business Solutions or its headquarters.

But perhaps that’s the point: Instead of spending big dollars on a costly headquarters, the company seems to be plowing money into training, help desk and custom solutions for its customers. Here are some examples of what Sytec is doing right.

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Sometimes, I get distracted by Web 2.0 marketing strategies. I’m always telling managed service providers how they can leverage blogs, Web video, etc., to improve their search engine optimization (SEO) and attract new customers.

I got a healthy reality check on August 13 during the Ingram Micro Seismic partner conference in Chicago. That’s where Gary Beechum, president and CEO of Intelligent Enterprise/MSP University, described some basic but effective approaches to marketing and generating sales leads. Read More >

There are roughly 8,000 managed service providers in the United States, and the typical managed service provider generates $3.9 million in annual revenue.

Here are some other fast facts about typical MSPs, according to a presentation delivered today at the Ingram Micro Seismic Partner Conference in Chicago. Read More >