MSPmentor

Welcome to MSPmentor Live: Podcast edition.

• Episode Date: May 15, 2008
• Featured Guest: Cheryl Snapp Conner, managing PR, Snapp Conner PR.
• Topics Covered: Why small MSPs need PR strategies; how Web 2.0 technologies are impacting PR; when and why MSPs should launch their own PRs; the biggest PR mistakes small tech companies make; how to measure the effectiveness of your PR efforts.
• Listen Now: Check the MSPmentor Podcast Center for our conversation with Cheryl Snapp Conner, along with previous podcasts focused on sales, marketing and technology strategies.

Forgive me for going slightly off topic. I have some news to share: MSPmentor has a new sister Web site. It’s called Works With U, and it covers an emerging, disruptive Linux distribution called Ubuntu.

Some members of the managed services community are familiar with Ubuntu. Others have yet to discover its promise. Nine Lives Media Inc. (the folks behind MSPmentor, The VAR Guy and Works With U) expects Ubuntu Linux to become a true platform (for mobile devices, desktops, servers, and even managed appliances) over the next few years. Here’s why. Read More >

Welcome to MSPmentor’s Weekly Podcast.

• Episode Date: April 17, 2008
• Featured Guest: David Mulvey, president of Advanced Network Products — one of the top managed service providers in North America. Mulvey’s company was ranked number 17 in the MSPmentor 100 list.
• Topics Covered: Mulvey’s best — and worst — moves as an MSP. How to prepare your sales team for managed services. Why advanced Network Products (www.anp.net) is investing in its own network operation centers rather than outsourcing the NOC function to a larger service provider.
• Listen Now: Check the MSPmentor Podcast Center for our conversation with Mulvey, along with a podcast interview with Level Platforms CEO Peter Sandiford.

MSPmentor’s latest content effort involves weekly podcasts covering the managed services market. The podcasts will debut on our home page this Thursday, April 17. Here’s how to tune in. Read More >

We’ve updated our MSPmentor 250 map to reflect the most recent reader nominations.

The final MSPmentor 250 list, to be unveiled in July, will likely include CEOs, senior executives, entrepreneurs, consultants and other MSP experts from around the world. To nominate someone for the MSPmentor 250 and for complete details about the forthcoming list, check out our MSPmentor 250 center.

Here’s a quick look at the updated nomination map:

View Larger Map

Hi folks. We’re starting a quick weekly poll to make sure we’re in touch with our growing readership, and to help you get a feel for the key issues and opportunities facing today’s managed service providers. Here’s the first poll.

We’ll follow up each Monday with some quick observations about the poll results, plus we’ll post a new poll for you to weigh in on.

Thanks for participating and best wishes for a successful second quarter with your managed services business.

It was a busy first quarter for the new MSPmentor — and the managed services market as a whole. Overall, we posted more than 150 pieces of content on our Web site in Q1, ranging from news to white papers to the MSPmentor 100.

But what were the hottest managed services topics during the first quarter? Here are six key pieces of info that caught our attention. Feel free to weigh in with your own observations. Read More >

Ben Yarbrough has seen it. Bob Walters has seen it. And now, hundreds of managed service providers are starting to see it. What exactly is “it”? The simple answer: The convergence of open source with managed services.

Yarbrough, CEO of Calyptix Security, is seeking 100 managed service providers to embrace his company’s open source-based security appliance this year. Similarly, Bob Walters, CEO of Untangle, has bet his business on an open source network gateway, which is starting to attract strong interest from MSPs. Read More >