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MSPs Not Falling for Apple — Yet
Posted October 14th, 2009 by Dave Courbanou
As Apple marches forward in the consumer market, we decided to check in with MSPs to see if they’re increasingly specializing in Apple products and/or Apple-related services. So far, major MSP and VAR peer groups — like HTG Peer Groups — say they aren’t seeing an uptick in demand for Apple-oriented solutions. But if you look hard enough there is a small Apple MSP niche. Here’s some perspective.
Profitable Managed Services: Six Ways to Acquire Customers
Posted April 11th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
One of the best presentations on managed services I’ve ever read reached my inbox on April 10. It was sent by Joe Paquet, VP of vendor alliances and relations at Axis Business Solutions, an MSP in Portsmouth, N.H.
Memo to Dell: Include Partner Messaging in Everdream Webinars
Posted April 10th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
My email inbox today had a Webinar invite from Dell. The company on April 22 plans to educate corporate customers about Everdream, a remote administration and asset management tool for PCs and mobile systems.
Will Managed Storage Providers Emulate HP?
Posted April 7th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
If you’re wondering how managed storage services will evolve in the business market, perhaps you should keep an eye on the customer industry. There, Hewlett-Packard and a bunch of start-ups are launching online storage services that promote simple file access and file sharing.
mindSHIFT Acquires Software as a Service Specialist
Posted April 3rd, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
mindSHIFT, a managed service provider, is pushing deeper into the software-as-a-service (SaaS) market. The company has acquired Collaboration Online, which specializes in hosted Microsoft applications.
Microsoft SharePoint As A Managed Service?
Posted April 2nd, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Each time I chat with a VAR or solutions provider, the topic of Microsoft SharePoint seems to pop into the conversation. Channel players are having great success deploying SharePoint for their customers. It begs the question: Will SharePoint emerge as a managed service as well? I believe so, but what’s your take?
N-able: No Economic Bumps So Far
Posted March 13th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Gavin Garbutt, CEO of N-able Technologies, is a glass-half-full type of guy. Despite the tricky U.S. economy, Garbutt sees continued momentum for the managed services industry, and offers some anecdotal proof points that business is humming along — globally.
The Next Managed Services Battleground: APIs
Posted March 12th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
I wrote that same headline for one of my blog entries about a year ago. Even today, I believe that open application programming interfaces (APIs) will be the difference between success and failure in the managed services industry.
Sizing Up the U.S. Managed Services Market
Posted March 11th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Demand for managed services in the United States will grow 7 percent annually through 2012, according to a new report from Research and Markets. Frankly, the report sounds very conservative, considering top managed service providers are generating double- and even trip-digit revenue growth rates, according to our own MSPmentor 100 report.
Managed Email Security Services: Your Choices Mount
Posted March 10th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
At 5:00 p.m. eastern, I was tied up speaking with MX Logic about their strategy for managed email security services. By 5:15 p.m. eastern, my inbox had more news pertaining to this market. Things certainly are getting hyper-competitive in the email security sector.
Viral Marketing for Managed Services
Posted March 10th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Considering the popularity of YouTube, it’s hardly surprising that many managed service providers are making videos in a bid to market their companies virally.
Windows Server Managed Services: An Interesting Spin from iYogi
Posted March 10th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Microsoft recently launched Windows Server 2008, yet iYogi — a managed service provider — just announced remote support services for Windows Server 2003. Are they too late to the market? Perhaps not. Instead of embracing “what’s new,” iYogi is wisely targeting a massive installed base with an aggressive price point. Here’s the scoop.
The iPhone Meets Managed Services
Posted March 9th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
It took nearly a year, but managed service providers are finally announcing clear strategies to support Apple’s iPhone with hosted email services. One prime example: SherWeb, an MSP that hosts Microsoft Exchange Server and BlackBerry Enterprise Server, says it plans to support iPhone synchronization with Exchange Server. It’s the first of many iPhone-related announcements MSPmentor expects to hear from MSPs in the next few months.
Managed Services Competition Goes Global
Posted March 5th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
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.
Small Business IT Spending: Reason for Concern?
Posted March 5th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
From Microsoft Corp. to managed service platform providers, everybody is taking aim at small business IT opportunities. But small businesses may not be willing to open their wallets very wide for IT, according to a new survey by CDW Corp.
N-able, Iron Mountain Solidify Managed Storage Services
Posted March 5th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
The vast majority of successful MSPs say they now offer managed storage services. In most cases, I suspect, those services involve basic backup and restore capabilities. Still, a growing number of industry partnerships could help you leap from “backup” services to “contingency planning” services, which are far more strategic.
Put MSPmentor’s Managed Services Content On Your Site
Posted March 4th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Want to run MSPmentor’s latest managed services headlines on your web site? It’s easy. Simply embed our MSPmentor widget on your site. It’s free and only requires a few minutes of effort. Read on, and you can have managed services headlines scrolling across your Web site before your next coffee break. Here’s how.
Click “Get Widget” at the bottom of this graphic to put this widget on your site:
Managed Services Meet Ubuntu Linux?
Posted March 4th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
A new tool for remotely managing Linux desktops and servers will debut on March 5. At first glance, the tool is for enterprise administrators who want to remotely manage and troubleshoot PCs and servers running Ubuntu Linux. But if you take a closer look, you can imagine the tool — dubbed Landscape — evolving into a potential managed services platform for businesses that embrace open source.
MSPs Add Their Own Spin to Hosted Microsoft Exchange Server
Posted March 4th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
The same day Microsoft announced its software as a service (SaaS) strategy, some managed service providers are putting their own spin on the hosted Exchange market.
Top 250 Managed Services Experts: Call for Nominations
Posted March 3rd, 2008 by MSPMentor
Under development now, the MSPmentor 250 will identify the top leaders and innovators shaping the global managed services market. To nominate someone for the MSPmentor 250, simply visit our MSPmentor 250 center.
Careful of the Managed Security Hype
Posted March 3rd, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
It’s great to know you’re competing in a growing market, but sometimes big-picture hype can distract you from regional and local opportunities.
Kaseya Goes Broad and Deep
Posted March 1st, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
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.
Ingram Promotes Digital Signage SaaS
Posted February 27th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Digital signage: At first, it was considered a hardware opportunity for VARs. But a second look reveals that it’s a recurring revenue and software-as-a-service (SaaS) opportunity for managed service providers.
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