As you strive to transform from a VAR to MSP, you’ll need to choose the most ideal managed services platform for your business. That’s no small task. There are dozens of MSP platforms from which to choose. Prices, features and functions vary greatly. Get Started: Register to enter our Resource Center, where you’ll be able to download guides to numerous MSP platforms. And check back often. We post new guides in the MSPmentor Resource Center every week.
Finally, the phone call happened. For several weeks, I’ve been playing phone tag with Digital Fuel President and CEO Yisrael Dancziger. We finally connected a few days ago, and Dancziger took the time to walk me through Digital Fuel’s business strategy and latest platform release.
James Zachman is adding another twist to the Master MSP business model. As president of Real Time Data Services LLC, Zachman is leveraging offshore support in New Delhi, India, while continuing to build out his managed services business in Newport Beach, Calif.
Zachman says his company is blending:
If Real Time Data Services truly delivers on all of those efforts, it’s the latest example of SaaS converging with the MSP industry. Read More >
Dell, in its latest bid to build trust and profitable relationships with managed service providers, hosted a Web seminar for about 75 partners on May 1. More Web seminars are planned, but something far more interesting caught my attention: It seems like some Dell managers truly do have the channel in their DNA.
In fact, Dell’s partner team includes channel veterans who have built partner networks for Cisco Systems, ComputerLand and McAfee, just to name a few. And Mike Menegay, director, Dell Business Services, has been a solution provider himself.
Does that mean Dell’s partner program will be perfect? Absolutely not. But is Dell sending the right signals to managed service providers? In many cases, yes.
No, Microsoft hasn’t acquired or launched a managed services platform. But the software giant continues to push deeper into the IT management market. In fact, Microsoft this week is hosting an IT management summit in Las Vegas.
Here are two key highlights from the event. Read More >
Dell on May 1 is set to host a webinar for its certified managed service provider partners. The company is working overtime to brief press (including MSPmentor) about the webinar.
I will certainly welcome the briefing. I beat up Dell a bit on April 25 for issuing a press release in which the company described how end-customers will benefit from managed services. Unfortunately, the release made no mention of Dell’s MSP partners.
This time around, I expect Dell to communicate much more clearly. Here’s what to expect from the company on May 1. Read More >
Sometimes, managed service providers (MSPs) struggle to scale their business while fulfilling service level agreements (SLAs) with customers. With that challenge in mind, Kaseya has launched Network Operations Center (NOC) Assist, which allows MSPs to leverage Kaseya’s talent pool without hiring more full-time employees.
From where I sit, NOC Assist is part of a bigger trend in the managed services market. From Autotask to ConnectWise, OnForce and Kaseya, many MSP platform providers and IT market places are striving to help MSPs find more talent (through partnerships or vendor relationships) without increasing full-time payroll. Read More >
Smith on VoIP, one of my favorite blogs, has an interesting piece today about JAJAH — a fast-growing “Voice 2.0″ company that just signed up its 10 millionth customer. Now, according to Smith on VoIP, JAJAH is launching JAJAH Managed Services, positioned as:
“a turnkey telephony service, with everything from network services to billing incorporated in the package.” More importantly, however, Yahoo! will be utilizing the JAJAH platform to provide voice services for their 97 million Yahoo IM users.
For managed service providers, JAJAH represents the latest opportunity to embrace and extend a telephony platform with your own custom code. Read More >
Arnie Bellini has multiple irons in the fire. As CEO of ConnectWise, he’s using several tactics — education, collaboration and software integration — to help grow the overall managed services market — and drive customer interest in ConnectWise. In additional to competing with traditional rivals, ConnectWise could wind up facing off against new competitors. Here’s a sampling of the thoughts he shared during an April 18 phone conversation with MSPmentor.
