For inclusion in the Magic Quadrant for Client Management Tools, Gartner says vendor solutions were considered based on the following functions:

• Data/Settings Migration;
• Inventory;
• OS Deployment;
• Patch Management;
• Remote Control;
• Software Usage;
• SW Packaging & Distribution;
• Power Management.
• Mobile Device Management was another component, along with Application and Desktop Virtualization.

Who’s Included?

That lengthy list pretty much describes the remote management capabilities that VARs and MSPs require. The Gartner report covers such technology companies as:

• Absolute Software
• BMC Software
• CA Technologies
• Dell Kace
• FrontRange
• HP
• IBM
• Kaseya
• LANDesk
• Matrix42
• Microsoft
• Novell
• Numara (now owned by BMC Software)
• Symantec

Gartner organizes those vendors into this Magic Quadrant grid:

How About SMB Remote Management Tools?

Alas, many MSP-centric software providers aren’t covered in the Client Management Tools report. I’m curious to know if Gartner has a separate report or Magic Quadrant for SMB remote monitoring and management tools, in particular.

Of the vendors listed above, only Kaseya and Microsoft (Windows Intune) have SMB-centric solutions, according to Gartner. And Kaseya is the only vendor mentioned as to having a managed services provider (MSP) focus.

Slightly Wrong on Kaseya?

Also, I don’t exactly agree with Gartner’s analysis of Kaseya, which states:

“Kaseya is a relatively new player in the client management space. The company has existed since 2000, but has focused mainly on selling its product through managed service providers, rather than directly to IT organizations. The company has shifted its focus in the last two years, and is now used by IT organizations to manage their internal environments.”

Huh? I believe Kaseya has sold direct into IT organizations for at least five years. (MSPmentor launched in beta in September 2007; I didn’t track the market before that point.) I also believe Kaseya lost a bit of its focus on the MSP market in 2010, but began to sharpen its MSP focus again in mid- to late-2011.

Gartner’s Conclusions  on Kaseya

Gartner praises Kaseya in three areas and questions the company in three areas.

• The praise includes: Applause for Kaseya’s SaaS approach on inventory and patch management; mobile device management for Apple iOS and Android; and extensions like PC backup and system performance monitoring.
• The cautions include: Immature Mac management capabilities; lack of application virtualization support (Microsoft App-V and VMware ThinApp) and potentially weak reporting capabilities.

Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) Requires Coverage

I don’t always agree with the Gartner Magic Quadrant. And I worry about all the “hype” about which vendors are in the Magic Quadrant. But it would be great to see a list of MSP-centric software companies, along with strengths and cautions listed for each platform.

Does such a Magic Quadrant exist for RMM (remote monitoring and management) software providers?

(Side note: The Gartner Client Management Tools Magic Quadrant replaces the Magic Quadrant for PC Configuration Life Cycle Management due to the emergence of mobile device and Mac management needs. Smartphones, tablets, Macs, virtual desktops and virtual applications all represent emerging targets of management.)

Read More About This Topic

• Mobile Device Management and RMM Software: Set to Converge?
• PacketTrap Introduces New Software Licensing Model for MSPs
• Ingram Micro: More RMM and Managed Services Relationships Emerge
• Autotask, CentraStage Partner Up on Managed Services
• Update: Why Kaseya Veteran Invested in CentraStage

In its published Research entitled 2011 European MPS Market Update and Roadmap, the Photizo Group estimates that approximately 5,000 brand new MPS contract opportunities will emerge this year for MPS solution providers to bid for. The Group also gave three specific reasons for why the European MPS market will grow so rapidly in 2012 and 2013.

1. The development of the MPS channel in Europe
2. Strong European outsourcing trends
3. European businesses are beginning to spend more money on IT solutions

The report goes on to say that the European market is, and will continue to, steer away from “traditional purchase models” and towards MPS. That, according to Photizo, will force manufacturers to adjust their business models to make up for the loss in revenue from traditional hardware solutions.

The study is line with MSPmentor’s prediction a few months back that Managed Document Services (MDS) would take center stage as far as the most in-demand managed service, along with mobile device management (MDM).

Read More About This Topic

• Photizo Acquires Lyra: Managed Document Services Research
• Managed Print Services Acquisition: Xerox Buys LaserNetworks
• Xerox, British Airways Sign Managed Print Services Agreement
• Management Print Services: Toshiba and Preo Partner
• BT and Bristol-Myers: MSP Global Services Contract Through 2017

Gartner has placed CSC (Computer Sciences Corp.) in  the “Leaders” quadrant of a new report called “Magic Quadrant for Communications Outsourcing and Professional Services.” The report apparently examines 19 vendors of IT services, and it includes coverage of the managed services market.

CSC issued a press release celebrating the Magic Quadrant Leader news. It quoted Nick Wilkinson, global president, market and product strategy, CSC Managed Services Sector. Wilkinson may be a sharp guy. And CSC may be making progress in the managed services market….

A Reality Check

… But am I the only guy who recalls CSC’s managed services mess — which triggered CSC earnings problems, shareholder angst, and management changes in 2011?

Check CSC’s SEC filings and you’ll see the company suffered key setbacks in its managed IT services business in 2011. The setbacks forced CSC to make management changes, basically sending the head of the company’s managed services business into early retirement.

In its Q2 2012 earnings results (announced Nov. 9, 2011), CSC CEO Michael Laphen mentioned numerous strong areas within the company. But he also conceded CSC’s problems in the managed services market. He said: “With respect to the bottom line, MSS [Managed Services Sector] is a turnaround story and as previously announced we have made several organization and process changes aimed at accelerating improvements.”

Gartner Applies Some Magic

Fast forward to the present, and Gartner is celebrating CSC’s IT services and managed services expertise.

I have not read the Magic Quadrant for Communications Outsourcing and Professional Services report. But to understand its true value in this case, simply read Gartner’s own disclaimer:

“About the Gartner Magic Quadrant: Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in our research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.”

Sounds like the Magic Quadrant is worth everything… and nothing.

CSC’s Updated Managed Services Performance

As for CSC — the company is set to announce Q3 results on February 8, 2012. Back in November 2011, it sounded like CSC was making real progress with the MSS (managed services sector) turnaround.

On the November 2011 earnings call, CSC CEO Michael Laphen said:

“As previously reported, MSS operating margin performance, although improved from the first quarter, continues to be a drag on the company’s performance and the primary contributor to the reduction in our guidance numbers. As part of our remediation plan to return to acceptable levels of margin performance, we put new leadership in charge of the MSS business, including a dedicated senior executive to focus exclusively on operations and delivery. To speed and ensure the remedy of the delivery issues occurring in the Nordics regions, we’ve assembled and insured a seasoned team into that region to manage necessary corrective plans and actions. MSS’s previously identified startup issue has progressed to a contract resolution. We anticipate that our collective remediation actions should result in operating margin improvement over the second half and into next fiscal year.

With respect to new business, the Managed Services segment had a strong quarter, with $2.6 billion in bookings. At the half, MSS recognized a 55% increase in bookings compared to the first half of fiscal year ’11. Key MSS awards in Q2 includes Ingalls Shipbuilding, ArcelorMittal and a global multi-brand products manufacturer, all of which are new logos for CSC.”

That sounds promising, but we’ll get the updated views in the February 8, 2012, earnings call.

The Bottom Line

Gartner suggests CSC is a leader in IT outsourcing and managed services. CSC concedes the company’s managed services business hit bumps and has been executing “remediation actions.”

So which view is more accurate?

Read More About This Topic

• CSC and TCM Partner on IT Staffing for Cloud Computing
• CSC Replaces Managed IT Services Leader After MSP Setbacks
• Seven Managed Services Blogs MSPmentor Didn’t Write: April 1
• DLP Catching On With MSPs
• Amtel Releases Free Mobile Device Management (MDM) for Enterprise

This is the latest in a growing list of acquisitions within the managed services market since since the start of 2012. Financial terms of the Photizo Group-Lyra deal were not disclosed.

The deal seems to reinforce MSPmentor’s belief that the managed document services (MDS) and managed print services (MPS) sectors are sure to ramp up in 2012. And when it does, Photizo Group is preparing itself to be the leader in MDS and managed print services MPS research, even as Garner Inc. and International Data Corp. (IDC) release their own research on the international state of MDS.

Photizo Group has had its research fingerprints all over the MPS and MDS markets even before the sector recently caught fire. The research and consulting firm hosts MPS conferences internationally and releases numerous MDS research documents.

But one of Photizo’s recently released research studies offers a little insight into this recent Lyra acquisition, if you read between the lines. It’s entitled 2011 European MPS Market and Roadmap, and it included two key predictions relevant to the company’s Lyra Research acquisition.

1. The European MPS market will be the largest MPS Market by 2013, based on revenue size.
2. The European MPS market is one of the most diverse and fragmented regions for the imaging industry.

The first is significant because Lyra Research has a physical presence in five different international regions: the United States, Japan, Korea, China and, yes, Europe. And if you’ve been keeping up you know that the second is significant because Lyra is an established player in the imaging industry and can help make analytical sense of Europe’s supposed fragmented and diverse MPS market.

As far as the logistics of the acquisition, both will keep their own brands and individual conferences that they host intact through at least 2012. Photizo and Lyra plan to evaluate how to potentially combine their events in 2013.

Photizo Group has been striving to further accelerate its growth over the past two years. The company raised $1.73 million in investment funding from Meritus Ventures to add more staff and expand its global coverage of MDS back in July 2010, even when most managed services providers (MSPs) were still not buying into MDS.

In fact, only 20 percent of  the top MSPs were offering managed print services at the time, according to our MSPmentor 100 Survey. Today, that figure is closer to 30 percent.

So where does Photizo go from here? Earlier this month Photizo projected that India will have the fastest growing MPS market in 2012, followed by Brazil’s MPS market — which the research firm projects will grow by 49 percent annually through 2014. My best guess is to look for Photizo to use more of its investment dollars to either expand its research into one of these two regions or into one of the other regions in which Lyra has an established, physical presence.

Read More About This Topic

• Photizo Group: Europe Will Be Largest MPS Market by 2013
• Managed Print Services: HP, Lexmark, Xerox, Claim Victory
• Managed Print Services Acquisition: Xerox Buys LaserNetworks
• OKI Data, Agiliant Partner on Managed Print Services Offering
• Ricoh Launches Managed Document Services (MDS) 2.0

The NDP Group’s third quarter SMB Technology Monitor study found that nearly 75 percent of U.S. small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) plan to buy tablets in 2012. That’s a bump from second quarter results which found that 68 planned to do so. The tablet of choice for most of these SMBs? You guessed it. The Apple iPad.

The NPD Group’s study included U.S. SMBs with 1,000 employees or less. The average SMB is planning to spend roughly $21,000 on tablets throughout $21,000, according to the report. But the amount varies by company size as smaller SMBs plan to spend almost $10,000 less than SMBs right around the 1,000 employee cutoff line. Here’s how the spending figures break down based on company size.

• SMBs with under 50 employees plan to spend $1,912 on tablets in 2012.
• SMBs with 50 – 200 employees plan to spend $10,122 on tablets in 2012.
• SMBs with 201 – 500 employees plan to spend $27,031 on tablets in 2012.
• SMBs with 501 – 999 employees plan to spend $38,749 on tablets in 2012.

If the survey results hold true, it will be a welcomed development for mobile device management (MDM) providers. Up Just a few days ago MSPmentor predicted that the MDM space will be one of two managed services sectors to expand the most in 2012, along with managed document services (MDS). But up until now MDM software providers have focused mainly on large enterprise customers because enterprises have more mobile devices connecting to their networks. If SMBs start spending more on tablets and other mobile devices, the ever-growing list of MDM software providers will have a new market share to compete for in 2012. Stay tuned.

Read More About This Topic

• DataCore Taps Hitachi to Monitor SANsymphony-V Environments
• LogMeIn Acquires Bold Software: Remote Support and Live Chat
• Amtel CEO: Unprotected Mobile Devices Pose Security Risk
• Managed Print Services Acquisition: Xerox Buys LaserNetworks
• SMB Optimism Provides Potential MSP Cheer

IDC’s MarketScape reports give an overview of the competitive suppliers in a given market based on both qualitative and quantitative data. The reports aim to give a clear view of each vendor’s products, service offerings, capabilities and strategies, current and future success factors and strengths and weaknesses of each company.

And after all that research, the IDC came to the same conclusion in December as Gartner did back in October: Xerox Corp. leads the MPS market. But here’s the twist: Both HP and Lexmark also issued press releases claiming victories in their own way.

Still, the report listed two main reasons why Xerox earned the top spot: its support for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) through its Partner Print Services, and its commitment to helping businesses do more than reduce printing costs, such as streamline print operations and improve company efficiencies.

In a prepared statement, IDC Research Director Holly Muscolino said:  “Xerox’s high scores indicate that the companies seeking MPS want a partner with market experience and depth of approach to ensure long-term results. Consistent global delivery capabilities are a key differentiator for Xerox, and they continue to build out their infrastructure for global support, including support for indirect channel partners.”

That’s good news for managed services providers (MSPs), some of whom are trying to build MPS revenue streams.

Back at Xerox, the company achieved multiple managed print milestones this year. It partnered with Office Depot and BT to offer MPS services in Europe, helped U.S. campuses save money with its MPS solutions, debuted it free mobile print solution and signed a five-year MPS deal with British Airways.

The IDC MarketScape report also identified Ricoh Company, Hewlett-Packard (HP), Lexmark and others as leaders in the MPS space.

Read More About This Topic

• Photizo Acquires Lyra: Managed Document Services Research
• BT and Bristol-Myers: MSP Global Services Contract Through 2017
• Photizo Group: Europe Will Be Largest MPS Market by 2013
• Roaring Penguin Anti-Spam Software Gains Error Detection
• DataCore Taps Hitachi to Monitor SANsymphony-V Environments

That news caught the attention of HP Software VP of Product Marketing and Operations Shane Pearson, whom I spoke with about the new solutions HP is developing to address these enterprise data needs.

“Our customers are seeing a big growth in their number of information sources and are seeing a big change in how people connect to the enterprise,” Pearson said. “Many feel like they’re not in control because they don’t have effective business practices in place.”

So Pearson said HP is trying to improve its HP IT Performance Suite in order to help its customers regain control of their enterprise and their sources of information. The company announced five new additions to the HP IT Performance Suite at HP Discover 2011 in Vienna, Austria.

• IT Performance Suite VP of Ops Edition
• IT Performance Suite VP of Apps Edition
• HP Business Service Management 9.1
• HP IT Executive Scorecard
• HP Application Lifecycle Intelligence 2.0

According to HP, the new solutions are designed to “provide insight and optimize enterprise performance.” It makes sense for HP to invest in its IT Performance Suite, as the company noted strong demand for the suite in announcing its Q4 2011 financial results in November. And the company definitely won’t stop here. Pearson said that HP is currently building integrations between several of its operational tools to ease customer information management. It sounds like we can all expect to see a lot more HP development around information management and discovery and dependency mapping in 2012.

You can learn more about HP’s recent study and its results here.

Read More About This Topic

• Bomgar 12.1 Management Gains Security, iPad and Android Support
• DataCore Taps Hitachi to Monitor SANsymphony-V Environments
• Cepra Chooses Nimsoft RMM, Service Desk for Managed Services
• Tigerpaw Offers Software Customers Referral Incentive Program
• ManageEngine Previews IT Management Software at Cisco Live

Similar to the “race to the bottom” pricing discussion, 2112 President and CEO Larry Walsh says “poor pricing practices” are “stripping away MSP value and violating price integrity.” True, many MSPs compete on price and spend far too much time discussing commodity-oriented fees for remote monitoring. But I do believe there’s hope for the industry and plenty of MSPs are avoiding the commodity pricing game.

Smart Moves

A few examples of success: Numerous MSPs that participate in the TruMethods coaching and peer group organization say they charge as much as $100 to $150 per user per month for all-in managed services, shifting away from per-device pricing. And some of the TruMethods members, such as masterIT, now practice per engagement pricing — basically charging a flat fee that blankets an entire office location.

Meanwhile, organizations like Service Leadership Inc. have helped MSPs to truly pinpoint their cost of services while blending product sales, project fees and managed services fees into mixed revenue streams.

Here Come the Trunk Slammers

But as more resellers try to transition into the MSP market, there are numerous examples of MSPs introducing aggressive pricing without fully analyzing monthly costs and potential profit margins. To combat that problem, N-able, NetEnrich and 2112 Group have been hosting webinars and producing research, such as the latest 2112 Group report — which is available to N-able and NetEnich partners via the vendors’ respective websites.

N-able specializes in remote monitoring and management (RMM) software for MSPs. NetEnrich promotes “closet to cloud” services to MSPs, and is best known for its NOC (network operations center) services. The companies work closely with each other and the Ingram Micro Cloud initiative, which attempts to help VARs and MSPs source cloud and managed services solutions.

Side note: Walsh, a veteran of Ziff Davis Enterprise, UBM Channel and TechTarget, also is a big Rush fan. Hence, the 2112 reference in his company name.

Read More About This Topic

• N-able Recaps Managed Services Market Momentum
• NTRglobal and N-able Extend Help Desk Deal to the Cloud
• Level Platforms: Help Desk Meets Managed Services Software
• Managed Services: 7 Blogs MSPmentor Didn’t Write, Jan. 13
• Level Platforms Grows Partner Base 45 Percent

Virtela began as a managed network services provider but added managed security services to its offering roughly five years ago when its customers began asking for such a service. And when its mid-market to large enterprise customer base began asking about the cloud, Virtela added on a managed cloud services offering two years later. It’s this type of flexible strategy that has helped Virtela build 50 data centers internationally and serve mid-market and enterprise customers in over 190 countries.

When I wanted to get a sense of the MDM trends in the big business sector, I interviewed Virtela Vice President of Marketing Liza Adams. She pointed to growing corporate support for Apple iOS and Android devices, riding the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) trend.

Virtela’s Strategy

And true to its tradition, Adams said Virtela is adjusting it strategy to embrace the devices. For starters, Virtela recently announced support for the new iOS platform — just like all the other scores of MDM competitors today. But according to Adams, the reasons that Virtela’s MDM solution is unique is two-fold.

1. Virtela ESC enables local compliance and is a “proven platform” for IT services; and
2. VirtelaView offers customers a single window to manage all of mobile devices on its network. That includes configuration and provisioning and control access to resources and applications.

Virtela’s MDM solution also protects corporate data with application white list and blacklist controls, device locator, remote and selective wipe and other features. All of this to solve what the company has identified as the top four mobile device IT challenges: management, security, cost control and compliance.

Virtela launched its global MDM solution back in April 2011. At the time we questioned whether MSPs can safeguard smart phones and tablets. So far the answer has been ‘Yes,” as far as Virtela is concerned. Adams said Virtela’s biggest competition has been companies trying to manage devices on their own.

But as ProfitLine executives Eric Januszko and Kathleen Glass told us last week, there’s a cutoff point where MDM becomes too complex for companies to do on their own. It looks like Virtela has found that point as well. We’ll see if other MDM providers or MSPs follow suit.

Read More About This Topic

• Transcend United, Coraid Partner on Cloud Storage Solution
• Netology Hires New Managed Services Director
• Cepra Chooses Nimsoft RMM, Service Desk for Managed Services
• LogicMonitor CEO: Monitoring as a Service (MaaS) Picking Up for MSPs
• Bomgar 12.1 Management Gains Security, iPad and Android Support

The partnership Gijima marked MobileIron’s first venture into the South African market. MobileIron CEO Bob Tinker said the company is seeing an increase in demand for its products internationally, and it decided to pursue the South African marketplace by signing with Gijima for several reasons.

“Enterprise mobility is exploding and the demand for our technology is growing exponentially,” Tinker said in a prepared statement. “Gijima has a great track record and expertise with business customers and we look forward to working with the Gijima team in South Africa.” So what’s the scoop for Gijima customers? Gijima can now offer everything included in the Enterprise Mobile Management Framework, including procurement, provisioning, MDM, mobile application management (MAM), mobile service management (MSM), mobile security management, wireless expense management (WEM), end-user support and device retirement/replacement.

Meanwhile, MobileIron has officially released MobileIron 4.5, which the company hailed in a press release as “the deepest security on the broadest set of Android devices.” The new MDM solutions support Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and technology from Samsung and Cisco Systems.

Also of note, MobileIron has opened a new datacenter in Australia for MobileIron Connected Cloud. Each of these moves came after the MDM specialist announced that the MobileIron Connected Cloud could be integrated into an enterprise’s existing infrastructure in less than an hour.

Read More About This Topic

• Numara Launches Cloud-based Mobile Device Manager
• Cloud and Mobile Device Management: Numara Buys FromDistance
• Opengear RMM Gateway Targets Managed Services Providers
• Cepra Chooses Nimsoft RMM, Service Desk for Managed Services
• Managed Print Services Acquisition: Xerox Buys LaserNetworks