MSPmentor

Google is seeking to train IT help desks and service desks to support Google Chromebooks — which are low-cost cloud notebooks that run Chrome OS. Admittedly, Google Chromebooks remain in their infancy. Chromebooks, built by Acer and Samsung, debuted in June 2011 and cost businesses about $30 per user per month. I haven’t heard about widespread Chromebook deployments but I’m curious to see if any IT help desk providers start to offer Chromebook support.

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SMBs are increasingly investing in sophisticated communications technologies. But the quest for true unified communications (UC) remains elusive for most SMBs, according to a new study from IDC. Many SMBs may not even realize they are taking steps toward a UC environment. That’s where MSPs can enter the picture.

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New research about the evolving U.S. job market suggests that demand for managed services could rise in some unexpected areas. Consider this: Transportation goods such as vehicles and auto parts, electrical equipment including household appliances, and furniture are among seven sectors that could create two to three million jobs as a result of manufacturing returning to the U.S., an emerging trend that is expected to accelerate starting in the next five years, according to new research by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). What’s the potential upside for managed services providers?

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NetEnrich Inc., which promotes closet-to-cloud services for MSPs, has hired a VP of sales and a senior director of product management. The moves reinforce continued expansion at NetEnrich, which has been pushing beyond traditional NOC (network operations center) services for MSPs in recent months.

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MobileIron, the mobile device management (MDM) software provider, plans to support Apple iOS 5 beginning Oct. 12. Apple iOS 5 was officially released on Oct. 4. Now, we’re watching to see how many mobile device management specialists jump on the Apple iOS 5 bandwagon.

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I didn’t know much about SmarterTools, the mail server software, help desk software and web analytics provider before Smarter Tools VPs Jeff Hardy and Derek Curtis reached out to me. The first thing that caught my attention: Curtis and Hardy didn’t want to schedule a 10 minute phone briefing. They wanted to meet face-to-face to discuss how SmarterTools has been competing with the likes of Zendesk and Salesforce.com since its founding in 2003. Here are the details.

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In the crowded mobile device management (MDM) market, AirWatch wants to stand out from the MDM crowd. “Nobody wants to be the T.J.Maxx of mobility,” quipped AirWatch Chairman Alan Dabbiere. In my opinion, the 300-person AirWatch team has been among the most active MDM companies this year.

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Within the SMB market, basic IT help desk and service desk support is evolving to include smartphone tech support, according to a new study from Parks Associates. Combine smartphone support with traditional PC, server and network support, and you’ve got a $20 billion IT support opportunity across the U.S. by 2015, according to the research firm. Here’s where managed services providers fit in vs. big telecom providers.

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DataCore Software and TwinStrata are connecting the dots between storage virtualization and cloud storage. Specifically, DataCore’s storage virtualization software will now come bundled with a free TwinStrata CloudArray virtual appliance. How do managed service providers potentially benifit? Here are some thoughts.

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The cloud backup and online backup markets are both expanding and consolidating. Two recent examples: VaultLogix has acquired assets from Utility Backup Solutions, and Vembu recently acquired Cloud Nucleus. Those deals surfaced around the same time that Axcient — a hybrid cloud storage specialist – raised $15.5 million in venture capital funding. Plus, more private equity is expected to flow into the managed services software market really soon, MSPmentor has learned. So how can markets expand and contract at the same time? Here’s some perspective.

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SolarWinds is preparing to work more closely with managed services providers (MSPs), sources continue to tell MSPmentor. The latest example: SolarWinds — which develops network management and monitoring software — has started to work more closely with Cisco VARs; many of those Cisco partners have managed services expertise, we’ve heard. At the same time, SolarWinds recently launched Applications Performance Monitor 4.2. So what’s next?

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Colligo Networks, which develops Microsoft SharePoint document management solutions, has launched a new product suite to bolster SharePoint for Enterprise Content Management (ECM). The Colligo for SharePoint 8-product suite now supports PCs, tablets, laptops and smartphones — a potential boost for MSPs focused on mobile customers and managed SharePoint services.

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When Microsoft Windows Intune receives a major cloud refresh on October 17, Microsoft will back the PC management service with a major partner push. To wit, Microsoft has been evangelizing a Windows Intune partner onboarding and sales reference guide in recent weeks. But will managed services providers plug in?

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Zyrion, the business service management (BSM) and IT performance monitoring software provider, has scored a key win. Specifically, Netelligent, a cloud services and managed services provider (MSP), in the mid-western U.S., is deploying Zyrion Traverse software to monitor datacenter and IT infrastructure performance.

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ManageEngine, the network management software provider, is hitting the road to strike up more conversations with SMB customers and MSPs. Owned by ZOHO Corp., ManageEngine is trying to educate IT service providers and customers about five key solutions for business automation.

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LogMeIn has cut the price for join.me pro — a potential alternative to Citrix Systems’ GoToMeeting online meeting and collaboration platform. Moreover, LogMeIn has introduced join.me pro feature enhancements. LogMeIn positions join.me as a “ridiculously simple screen sharing tool for meetings on the fly.” We’re intrigued to see if MSPs start using join.me free and join.me pro as platforms for customer meetings, IT training and group initiatives.

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Microsoft Project 2010 has been gaining momentum among enterprise companies, SMBs and system integrators for over a year now, according to Director of Microsoft Project Arpan Shah. This in spite of IT budgets shrinking for many businesses over that same time period. It made me wonder: Will MSPs embrace Microsoft Project to manage their customer engagements? I culled some insights from Shah.

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SMB customers are seeking IT partners that have mastered  business analytics, unified communication & collaboration, business process management, mobility and infrastructure alignment, according to AMI Partners. Moreover, US-based SMB customers will spend $50 billion on cloud services in the next two years, AMI estimates. Among the 72,000 channel partners in the U.S. who focus on the SMB segment, AMI says only 20% are currently proficient in two or more of the high-value competencies (HVCs). Translation: It’s time for MSPs to polish and adjust their skill sets.

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Alert Logic has officially launched the Alert Logic Cloud Acceleration Partner Program (CAPP). Alert Logic claims the partner program gives MSPs and VARs a comprehensive Security-as-a-Service portfolio for the cloud. The program is intended to help the company’s tech partners offer cloud-based, fully-managed security services and create new distribution opportunities for security vendors.

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A the MSPWorld conference in Austin, Texas, companies such as Enterhost, GoGrid and Veddio are pitching cloud partner programs, cloud referral programs and cloud dashboards for MSPs. If the efforts work as advertised, MSPs can potentially pursue a growing range of recurring revenue opportunities tied to cloud services.

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The cloud storage and online backup markets are fiercely competitive. So how does a company like Intronis hope to stand out from the crowd? The answer involves a healthy mix of MSP community building and a new cloud software release — dubbed Intronis Fall Release 11, which arrived today. Here’s the update.

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Business appears strong at OS33, the international IT-as-a-Service provider for MSPs. The company says its partner base grew 166 percent from OS33′s previous quarter. The company claims it now has the “potential” to reach 240,000 end points – up 125 percent from early 2011. I chatted with OS33 President Jacob Kazakevich, Director of Sales Aron Derstine and Director of Marketing Paul Angelides to get a closer look at the strategy.

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A recent survey commissioned by IDrive and conducted by Harris Interactive shows that many people are tackling a common high-tech problem in a surprisingly low-tech way. In response to a question about how they get existing contact info into a new smartphone, 27% of respondents said they manually entered the contacts. IDrive estimates each manual entry takes about 1.3 minutes, a not insubstantial period of time for those with dozens or even hundreds of contacts.

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