MSPmentor

A friendly (and timely) reminder. Our next MSPmentor Live webcast, focused on Hardware as a Service (HaaS) and Technology as a Service (TaaS), is scheduled for this Wednesday, March 24 at 2:00 p.m. eastern. Two fast-growing MSPs — Everon Technology Services and Black’s Support Services — will describe how they promote, sell and profit from HaaS. Executives from both MSPs and CharTec (a HaaS specialist and the event’s sponsor) will answer questions throughout the webcast. We look forward to your participation and questions.

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After overhauling its managed services partner program in 2009, Cisco Systems is pushing into another new area: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). The networking giant says it now has an IaaS offering for service providers that want to tackle computing-on-demand, network-on-demand and storage-on-demand. Here are some details.

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Videoconferencing vendor Polycom is again making inroads in the unified communications space through strategic alliances – this time with Juniper Networks. But there’s also a managed services story here, since more and more of these video partnerships ultimately target service providers. Here are some perspectives.

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After studying the managed services market for most of 2009, Lenovo is pulling back the curtain on a software partner strategy. It starts today with a Lenovo-Kaseya relationship, but Lenovo’s efforts will expand to include a range of RMM (remote monitoring and management) and PSA (professional services automation) partners. In my mind, today marks the start of PC vendors getting serious about managed services. Here’s why.

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Hmmm… The VAR Guy has noticed an apparent link between Zenith Infotech and a telepresence upstart called Vu Technologies. Is Zenith Infotech getting into the next-generation video conferencing market? Too soon to say. But here’s some chatter involving Zenith Infotech, Vu Technologies and the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

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Telepresence is growing as a managed services opportunity, as more business look to conduct business virtually as a cost-savings measure. Recent evidence of that expansion comes from Glowpoint Inc. The company, which offers managed telepresence and video communications services, says it expects year-over-year monthly recurring core revenue to climb more than 13 percent for its 2009 Q4. But that’s not all.

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At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Cisco Systems is fulfilling a promise to push TelePresence (high-end video conferencing) into the home. It’s a timely reminder that managed service providers need to figure out a video strategy. Here’s why.

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I must admit: I’m enjoying some silence right now. Email traffic is light. My phone isn’t ringing. It’s the perfect time to take a few minutes to tell you about the managed services blog entries we didn’t have a chance to write for the week ending Dec. 24, 2009. Here we go…

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Everon Technology Services, a managed service provider that lands regularly on the Inc. 5000 and MSPmentor 100 lists, is starting to target the hardware as a service (HaaS) market. Everon’s HaaS move is important for at least two reasons. First, it leverages a relationship with CharTec. Second, Everon is savvy when it comes to marketing and end-customer education. So Everon’s efforts and learnings could help accelerate the HaaS industry. Here’s a bit more background.

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We admit: The headline is quite an exaggeration. But as the telepresence market continues to evolve, it’s increasingly clear that next-generation video conferencing solutions are going mainstream. In hotels. In airports. In retail locations. And soon, in the home. Here’s a look at where MSPs may fit in the telepresence market.

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During the ConnectWise Partner Summit, MSPmentor sat down with a range of managed services experts. In the following MSPmentor FastChat videos, we covered such topics as hardware as a service (HaaS), MSP-to-MSP collaboration, sales and business development, online marketing for MSPs and email security. Here are six FastChat videos with a range of MSP industry experts…

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At a time when roughly 10 percent of North American MSPs are falling off the map, masterIT is on pace to have its most profitable year ever, according to Chairman and CEO J. Michael Drake. As part of our ongoing look at MSPmentor 100 companies, here’s an update on masterIT’s evolving business — including a strategy that gives customers 90 days to get hooked on managed services.

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Lenovo is quietly working to integrate its mobile, desktop and server hardware with a range of RMM (remote monitoring and management) and PSA (professional services automation) platforms for managed service providers. Frankly, I’m surprised we’re not hearing similar types of statements from more PC vendors. Here are some observations.

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I hesitate to call this “the year” of managed print services, but it certainly seems like vendors, industry associations and managed service providers are rallying around managed print services. The latest example comes from CompTIA Breakaway 2009, kicking off this week in Las Vagas.

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As Hewlett-Packard, Oki Data and other IT vendors push deeper into the managed print services (MPS) market, some managed service providers are making plans for a managed print conference in Europe. Here are some quick details and bigger-picture perspectives.

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If you’re not remotely managing Linux-type desktops and notebooks yet, I suspect you will be by 2010. The reason: Google plans to ship an open source operating system — called Chrome OS — for netbooks. And yes, I think your customers will start buying netbooks as part of hardware-as-a-service (HaaS) agreements.

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Call it a sign of things to come: Verizon Wireless is running television ads in the US for Hewlett-Packard Mini Netbooks tied to 3G wireless services. I’m not suggesting managed service providers should run out and introduce Netbooks. But if you’re interested in hardware as a service (HaaS), there are some emerging Netbook trends you should closely track.

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When Cisco Systems unveiled its unified computing strategy last week, most folks (including me) believed the effort focused mainly on midsize and large customers. But if you take a closer look, the unified computing effort indirectly targets small businesses as well. Here’s how.

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After several false starts, the managed print services (MPS) market seems to be reaching a tipping point. Skeptical? Consider these six signs of momentum from Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Ingram Micro, Photizo Group, The Utility Company and Xerox.

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Monday at 9:15 a.m. eastern, I will find out whether this is going to be a good week or a bad week. My MacBook Pro died on Sunday. My brother in law — a managed service provider who takes care of Apple servers — tried a range of remote trouble-shooting tools but couldn’t revive the system. Now, my best (and last) hope is break-fix support from the Apple Store’s Genius Bar on Monday morning. But I’m not in panic mode.

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In September 2008, I predicted broadband providers eventually would offer netbooks (those low-cost sub-notebooks) for free with monthly broadband service contracts. We’re rapidly marching in that direction. Check out former PC Week Editor John Dodge’s post about $100 netbooks that are part of broadband packages.

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Managed print services. To me, those three words represent both “opportunity” and “confusion.” As I’ve mentioned multiple times, I’m shocked by the lack of standards, hit-and-miss education and poor communications in the managed print services market. But a fledgling conference and a new association hope to move the managed print industry forward.

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You’re a managed service provider. You’re trying to maximize cash flow. You need to better understand vendor financing options. You’re curious about hardware as a service (HaaS) but want to minimize your own financial risks. MSPmentor and The VAR Guy are preparing a special multi-part content series to help MSPs and VARs navigate financial challenges. But we need your help…

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