MSPmentor

I’ve been predicting for a few months that TelePresence — loosely defined as next-generation videoconferencing gear — will emerge as a big opportunity for managed service providers.

Cisco and AT&T finally backed up my claims this week, by announcing a managed  TelePresence initiative. The official press release included the standard jargon. But Cisco’s own company blog actually adds some timely perspective to the news. Here’s why.

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Chris Lyman is setting in the middle of a perfect storm. As CEO of Fonality, Lyman is building an IP-PBX company that leverages Asterisk (an open source platform) and embraces managed service providers. In other words, Fonality has converged three hot markets (unified communications, open source and managed services) into a single solution.

I realize that big vendors — Avaya, Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Nortel Networks, etc. — are promoting unified communications solutions. But if you’re an MSP looking to get into IP telephony, it may be hard to ignore Fonality’s value proposition. Read More >

Most managed service providers have heard of hardware as a service (HaaS). Now, here comes “desktops as a service.” The term popped up during a chat I had earlier this week with MokaFive President and CEO Bill Demas.

Many tech media sites describe MokaFive as a desktop virtualization company. But MokaFive’s ability to meld desktop computing with software as a service has some potential implications for MSPs. Here’s a bit more about the company’s strategy, and desktop as a service vision. Read More >

GigaFin, a 40-person networking start-up, is swimming aggressively into the managed services market. The company, formerly known as Mistletoe Technologies, is joining the MSP Alliance, launching a new partner portal, and introducing a management console to help managed service providers remotely administer customer networks, according to company representatives.

During a brief phone chat yesterday, GigaFin CEO William Thomas and Director of Marketing Mervyn Alamgir provided MSPmentor with a quick overview of the company. Read More >

TelePresence, that next-generation video conferencing technology, has yet to gain critical mass. But The VAR Guy, our resident blogger over at www.thevarguy.com, has been telling readers to expect TelePresence and the managed services market to converge on the hotel vertical.

He was right. A case in point: Marriott International says it’s deploying Hewlett-Packard’s managed TelePresence services and systems in its upscale hotels. Here’s the scoop. Read More >

The VAR Guy, a blogger from our sister Web site, has written a four-page guide to managed printer services. It shows VARs how they can potentially generate recurring revenue through multi-function printers (MFPs), assessment tools, workflow services and entry-level document management.

In case you’re not familiar with The VAR Guy, his writing style is anything but traditional. The VAR Guy’s Guide to Managed Printer Services includes six tips for getting started, and six pointers for finding more info about hardware as a service (HaaS).

If you’re interested, you can download The VAR Guy’s Guide to Managed Printer Services from the MSPmentor Resource Center or The VAR Guy’s Resource Center. It’s free but registration is required.

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.

Overall, the big product reseller said IT decision makers are somewhat more optimistic now than the were in December. CDW offers some deeper details in a press release. But mainstream media companies like Reuters see the glass half empty, reporting that:

Only 30 percent of small U.S. businesses plan to increase technology spending in the next six months compared with about two-thirds of larger companies, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

Still, I think CDW and Reuters may have missed the mark, because they didn’t consider key managed services trends. Read More >

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. Read More >