MSPmentor

Consider this riddle: How can VARs and MSPs monitor — and enforce — their service level agreements (SLAs) with cloud service providers? CA Technologies may have solved that riddle by acquiring WatchMouse today. The CA-WatchMouse deal also shows how CA is targeting acquisitions that bolster multiple CA divisions and products — including Nimsoft and CA Application Performance Management (APM).

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Perhaps MSPmentor is underestimating the future prospects of Windows Intune. Why am I starting to open my mind to Windows Intune’s future? The simple answer involves Microsoft System Center, which has generated double-digit revenue growth for 10 consecutive quarters, according to Microsoft GM of Investor Relations Bill Koefoed. Here are the details — and potential synergies with Windows Intune.

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Tigerpaw Software Inc. is working on a new telecom initiative to help the company’s 1,400+ voice partners move into the data space, MSPmentor has learned. Meanwhile, Tigerpaw 11R2 — an upgrade to the company’s software platform — is set to debut in the next few weeks. As frequent MSPmentor readers know, Tigerpaw is a PSA (professional services automation) platform that allows VARs, MSPs and telecom resellers to more effectively manage their day-to-day business operations. Tigerpaw President James Foxall (pictured) gave me some clues about where Tigerpaw is heading next.

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It’s been about a week since I returned home from Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2011. Now that I’ve had some time to digest what I heard and saw, I’ve come to a conclusion: Lync is rapidly emerging as Microsoft’s next killer platform for channel partners, including MSPs. Here’s why.

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Nimsoft‘s remote monitoring and management (RMM) software, called Nimsoft Monitor, has expanded its ability to manage Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) data centers. Nimsoft Senior Principal Product Manager Andy Kicklighter said the extended capabilities will help Nimsoft moving toward its goal of becoming “a full modern IT infrastructure management provider for MSPs.” The announcement surfaced at Cisco Live in Las Vegas, Nev.

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New business initiatives continue to develop at KODAK. The latest example: Kodak Service and Support will provide on-site support for Avere Systems‘ network-attached storage (NAS) solutions. It’s the latest example of a big, legacy company pushing deeper into IT services. Here’s the background.

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We concede: Servoyant, which develops network management and monitoring software, wasn’t on MSPmentor’s radar until about a month ago. Fast forward to the present and Servoyant is the latest company to complete a PSA (professional services automation) integration triple play. Indeed, Servoyant’s software — available as SaaS or as an on-premise appliance — now plugs into ConnectWise, joining previous integrations with Autotask and Tigerpaw Software.

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Techlabcloud founder Kevin Carlson says his company has stopped hosting LabTech managed services software to VARs and MSPs. I’m checking in with Carlson to see if Techlabcloud will offer alternative solutions. When Techlabcloud — originally called LabTechCloud — first launched I saw the business model’s promise but openly wondered if the business relationship between LabTech and Techlabcloud could be a win-win. Here’s why.

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LabTech Software and Quosal have each announced new integrations with Autotask. The Autotask integrations are particularly interesting because LabTech and Quosal have each received ConnectWise Capital investments. Here’s the update.

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This is blog entry 2,340 for me here on MSPmentor. I typically stand by the views I share. But the blog entry I regret most (April 6, 2009) described similarities between Autotask and ConnectWise in the PSA (professional services automation) software market. Hey, I had a bad day on that one. I think readers in Albany and Tampa both lost their lunch when I hit publish on that item. ConnectWise and Autotask are vastly different companies. And the differences are multiplying. Here’s why.

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INTRUST GROUP, an MSPmentor 100 company in Cincinnati, Ohio, remains in growth mode. CEO Tim Rettig launched Intrust roughly 19 years ago while he was an engineering student at the University of Cincinnati. Today, INTRUST GROUP manages more than 3,500 servers for SMB customers throughout the United States. Here’s a look at the past, present and future of Intrust.

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Greetings from Las Vegas. Starting May 16, I’ll shift my focus to Lenovo Accelerate 2011: Channel Partner Forum, held here at the Mandalay Bay Casino and Resort. In the meantime here are seven managed services blog entries the MSPmentor team didn’t have a chance to write for the week ending May 13, 2011.

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Each year I ask Kaseya CEO Gerald Blackie the same questions. And each year Blackie gives me essentially the same answers. But the questions are critical so I keep asking them. Our discussion, part of my annual pilgrimage to the Kaseya Connect User Conference, typically covers Kaseya’s growth strategies and managed services efforts. Plus, I always end the Q&A with the same question: Will Kaseya ever pursue an IPO (initial public offering)? This year, my conversation with Blackie also included Kaseya President Mark Sutherland and Chief Marketing Officer Bob Davis. Here’s what they had to say.

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Fandotech LLC — an MSPmentor 100 company based in Connecticut — will wrap up its fiscal year on June 30. It’s a year that President and CEO John Boyd considers a “reemergence” — a sign that that U.S. economy is on the rebound and Fandotech is gaining steam, thanks to a RAIN cloud strategy and a continued managed services focus. The eight-year-old company has achieved double-digit growth each quarter of this fiscal year and has increased its customer base in the process. Here’s how.

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Much like the online backup market, the email security market is getting pretty darn crowded. Among the latest moves: GFI Software today launches GFI MailEssentials Complete, an anti-spam, anti-phishing and email security solution that VARs and MSPs can offer to small and midsize business customers. MailEssentials Complete is available as an on-premise solution or as a hosted service.

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Kaseya yesterday disclosed a PSA integration strategy for the ConnectWise, Autotask and Tigerpaw Software platforms. In an MSPmentor FastChat Video, I’ve captured details of the strategy from Kaseya Executive VP Jim Alves. But here’s what I’m wondering: Is Kaseya trying to use the PSA integration software as a trojan horse that ultimately promotes Kaseya Service Desk software?

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Day Two of the Kaseya Connect User Conference is set to start in about an hour. Roughly 400 to 500 MSPs and technology partners are attending the event here in Las Vegas. There’s been plenty of official managed services news here — including Kaseya’s buyout of Intellipool and a mobile device management demo that wowed attendees. But some of the most interesting managed services chatter occurred in the hallways and during a dinner reception last night. So, here are six observations gathered behind the scenes at the conference.

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Kaseya Executive VP Jim Alves is on stage discussing the company’s PSA (professional services automation) integration strategy today at the Kaseya Connect User Conference in Las Vegas. New, Kaseya-built integrations are coming for ConnectWise, Autotask and Tigerpaw Software, Alves said. He also promised attendees — nearly 500 managed services providers — that they would not get caught in an integration debate between Kaseya and PSA software companies.

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Thinsolutions, a managed services provider in Cleveland, Ohio, is going vertical. Indeed, the MSPmentor 100 company has launched a Vertical Chief Information Officer (VCIO) strategy to tackle industry-specific vertical markets. Here’s how.

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Kaseya earlier this week unveiled two new automation tools for managed services providers. But if you dig a little deeper you’ll see how Kaseya is evolving its PSA (professional services automation) strategy and the company’s overall financial software strategy. Here’s the update.

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Kaseya continues to push beyond its traditional remote monitoring and IT automation software market. By leveraging two acquisitions plus home-grown code, Kaseya may eventually blur the line between RMM (remote monitoring and management) and certain PSA (professional services automation) software capabilities. Just this week, Kaseya has launched two new modules — Service Billing 1.0 and Service Desk 1.3 — to help MSPs manage billable time against open tickets and work orders, while also automating billing processes. But I suspect Kaeya’s financial software strategy won’t end there. Here’s why.

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The ASCII Group may soon promote special LabTech Software bundles and managed services software offers to its membership, MSPmentor has heard. I believe details are still pending, but the potential ASCII-LabTech announcement could be the latest example of an MSP software company working with industry associations and organizations that work closely with VARs and MSPs.

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ConnectWise and Kaseya appear to be fulfilling their promise to cooperate even if they compete in some sectors of the managed services software market. The two companies have issued a short-but-sweet announcement, disclosing that ConnectWise 2011.2 now integrates with Kaseya 2.

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