MSPmentor

Intermedia, which specializes in software as a service (SaaS) and collaboration solutions, has launched a managed service provider (MSP) partner program. The program was announced at the MSPAlliance’s Managed Services Summit in Chicago, hosted by organization president Charles Weaver (pictured).

Intermedia is among a growing list of companies that are hosting Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft Dynamics CRM and SharePoint for managed service providers. And attendees who are at the Managed Services Summit say SaaS is a big theme at the event. But there are some unique twists to Intermedia’s strategy. Read More >

At last, Xerox is paying serious attention to hardware as a service (HaaS). The multi-function printer giant plans to support a growing list of managed services platforms, MSPmentor has learned.

The effort, which includes such partners as ConnectWise and N-able, could transform HaaS from a niche solution into a mainstream managed services offering, MSPmentor believes.

The strategy calls for Xerox to write to a range of managed services APIs (application programming interfaces). Here are the details.

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While financial stocks were on a roller coaster ride, software as a service (SaaS) stocks delivered a strong showing for the week ended Sept. 19. In fact, MSPmentor’s SaaS 20 Stock Index rose 3.81% on the week. It was the first time the index rose since mid-August.

The week’s biggest winners included NetSuite (N, +18.21%), SuccessFactors (SFSF, +16.15%), Omniture Inc. (OMTR, +14.76%) and Blackboard Inc. (BBBB, +9.70%). The SaaS 20 Stock Index also had its share of weekly losers, including Dell (DELL, -12.66%) and EMC (EMC, -7.52%).

Here’s what went right — and wrong — for the SaaS 20 Stock Index during the week.

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During his keynote at the ConnectWise Partner Summit in Orlando, CEO Arnie Bellini asserted that Technology as a Service (TaaS) will emerge as a super set of Software as a Service (SaaS) and Hardware as a Service (HaaS). And he  sent a clear message to Dell, Google and Microsoft: Managed service providers will be prepared to compete against those tech giants in the cloud.

Here’s a recap of Bellini’s keynote.

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I spent much of 2007 hyping the Symantec Protection Network (SPN), a software as a service (SaaS) platform for storage management (now) and security management (down the road). But even Symantec concedes SPN hit some early bumps.

Still, Symantec continues to polish SPN with new features, including support for Windows Vista and Remote Online Access. Here are the details.

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A solid source says Dell is taking a very close look at the managed print market. At first glance, managed print services are a natural “hardware as a service” (HaaS) opportunity for managed service providers. But as one distribution executive recently told me, most major printer companies have struggled to gain traction with their HaaS initiatives.

Here’s what to expect from Dell.

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MSPmentor’s SaaS 20 Stock Index declined 1.47% for the week ended September 12, dragged down by bad financial news at Kenexa Corp., which specializes in HR-related on-demand applications. It was the fourth consecutive week that our index, which tracks software as a service (SaaS) stocks, declined. Here’s what’s going wrong — and right — with SaaS stocks. Read More >

Back in May 2008, I noted that Glowpoint Inc. had launched managed telepresence services, which are like next-generation video conferencing services. It’s still very early in the telepresence game (check out our Managed Services Hype Cycle), so I didn’t expect telepresence to generate major revenues until 2010 or so.

Still, Glowpoint appears to be proving me wrong. The Hillside, N.J.-based company says it has won $4.5 million worth of business in the past 90 days. And much of that buisness, Glowpoint says, involves multi-year telepresence engagements. Read More >