MSPmentor

From time to time, MSPmentor explores open source trends in the managed services market. There are anecdotal examples of MSPs leveraging open source. But for the most part, I think MSPs serving small business leverage traditional, Microsoft- and Windows-centric tools. Still, OTRS (Open Technology Real Services) caught my attention this week with a 3.0 help desk beta release. As you may have guessed, OTRS focuses on open source solutions. Is the OTRS help desk ready for prime time? Here’s a reality check.

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Somewhere between 1,000 and 1,500 hosting providers, service providers and technology companies are attending this week’s HostingCon conference in Austin, Texas. When I arrived at the conference, I openly wondered if the content and the chatter would involve smaller MSPs. But as I navigated HostingCon, I quickly heard plenty of MSP-oriented chatter in the halls. In fact, here are six MSP-related observations from the event.

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If you’re an MSP managing a mix of computing platforms in your customer environments, you might want to look at Centrify Express. It offers free Active Directory integration for Linux and Macintosh computers. Here’s some perspective.

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Back in October 2009, I wrote a bit about Eucalyptus Systems — which develops open-source cloud computing software. In some ways, it’s positioned as an open, private cloud alternative to Amazon Web Services. Fast forward to the present, and Eucalyptus seems to be showing some momentum. Here’s an update, including perspectives from Eucalyptus CTO and co-founder Rich Wolski.

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Long View Systems, an MSPmentor 100 company, is the latest managed service provider to push aggressively into the unified communications market. And I expect plenty of MSPs to follow Long View’s lead — especially as nimble UC start-ups like Unison Technologies counter entrenched giants like Cisco Systems and Microsoft.

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MSPmentor’s sister site — The VAR Guy — reveals what’s next in the IT channel. Here’s a look at the top nine headlines on The VAR Guy’s blog this week.

1. Cisco Channel Chief’s Video Message to Partners
2. Dell Rallies Partners Around Cisco Opportunities
3. Do You Need Channel Partners In A Recession?
4. Microsoft’s Channel Chief: Old Letter More Timely Than Ever?
5. IBM, Red Hat and Canonical Take On Microsoft Office
6. Netgear ProSecure: A Match for Security Resellers?
7. F5 Networks, HP ProCurve ONE: Attacking Cisco On Seven Layers
8. Open Source Channel Partners: Critical But Different
9. Why Profits Should Be Your Secondary Goal 
10. Sorry, this is a top nine list. Get to know The VAR Guy and you’ll realize he doesn’t play by the rules.

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MSPmentor’s sister site — The VAR Guy — reveals what’s next in the IT channel. Here’s a look at the top nine headlines on The VAR Guy’s blog this week.

1. Microsoft Veterans Launch Unified Communications Consulting Firm
2. Twenty-Three Ways to Take Your Business to the Next Level
3. Internet Explorer: Fewer Bugs Than Firefox?
4. Novell, Hewlett-Packard Push SUSE Linux for Schools
5. Unison And Canonical’s Ubuntu Attack Microsoft Exchange
6. Red Hat Invests In Open Source Company
7. Acer Partners Take NetBooks to School
8. Marketing to Weather the Recession
9. Pentaho Channel Chief Talks Open Source Business Intelligence
10. Sorry, this is a top nine list. Get to know The VAR Guy and you’ll realize he doesn’t play by the rules.

MSPmentor is updated multiple times daily. Don’t miss a single post. Subscribe to our Enewsletter, RSS and Twitter feeds.

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Whether you’re new to hardware as a service (HaaS) or a true HaaS veteran, keep an eye on the emerging NetBook market. NetBooks are low-cost sub-notebooks from companies like Dell, Asus and Sylvania. They typically cost $275 to $400 or so, and run Windows or Linux.

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Should managed service providers start adding Linux-type devices to their hardware as a service (HaaS) strategy? Before you answer, consider a conversation I had with Canonical (developer of Ubuntu Linux) at last week’s OSCON (Open Source Convention). Here’s the scoop.

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So, you’re thinking about offering managed hardware as part of a monthly service contract. Before you make the move, consider this: Perhaps it’s time to take a close look at open source desktops (particularly Ubuntu Linux running OpenOffice) as an option for your customers. Here’s why.

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