MSPmentor

Founders Investment Banking LLC has considerable experience in the managed services market. The company is currently assisting ETG — a top MSP focused on the healthcare vertical — with several funding considerations. But what exactly is the state of the MSP investment market right now? And what do private equity firms — or large MSPs — look for before they pump money into smaller MSPs? Zane Tarence, a managing director at Founders Investment Banking, offers some clues.

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As the merger and acquisition trend continues, some managed services providers (MSPs) are leveraging M&A consultants to assist — and potentially accelerate — the process. The latest example involves Cogent Growth Partners, a buy-side M&A advisory firm, assisting Jamison West Consulting Services Inc.’s buyout of Titanium Ant Inc. Another example involved Weaver and Associates Ltd. assisting Do IT Smarter’s sale in 2010. Is this the start of a larger trend?

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Say hello to the ninth managed services acquisition that MSPmentor has spotted so far in 2011. The latest deal involves mindSHIFT Technologies — a perennial MSPmentor 100 company — acquiring ORBIT Systems, a managed services provider (MSP) in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn. This is mindSHIFT’s second MSP-related acquisition of 2011. Here are some initial details.

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Say hello to the eighth managed services acquisition MSPmentor has spotted this year. The latest deal involves Fraser Advanced Information Systems acquiring PennLantic Corp., a managed services provider in Harrisburg, Pa. The deal also has a side story, involving Zygoquest Group — another M&A advisory firm that’s now serving the channel.

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The MSPAlliance has launched an Angels Network, which the association calls a “unique community that will connect early-stage Managed Service Providers (MSPs) with potential investment opportunities.” Details about the angels network are expected to surface at this week’s MSPWorld conference in Los Angeles. Here’s what the MSPAlliance has said so far, plus some MSPmentor perspectives.

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Waypoint Solutions Group continues to expand its geographic reach through merger and acquisition deals. The latest agreement involves Waypoint merging with Charlotte Techsupport LLC, which has  The combined companies will operate as Waypoint, with former Charlotte Techsupport President Tony Shannon joining Waypoint as VP, focused on business development and client relationships. Here’s a closer look at Waypoint’s strategy.

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The managed services gold rush has created a cottage industry of consultants and organizations that are assisting MSPs with marketing, sales, mergers, acquisitions and other strategic business tasks. Three recent examples include MSPexcellence, MSPXchange and Ulistic’s MSP Marketing initiative. Here’s a closer look at each organization and its backers, plus a broader update on the coaches and pundits assisting MSPs with their business efforts.

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I’ve spent recent weeks speaking with more than a dozen MSPs (managed services provider) executives, each of whom was involved in a merger or acquisition between 2007 and 2010. All of the deals involved regional MSPs in North America. My key question to them: What type of valuations do MSPs generate? The answers varied a bit. But I came to a pretty simple conclusion. Here it is…

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In the latest managed services merger, outsourceIT and Bald Eagle Technologies are combining forces to offer small business customers help desk, managed services, CIO, infrastructure migration, virtualization, security and complete hosting services, the two companies say. Here’s a closer look at the deal and the broader market for MSP mergers and acquisitions.

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What a week for managed services mergers and acquisitions. Covad, Megapath and SpeakEasy are rolling up to form a national voice and data service provider. PC Mall is buying Network Services Plus Inc., a 73-person MSP. All Covered is dialing MSPs up and down the U.S. East Coast to see if they’d like to be acquired. And ETG, a health care MSP, is receiving unsolicited inquiries about its business. All this confirmed and potential M&A activity makes me wonder: Can small MSPs continue to go it alone?

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Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity continues across the managed services landscape. But plenty of MSPs are still struggling to formulate their own exit strategies. And some M&A buyouts ultimately fall through. Why’s that? Here are eight “deal killers” small business owners make when they try to sell their companies.

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MSPWorld, the MSPAlliance’s conference for managed services providers, will be co-located this year at ITExpo West 2010, scheduled for Oct. 4-6 in Los Angeles. The move potentially opens up MSPWorld to a broader audience of Internet Telephony experts, but MSPWorld will also need to compete with roughly six other conferences that will be co-located at ITExpo. Here are the details.

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Every time I blink there seems to be another merger or acquisition in the managed services market. The latest deal involves Serenity Systems Inc., a Houston-based IT managed services provider, acquiring “certain assets” of Kommar Solutions to help increase its customer base. I expect at least two more MSP-related acquisitions to onfold this week. In the meantime, the Serenity deal has an interesting twist. It involves advice and financial guidance from Ephor Group LLC. Here are some perspectives.

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Sometimes I jump to the wrong conclusions. A few weeks ago, when the MSPAlliance said there was a potentially “urgent” tax issue facing Florida managed services providers, I dismissed the report because sometimes I think the alliance cries wolf. But to the MSPAlliance’s credit, there’s now a healthy, growing discussion around MSP taxation in certain states. Here’s the update.

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If only you had more time — or more cash — to build your business in 2010. Sure, you can reach out to a credit union or local bank for a line of credit. But I’m starting to hear from managed service providers (MSPs) who are mulling another path: Finding an angel investor. Smart move?

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This just in: The MSPAlliance plans to offer SAS 70 audits for its members — a smart move considering the growing list of managed service providers, Web hosts and data center providers that are expressing interest in SAS 70. But the MSPAlliance isn’t the only association expanding its accreditation and certification efforts. The grapevine says CompTIA and MSP Partners continue to prepare a managed services accreditation program that could be announced within hours or days.

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The MSPAlliance is applying some polish to its managed services summit brand. Earlier this week MSPAlliance President Charles Weaver informed me the association was planning summits in multiple cities. Now comes word that Weaver (pictured) has re-branded the events as MSPWorld. And I have to admit: I like the move.

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Despite all the bleak economic information around us, there are still some bright spots in the managed services market.

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MSPAlliance President Charles Weaver has written a white paper for Nimsoft, focused on 12 strategic best practices for managed service providers. The white paper, along with more than 40 other customer case studies and videos on managed services, is available now in our MSPmentor Resource Center (registration required).

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The MSP Alliance continues to build out its Vendor Advisory Board. Next to join is Autotask CEO Bob Godgart (pictured), we hear. The Godgart announcement should come in a few days or so. So, how will MSP Alliance differ from the MSP Partner organization? We received some thoughts from MSP Alliance CEO Charles Weaver. Here’s a look.

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Gavin Garbutt, CEO of N-able Technologies, is on a role. Last week, he strolled around N-able’s Ottawa offices displaying an award from Deloitte, ranking N-able among the 500 fastest growing companies in North America. Now, he’s been named the first executive member of the MSP Alliance’s (MSPA) new Vendor Advisory Board. But what does the working relationship between N-able and MSP Alliance mean to other platform providers?

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MSP Alliance President Charles Weaver spent some time telling me about the organization’s new accreditation program during a conference last month. Sounds like the program is gaining some traction.

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