MSPmentor

So, what generated buzz on MSPmentor in 2009? Here’s a look at the individual blog entries that attracted the most readership for Q1 (January – March) 2009…

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More proof that the best managed service providers are holding up pretty well during the recession: Eurodata Systems PLC, a solutions provider in London, says managed services helped the company lift profits 21.5 percent (I assume that’s 2008 vs. 2007). The 120-person company says demand for its managed services grew 17% last year, and Eurodata expects the trend to accelerate in 2009. But I think Eurodata needs to spin the story slightly differently: Executive leadership is the No. 1 reason the company is growing in a bad economy.

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As you sort out your managed services marketing strategy for 2009 (here are some tips), be sure to keep marketing’s best friend in mind: Public relations. Through some simple steps, you can generate positive media buzz about your managed services practice in 2009. And that buzz, in turn, can generate new sales leads.

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GroundWork Open Source and Roaring Penguin Software Inc. are preparing a technology alliance to jointly serve VARs and managed service providers starting in January 2009, MSPmentor has learned.

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I’m hearing a familiar trend in the managed services market: MSPs seem to be embracing more and more open source tools. The latest example involves Zenoss, a commercial open source company that specializes in applications, systems and network monitoring.

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DirectPointe, the top managed service provider in our 2007-2008 MSPmentor 100 report, apparently has spun off a new company called CentralPointe. The start-up intends to blend open source and cloud computing to make IT more affordable and easier to manage. An official announcement about CentralPointe is expected the week of December 1, but here are some early details.

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Open source is starting to influence portions of the managed services market. But can MSPs really trust open source?

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I’m not suggesting managed service providers are immune to the economic turmoil, but here’s a piece of good news all MSPs should note: DirectPointe, ranked No. 1 on last year’s MSPmentor 100 list, announced record-setting revenue for its third quarter. How does that compare with other MSPs? Here’s the scoop.

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In the 1990s, long distance phone companies wanted to offer “last mile” local phone services. Now, a similar trend is emerging in the managed services market — where regional and even national MSPs want to offer personalized, local, on-site services.

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We were meeting for breakfast, but Autotask CEO Bob Godgart wasn’t ready to pick up his fork. Instead, he opened his HP notebook and walked me through his vision for multi-partner customer engagements. Everyone from ConnectWise to OnForce (and soon, Partnerpedia) has communities to help VARs and managed service providers outsource work to one another. But I could tell Godgart has something different in mind. So we pushed aside breakfast, and dove into conversation.

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