Vyatta, which positions itself as an open source alternative to Cisco Systems, has launched a service provider partner licensing (VSPL) program. The subscription-based model targets ISPs, MSPs, hosting businesses and cloud providers. The big question: Will MSPs trust their infrastructure to open source routing and firewall services? For at least one MSP, the answer is a resounding yes. Here are the details.
HP Services, Software: 2 Weak Spots In Strong Quarter
Posted February 17th, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
Hewlett-Packard evangelists sound pretty excited by the company’s latest quarterly financial results. The Associated Press noted “revenue was up in most of the technology company’s major divisions and HP raised its 2010 outlook, citing accelerating market momentum.” Great news for HP partners. But there were two weak spots in the earnings report: HP Services and HP Software. Here are the details.
HP Managed Security Services: A Closer Look
Posted January 26th, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
When Hewlett-Packard this week launched a security services portfolio, the announcement included a brief mention of managed security services. No doubt, HP promotes managed services to large enterprises. But is the hardware giant starting to take a closer look at channel-centric managed services? Here are some thoughts.
Systems Management: Targeting the Big Four
Posted January 21st, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
Nimsoft and Groundwork Open Source are strikingly different companies. And they rarely run into each other in competitive settings. Now here’s the irony: Both companies claim they are displacing BMC, CA, HP Openview and IBM Tivoli in some enterprise accounts. And yes, there’s a managed services hook here. Let me explain.
IBM Making Managed Services Moves?
Posted January 8th, 2010 by Matthew Weinberger
We spend quite a bit of time on MSPmentor covering small but fast-growing software companies that cater to the managed services market. But occasionally an industry titan will catch our attention. A case in point: IBM made a key move this week, and it involved small and midsized communication service providers (CSPs). Does this mean the Big 4 systems management companies (BMC, CA, HP, IBM) are finally waking up to managed services? Here’s some perspective and speculation.
Seven Managed Services Blog Entries I Didn’t Have Time to Write: Oct. 16
Posted October 16th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
What a week. Our bloggers have been on the road at N-able Partner Summit, Astricon, Oracle OpenWorld and Avaya’s partner conference. Lots of fantastic blogs still to be written. Here are the seven managed services blog entries I didn’t have time to write for the week ending Oct. 16.
GroundWork Launches Hub for Open Source Monitoring Developers
Posted September 15th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
Many of the top remote monitoring and management (RMM) tool providers rely on traditional closed source development models. But GroundWork Open Source is trying to disrupt the RMM market with a new online hub for open source monitoring developers and IT administrators.
Seven Managed Services Blog Entries I Didn’t Have Time to Write
Posted September 11th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
Admittedly, I’ve been a little distracted with the MSPmentor 250 this week. So once again my inbox is filled with a backlog of tips, rumors and news. Here are seven quick managed services headlines I didn’t have a chance to write during the week ending Sept. 11.
Open Source Channel Alliance: Open to MSPs?
Posted April 14th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
Open source applications reached a tipping point in the distribution channel today. Red Hat, Synnex and nearly a dozen open source application providers launched the Open Source Channel Alliance. Our sister site, TheVARguy.com, offers complete coverage. I’m not suggesting open source will eliminate traditional closed-source solutions. However, the open source mindset — including code sharing — continues to infiltrate the managed services market. And the Open Source Channel Alliance will accelerate that trend. Here’s why.
Contegix: Managed Services Built On Open Source
Posted April 10th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
Generally speaking, the vast majority of managed service providers (MSPs) grew up as Microsoft VARs. But Contegix CEO Matthew Porter proves there’s more than one way to conquer the managed services and managed hosting markets. I spoke with Porter earlier April 9 to learn why open source technologies — such as Confluence, Hyperic, Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Zimbra — play central roles in his company.
Open Source vs. Closed Source: The Managed Services Debate
Posted March 10th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
Windows vs. Linux. Oracle vs. MySQL. Now, the closed source vs. open source debate is moving into the managed services market — where a growing list of open source options are permiating the industry. But are we all asking the right questions amid the latest open- vs. closed-source debate? Or are we blinded by emotion?
GroundWork Open Source Gains Managed Services Momentum
Posted February 16th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
When it comes to open source vs. closed source software, I keep an open mind and tell managed service providers to embrace the tools that best fit their companies. But during a conversation with GroundWork Open Source on February 13, I heard the latest proof that open source is pushing deeper into the MSP market. Here’s a recap of my conversation with GroundWork.
HP OpenView Under Attack (Again)
Posted December 29th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Small, nimble software companies — some of them promoting open source, many of them leveraging closed source — continue to attack big, legacy network and systems management platforms.
GroundWork Open Source, Roaring Penguin Prepare Managed Services Deal
Posted December 23rd, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
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.
Zenoss: Open Source Meets Managed Services (Again)
Posted December 15th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
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.
HP’s Double Migraine: Nimsoft and GroundWork Open Source
Posted November 25th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
We’ve written a bit about Nimsoft’s success disrupting Hewlett-Packard’s traditional OpenView business. Now comes word that HP’s network management team also faces major pricing challenges in a showdown with GroundWork Open Source. You’ll find details about HP’s software and managed services headaches over on MSPmentor’s sister site, The VAR Guy.
Paragent Marries Managed Services, Open Source At DEMOfall
Posted September 9th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Paragent, a start-up that marries open source with managed services, is turning heads at the DEMOfall show — an invite-only event that can make-or-break a software company’s business. Paragent’s involvement in DEMOfall shows just how far the managed services industry has come. And it reinforces the untapped potential of managed services.
Open Source SaaS Finally Connecting With Managed Services
Posted September 4th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
I’ve been hyping the convergence of open source, software as a service (SaaS) and managed service providers (MSPs) in recent months. But I have to admit, it has been difficult to find MSPs that actually run a large mix of open source SaaS systems. That all changed tonight at the MSP Revolution conference, when I met John Truitt, president of Kalleo Technologies.
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