MSPmentor

As the New Year approaches, we’re looking back at the most read managed services stories of 2011. Yesterday, we recapped the 10 most read MSP news stories from Q1, 2011. Now, let’s look at the most read MSP stories from Q2, 2011 and their implications for managed services providers.

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When Google announced Chromebook price cuts a few hours ago, it was the latest inflection point for MSPs trying to figure out hardware as a service (HaaS). Yes, the HaaS market has had its share of hits. But HaaS has also had its share of setbacks in recent years.

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Several hundred managed services providers (MSPs) are set to attend this week’s N-able Partner Summit (Oct. 12-14, Scottsdale, Ariz.). What surprises will N-able CEO Gavin Garbutt and his executive team have in store for MSPs? Here are seven questions worth asking.

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CharTec, the hardware as a service (HaaS) specialist, has introduced a new backup and disaster recovery (BDR) platform for its managed service providers and channel partners. Chartec’s new BDR platform features additional hardware stacks, a hardware upgrade, remote monitoring and management (RMM) and more memory.

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Navitas Lease Corp., a Channel Finance 25 company, has introduced hardware as a service (HaaS) offerings for managed services providers (MSPs) and channel partners. The move caught MSPmentor’s attention because Navitas financial team members have worked with N-able customers and partners for more than five years. Here’s the update.

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Any survey conducted by a retailer needs to be taken with one or several grains of salt, but results of a new survey on the technology needs of small businesses is are still worth checking out by any MSPs whose clientele includes SMBs. According to the newest edition of the Office Depot Small Business Index, technology issues among small businesses are common, with 75% of respondents citing that they have had a computer repaired at some point in time. A majority of these repairs were due to virus/malware issues (43%) or hardware issues (40%).

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Google Chromebooks officially debut today (June 15). Google is preparing some sort of partner program to help promote Chromebooks for Business into the channel. But in the meantime, MSPmentor sees at least four potential ways MSPs can indirectly profit from Chromebooks. Here they are…

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Google Chromebooks remain set for launch on June 15. The low-cost notebook and netbook devices run Google’s Chrome OS, working closely with Google Apps. But here’s the really interesting part: Google is also preparing to launch Chromebook for Business — which essentially is a hardware as a service (HaaS) plan for enterprise customers. Here are the details, plus the potential implications for managed services providers (MSPs).

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Google on June 15 will launch Chromebook for Business, a complete hardware and software as a service that will cost users $28 per device per month. Google announced the Chromebook for Business strategy this morning at the Google I/O conference in San Francisco. If the service works as advertised, Chromebook for Business could be a potential landmark move that disrupts traditional PC and notebook markets. Here are the potential implications for managed services providers (MSPs) and VARs.

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The VAR Guy’s Channel Finance 25 debuted today. The report, from MSPmentor’ sister site, includes 25 financial companies, lending experts, leasing professionals and other financial resources that can potentially help VARs and MSPs. Some of the companies even offer hardware as a service (HaaS) financial guidance to MSPs. You can find online details and a PDF report here. The report is based on a Q4 2010 survey from The VAR Guy, coupled with Q1 2011 editorial research. We look forward to publishing the report annually.

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It has been roughly a year since ConnectWise Capital invested in CharTec, the hardware as a service (HaaS) specialist. Since that time, CharTec has pushed deeper into additional markets like backup and disaster recovery (BDR). The latest example: CharTec has now integrated its backup and disaster recovery (BDR) appliance with ConnectWise‘s PSA (professional services automation) software, according to Corporate Administration Director Monique Rogers (pictured). Here’s the update.

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First, let’s state the obvious: Some managed services providers (MSPs) & VARs face branding challenges. Sometimes, corporate names don’t stand the test of time. Examples include legacy resellers that used “PC” or “Microcomputer” in their names, only to see the market shift to client-server, the Internet, and now managed cloud services. In some cases, MSPs break with the past and embrace a new corporate name. That’s the case at SSI Solutions, which is now F12 Networks Inc. Here’s what drove the branding change.

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CA Technologies appears to be preparing a SaaS channel push that may be called MSP on Demand. MSPmentor stumbled onto the effort while researching a separate hardware as a service (HaaS) story on February 10. Here’s the update and potential implications for MSPs.

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It has been roughly a year since Arnie Bellini (pictured) and David Bellini launched ConnectWise Capital, an investment fund that seeks to incubate channel-centric IT solutions for managed services providers (MSPs) and VARs. So, how are the first two investments — CharTec and LabTech Software performing? And can we expect ConnectWise Capital to make new investments? Both Arnie Bellini and David Bellini share some insights in an MSPmentor FastChat Video.

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I spent most of January 20 at ConnectWise’s headquarters in Tampa, Fla. Frequent MSPmentor readers know the basics — how CEO Arnie Bellini and President David Bellini pushed beyond local IT services to build a PSA (professional services automation) software company. And the more recent IT Nation channel community efforts. But what’s going on behind the curtains down at ConnectWise? Here are six clues that may indicate where the company is heading next…

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Is it a worthless gimmick or a smart promotion? You decide: SysFix Group, a managed services provider in the United Kingdom, is offering new customers a free small business server for the duration of their IT contract. This doesn’t exactly qualify as a freemium promotion, since customers have to have at least three computers under a SysFix Group support contract. But the SysFix offer sounds somewhat similar to hardware as a service (HaaS). Hree’s what the free offer covers.

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MSP on Demand, a hardware as a service (HaaS) specialist, may have had a majority ownership change, according to a recent SEC filing reviewed by MSPmentor. The potential ownership change comes as MSP on Demand continues to face a lawsuit filed by N-able Technologies, the RMM (remote monitoring and management) software specialist. Here’s the update.

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So, you’re a managed services provider that needs a small business loan, a lease or some other financial assistance. What are your options? Our sister site, The VAR Guy, is putting together a research report just for you. The VAR Guy’s Channel Finance 25 — an annual report — will help VARs and MSPs to find the key companies, organizations and financial lenders that can assist with short-term cash flow and long-term growth strategies. Here are the details.

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Focus, focus, focus. That’s the word of the month here at MSPmentor and its parent company, Nine Lives Media Inc. We’re focused on some MSPmentor enhancements… and some new efforts… Juggling those priorities means some of our draft blogs never get edited and published. So, with those thoughts in mind, here are seven managed services blog entries the MSPmentor team didn’t have a chance to write for the week ending November 12, 2010.

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So, you’re a managed services provider that needs a small business loan, a lease or some other financial assistance. What are your options? Our sister site, The VAR Guy, is putting together a research report just for you. The VAR Guy’s Channel Finance 25 — an annual report  — will help VARs and MSPs to find the key companies, organizations and financial lenders that can assist with short-term cash flow and long-term growth strategies. Here are the details.

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There’s money in managed print services. How do I know? First, Photizo Group started organizing managed print services conferences — and the buzz tied to the events has been pretty positive. More recently, CompTIA organized a community for managed print services. The big question: Can Photizo Group, CompTIA and print manufacturers help to turn the sleepy managed print services industry into a big money maker for MSPs? Here are some perspectives.

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At the ConnectWise IT Nation conference in Orlando, CEO Arnie Bellini outlined a vision to help MSPs, VARs and IT service providers succeed as cloud computing hype grows. Bellini’s key points focused on defending your business from major SaaS and cloud companies that plan to sell direct to SMBs. Plus, Bellini described how solutions providers can build closer SMB customer relationships that generate new revenue opportunities. Here are 15 highlights from the keynote — including key thoughts on coopetition (cooperating and competing) in the MSP software market.

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Roughly 1,100 MSPs and VARs will gather later this week at ConnectWise IT Nation (formerly ConnectWise Partner Summit). The conference (Nov. 4-6, Orlando) also serves as a magnet for several related events hosted by CharTec, HTG Peer Groups, LabTech Software, Level Platforms and TruMethods. No doubt, attendees will hear a lot of themes related to cloud computing, the last mile of IT and managing the modern office for SMBs. Here are 35 key questions MSPmentor plans to raise during the conference.

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