MSPmentor

eXo, which develops a content management system, has released eXo 3.5. The multi-tenancy platform could allow managed services providers (MSPs) and cloud services providers (CSPs) to offer customers dedicated portals for content and collaboration, social streams and services, and mobile access. eXo Founder and President Benjamin Mestrallet (pictured) described the strategy to me last week.

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When the MSPWorld conference kicks off this week (Feb. 1-3, Miami, Fla.), a healthy portion of the event content will focus on cloud computing and cloud services. That’s hardly surprising, considering nearly 60 percent of top MSPs now offer cloud and SaaS services to their customers, according to our fifth-annual MSPmentor 100 report. But what cloud trends will be on display at MSPWorld? Here are some guesses.

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SunGard Availability Services, the disaster recovery service provider, has embraced the Zenoss Service Dynamics platform to support the company’s cloud services and managed services infrastructure. Here’s a closer look at SunGard’s move.

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Our editorial team spent this week visiting IBM, Hewlett-Packard and some other surprise players in the managed services market (stay tuned). Amid all that travel, here are seven managed services blogs and MSP news tips the MSPmentor team didn’t have a chance to write for the week ending Dec. 9, 2011.

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IBM continues to accelerate its partner strategy in the mid-market. The effort includes a growing push to transform VARs and resellers into managed services providers. Andy Monshaw, general manager of IBM’s global and medium sized business, offered MSPmentor an update.

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Zenoss, the open source server and network monitoring software provider, says 2011 revenues grew 300 percent year over year (YoY). The company claims IT service providers increasingly opt for Zenoss rather than management platforms from IBM, HP, CA Technologies and BMC.  Anecdotal evidence suggests Zenoss’s annual revenues will easily exceed $10 million in 2011. But is Zenoss really disrupting the Big 4 IT management software providers?

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Network Instruments, which specializes in network troubleshooting and analysis solutions, has added native cloud infrastructure monitoring to its Observer Infrastructure 3.0 network monitoring solution.

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ScienceLogic, which develops IT management software for enterprises and service providers, is aggressively pursuing virtualization and cloud opportunities. What’s the strategy? I caught up with CEO Dave Link and other ScienceLogic executive team members. Here’s some perspective.

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Managed services providers in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) are starting to gain momentum in the cloud computing market. The latest example: Maclean, which was Kaseya‘s 2010 MSP of the Year for ANZ, has inked a deal with IBM to help midsize customers embrace cloud computing. Here are the details.

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At first glance, NIU Solutions is a roll-up, formed through the acquisitions of  Pasporte, Ipitomi Solutions, Telinet LTD and Evolution Voice and Data LTD. The resulting company had more than 200 employees and 4,000 IT customers in the U.K. But just under a year ago NIU Solutions noticed the market was sharply shifting toward cloud computing and fully managed service solutions. So NIU made a decision to shift with the ebb and flow of the IT sector, focusing instead on 200 core customers. Here’s how.

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Kaavo has been pitching its cloud management software and automation services to SMB customers since the company was founded in 2007. Kavvo specializes in application-centric management and security for cloud computing, allowing customers to deploy and manage applications and workloads in the cloud. Now Kaavo Founder and CEO Jamal Mazhar says managed service providers can also benefit from Kaavo’s automation solutions. Here’s why.

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Ingram Micro continues to accelerate its cloud strategy, today launching Ingram Micro Cloud and a related marketplace for VARs and MSPs that are seeking a range of SaaS and cloud solutions. In an MSPmentor FastChat Video, Ingram Micro VP Renee Bergeron says the distributor’s cloud strategy is a natural extension of Ingram’s services strategy for partners. Here’s the update plus some perspective from MSPmentor.

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As the managed services market continues to evolve, the best MSPs may start to resemble mini-IBMs, predicted Andrew Monshaw (pictured), general manager of global mid-market IBM sales and distribution. Monshaw made the prediction during a sit-down interview with MSPmentor at the Avnet-IBM Partner Summit. Here’s the logic behind Monshaw’s statement.

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When it comes to the cloud IBM is getting aggressive. They’ve launched a new cloud services platform to help communication service providers get an edge on public cloud services. Read on for the scoop…

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A new Forrester Research report indicates that Microsoft, Google, Cisco, and IBM — which is to say, the major SaaS email players — have more-or-less reached price parity for cloud messaging at about $5 per user per month, confirming that the cloud is axiomatically cheaper than on-premise for most MSPs and the enterprises they serve. Here’s the scoop.

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Boomi, the self-described “Integration Cloud Company,” has announced record growth in the first six months of 2010, adding 150 new customers and tripling subscription revenues year over year. Here’s a closer look at the company.

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Data integration solution vendor Jitterbit has launched a partner program designed to give MSPs, VARs, systems integrators, and anyone else in the IT channel a way to easily and quickly migrate new customers to the cloud. Here’s the scoop.

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In India, IBM has teamed up for the next 10 years with ElectraCard Services (ECS) to provide the backbone for ECS’s disaster recovery infrastructure. Here’s the quick rundown about the agreement.

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Google continues its public relations assault on Microsoft. The latest move: Dave Girouard, president of Google’s enterprise division, has some harsh words as he derides their Redmond rivals for being slow to adapt to the cloud. But is Girouard correct? Here’s some perspective.

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IBM’s acquisition of Cast Iron Systems is already paying a dividend, as Big Blue announces a partnership with NetSuite to integrate their respective cloud solutions. The goal: ERP, delivered as a service, and fully integrated with on-premise systems.

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IBM has expanded its SaaS portfolio even further with the acquisition of cloud integration service provider Cast Iron Systems. IBM’s goal is to make it easier for customers to move from legacy systems to a hybrid cloud model. Here are some perspectives.

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Despite all the hype, it’s still early in the cloud game — and big-time cloud revenues have yet to arrive. At least that’s the spin from Matt Asay, a CNet blogger and chief operating officer at Canonical. Asay notes that Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud (perhaps the best-known cloud environment out there) is believed to only generate about $220 million annually in annual revenues. That’s a rather small sum, considering Amazon’s annual corporate revenue was $24.5 billion in 2009. So, when will cloud revenues really kick in?

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Qwest Communications — which already counts 95% of the Fortune 500 as their customers — is going after the midmarket with an IBM-powered line of managed services aimed at enterprises with 15,000 seats or less. Here’s the deal.

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