MSPmentor

As 2011 winds down and most folks are looking ahead to the year ahead, the crystal ball is getting quite a workout. Will the economy rebound? Will the channel adapt to new technologies and new selling models? Will the Denver Broncos win the Super Bowl?

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The CEO of a Silicon Valley company called me two weeks ago. He had a simple question: What are my views on NetEnrich, which specializes in NOC (network operations center) services for MSPs and VARs? My simple answer: My NetEnrich views are evolving — as is NetEnrich itself. Over the past 18 months or so, NetEnrich has blended its established executive team with new viewpoints to gain a clearer focus. Here’s how.

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NetEnrich Inc., which promotes closet-to-cloud services for MSPs, has hired a VP of sales and a senior director of product management. The moves reinforce continued expansion at NetEnrich, which has been pushing beyond traditional NOC (network operations center) services for MSPs in recent months.

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Sometimes I ask dumb questions… a lot of them. Such was the case this week during a meeting with NetEnrich Senior VP and GM Justin Crotty, and Corporate Marketing VP Jennifer Baier Anaya. NetEnrich has been pushing beyond its NOC (network operations center) stronghold to offer IT as a Service to VARs and MSPs. And now, NetEnrich is branding a Closet-to-Cloud IT services portfolio. So it was time for me to ask the obvious question: What exactly are Closet-to-Cloud services?

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At the Ingram Micro VTN conference this week, VP of Managed Services and Cloud Computing Renee Bergeron (pictured) generated plenty of dialog around managed services and cloud computing. But sometimes you need to read between the lines and listen carefully to what wasn’t said. Sometimes, silence in certain areas can tell you a lot about what’s next for a company and its channel partners. So, based on my own educated guesses, here’s what’s next for the Ingram Micro Cloud and Ingram Micro Seismic initiatives.

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NetEnrich, best known for its NOC (network operations center) services, has recruited Jennifer Anaya as VP of corporate marketing. The move signals NetEnrich’s continued push beyond NOC services for MSPs and VARs. Anaya is well-known within the managed services industry, having previously assisted Autotask and Ingram Micro with various channel and managed services efforts.

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NetEnrich — a NOC (network operations center) provider that works closely with MSPs — continues to evolve rapidly. It sounds like Senior VP and General Manager Justin Crotty (pictured) is crafting a new branding effort — something along the lines of “from the closet to the cloud.” To assist with the effort it sounds like NetEnrich is nearly… ready… to make another strategic hire. Here’s the update.

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There’s nothing like procrastinating — just a little longer than usual. Here are seven managed services blogs the MSPmentor team didn’t have a chance to write for the week ending March 18, 2011.

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For many managed services providers (MSPs), proactively monitoring PCs and servers is old news. Looking ahead, it seems like a growing number of MSPs are expanding their focus to managed unified communications and maybe even hosted PBX services. And companies like Cisco Systems, Intermedia, N-able, NetEnrich, Parallels and Tigerpaw Software are more than happy to accelerate the trend. Here’s the update — including the latest move by NetEnrich CEO Raju Chekuri (pictured).

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I’m running a bit late with quite a few things — including this blog entry. After last week’s Parallels Summit in Orlando, I’m heading out later today to Cisco Partner Summit in New Orleans. But before I catch my flight here are seven managed services blog entries MSPmentor didn’t have a chance to write for the week ending February 25, 2011.

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Last week I mentioned a few software companies that were shifting to 24×5 and 24×7 support for their managed services partners. To further the discussion I reached out to NOC (network operations center) and help desk providers to see if 24×7 support is now a requirement for MSPs and their end-customers.

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As the managed services market grew up, a healthy number of MSPs decided to outsource their help desks to third-party partners. But now, ConnectWise CEO Arnie Bellini is calling on MSPs — even small MSPs — to build their own help desks. By having a help desk in-house, small MSPs can build person-to-person relationships with end-customers, while more closely monitoring trends and needs within their SMB customer bases, Bellini asserts. So, what’s the upshot for MSPs?

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NetEnrich Senior VP and GM Justin Crotty says MSPs that build their own NOC (network operation center) services are behaving like dung beetles, feeding off messy customer problems when MSP time would be better spent focusing on strategic business activities. Predictably, Crotty is making his case for MSPs to outsource their NOCs to a third-party provider. Here’s why.

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Jason Beal, a well-known veteran of Ingram Micro Services, North America and Ingram Micro Seismic, will soon shift his attention to Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Effective January 1, 2011, Ingram Micro EMEA will leverage Beal as senior director, software and services, Value Division. Beal’s new role is the latest update to Ingram Micro’s cloud, managed services and IT services strategy. Here’s the update.

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Ingram Micro has found Justin Crotty’s successor. The distributor has named Renée Bergeron as VP of managed services and cloud computing for its North America region. Translation: Bergeron has a slightly different title, but she essentially succeeds Crotty as the head of the Ingram Micro Services Network, Seismic services portfolio and the Cloud Conduit Initiative and Advisory Council. Here are additional details.

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As he settles in as senior VP and GM of NetEnrich, Justin Crotty has two quick, concise messages for managed services providers. First, NetEnrich is more than a NOC (network operations center) services provider. Second, NetEnrich will remain all channel, all the time while continuing to rely on two strategic distribution partnerships. So where is NetEnrich heading next? Crotty provides some clues in this MSPmentor FastChat Video.

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Rob Bissett (pictured), director of product management at N-able Technologies, is making the leap into the cloud. He’s set to join 6fusion International, a cloud services provider that works with a range of data center providers across Canada, the United States and the Caribbean. Here are some quick details about Bissett’s move to 6fusion.

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MSPmentor had a busy week covering the CompTIA Breakaway conference. We also managed to visit quite a few technology companies headquartered in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. What exactly did we hear during those meetings and visits? Here are seven managed services blog entries we didn’t have a chance to write for the week ending Aug. 13, 2010.

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Several months ago, MSP coach Stuart Selbst told me to keep an eye on Live Virtual Help Desk (LiveVHD), an upstart provider of NOC (network operations center) and help desk services. It was a quick, generic comment from Selbst. But he had a point: Fast forward to the present, and LiveVHD seems to be inking relationships with a range of MSP-oriented software companies — including a deal with Quest Software’s PacketTrap team. So, what’s LiveVHD’s strategy? My best guess: Competing against NOC and help desk services from the likes of Ingram Micro Seismic, NetEnrich and Zenith Infotech. Here’s some speculation…

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Our blog team had a busy, enjoyable week. But as usual there were a bunch of stories we didn’t nail down. So, here are seven managed services blog entries that MSPmentor didn’t have time to write for the week ending June 18, 2010.

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Ingram Micro North America Services VP Justin Crotty (pictured), leader of the company’s Seismic managed services business, is leaving Ingram Micro July 2. Sometime in mid-2010, Crotty will join NetEnrich, an IT-as-a-service company that works closely with distributors and channel partners. Here are the details.

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During the Ingram Micro Cloud Summit in Dallas this morning, Services VP Justin Crotty described where Ingram Micro will and won’t play in the cloud. He also described how the smartest solutions providers are succeeding in the cloud. Here’s a rapid recap.

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The surest way for solution providers to sell cloud computing to SMB customers is to talk about the technology’s business advantages throughout the sale cycle. It’s not just a starting point for the conversation.  If presented correctly, these benefits combined with your services will be what ultimately seals the deal.

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