MSPmentor

ProviDyn, an IT support, network solutions and private cloud solution provider, will kick off 2012 with a new managed services contract with ServPro, a fire, water, mold and specialty cleanup and restoration service provider. ServPro is a nationwide organization but has local franchises throughout the United States. ProviDyn’s contract is with ServPro’s branch in Atlanta, Ga. where the managed service provider (MSP) already supports many small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

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Abiquo 2.0, a cloud management platform for MSPs and enterprises, has officially hit the open market. The major enhancement? MSPs can give users simplified deployment portals. Approved users can create virtual enterprises (tenants), virtual datacenters (sub-tenants) and virtual appliances (applications), Abiquo claims.

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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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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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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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When it comes to cloud computing, successful managed services providers (MSPs) should have a leg up against traditional channel players. That’s the consensus among Cisco Systems executives who have helped to build the networking giant’s managed services channel program and cloud computing partner program. Moreover, roughly 100 MSPs that work with Cisco will instantly qualify to join the new Cisco Cloud Partner Program. Here’s the update, including an MSPmentor FastChat Video interview with Wendy Bahr, senior VP of global and transformational partnership at Cisco.

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What an interesting time to be an MSP. Cloud computing in 2011 is like a dominant new predator wading into a well-established food chain at the top. The major Platform-as-a-Service providers have kicked off a cycle of rapid adaptation in the rest of the technology value chain. MSPs of all sizes, shapes and market segments are reconsidering their channel alignments, redesigning their business models, and fast-tracking the development of complementary software and service offerings. Some are building cloud integration practices. Some are specializing in application development for cloud deployment. Some are stacking new services of their own on others already running in the cloud.

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Sponsored Video: Long View Systems is perhaps best known as a managed services provider. But the Calgary-based solutions provider also has a strong track record within the cloud computing market. We can’t share the numbers quite yet, but it’s safe to say Long View will have a prominent spot on the fourth-annual MSPmentor 100 list when it debuts February 16, 2011. So what is Long View doing right? Kevin Crowe, director of managed IT services, provides some insights in this FastChat Video.

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Sponsored Video: FusionStorm, one of the industry’s best-known managed services providers (MSPs), also has a growing cloud services business practice. But how can peer MSPs develop cloud solutions for end customers? In this FastChat Video, FusionStorm Chief Technology Officer Vince Conroy offers some clues and also describes where FusionStorm is heading next.

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Cloud and storage startups have been bolstering their ties to MSPs over the past couple of weeks. Some of the more recent moves involve Abiquo, OS33 and Gridstore. Here’s a closer look at each company’s most recent efforts to attract MSPs onto their platforms.

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Take a moment to think about how you want to start the New Year, as 2010 is coming to a close and you’re prepping for 2011. You’ve had personal New Year’s resolutions, probably even kept some of them. I propose four business resolutions for managed services providers, VARs and solutions providers; these are actionable and vital to the success of your IT business in 2011.

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In the past year, we’ve heard a lot about the tremendous opportunities available to channel partners who are willing to jump into cloud computing. And in my previous columns, I’ve described how the cloud offers channel partners a unique chance to provide customers with top notch service, adding more value at lower prices while still making steady profits doing it. But how do you get started? Here are some clues.

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The IT forecast for coming years calls for a thick cloud cover, and that’s a good thing as long as we’re not talking about the economy. IT solution providers understand that cloud computing must lower the total cost of ownership of technology while allowing clients to forego big, upfront investments on hardware and software if it is to grab hold. Do you see the cloud as a threat or an opportunity? Is the cloud value proposition getting through to clients? You would hate to have the answer be, “yes they get it” as they leave your client base and move to a competitor. Will that competitor be Microsoft or Google or will it be the mid-market players that see a huge market potential in front of them? Here’s where I see IT solutions providers heading next.

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Italtel, which specializes in IP networks, is expected to launch a Cisco-centric managed services strategy on June 22 and 23. Italtel already offers Cisco Managed Services in a Box across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Now Italtel wants to extend that “in-a-box” MSP strategy into North America. And yes, the effort will involve managed services partners. Here are some early details.

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The rumors were true: Ingram Micro is developing cloud-centric business relationships with Amazon.com, Rackspace Hosting, Salesforce.com and several other heavy hitters. The relationships are linked to Ingram Micro’s new Cloud Conduit initiative. Here are details about the moves, and the potential implications for managed services providers (MSPs) and VARs.

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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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Before I start, the answer is NO. You can’t afford to ignore that elephant in the room. You’re risking everything that you have established up until now. A fundamental shift is taking place and it can’t be ignored. It’s not a matter as to IF it’s happening, only when it will fully take hold. Tim Shea, CEO of Alpha Netsolutions Inc. recently wrote: “Pretty soon, clients won’t care where a server sits or what brand it is. They will just care that they have the computer services they need—and how much it will cost to have them.” Here are the implications for MSPs.

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Cloud vendors, at least the publicly held ones, have been disclosing cloud-centric revenue for a few quarters now. The top line revenue results are helpful, since they chronicle demand for emerging cloud services. But, obviously, it doesn’t say much about the underlying business fundamentals. With that in mind, what metrics should cloud companies use to track financial performance and operational efficiency? How should they keep score? Here are some clues — and some similarity between cloud success metrics, and MSP success metrics.

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Windows Azure, Microsoft’s cloud for independent software vendors and partners, officially debuts with a paid pricing model today. Matt Weinberger offers some timely Azure perspectives over on The VAR Guy. But I’d like to weigh in with a few perspectives for managed services providers — particularly thoughts on Azure vs. Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite. Here they are.

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Service Providers are worried about the future prospects of their current managed service offerings in the face of emerging competition. More and more customer compute dollars could flow toward cloud providers with huge scale advantages like Amazon, Google and Microsoft.  I get the concern. But the cloud genie is not going back in the bottle. Here’s how to move forward.

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When Google takes the stage at the ConnectWise Partner Summit, channel manager Jeff Ragusa will deliver a key message: The managed services market is poised to expand beyond infrastructure management to application management. Regardless of your stance on Google Apps, Ragusa’s message is dead-on: It’s time for MSPs to figure out their application management strategies.

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Talk about two extremes: Yesterday, Canonical CEO Mark Shuttleworth (the guy behind Ubuntu Linux) said Amazon Web Services has emerged as a de facto cloud standard until open, vendor-neutral cloud standards can be developed. Yet only three percent of MSPs leverage Amazon’s cloud, according to our ongoing MSPmentor 100 survey. What’s behind the disconnect? Here are some thoughts.

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