MSPmentor

Intronis, which promotes cloud backup services to MSPs, is on pace to grow 50 percent or more in 2011, according to CEO Kent Plunkett. To maintain that growth, Intronis plans to double-down on the North America market, focusing like a laser on managed services providers that need cloud backup services. Plunkett described the Intronis cloud storage strategy to MSPmentor yesterday during an hour-long interview.

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Caringo, which provides object storage software, believes the latest version of its product has relevance for cloud storage. The Austin, Texas company this week took the wraps off CAStor 5.0, which is slated to ship in November. The product provides multi-tenancy and dynamic caching — the kinds of features Mark Goros, chief executive officer of Caringo, said are applicable to cloud providers and MSPs.

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At the N-able Partner Summit in Scottsdale, Ariz., CEO Gavin Garbutt (pictured) is pulling back the curtain on a global growth strategy and solutions roadmap. The effort includes “key vertical markets, alliances and integrated solutions” that will allow MSPs to deliver next-generation managed services and cloud-based offerings over the next 18 months, N-able claims. Here’s the update.

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Regardless of the combination of managed services you offer to your clients, your success hinges on your ability to clearly demonstrate the value of those services.  You can have a killer software lineup, 24 hour service, and an iron-clad SLA, and you’ll still find prospects who hem and haw over everything from price to minute implementation details.  However, there are a few common objections that frequently come up in sales conversations with SMB owners. Here are the three most common objections and how to handle them.

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Nine Technology has made a series of updates to its “Powered by Nine” data protection offerings — which are designed to help their MSP partners and customers recover data faster and easier if and when disaster strikes. Here are some quick details.

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An organization’s data retention requirements encompasses not only e-mail but other forms of electronic communication such as IM and social media. MSPs may find opportunities here in the expanding scope of compliance duties. Here’s why.

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It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Gillware Data Services, which provides free online QuickBooks backups to CPAs. But now Gillware has announced a partnership with Network Management Group, Inc. (NMGI) to provide a broader range of cloud services, including storage. Here’s the scoop.

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Is CA Technologies (formerly CA Inc.) serious about the managed services market? I found my answer at the Ingram Micro Cloud Summit in Dallas, where I began to experience double-vision. In one room, CA Technologies was talking up its strategy to managed services providers. In another room, CA’s recently acquired Nimsoft team was busy describing its role in the MSP sector. But can CA really become a mainstream player in the MSP space? Here are some thoughts.

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Infrastructure software company RainStor has launched version 4 of their namesake data repository and retrieval solution, aimed squarely at quickly and compliantly compressing and querying large chunks of historical data. Here’s some background.

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The Launch Pad, a Florida-based MSP catering to SMBs, has unveiled fixed-fee managed services targeted at nonprofit organizations. The RevITUP Business Care Nonprofit Managed IT Services Series, as The Launch Pad calls it, combines remote monitoring and management, help desk and ticketing functions, backup and disaster recovery, and Internet security. Here’s a look at the effort.

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Gillware has a rather intriguing recommendation to help MSPs drum up business: The company says you should hook up with an accountant, and provide the CPA with a free-for-life managed backup/online backup solution for their QuickBooks financial files. How can that lead to more recurring revenue? Here are some clues.

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LegalCloud isn’t your typical managed services provider. The Sausalito, Calif.-based company is targeting the legal vertical with a range of cloud, infrastructure as a service (IaaS), backup and disaster recovery services. I met CEO Mark Hadfield on January 15, and he shared portions of LegalCloud’s business plan with me. Here’s a look at his strategy.

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Question: How can small and midsize businesses — such as accounting firms, legal firms and architectural companies — easily but securely share files with selected clientele? One potential answer is Box.net, a simple content management and storage service. Eager adopters include Network Depot, a managed service provider in Reston, Va. Here are some details.

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StorageCraft Technology Corp., which specializes in disk-based backup and information protection, has inked a partnershup with Zenith Infotech.  Under terms of the deal, StorageCraft ShadowProtect will back up Zenith Infotech’s managed servers, storing the backup images both locally and remotely, providing multiple access points, in the event of a catastrophic failure, according to a joint company release.

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MaxSP, which appears to be a business continuity expert of sorts, says it has bolstered its Data Protection Suite with storage management software from Acronis.

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Less than 24-hours after warning Wall Street about a revenue slowdown, Cisco Systems flexed its financial muscle. The company is investing $100 million to help VARs and managed service providers more effectively target small businesses with 100 or few employees.

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If you’re wondering how managed storage services will evolve in the business market, perhaps you should keep an eye on the customer industry. There, Hewlett-Packard and a bunch of start-ups are launching online storage services that promote simple file access and file sharing.

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