Before you race toward cloud services, mobile device management and other shiny opportunities, it’s time for VARs and MSPs to get back to basics. Start with your IT help desk and IT service desk strategy. Over the past three weeks, I’ve come to realize just how much your IT help desk will influence customer retention, customer satisfaction and revenue growth.
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IT Help Desk and IT Service Desk Strategies: Back to Basics
Posted September 20th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
MSPmentor and Nine Lives Media Acquired By Penton Media
Posted August 30th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
I spend considerable time covering IT mergers and acquisitions. Now, it’s time for me to shift the spotlight directly onto our business. Specifically, Nine Lives Media Inc., the company behind MSPmentor, has been acquired by Penton Media. Effective immediately, the Nine Lives Media brands — MSPmentor, The VAR Guy and Talkin’ Cloud — are part of Penton’s Technology Group. But don’t call it an exit strategy. This is an acceleration strategy. Here’s why.
Hurricane Irene: The Disaster Recovery Begins
Posted August 29th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
At first glance, Hurricane Irene caused less damage than expected on the U.S. east coast. Still, at least 25 people in eight states lost their lives in the storm, which likely caused billions of dollars in damages and lost business. Now, the recovery effort begins as MSPs check in with customers up and down the U.S. east coast.
Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference Road Trip: Join Us
Posted July 1st, 2011 by The VAR Guy
It’s not quite the Wolfpack. But MSPmentor and The VAR Guy have a special offer for readers who are traveling from San Francisco to Los Angeles for Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2011. Up to three readers are invited to join the ultimate road trip — driving down the California coastline on July 9 (Saturday) and July 10 (Sunday) — before arriving at Microsoft WPC 2011. Here are the details.
MSP CEOs: Hyper Business Growth vs. Personal Happiness
Posted March 18th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
A growing number of MSPs seem to be reaching the following conclusion: Maybe running a successful lifestyle business isn’t so bad after all. Indeed, earlier this decade thousands of VARs jumped into the managed services market with a common goal: Automate operations, drive recurring revenues, and vastly increase the value of their businesses. In some cases the goals are now changing. Some MSPs are deciding it’s time to focus on highly profitable lifestyle businesses rather than hyper-growth, high-valuation dreams. Here’s why.
7 Ways to Break the Rules… And Succeed as an SMB
Posted February 2nd, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
Nine Lives Media Inc. (MSPmentor’s parent) recently turned three years old. I don’t know the exact date we incorporated. We were in stealth mode in Q4 2007 (you can still see the raw MSPmentor beta site here). Both MSPmentor and The VAR Guy came online in January 2008. And we’ve been sprinting forward ever since. But we don’t always play by the rules. In fact, here are seven ways we broke the rules to (apparently) achieve success as a small business.
Help Wanted: Nine Lives Media Inc. Seeks Talented Pros
Posted November 12th, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
Nine Lives Media Inc., publisher of MSPmentor, remains in growth mode and we have big aspirations for 2011. We are currently seeking talented freelance professionals to assist our sales, marketing, Webcast, blogging and video efforts. For a list of current freelance opportunities please visit our corporate careers page.
Help Wanted: Senior Contributing Editor/Webcasts
Posted September 1st, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
As I hinted a few weeks ago, Nine Lives Media Inc. (MSPmentor’s parent) remains in growth mode and we’re looking for new talent. We’re currently seeking a senior contributing editor to handle Webcast content development, speaker recruitment, slide and powerpoint preparation and potential event moderation. But that’s not all… Here are the details.
Seven Managed Services Blogs MSPmentor Didn’t Write: July 2
Posted July 2nd, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
It’s time for me to “let go” of MSPmentor for just a little bit. As the July 4th holiday weekend gets set to kick off, I’m preparing for a real vacation. Really. But before I unplug, here are seven managed services blog entries that the MSPmentor team didn’t have a chance to write for the week ending July 2, 2010.
Holiday Weekend: Can MSPs Really Unplug?
Posted July 1st, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
As the July 4 holiday weekend approaches here in the U.S., it’s time for MSPs, entrepreneurs (and me…) to face the following facts: First, as a small business owner you need to fully unplug from time to time. Second, if you can’t unplug you need to admit that you’re really not an effective small business owner. Here’s why it’s time for quite a few MSPs and entrepreneurs to take a vacation. Including me.
SaaS Stocks Up 53 Percent So Far In 2009
Posted November 29th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
With one month remaining in 2009, software as a service (SaaS) stocks remain red hot. Nine Lives Media Inc.’s SaaS 20 Stock Index is up 53.74 percent so far this year — with 19 of the 20 index members seeing their shares rise. Here’s a look at the index’s year-to-date winners, plus the reason why Rackspace Hosting Inc. is joining the SaaS 20 Stock Index.
First Look: ConnectWise TV, Plus Competition With Autotask
Posted April 6th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
Talk about going to extremes. MSPmentor started last week at the Autotask Community Live conference, and we ended the week touring ConnectWise, and participating in a ConnectWise TV segment recording. Publicly, Autotask and ConnectWise are fierce rivals and extreme opposites in the professional services automation (PSA) market. But privately, there are actually some similarities between the two companies. Skeptical? Read on.
The Top Reason Start-ups Succeed — Or Fail
Posted February 27th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
Whether you’re transitioning into the managed services market or launching an MSP from scratch, I spotted some timely start-up guidance from Inc. magazine. The article highlights the need for “careful morale management.” But I think you need to take the example one step further and ask yourself: Can you really build a business doing everything by yourself?
Dell Launches Download Store for Small Business Software
Posted January 16th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
Dell has taken another step closer to the small business software world, opening the Dell Download Store — where small business customers can download applications from Intuit, McAfee, Microsoft and other software companies. Some solutions providers and managed service providers may fear The Dell Download Store. But I have a slightly different perspective.
The Planet: Web Hosting Meets Managed Services
Posted December 17th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Imagine managing 14.1 million web sites, 57,000 Dell servers and the second largest number of Red Hat hosting licenses in the country.
MSPmentor Launches Sister Web Site Called “Works With U”
Posted May 2nd, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Forgive me for going slightly off topic. I have some news to share: MSPmentor has a new sister Web site. It’s called Works With U, and it covers an emerging, disruptive Linux distribution called Ubuntu.
