Microsoft and Parallels this week at Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2011 (WPC11) announced a two-year pact to offer a cloud automation bundle geared toward the health industry. Both companies contribute technology to the mix. Parallels Automation provides a system for delivering, managing and billing cloud services. Microsoft, meanwhile, will kick in Microsoft System Center, Exchange Server, SharePoint Server, Lync Server and Hyper-V. Here’s a closer look at the relationship.
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Microsoft-Parallels Pact Targets Healthcare Partners
Posted July 13th, 2011 by John Moore
Seven Managed Services Blogs MSPmentor Didn’t Write: June 3
Posted June 3rd, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
I spent much of the week at Ingram Micro Cloud Summit in Phoenix, Ariz. There was plenty of managed services chatter at the conference. But as usual, we’ve got too many news leads and too little time. So here are seven managed services blog entries MSPmentor didn’t have time to write for the week ending June 3, 2011.
Lyrix Targets MSPs With Hosted VoIP Add-on
Posted April 26th, 2011 by John Moore
Lyrix Inc. is cultivating a service provider channel for its hosted speech-enabled auto attendant (SEAA) offering. The company’s Mobiso Speech Assistant uses speech recognition — instead dial-by-name lookup — to direct callers to the appropriate party. Lyrix is positioning Speech Assistant as an add-on sale for hosted IP PBX providers. VoIP services typically lack speech recognition as part of the offering, noted Stewart Hampton, marketing director at Lyrix. Hosted SEAA, however, lets service providers tap that technology as part of a broader solution.
Managed VoIP and PBX Services: Cloud or On-Premise?
Posted March 31st, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
In recent weeks, numerous technology companies have promoted cloud PBX and hosted VoIP services. No doubt, some managed services providers (MSPs) are embracing those services. But a lengthy list of VARs and MSPs continue to promote on-premise unified communications systems. Why’s that? Jason Waldrop, CEO of Connected WorkPlace Solutions — an MSPmentor 100 company and Cisco partner — provided some insights in a recent MSPmentor FastChat Video.
Master MSPs: New Missions, Evolving Ambitions?
Posted February 28th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
Master MSPs — which offer education and multiple hosted services to VARs and aspiring managed services providers — seem to be evolving in multiple directions. Some are becoming cloud aggregators. Others are expanding their SMB channel training services. But one thing is clear: No two Master MSPs seem to have the same business plan these days. Here’s why.
What Does WikiLeaks Mean For Cloud Service Providers?
Posted December 2nd, 2010 by Matthew Weinberger
While MSPmentor has been watching the convergence of managed services and cloud computing, the rest of the world has been watching the news unfold around controversial governmental whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks and their recent ejection from Amazon EC2 following a string of DDOS attacks. But the two concepts meet in a short, but thoughtful, essay by Parallels’ Joshua Beil on what the WikiLeaks story means for cloud and hosted service providers. Here are some highlights.
Recap: Six Managed Services Trends At HostingCon
Posted July 20th, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
Somewhere between 1,000 and 1,500 hosting providers, service providers and technology companies are attending this week’s HostingCon conference in Austin, Texas. When I arrived at the conference, I openly wondered if the content and the chatter would involve smaller MSPs. But as I navigated HostingCon, I quickly heard plenty of MSP-oriented chatter in the halls. In fact, here are six MSP-related observations from the event.
HostingCon: 7 Trends for Managed Services Providers
Posted July 14th, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
When HostingCon starts July 19 in Austin, Texas, I’ll be a first-time attendee. But even before HostingCon starts, I’m hearing buzz from managed services providers (MSPs) and managed hosting providers. Here are seven MSP-oriented trends that I expect to surface at the conference.
ChannelCloud Finally Pulls Back the Curtains
Posted May 5th, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
For several months, MSPmentor has been watching for the official launch of ChannelCloud — a platform allegedly built “by the channel for the channel.” It looks like ChannelCloud will finally provide some deeper information on May 14. Here are some preliminary details.
Seven Managed Services Blog Entries We Didn’t Write: March 26
Posted March 26th, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
In theory, our team is set to begin the weekend in a few hours. But in reality, we’ve got our hands full with some travel planning that will take us to Miami, Las Vegas, San Francisco and Silicon Valley over the next four weeks. Oh, and potentially one other stop. But more on that later. In the meantime, here are seven managed services blog entries MSPmentor’s team didn’t have a chance to write for the week ending March 26.
Pointivity Promotes Managed Virtualization Services
Posted September 22nd, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
A quick observation: Pointivity, which specializes in application hosting, managed services and cloud computing, has signed on to leverage Parallels virtualization software in the company’s data center.
Desktop Virtualization Meets Managed Services
Posted August 14th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
I asked several managed service providers yesterday whether their customers were interested in Macs and Linux as secure, easy-to-manage alternatives to Windows PCs. The answer was a resounding “no.” Instead, the MSPs said, many of their customers are willing to virtualize their desktops, shifting most applications up to a server.
The Pros and Cons of MSP Certification
Posted March 30th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Many VARs get certified for vendor-specific technology (Microsoft, Cisco, etc.). But a new wave of certifications and accreditations — focused on the managed service provider and software as a service (SaaS) markets — is emerging.
Virtualization Meets Managed Services
Posted February 19th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
In the world of journalism, there’s an old saying: “Three’s a trend.” I thought of that truism this morning when I learned Tech Data plans to offer VMware to its resellers. Managed service providers should take note. In addition to Tech Data, at least two MSP platform providers are striving to help VARs more effectively manage virtualized servers.
