MSPmentor

Dell continues to maintain a direct and indirect balancing act in the managed services market, this time as the company marches into the New York Metro area. Here are updates on the Dell’s overall MSP strategy, including direct monthly pricing info and the company’s latest certification momentum.

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As part of its ongoing managed services push, Dell hopes to launch a Master MSP strategy in late 2008 or early 2009, MSPmentor has learned. The move has potential implications for anyone involved in managed services. Here are some of the preliminary details, based on a conversation I had with Greg Davis, vice president and general manager of Dell’s Americas Channel Group.

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Although managed services coverage hasn’t quite pushed into the mainstream media, some business publications are starting to more effectively cover small business IT services.

Forbes, in particular, does a reasonably good job contrasting Dell’s remote management strategy to Hewlett-Packard’s buyout of Electronic Data Systems. The Forbes article, for instance, mentions the fact that SilverBack will be a key tool both for Dell as well as the PC giant’s integration partners.

Here’s a look at the Forbes piece on Dell’s small business strategy.

I’ve been especially critical of Hewlett-Packard in recent months, openly wondering how the company has so badly missed the managed services market in the US. But a new partnership in India may provide some clues abou where HP is heading in the MSP space.

A case in point: Netmagic Solutions, a managed IT service provider in India, has inked a partnership with HP to service midmarket customers in such markets as retail, healthcare, utilities, education and manufacturing, according to a release from Netmagic. In order to win over potentially skeptical customers in the US, Netmagic promotes the fact that its data centers are ISO 27001 and SAS 70 Audit (Type II) compliant.

Other MSPs should follow that lead. Here’s why.

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Dell, in its latest bid to build trust and profitable relationships with managed service providers, hosted a Web seminar for about 75 partners on May 1. More Web seminars are planned, but something far more interesting caught my attention: It seems like some Dell managers truly do have the channel in their DNA.

In fact, Dell’s partner team includes channel veterans who have built partner networks for Cisco Systems, ComputerLand and McAfee, just to name a few. And Mike Menegay, director, Dell Business Services, has been a solution provider himself.

Does that mean Dell’s partner program will be perfect? Absolutely not. But is Dell sending the right signals to managed service providers? In many cases, yes.

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My email inbox today had a Webinar invite from Dell. The company on April 22 plans to educate corporate customers about Everdream, a remote administration and asset management tool for PCs and mobile systems.

Now for the challenge: When Dell acquired Everdream and Silverback in 2007, some managed service providers worried that the PC giant would circumvent partners and market managed services directly to corporate customers.

Memo to Dell: Here’s how to eliminate such fear in your partner base. Read More >

Sorry for being so “Dell-centric” on our Web sites today, but a conversation I had with Dell’s Channel VP Greg Davis has triggered multiple posts. The latest: Davis and Michael Menegay, Global Director of Dell Managed Services, today sent a jointly signed letter to managed service providers. The letter provides MSPs with an update on:

1. Dell’s Managed Services Partner Certification, with more details about plans for the Everdream platform
2. Dell’s own Managed Services for small business plans, with more details on Dell’s intention to test managed services with selected small businesses
3. Future communications. Dell is planning a Web seminar the week of April 21 to continue the conversation with partners.

Here is some analysis, along with a link to let you read the entire letter for yourself. Read More >

Channel conflict. Trust. While some VARs and managed service providers continue to fret over those words, more than 6,200 solutions providers have joined Dell’s channel program since its official launch on December 5, according to Greg Davis, the company’s channel chief.

During an extended phone interview on Friday, Davis described Dell’s progress so far with VARs and MSPs — and also discussed some of the challenges Dell has faced during the company’s foray into the channel.

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