MSPmentor

LabTech Software, the on-premise remote monitoring and management (RMM) provider, is gearing up to support MSPs in the cloud. LabTech CEO Matt Nachtrab says his company is still formulating a strategy for hosted LabTech software — but it sounds like the R&D efforts for LabTech in the cloud are under way.

Read More >

Proving again that you can’t always trust the blogosphere, there’s a rumor Microsoft may eventually drop the Windows brand. But before you go chasing the rumor to see if it’s true consider the facts: Instead of abandoning the Windows brand, Microsoft continues to extend it into the PC management and cloud markets.

Read More >

Multiple sources say Microsoft has circled July 1 as a potential launch date for Office 365, the forthcoming successor to Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS). The potential target date would allow Microsoft to heavily promote Office 365 at the annual Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC, July 10-15, Los Angeles). No doubt, Microsoft is betting its cloud strategy on Office 365 and its sister cloud site, Windows Azure. But will MSPs warm up to Office 365 when it arrives?

Read More >

MSPmentor’s bloggers had their hands full covering a range of events in recent days, including the Tigerpaw User Conference in Dallas. Alas, we were so busy running to flights that we didn’t have time to write the following seven managed services blog entries for the week ending Oct. 8, 2010. Take a look…

Read More >

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.

Read More >

Consider the following scenario: You’re a managed services provider. Instead of investing big bucks to build your own hosted applications, you entrust your end-customers to Microsoft’s cloud — including Exchange Online and SharePoint Online. But in the past few weeks, that Microsoft cloud — called BPOS (Business Productivity Online Suite) — has gone dark at least three times. The big question: Will end-customers remain patient amid Microsoft’s SaaS growing pains? Or is there something fundamentally wrong with Microsoft’s hosting strategy?

Read More >

Jon Roskill is Microsoft’s global channel chief. But check the Microsoft organization chart, and you’ll discover a cloud channel chief working closely with Roskill. Her name is Gretchen O’Hara, and she’s set to address a few hundred managed services providers (MSPs) during the N-able Partner Summit in October 2010. What message will O’Hara share with MSPs? Here are some potential clues.

Read More >

Microsoft is preparing a Windows Azure Appliance for large service providers and big hardware partners that want to offer customers private clouds. But the appliance is not designed for small MSPs to run within their own data centers. Instead, it sounds like small MSPs will need to partner up with big service providers and large integrators to potentially leverage the Windows Azure Appliance. Here’s why.

Read More >

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is set to take the stage in a few minutes at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC10) in Washington, D.C. Roughly 14,000 attendees — including 9,500 channel partners — are at the event. Ballmer is expected to rally those partners around Microsoft’s All In cloud computing strategy, which includes Windows Azure, BPOS (Business Productivity Online Suite) and new offerings like Windows Intune. Update: MSPmentor’s sister site, The VAR Guy, has a recap of Ballmer’s keynote here. You’ll find complete Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference coverage at www.thevarguy.com/tag/wpc10 and www.mspmentor.net/tag/wpc10 throughout the week.

Read More >

Is Japanese tech giant Fujitsu going to offer Microsoft’s Windows Azure cloud platform within its data centers? A Dow Jones Newswires report came out suggesting just that. And yes, Microsoft and Fujitsu confirmed pieces of the story today during the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC10). Here are the details.

Read More >

I’m not sure how, when or why it happened. But this weekly “Seven things…” blog entry has developed a cult following of sorts. My inbox is filled each Friday morning with rumors, gossip and, um… music picks (thanks Gerard…) from readers. And each Friday afternoon, we publish seven pieces of reader chatter that MSPmentor’s blog team otherwise didn’t have a chance to cover. Here’s the rundown for the week ending June 25, 2010.

Read More >

As Microsoft transitions its channel chief title from Allison Watson to Jon Roskill, the shift provides an inflection point for both Microsoft and the broader IT channel. No doubt, Watson has made cloud computing and SaaS a channel priority during 2010. But Roskill has the opportunity to both clarify and accelerate Microsoft’s SaaS channel strategy — especially as it relates to small VARs and emerging managed services providers. Here are five steps Roskill should take.

Read More >

The Ingram Micro Cloud Summit is wrapping up in Dallas today. Roughly 250 VARs and managed services providers attended the conference. So what were the key takeaways? And better yet… what rumors surfaced behind the scenes? Here are some observations from MSPmentor.

Read More >

I’ve returned home from the Kaseya Connect User Conference, and I’ll be heading off to the Ingram Micro Cloud and Seismic Partner conferences on June 6. In between, here are seven managed services blog entries MSPmentor didn’t have a chance to write for the week ending June 4, 2010.

Read More >

Data security vendor Datacastle is now delivering their RED laptop backup and encryption endpoint solution as a service through Microsoft’s Windows Azure cloud platform. Here’s the lowdown.

Read More >

Systems managers and other IT pros have made their way to Las Vegas for the Microsoft Management Summit (MMS) 2010, which kicked off this week. This year’s theme is “Manage the Future: Desktop to Cloud,” and Bob Muglia, president of the Microsoft Server and Tools Business, was on hand to discuss how the focus of the IT industry is shifting from servers to managed services — and to announce Microsoft’s new cloud and datacenter management products. Here’s the scoop.

Read More >

Microsoft unveiled the latest chapter in its cloud strategy today, as Channel Chief Allison Watson outlined potential cloud opportunities for VARs and MSPs. Watson held a webcast for channel partners earlier today. And she sat down for a FastChat video with The VAR Guy to answer additional cloud-centric channel questions. In the FastChat videos, Watson discusses opportunities involving Windows Azure and BPOS (Business Productivity Online Suite), competition with Google, first cloud steps for VARs, and the SaaS pricing questions that sometimes pop up within Microsoft’s channel ecosystem. Here are the videos.

Read More >

Carpatia Hosting is putting a new twist on cloud computing, pushing beyond managed hosting and colocation services. Specifically, the company has introduced InstantOn — a cloud platform apparently designed with corporate compliance and security in mind. Here are some quick details.

Read More >

I’ve got a backlog of content on my hard drive just waiting to get published up on MSPmentor. But once again, there weren’t enough hours in the week to get everything done. Here are seven managed services blog entries our team didn’t have time to write for the week ending Jan. 8, 2010.

Read More >

A few leading-edge managed service providers are starting to leverage Windows Azure, Microsoft’s cloud-based operating system. A case in point: West Monroe Partners, one of Chicago’s best-known MSPs, embraced Windows Azure and hosted Silverlight to get The City of Chicago up and running with a scalable, fast, user-friendly interactive map for all the events of the world-famous “Taste of Chicago” event. Here are some details from the project.

Read More >

If you’re an MSP trying to decide whether to cooperate or compete with Microsoft’s SaaS offerings, here’s another avenue for you to consider: Ingram Micro Seismic, the master managed service provider, has inked a co-marketing and sales agreement to offer Intermedia’s hosted Microsoft offerings — including hosted Exhange 2007, SharePoint and Dynamics 3.0. Here’s a closer look at Ingram Micro Seismic’s overall strategy, Intermedia’s business model and the emerging Microsoft SaaS industry.

Read More >

Most managed service providers and VARs are still getting familiar with Windows Azure, Microsoft’s cloud-based operating system. How does Windows Azure work? And what’s the potential value of Windows Azure to managed service providers and their customers? The following video attempts to offer some answers.

Read More >

The Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC09) remains among the largest vendor-driven IT gatherings in the world. But there’s surprisingly little conversation about managed services here. I suspect that could change today (Tuesday) and Wednesday as Microsoft begins to talk even more about Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) and Windows Azure (the Windows-driven cloud service). But ultimately, there are some bigger trends worth nothing here at the conference. Take a look.

Read More >