7.1 Blogs MSPmentor Didn’t Write, June 6

MSPmentor has been back on the road this week in force – at LabTech Software Automation Nation 2014 and at the Datto Partner Conference 2014. Multiple conferences in a week? Really business as usual for us.

So it was busy, and we didn’t get to write all the blogs that we wanted to write. So here are 7.1 blogs we did not write this week.

7.1 This was the first conference for Dan Kobialka (our newest blogger and member of our founders’ hand-picked team.) And in a style true to our culture, Dan made a big splash at the event. If you missed it, be sure to check it out here, (and the first comment under the post by some guy going by the name of Joe P).

7. So what trends did we glean from these conferences? Virtualization support is certainly one of them. LabTech is adding support for ESX and Datto announced support for virtualization in its data backup and disaster recovery solutions. Our guess? Expect support for more hypervisors and by more vendors down the road.

6. We caught up with several contacts from ConnectWise this week and heard about how this year’s IT Nation conference in November will move from its previous home at the Orlando Waldorf Astoria to more of a downtown Orlando venue. Will you be there?

5. Other tidbits from LabTech Software’s conference: CEO Matt Nachtrab is truly a serial entrepreneur getting his start at the age of 5 by stealing cold beers from his dad’s refrigerator and transporting them via red wagon to a construction site where he sold them to workers getting off duty for $1.50 each. No information was available on his exit strategy from that business.

4. Kaseya announced and LabTech Software teased new remote control features for their respective RMM platforms this week. Is competition heating up in the RMM space now that the dust has settled from last year’s M&A excitement? Will other RMM vendors add native remote control support? Stay tuned for more about that.

3. And what about this LabTech Synergy announcement? The idea of an app store/marketplace for an RMM or PSA platform for an MSP vendor is a new one. Or is it? More on that soon, too.

2. I finally made it back to the home office by the end of the week and was able to sneak away for an hour for a coffee date with someone who is spending the summer off the grid and wearing flip flops. I’m not naming names. The name on his Starbucks cup, however, started with a J.

1. Be sure to check out our upcoming Channel Expert Hour webcasts in the next few weeks. We have some old friends entering into the rotation as moderators, and you won’t want to miss them.