Managed Services: 7 Blogs MSPmentor Didn't Write, Dec. 23

I'm a little late with this weekly managed services blog because of family commitments -- a good excuse this time of year. Happy Holidays to all of our readers. Now, here are seven managed services blogs and MSP news tips that the MSPmentor team didn't have a chance to write for the week ending Dec. 23, 2011.

7. Marching Forward: ConnectWise CEO Arnie Bellini thinks the synergies between PSA software and sales proposal/quoting software like Quosal will continue to accelerate. Bellini offered MSPmentor some updates on December 22. I'm still organizing a follow-up blog, which will likely surface the week of January 2.

6. Nearly A Done Deal: It sounds like Best Buy's buyout of mindSHIFT will be completed around year's end. MSPmentor will reach out to mindSHIFT CEO Paul Chisholm shortly thereafter to see how he's feeling at the start of 2012.

5. Rest In Peace: Jacob “Jack” Goldman, who left Ford Motor Co. to launch Xerox Corp.'s Palo Alto Research Center, died on December 20, 2011 at age 90, noted SDTimes. Among Xerox PARC's legacies: The graphical user interface, the mouse, networking... and far more.

4. What Is HTC?: Arlin Sorensen is best-known for his role in building a managed services business (Heartland Technology Solutions) and HTG Peer Groups. And now he's got an additional focus called Heartland Technology Consultants (HTC). More details soon.

3. M&A Confirmed: A well-known MSP on the U.S. East Coast has now confirmed plans to buy a neighboring MSP. The deal is expected to be signed on or about December 31... MSPmentor expects the official details to surface early in the New Year.

2. Board Meeting: Zenith Infotech's board apparently is set to meet January 3. As part of that meeting the board may vote on a shareholder dividend, but The Bombay High Court has asked the firm not to distribute a dividend at this time, according to The Economic Times of India. The reason: Zenith Infotech is locked in dispute with bondholders after defaulting on a bond payment in September 2011.

1. MSPmentor 100 Results: Thanks to those who participated in our fifth-annual MSPmentor 100 survey, which closed December 23, 2011. We'll unveil the results in February 2012. In the meantime you can read our earlier MSPmentor 100 lists and reports here.

Thanks for all of your readership in 2011, and best wishes for a successful 2012.