Managed Services: 7 Blogs MSPmentor Didn’t Write, Jan. 4
The first business week of 2013 has ended. What were the top managed services provider (MSP) news stories and blogs that the MSPmentor team didn’t have a chance to cover? And what chatter are we hearing across the industry? Here’s a look at seven pieces of news, gossip and chatter we didn’t have a chance to explore for the week ending Jan. 4, 2013.
7. See You In Tampa?: My first business trip of the year is set for Tech Data’s TD Cloud conference in Tampa, Fla. (Jan. 9-11). Overall, I’ve been impressed with how distributors are adjusting their strategies for cloud services aggregation. But I’m interested to hear how Tech Data’s channel partners are adjusting as well…
6. New City, New Date: The MSPWorld conference, originally scheduled to be co-located at IT Expo East (Jan. 30-Feb. 1, Miami, Fla.), has shifted dates and locations. Now, MSPWorld 2013 will be held March 21-22 in Orlando, Fla. Side note: Thanks to the IT Expo East team for the recent media invite. I’m still sorting through my schedule for that week.
5. Nearly Confirmed: Also of note, it sounds like N-able Technologies is close to confirming a summit for late 2013. To track the status of that event and others, check out The VAR Guy’s Top 100 Channel Partner Event calendar. (Just don’t do the math because, um, sometimes 100 doesn’t equal 100.)
4. Worth Watching: Kaseya will be making some news on the MSP front…
3. M&A: Just before New Years, All Covered finalized a deal to buy InterTech, an IT service provider in Phoenix that also has a Las Vegas office. All Covered now has around 100 people in Phoenix, many of whom focus on a Remote Support Centers. The deal brings strong VMware, Remote Support and Mobility expertise to the table. Although financial terms were not disclosed, an All Covered spokesman said it was the company’s biggest deal yet in terms of revenue. All Covered “announced” seven acquisitions in 2012. Notice the quotes? Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge.
2. Still Cruising Along?: Despite Best Buy’s corporate challenges, the company’s IT services business — mindSHIFT — apparently is humming along. We hope to share some more details — within reason — when we announce the sixth-annual MSPmentor 100 results in February 2013.
1.Telcos on the Prowl: Three different telcos have approached multiple MSPs since September, inquiring about potential M&A deals. The telcos apparently are willing to pay 5X to 10X EBITDA for MSPs that have solid growth prospects. Those are big multiples, considering many MSPs fetch 3X to 4X EBITDA from what I’m hearing. And now I’m hearing the M&A chatter started up again shortly after WesTel confirmed its buyout of Heartland Technology Solutions. Stay tuned.
