Managed Services: Seven Blogs MSPmentor Didn't Write, Jan. 18

Managed Services: Seven Blogs MSPmentor Didn’t Write, Jan. 18

Written by Joe Panettieri 1
January 18, 2013

The MSPmentor team had another busy but enjoyable week.

The MSPmentor team had another busy but enjoyable week. We’re busy compiling results for the sixth-annual MSPmentor 100 report, which we will unveil February 14 during a webcast. In the meantime, our team has been chasing a range of news tips and chatter related to managed services provider (MSP) news and developments. Here are seven MSP blogs we didn’t have time to write for the week ending Jan. 18, 2013.

7. Cisco Fires Back: Juniper Networks earlier this week suggested Cisco Systems will have a difficult time transitioning to Software-Defined Networks (SDN). What was Cisco’s reply? We’ve got it. Details soon on The VAR Guy.

6. PacketTrap Roadmap: Dell’s PacketTrap business, which offers RMM and PSA software to MSPs, will be making some major GUI and SaaS moves over the next few months. We’ve got the details but will need a little more time to organize our thoughts.

5. Executives as Owners: Clare Computer Solutions, a managed services provider in the San Francisco Bay area, says CEO Brad Mendonsa and President & COO Ralph Lawhorn have become the majority stockholders and architects of the company’s future. Mendonsa joined Clare in 2006 as part of a merger between Clare and Golden State Networks, of which he was a co-founder. Lawhorn has been with Clare for over 20 years.

4. Sales Rally, Channel Strategy: Kaseya, I think, had a major sales team rally this past week in Miami. Looking ahead, I’m trying to find some time with Elizabeth Lederer, senior VP of channel sales at Kaseya. I hope to get her views and top channel priorities for 2013. Kaseya PR and I are in touch. More thoughts soon.

3. LabTech, Intel vPro: LabTech Software, the remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform provider, has introduced enhanced integration with Intel vPro technology to better enable remote systems management and recovery. A new LabTech out-of-band management redirector interface lets MSPs take control of a remote computer’s keyboard, video and mouse — even if the computer’s operating system dies or if a PC is shutdown. I’m not sure if or how the LabTech-Intel work differs from Intel’s integrations with other RMM providers.

2. Don’t Miss Out: Most MSPmentor readers are familiar with our MSPmentor 100 report (the latest edition is coming February 14). But over on our sister site, the most read content is our Top 100 Cloud Services Provider report. That third-annual survey, also known as the Talkin’ Cloud 100, is open. Top participants typically include cloud services providers, brokers and aggregators. But MSPs and VARs with cloud expertise also jump in, and many receive honors. Feel free to participate here.

1. Now That’s Interesting: Two MSP-oriented software companies are shopping themselves in Silicon Valley, but buyer interest has been a bit soft. In both cases, the software companies have deep PC management capabilities but buyers think that market is somewhat saturated and headed for slower growth as customers shift their dollars to mobile, smartphones, tablets and cloud. Also in both cases, the potential sellers seem to be asking too much for their businesses. In some corners, there are questions about on-premises vs. cloud revenue mixes, and the ways revenue is realized. Either way, the prospectus documents for both companies continue to circulate…