Next Generation MSPs: What Will They Look Like?
IBM's MSP Summit will feature Actifio, Symmetry, TW Ventures and Rackforce on a managed services provider panel. Where can next-generation MSPs profit from cloud services? Here's a preview.
What will next-generation MSPs (managed services providers) look like? The IBM MSP Summit, this week in Las Vegas, is set to explore that question. I'll be on hand to moderate a panel featuring four vastly different MSPs. And each of those MSPs will share some clues about where the industry is heading next.
They include:
- Actifio VP Mike McClurg: A storage company that empowers MSPs with rapid recovery solutions.
- Symmetry CTO Kevin Knuese: one of the world's top SAP hosting partners.
- TW Ventures CEO Tommy Wald: A former MSP who originally focused on the SMB IT market. Now, he's focused on consulting with tech companies focused on cloud and MSP markets, while also working on some angel investments.
- Rackforce CEO Randall Robinson: An MSP pushing hard into hybrid cloud and cloud backup.
Take a closer look at that list and you'll come to some clear conclusions:
- MSP definitions are evolving and expanding. The classic MSP focused on SMB remote monitoring is now a commodity story.
- Cloud services are no longer a "future" opportunity. They are a reality now.
- Sophisticated MSPs with deep application expertise can do more than "resell" enterprise cloud applications. Symmetry proves that.
- IBM wants to partner with MSPs in multiple ways — offering converged hardware for MSP data centers while also allowing MSPs to plug into the IBM SmartCloud services.
- If you're launching an MSP in 2013 or 2014, your business plan will look vastly different vs. an MSP's launch plan of 2005 or even 2010.
Those are some of my pre-event views. The MSP Summit panel is Tuesday, June 11. I'll be sure to offer an in-depth recap of the panel discussion once it wraps up.
