Seven Managed Services Blogs MSPmentor Didn’t Write: Dec. 31

MSPmentor is set to unveil some site enhancements really, really soon. But our team would also like to unplug a bit for the holiday weekend. So in the interest of time, here are seven managed services blog entries the MSPmentor team didn’t have time to write for the week ending December 31, 2010.

7. Cloud Bubble?: Cloud computing stocks rose about 50 percent in 2010, according to the TalkinCloud Stock Index (formerly MSPmentor’s SaaS 20 Stock Index). Cloud computing certainly is real. But I wonder if investors realize that cloud stocks can’t continue to climb 50 percent annually — or can they?

6. Calling for Integration: VirtualTone has integrated its inbound and outbound IP calling capabilities with ConnectWise. VirtualTone is a VoIP phone system and service that is accessible from any broadband Internet connection, the company claims. VTone Sidebar supports a live call display panel, call detail reporting, call center queue monitoring, call recording, voicemail, DND status, and call statistics, VirtualTone adds.

5. Winners and Losers: Will the FCC Net Neutrality rules help or harm managed services providers (MSPs)? GigaOm offers some interesting perspectives and MSPmentor will share more views next week.

4. Don’t Forget Central America: In recent weeks, MSPmentor and guest blogger Phil LaForge have mentioned growing managed services momentum in South Africa and Brazil. Several readers have since sent me email, requesting that MSPmentor take a closer look at managed services in Central America. We’ll be sure to do so soon.

3. Virtual Desktop Infrastructure: ICC Global Hosting keeps flooding my email inbox, promoting hosted virtual desktops as a simple deployment model for Windows 7 and Office 2010 deployments. The VDI hype seems to be getting pretty loud. But I’m wondering how VARs and MSPs are generating profits, especially since Microsoft’s licensing models can be pretty challenging. I’m checking in with ICC Global Hosting for more perspectives.

2. Chance Encounter: New Kaseya Chief Marketing Officer Bob Davis happens to be on Long Island for the holidays. And yes: I live on Long Island. We sat down for about an hour yesterday, and we discussed how Davis will apply his channel experience (working for CA Technologies and Novell) at Kaseya. MSPmentor will publish a detailed recap of the conversation the week of January 3, 2011. In the meantime, it’s safe to say Davis is thinking really big: He previously ran a $500 million division at CA, and Novell was roughly a $1.5 billion channel-centric company when Davis was there.

1. Enhancements Coming: Fingers crossed, MSPmentor will unveil some site enhancements really, really soon. You’ll see tighter integration between our written blogs and FastChat videos. Plus, tighter integration with social networks like FaceBook and Twitter. In the meantime, the MSPmentor team thanks you for all of your support. To see how far we’ve come since the MSPmentor beta site launch in September 2007, check out the original WordPress MSPmentor site here.

Thanks for reading and Happy New Year. We look forward to documenting the managed services market’s continued evolution — with you — in 2011.

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