MSP Top 501 Profile: MRE Looks to Vertical Niches

MRE Consulting, a Texas professional services firm, ranked 272 on 2014 MSPmentor 501 Global Edition, our ranking of the world’s top MSPs. The company has identified and serves a very specific niche: delivering commodity trading and risk management (CTRM) solutions through the cloud.

MRE leverages big data and machine learning principles to build and deliver custom managed services, according to Stephen Webster, the company’s CTO. In addition to its inclusion on this year’s MSPmentor Top 501, the company also has been recognized by the Houston Business Journal (HBJ) and Inc. magazine and recently celebrated its 20-year anniversary.

Webster noted his company will need to focus on industry-specific managed services to keep pace with its rivals over the next few years.

“We believe the managed services area will experience tremendous growth over the next five years. An outcome of this growth will be a growing focus by MSPs on industry-specific solutions,” Webster told MSPmentor.

MRE offers specialized services
MRE Technology Services is the company’s managed services sector. It provides myriad offerings, including:

MRE has succeeded in supporting its customers, Webster said.

HBJ, for example, ranked MRE as one of the five largest systems integrators in the region for the past five years and second overall on its 2013 list of the top 25 cybersecurity companies.

Website: www.mre-consulting.com
Twitter: @MREConsulting

Headquarters: Houston, Texas
Geography served: North America
Number of employees: 201

MRE tries to differentiate itself from the pack
Webster said he believes finding ways to stand out from rivals is one of the biggest challenges for MSPs.

“Many managed service providers are still in the process of transitioning away from their roots as traditional value-added resellers (VARs) or systems integrators. Determining the right cloud services to align with as part of this transition combined with the rapidly evolving mix of cloud services providers (CSPs) will prove to be a challenging exercise for all providers,” Webster said.

Finding the right employees is difficult for many MSPs as well, and Webster expects fierce competition among service providers looking to add skilled IT professionals.

20 years of continuous services and counting
Webster said MRE’s biggest accomplishment to date has been its ability to provide continuous services to customers for 20 years.

He noted his company is searching for new ways to add talented IT professionals to its team so it can bolster its managed services.

“As the global economy rebounds, the competition for talented IT professionals will dramatically increase. We see this today in Houston’s robust economy where the unemployment rate for IT professionals is below 2 percent and competition for talent with global energy companies is intense,” Webster told MSPmentor. “This industry dynamic will challenge MSPs to adopt more creative employee incentives, scrutinize hiring practices and increase the pressure to find innovative ways to deliver services with fewer employees.”

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