Seven Managed Services Blogs MSPmentor Didn’t Write: Dec. 24

Confession: Even as the holidays kick in, the Nine Lives Media Inc. team is working overtime to deliver some MSPmentor site enhancements in early January 2011. So, here are seven managed services blog entries the MSPmentor team didn’t have time to write for the week ending December 24, 2010.

7. It’s A (Big) Deal: Kelway, a 700-person IT service provider in the United Kingdom, has acquired ISC Computers plc, a UK managed services provider with 280 employees. Even before the deal Kelway was in growth mode. Kelway says it has generated double-digit revenue growth every year since 2003.

6. What’s New At ConnectWise: I traded email with ConnectWise Director of Community Jeannine Edwards and President David Bellini to get a better feel for some recent ConnectWise code enhancements. I’ll share more details the week of December 27.

5. More CXO Moves: Rumor has it Kaseya could add a chief marketing officer (CMO) to its executive offices. And keep an eye on M&A front: Some MSP industry executives and CEOs within acquired MSPs have retainer agreements that expire in 1Q 2011, which means a few of those executives could start hopping around once they receive retainer bonuses and the golden handcuffs come off.

4. Enterprise Managed Services: Unisys has added security event and log management capabilities to the Unisys Managed Security Services offering. That’s all I know about that.

3. Crunching the Data: The fourth-annual MSPmentor 100 survey is now closed. Thanks to those who participated. We’ll share some anecdotal data points throughout January 2011 and the complete MSPmentor  100 report will debut in February 2011. It will feature expanded global coverage, including key trends across Europe, Australia and Africa.

2. Negotiating Table: We’re aware of four MSPs that are locked in merger negotiations this holiday season. If any deals occur we’ll put down our eggnog and report the news.

1. Happy New Year (A Little Early): What a year. Filled with professional highs and some personal lows. But… yada, yada, yada… I’m thankful. My business partner (Nine Lives Media Inc. CEO Amy Katz) and the entire Nine Lives team thanks you for reading MSPmentor this year. Our traffic rose about 50 percent in 2010 vs. 2009. But more importantly, we’re really enjoying all the dialog on the site. And I know Amy and Senior Sales Consultant Kim Daniels would like to thank our sponsors.

MSPmentor will publish daily updates the week of December 27. But for those of you who are heading out on vacation now: Thank you for reading, thanks for your support, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year and we look forward to continuing the dialog with you in January 2011.

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