Seven Managed Services Blogs MSPmentor Didn’t Write: July 2

It’s time for me to “let go” of MSPmentor for just a little bit. As the July 4th holiday weekend gets set to kick off, I’m preparing for a real vacation. Really. But before I unplug, here are seven managed services blog entries that the MSPmentor team didn’t have a chance to write for the week ending July 2, 2010.

7. Windows 8 Meets the Cloud: Reports suggest Windows 8 — the successor to Windows 7 (as you certainly guessed) will gain cloud components and an app store. Microsoft built its software empire through ISV relationships. I wonder if the software giant can extend those ISV relationships into the cloud… Given Microsoft’s history with ISVs, I also wonder why Microsoft failed to see the app store opportunity far earlier.

6. MSPs Meet Hosting Providers: I just confirmed plans to attend HostingCon (July 19-21, Austin, Texas). One reason why: Many companies at HostingCon (such as Rackspace and The Planet) are building channel partner programs and work closely with MSPs. Also, Parallels (maker of software that speeds SaaS deployments) will have a major presence at HostingCon. There are signs that several major distributors plan to work more closely with Parallels. I’m curious to see how those various story lines play out at HostingCon.

5. Circle the Dates: I hear the ConnectWise IT Nation partner conference, scheduled for November 2010, is at 85 percent capacity so far. Now, ConnectWise has kicked off a call for speakers. Meanwhile, N-able CEO Gavin Garbutt has sent partners a “save the date” reminder to help partners prep for the N-able Partner Summit (Oct. 20-22, Scottsdale, Ariz.).

4. MSPs Invade Washington: I suspect MSP Services Network, Level Platforms and other MSP-centric companies will be making news at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (July 11-15, Washington, D.C.). I’ll be blogging live from the conference, and digging for SaaS/Cloud perspectives from new Microsoft Channel Chief Jon Roskill.

3. Thank You: MSPmentor’s web traffic jumped 59.7% in the first half of 2010 vs. the first half of 2009. And first-half 2010 traffic was up 226.5% vs. the first half of 2008. Each night, I go to bed in a panic — worrying if readers will show up the next day. And each morning, I’m relieved to see new reader comments on the site before I’ve had a chance to consume my first cup of coffee. All of us at Nine Lives Media Inc. thank you for your readership.

2. Soft Sell?: Let’s assume you’re a hardware Pro. Are you ready to Go into the software world? I think that’s an emerging trend within the MSP- and channel-related IT markets. Sorry to be so cryptic, but perhaps I’ll be able to make a Public Service Announcement (PSA) about more MSP industry career moves in the next few weeks.

1. Back Soon: I’m on vacation the week of July 5-9. But MSPmentor will be updated daily, thanks to Contributing Associate Bloggers Matt Weinberger and David Courbanou. I’ll re-surface July 11 at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Summit. I hope all MSPs manage to unplug a bit during the July 4 holiday weekend here in the U.S. Here’s why.

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