Seven Managed Services Blogs MSPmentor Didn’t Write: Nov. 19

Even as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches here in the U.S., we continue to hear plenty of chatter from our most trusted sources. It sounds like some big news announcements are just around the corner. We’re still working to track down the details… In the meantime here are seven managed services blog entries MSPmentor’s team didn’t have time to write for the week ending November 19, 2010.

7. Government Move: Kaseya has landed on the GSA Schedule 70 contract. Translation: The MSP software provider could have an easier time pushing into the government market.

6. Gaining Altitude?: Hostway Corp., the hosting provider, has launched so-called FlexCloud Servers. A web-based management console enables users to create and self manage multiple clouds; automating the administration of resources including server instances, CPU/RAM/Disk, IP addresses, security, load balancing and more. My question: Do end-customers really want to self-manage multiple clouds? Shouldn’t the cloud provider oversee the management?

5. Staff Cuts?: Sounds like Datto, a backup and disaster recovery specialist, has had one or more key staff cuts in recent weeks. Some MSPs are concerned about relationships lost… We’re taking a closer look at the situation.

4. One Subscription Model for All: CA Technologies already offers MSP-type pricing for a range of products, including Nimsoft and ARCserve. But what if CA’s entire product portfolio had MSP-style licensing? Hmmm…

3. Communications Breakdown?: A few MSPs say they are having some trouble maintaining integration between their PSA and RMM systems. Seems like some ticket hand-offs failed this week. If you’ve had issues let us know. Numerous PSA and RMM vendors promote open APIs. But are they working? We’re not running the software so only you can tell us.

2. Life-Work Balance: Rumor has it I’m taking a vacation the week of November 22, returning November 29th. I’m disappearing with my family to recharge for a really, really, really busy December (some folks already know what I’m Talkin’ about). In the meantime, our team of bloggers — Matt Weinberger, David Courbanou, John Moore… and a few new names soon… — will keep the traffic and conversation going.

1. So What’s Really Next?: We don’t have all the answers. But we’re keeping our eyes and ears open for a one-million freemium node deal… does it really exist? Stay tuned. Plus, we’ll be focusing much of our efforts on the Salesforce.com Dreamforce conference (Dec. 6-9, San Francisco).

In the meantime thanks for reading. We appreciate all the engagement and interaction on MSPmentor.

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