https://www.channelfutures.com/wp-content/themes/channelfutures_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Technology Solutions Brokerages
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • 2022 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2022 NextGen 101 Rankings
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • Channel Futures TV
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Advertise
    • 2023 Editorial Calendar
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2022 MSP 501
    • Channel Influencers
    • Circle of Excellence
    • DE&I 101
    • Technology Advisor 101 (TA 101)
  • Events
    • Back
    • 2023 Call for Speakers
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • MSP Summit
    • Channel Partners Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • About Us
  • DE&I
Channel Futures
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Technology Solutions Brokerages
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • 2022 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2022 NextGen 101 Rankings
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • Channel Futures TV
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Advertise
    • 2023 Editorial Calendar
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2022 MSP 501
    • Channel Influencers
    • Circle of Excellence
    • DE&I 101
    • Technology Advisor 101 (TA 101)
  • Events
    • Back
    • 2023 Call for Speakers
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • MSP Summit
    • Channel Partners Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • About Us
  • DE&I
    • Newsletter
  • REGISTER
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Agents
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • Channel Partners Events
 Channel Futures

Strategy


ConnectWise's Arnie Bellini at IT Nation 2018

ConnectWise Emphasizes Services, Security, Business Maturity on Day 1 of IT Nation

  • Written by Kris Blackmon
  • November 8, 2018
CEO Arnie Bellini laid out how ConnectWise thinks MSPs can find their path to competitive differentiation.

(Pictured above: ConnectWise CEO Arnie Bellini runs through some numbers on stage at IT Nation in Orlando, Florida, Nov. 8.)

CONNECTWISE IT NATION — More than 3,000 attendees crowded into a ballroom in Orlando to hear the opening keynote of ConnectWise IT Nation on Thursday, tuning in to hear ConnectWise CEO Arnie Bellini and his executive team answer the question, “What is IT Nation?”

Whatever it’s been in the past, Bellini says the future of the longstanding ConnectWise community is in enabling the evolution and improvement of the world, what he called “a huge construction project where we are building a better future.” MSPs will need to specialize, be laser-focused on customer service and stay ahead of the technology curve in order to differentiate themselves. ConnectWise believes the road ahead is built around three milestones.

1. As-a-service. From printing to collaboration to security, every technology you can think of will solely be delivered as a service in the future. Bellini told the audience that in 2016, worldwide managed services spend hit $83.6 billion, with the bulk residing in managed help desk, SaaS and print. By 2021, it will be a $154.5 billion opportunity, and managed security takes the lead.

“It’s growing faster than any of your companies are,” Bellini said. “We’re going to have trouble keeping up.”

Demand for expertise is high, capabilities are expensive to build and the efficiency of managed service providers is hard to beat with in-house teams. The kicker to an as-a-service ecosystem is that the customer is in complete control.

“The sale doesn’t end when they sign the quote,” said ConnectWise chief product officer Craig Fulton. “The sale begins then.”

Every month, an MSP has to convince a customer that they’re getting the value they’re paying for. It’s the channel partner sitting smack dab in the middle of the customer-solution provider relationship, and that’s a big opportunity.

2. Business Maturity. In 2003, Arnie Bellini himself came to a farm outside Harlan, Iowa and hooked up ConnectWise for Arlin Sorenson’s agriculture-focused managed services practice. The two have worked together ever since. Just a few years earlier, Sorenson had founded HTG Peer Groups, which ConnectWise bought in January. HTG is now IT Nation Evolve and continues to focus on helping partners through the phases of the entrepreneurial journey, from running a business on “muscle and feel” to defining and working toward a legacy for the business and its owner.

Consulting firm Service Leadership, said Sorenson, reports that 70 percent of MSPs are looking to participate in a merger or acquisition in the next five years.

“We want ConnectWise to be the platform that allows you to do that,” he said. “We’re serious about supporting you in M&A.”

To that end, ConnectWise is offering its partners a sweet deal. If a ConnectWise MSP acquires a company that’s using competing platforms, it will gift up to six free months of ConnectWise to ease the integration of the two companies.

3. Security. Recently, Bellini saw for himself just how big of a business cybercrime is when he visited the dark web for the first time. Cybercriminals aren’t just hackers sitting in basements; they’re organized crime, a la Oceans 11. According to Cybersecurity Ventures, cybercrime comprises 7 percent of the world’s annual economy, said Bellini, with a total value greater than the entire drug trafficking market. Between the kind of demand those numbers give rise to and the severe and growing cybersecurity skills gap, automated managed services are an opportunity MSPs can’t afford to ignore.

“A lot of [security] is still being done with human beings and checklists,” said Bellini. “Automation has to come into the picture.”

Every time we think we’ve got technology down, Bellini told the audience, it changes.

“You can’t just stand still where you are. You’ve got to create competitive differentiation for yourself.”

ConnectWise thinks that differentiation is all about high-quality services, but admits it’s easier said than done. Bellini recounts conversations with partners who told him that transitioning from break-fix to recurring services was so hard, it would have been easier to just open up a whole new managed-services business. But now, says ConnectWise, it’s time to take managed services out of the server room and into the realm of customer service.

The idea at this morning’s keynote was to launch the new IT Nation, and ConnectWise executives spent hours outlining its vision at the conference’s open. In the end, it wants to offer its service-provider partners the same level of service it’s encouraging them to give their clients. To that end, the company unveiled a new highly branded portal, available in January, that gives end users the ability to monitor their IT spend and remotely manage their own devices.

With a new portal, a new interface, an improved marketplace and revamped IT Nation brands, ConnectWise loaded attendees up with information to digest as they go about the rest of the conference, which goes through Friday.

Tags: Agents Cloud Service Providers MSPs VARs/SIs Business Models Security Strategy

Most Recent


  • Cloud marketplace
    Ingram Micro Cloud Marketplace Expands with Key Microsoft Enhancements
    The news revolves around the New Commerce Experience subscription model.
  • Making Waves
    7 Channel People Making Waves This Week at 8x8, Intel, Google Cloud, RingCentral, More
    Google, which says it's cutting 12,000 workers, has not indicated how the layoffs impact Google Cloud.
  • Man's silhouette behind a transparent cell graphic and the letters RMM
    Hackers Use Legitimate RMM Software to Steal from Federal Employees
    Attacks on RMMs have caused "insurmountable" losses for SMBs.
  • INtelisys AMP'd Newport Beach 2023
    Intelisys AMP'd Images: Partners Explore B2B Purchasing Trends, CX, Security Solutions
    Customers "literally don't know" how their own buying journey works, and that's an opportunity for partners.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your Channel Futures account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • White House
    White House to Private Sector SMEs: Get Serious About Cybersecurity
  • Woman with questions
    Should We Just Call Master Agents Distributors?
  • Stressed young people
    More Partner Pain Points: MSPs On Lack of End-to-End Security, 'New Normal'
  • Partner programs
    Commvault Adds New MSP Partner Program with Specific Pricing

Upcoming Events

View all

Channel Partners Conference & Expo

May 1, 2023 - May 4, 2023

Channel Partners Europe

June 13, 2023 - June 14, 2023

Channel Futures Leadership Summit

October 30, 2023 - November 2, 2023

Galleries

View all

7 Channel People Making Waves This Week at 8×8, Intel, Google Cloud, RingCentral, More

January 27, 2023

Intelisys AMP’d Images: Partners Explore B2B Purchasing Trends, CX, Security Solutions

January 27, 2023

Intel Earnings ‘A Crime Scene,’ ‘Astonishingly Bad,’ ‘Historic Collapse’

January 27, 2023

Industry Perspectives

View all

The Benefits of Hiring an Investment Bank

January 30, 2023

Make the Most of the Gift of Time in 2023

January 25, 2023

Strong Partnerships Ease Challenging UPS Upgrade

January 24, 2023

Webinars

View all

Next-Generation MSP Platform: The Building Blocks for Your Business

February 15, 2023

Security Secrets of the MSP 501: How to Be a Cyber Leader in 2023

December 15, 2022
  • 1

Cybersecurity Certifications: Their Evolving Role in the Fight Against Increasing Attacks

December 13, 2022

White Papers

View all

Overcoming Your Endpoint Security Limitations with a Skeleton Crew

October 25, 2022

Embracing the Zero Trust Mindset For Endpoints

October 24, 2022

Endpoints are the Destination

October 24, 2022

Channel Futures TV

View all

Coffee with Craig and James Episode 117: Cato Networks, Video Killed the Podcast Stars

Retired Astronaut Capt. Scott Kelly Previews His CP Expo Keynote

December 21, 2022

Fusion Connect Eyes Future with Intrado UC, Managed Network Customers

September 23, 2022

RingCentral Focused on Hybrid Work, Microsoft Teams, Other Integrations

September 23, 2022

Twitter

ChannelFutures

.@IngramCloud makes important @Microsoft-related changes to its #cloudmarketplace. dlvr.it/ShhCpR https://t.co/0zwCkUOH5z

January 30, 2023
ChannelFutures

A @NICELtd - @Cognizant partnership promises to accelerate customer adoption of advance #CX solutions.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

January 30, 2023
ChannelFutures

Cybersecurity advisory warns of hackers' malicious use of #RMM. @CISACyber dlvr.it/ShYRwg https://t.co/zsBvQWqOYY

January 27, 2023
ChannelFutures

Reaction to #Intel earnings coming in fast and furious. Find out what investors are saying, and how CEO Pat Gelsing… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

January 27, 2023
ChannelFutures

Our latest #GatelyReport looks at #cybersecurity M&A, investment with @progresspartner, @cyber_advisory, @FBI Hive… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

January 27, 2023
ChannelFutures

.@channelsmart says plan and boost client #retention efforts to reduce #churn. dlvr.it/ShXvhj https://t.co/4jyHPCjTBn

January 27, 2023
ChannelFutures

The CEO of @Mitel discusses the likely outcomes of buying @Atos Unify. Note: @RingCentral will play a role post acq… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

January 26, 2023
ChannelFutures

.@msftsecurity surpasses $20 billion in annual revenue, analysts say it's a formidable #cybersecurity market conten… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

January 26, 2023

MSP 501

The industry's largest and most comprehensive partner awards program.

Newsletters and Updates

Sign up for The Channel Report, Channel Futures Update, MSP 501 Newsletter and more.

Live Channel Events

Get the latest information on the next industry-leading Channel Partners event.

Galleries

Educational slide shows and images from live events.

Media Kit And Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • Channel Partners Events
  • Telecoms.com
  • MSP 501
  • Black Hat
  • IoT World Today
  • Omdia

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter

FOLLOW Channel Futures ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X