Live Blog: IBM MSP Summit Defines Next Generation Service Providers

Monshaw just told me off stage that IBM is now working with 4,000 MSPs

Roughly 180 MSPs now leverage IBM’s PureFlex systems

Roughy 160 MSPs from North America, Europe, Latin America and Japan are attending the event. The attendees are mostly CXO-level leaders.

Point out that MSPs are more than remote monitoring companies, Monshaw said MSPs are now any IT companies in the evolving channel that are delivering “stuff” as a service. 

The traditional VAR channel involves three camps: (1) Those that will sunset with traditional on-premises servers, (2) those that are trying to figure out a migration plan, (3) and those that are moving fast to develop long-term recurring revenue engagements.

Monshaw said customers are focused on three imperitives (1) accelerate new applications, big data and analytics; (2) improve IT efficiency; and (3) simplify cloud platforms and infrastructure. “The market is moving; it has shifted and IBM gets it,” said Monshaw.

“Our view at IBM is the following: Our mission is to figure out how to help you [MSPs in the audience] grow your business.”

Even corporate IT departments think of themselves as MSPs — delivering IT services to business departments.

“The MSP is the center of IBM’s thinking. We want to surround MSPs with the full scope of what the IBM company can bring.”

Monshaw is shifting the conversation to PureFlex (infrastructure), PureApplication (for cloud application delivery) and PureData (for big data platform services) solutions. The key takeaway for MSPs: IBM wants to be the next-generation platform provider to MSPs that seek to deploy and maintain their own infrastructure.

“Now it’s a race to store data as efficiently as possible,” said Monshaw. PureFlex is the answer, he asswered. 

PureFlex now has MSP-tailored reference configurations for remote monitoring, recovery services, VDI services, patch management, and help desk. Plus, there are financial perks for MSPs, he added.

“We know we need to understand your business model.” And that’s why IBM is helping MSPs in such areas as social marketing, he added.

Before describing IBM’s cloud strategy, Advani described how IBM bet big early on Linux. 

The takeaway: Trends that deliver economic benefits to clients always catch on. So build a business model around those trends.

Smarter physical infrastructure is accelerating the cloud trend. Embedded intelligence in automobiles, consumer products and even livestock, is now the norm. “The planet is getting smarter. Big data needs to be analytized and stored in the cloud.”

“We are placing big bets in cloud computing, mobility, security.”

98 percent of IT growth involves social, mobile, big data and cloud through 2020. Most CIOs now evaluate cloud first over traditional IT options.

“System of engagement applications” — which move businesses closer to customers — are the next big thing.

MSPs need to help customers balance optimization (notice he didn’t say “maintenance”) and innovation.

Key point: “Data coming from the Internet of things needs to be integrated with system sof engagement and systems of record.“

IBM is focused on open cloud standards — calling OpenStack “basically Linux for the cloud.”

He touched on the SoftLayer acquisition, calling the company the largest privately held public cloud provider.