Managed Services: 7 Blogs MSPmentor Didn't Write, Jan. 13

managed IT services news: seven blogs

7. Channel Chief Pursuit: Last I heard, Axcient has been pursuing a channel chief to work with MSPs and VARs. The company, which focuses on cloud-based backup and business continuity services, also has hit the road with Hewlett-Packard to promote its wares. We’ll poke around to see if the channel chief post is filled — or close to being filled.

6. Hair Cut: I need one.

5. Court Case: Remember that old legal case involving N-able Technologies vs. MSP on Demand? Things seem pretty silent. In November 2011, a judge asked N-able and MSP on Demand to file a status report on the case. I haven’t heard any updates since that time, though it sounds like N-able is still pursuing the case…

4. Did You See That?: A private equity team met with a certain MSP-centric software company in Silicon Valley on Tuesday. Lunch was served. Small talk was made. But were contracts signed?

3. Career Changers: A lengthy list of managed services and IT services veterans have jumped into the MSP vendor community over the years. Names like Mark Crall (gloStream), Len DiCostanzo (Autotask), Phil LaForge (formerly Nimsoft), Amy Luby (now at Bradford Networks) and now Dave Sobel (joining Level Platforms Jan. 23) come to mind. (Sorry if I overlooked your name in my haste to write this.) Are there certain types of personalities who are best positioned to make the MSP-to-vendor jump? I’ll mull that question more carefully in the days ahead.

2. MSPmentor 100 and Talkin’ Cloud 50: Sorry if I’m a little slow responding to email. Our team is busy crunching the latest MSPmentor 100 survey data. We’ll unveil the fifth-annual MSPmentor 100 survey results during a webcast on February 15. Among the surprises we’ll share: Far deeper data points for specific regions across the globe. Separately, we’re launching the second-annual Talkin’ Cloud 50 survey on Tuesday, January 17. The survey identifies the world’s top cloud services providers.

1. Help Desk and NOC Services: Stay tuned for lots of activity (a polite way of saying “fierce competition”) in the help desk and NOC (network operations center) markets.

Moves worth noting: Zenith Infotech once had a tight grip on the market by integrating its RMM (remote monitoring and management) software with a back-end NOC service. Those efforts are now owned by Continuum. But more competition is coming. N-able (RMM) and NetEnrich (NOC) have been working more closely together. Nimsoft acquired service desk software in 2011. Live Virtual Help Desk has gained critical mass. Some MSPs are seeking to link Kayako to ConnectWise. And now there’s chatter about Level Platforms potentially launching a complete service offering for MSPs… The winners in all this? MSPs, which continue to gain more support choices.