Market Consolidation: Four Major MSPs Per Major City Area?

jason Waldrop CEO Connected Workplace Solutions

Waldrop offered a few quick clues before stepping on stage. He mentioned that there’s still room to resell products — including small business unified communications systems. (Waldrop’s panel focused on that very topic.) Those offerings help create pull for CWPS’s managed server, managed desktop and managed backup services. Also, Waldrop is helping a few customers to stand up private clouds now. The private clouds will be architected to support virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI).

Meanwhile, Waldrop doesn’t sound too concerned about simplified IT products emerging in the SMB market. Instead, he believes SMB business owners are becoming allergic to in-house IT staffers. As a result, more and more SMB entrepreneurs are seeking out Connected WorkPlace Solutions’ advice, Waldrop said during the panel discussion.

I’ve got to say I wish there was more managed services chatter here at the event. Cisco Channel Chief Edison Peres is quick to note that the new Cisco Cloud Partner Program leverages much of what Cisco learned from managed services. And my five-minute conversation with Waldrop was a healthy reminder that there are MSPs here at Cisco Partner Summit.

I was intrigued to hear about Waldrop’s SMB strategy. But his point about market consolidation — four major MSPs per major metropolitan area — really caught my attention. I suspect his estimate is on the mark…

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