MSPWorld 2013: Managed Services Provider (MSP) News Recap

MSPWorld 2013, hosted by the MSPAlliance, has kicked off in Orlando, Fla. While the event is mainly educational in nature, some technology companies and managed services providers (MSPs) are making news announcements at the conference. Key chatter so far has involved Logicalis (an MSPmentor 501 company), Route1 and Webroot. Here’s the recap so far.

Let’s start with Logicalis. The company is evolving into a Master MSP of sorts, empowering peer MSPs in a number of ways. The new Logicalis MSP Expert Extension Team (MEET) program is “a service designed by Logicalis to assist MSPs in accessing the expertise, technology and marketing opportunities they need to expand their businesses and improve profitability and cash flow.” As part of that education, I suspect the company will also promote its DR as a Service and Storage as a Service offerings to peer MSPs.

The Logicalis Group has annualized revenues of over $1.2 billion. The company is a division of Datatec, listed on the Johannesburg and London AIM Stock Exchanges, with revenues of over $5 billion.

Route1 Secure Mobile Device Access

Meanwhile, Route1 has launched MobiLINK 1.0 — an authentication and secure access technology that enables Apple iOS users to securely access internal web-enabled applications. The big question: What type of MSP partner program will Route1 offer to the channel? I’m checking.

Balancing Big Data and Security

Elsewhere, Webroot is sharing its views on security amid the age of Big Data. According to a company spokesperson:

Webroot’s solution: A “proprietarycloud” security intelligence engine that collects threat information from over 9 million Webroot consumer and business endpoints, and from strategic partners including Facebook, Cisco, Juniper, F-Secure, Motorola, NEC, Sony and others.

I concede: I don’t know how the Webroot engine differs from all the other security intelligence networks that companies run worldwide. But I’m interested to hear what MSPs here from Webroot at the conference.

What Else?

I’m out at a CharTec training conference in California, but I continue to listen closely to the market for news and trends emerging from MSPWorld. Got a news tip or trend to share? I’m all ears. Feel free to email me (joe.panettieri [at] penton.com) or post a comment.