MSPmentor 250 Survey: Nominations wanted

The survey of 250 sixth-annual MSPmentor-identifying the world's 250 top managed services provider (MSP) experts, entrepreneurs and managers-open Monday, June 10 and runs through Aug. 2. Results in August 2013.

The survey of 250 sixth-annual MSPmentor-identification of world top managed services provider (MSP) executives, entrepreneurs and experts-launched today (Monday, 10 June). Visit/top250 for a link to the survey. By the way: we made a big change to the survey this year ...

Members of the MSPmentor 250 list last year are not eligible for this year's list (sorry about that, folks). Our goal is to introduce a new generation of experts MSP to our readers, helping to build a Rolodex of contacts worldwide.

Please note: MSPmentor 250 is not a popularity contest. There is no need to stuff the ballot box. A nomination is all it takes to be considered for the MSPmentor 250. And Yes, you can nominate yourself.

Thanks in advance to those who participated in the poll, which opens on June 10 and closes August 2.

In addition, a quick FYI: The MSPmentor 250 honors individuals. Our MSPmentor 501 survey (formerly the MSPmentor 100), which runs in the 4th quarter, honors top MSP business/companies in the world.

MSPmentor 250 Survey: Nominations wanted

BDR is more expensive than traditional Backup? MSP says No

Managed service providers (MSP) sale of backup solutions and disaster recovery (BDR) may run in a common concern regarding the price with customers. Many might say that BDR is too expensive compared to traditional backup, but is it really the case?

Watson said MSPmentor that MSPs should allow customers to "look at the true cost of the solution and leverage its numbers".
Managed service providers (MSP) sale of backup and disaster recovery solutions (BDR) can Run in a common concern about prices with customers. Many might say that BDR is too expensive compared to traditional backup, but is it really the case? BlackPoint it services CEO James Watson spoke with us on this particular topic to delete any entries in this price BDR exclusively by MSPmentor.
Watson said MSPmentor that MSPs should allow customers to "look at the true cost of the solution and leverage its numbers".
This approach enables customers to choose the option that makes the most sense for them and allows them to overcome their objections and concerns.
He said that just because the traditional backup software and maintenance can be performed much less of a BDR solution does not mean that the BDR solution is more expensive.
Tape and traditional software generally has a higher failure rate
"What are the costs of maintenance and control of both systems?" he asked. "What is the cost in case of an interruption to bring the system back online, and what are the costs of downtime when systems don't work?"
For example, tape, and traditional software often have a much higher failure rate than BDR, Watson said. These old systems must be checked regularly. Only two hours per week can add up to 104 hours per year.
"At a cost of $ 30 per hour burdened, this comes to just over $ 3,000," he said. "That doesn't even add in the quarterly test that recovery could take up to 10 hours for each server if you have never done."
The true cost of the disaster is lost business. Period.
Data recovery takes much longer when customers are using tape or traditional backup, Watson explained.
"Although the probability is low, the cost of a disaster and recovery can be high and amounted to over 40 hours for a small size when using tape or a traditional backup," he said. "This respect always on reliability of a BDR can save 38 of those 40 hours in a lesser disaster."
Watson added that the loss of business is the real cost of the disaster. A customer can be up and running within hours with a BDR solution, instead of days with traditional backup.

Autotask Community Live: 7 MSP Rumors in the Hall

Managed and rumors involving Microsoft Office 365, N-able SolarWinds, Intronis, independenceIT and AVG emerged to Autotask community Live cloud service. Here are 7 entries.

Autotask community live today wraps up in Scottsdale, Ariz. in addition to our interviews with CEO Mark Cattini and Senior VP Len Castanzo, MSPmentor lots of cloud and managed services chatter heard Intronis, independenceIT, N-able/SolarWinds (SWI) and more. Here are seven voices in the corridors ...
7. Sweet Spot: independenceIT claims to be the only Supplier of hosted desktop/cloud app platform that (A) is pure channel and (B) controls its technology. The company also targets the triple trend perfect-storm-cloud, mobile and data. Executive VP Seth Bostock mentioned that the company has hosted desktop fire started during the first wave ASP (application service provider) in the 1990s. Executive VP Jim Lippie, MSP and Staples/networks Thrive veteran, seemed satisfied with his career move to channel-centric company. The two leaders want to do independenceIT the alternative of de-facto channel for Office 365 – while also virtualization more non-Microsoft applications for partners to serve customers ...
6. Upside of N-able Cloud for SolarWinds: SolarWinds when acquired in degree N for $ 120 million last week, some critics openly wondered why SolarWinds called the deal a game of SMB cloud. Here's one potential answer: automation technology managing N-able allows MSPs to manage on-premises and cloud services-hybrid from VMware and Hyper-V in IaaS. Watch for N-able to say more about how to manage Office 365 services and Windows Azure in the weeks and months to come. Marco LaVecchia and Derik Belair MSPs key message: you have to stay relevant with your customers as cloud services catch on.
Side note: N-able GM JP Jauvin was an early champion of technology Automation Manager when he arrived at the company as an advisor to then President. Now, he is running the business at arity N to SolarWinds.
5. Coming Soon: backup and archiving enhancements continue to Cloud Intronis. An informed source who knows how to summarize information really well said MSPmentor: Intronis in The Spring Release includes 13 QuickSpin, offering advanced data recovery support for virtualized machines; an advanced Partner Portal Intronis lined with greater customization, usability and managed access controls; and Branding Wizard, a new marketing and enablement tool that allows you to quickly create a partner Intronis customer portal with your logo, colors and specific information. Voice: Intronis Watch a hypervisor Boost beyond VMware include Microsoft Hyper-V.
4. security providers are where?: AVG Anti-virus company, had a major presence at the Conference. McAfee has had a presence in Intel (INTC) stand. But rivals such as Kaspersky Lab, Sophos and Symantec (SYMC) seemingly sitting out the event. Somehow I think that is a mistake: next to storage, security has got to be one of the first things that MSPs to offer their customers.
3. opening soon: after the opening of offices throughout Europe, Australia and Beijing, Autotask is preparing to increase its footprint in the United States located. Watch for a potential office opening soon in Chicago.
2. for sale in small and medium-sized enterprises Corporate IT: in case you haven't seen MSPmentor coverage earlier this week, Autotask apparently sees an opportunity to promote the SaaS platform for enterprise IT departments that want to become providers of business units.
1. Expanded Office 365 open?: If you listened carefully the Microsoft keynote at the Conference, the company seemed to be stating that you are taking a close look at Open Office 365 – a cloud partner program that allows VARs and MSPs to manage billing customers. Open is a promising, but it is only a small piece of the larger portfolio Office 365. I think he left frustrated-partners and Microsoft knows it. If I had to guess: changes/updates will be announced Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in July.
That's all for now ...

SolarWinds, N-able Face Dog Fight RMM vs Rivals

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SolarWinds' (SWI) CEO suggested the N-able acquisition has RMM (remote monitoring and management) software rivals running scared. But MSPs running Continuum, Kaseya, LabTech Software and Level Platforms claim otherwise.

SolarWinds (SWI) CEO Kevin Thompson has high hopes for the N-able acquisition. But rivals like Continuum CEO Michael George, Kaseya CEO Gerald Blackie, LabTech CEO Matt Nachtrab and Level Platforms CEO Peter Sandiford have built strong MSP communities of their own.
SolarWinds (SWI) and its newly acquired N-able business face a "dog fight" against "scrappy, determined rivals" in the remote monitoring and management (RMM) software market. That's the concensus opinion from numerous MSPs attending this week's Autotask Community Live and LabTech Automation Nation conferences in Phoenix and Orlando, respectively.
When SolarWinds acquired N-able for $120 million last week, SolarWinds CEO Kevin Thompson said the deal would allow his company to gain market leadership in the MSP software market, with a particular emphasis on cloud computing and SMB customers. In an exclusive interview with MSPmentor, Thompson suggested N-able's rivals were running scared amid the SolarWinds deal.
Rival Views 
Some N-able rivals like Kaseya and Level Platforms declined to comment about the SolarWinds/N-able business combination. But LabTech Software came out swinging, offering N-able partners special migration incentives toward LabTech's MSP platform. Now CentraStage, a cloud-based RMM provider in Europe that has US reach, has launched a switch campaign that also reaches out to N-able partners, according to CEO Christian Nagele. And Continuum CEO Michael George suggested SolarWinds may take N-able direct -- a claim that SolarWinds and N-able have dismissed.
Traditional Warfare vs. Guerilla Warfare
So what do MSPs think about the potential RMM market share wars? During random discussions at Autotask Community Live and LabTech Automation Nation, MSPs told me:
SolarWinds may potentially underestimate the "guerilla warfare" tactics used by RMM companies to protect their MSP communities. Some N-able MSPs are nervous about SolarWinds' ownership plans for the company. But familiar N-able faces at the Autotask conference helped to address those fears, according to MSPs who spoke to me on background. Also, none of the N-able MSPs with whom I spoke have any plans to abandon the platform.
Meanwhile, Back at SolarWinds...
Also of note: Some Wall Street pundits are warning investors not to underestimate SolarWinds CEO Kevin Thompson. Financial Pundit Alan Brochstein says SolarWinds "excels at the "buy vs. build" game and has completed many acquisitions. It has a tendency to acquire good products by buying immature companies, typically owned by the founder, and then fixing the go-to-market approach."
Plus, N-able itself is seasoned at the guerilla warfare tactics used in the community-centric MSP channel. And N-able will likely gain new SolarWinds tools and technologies to sell to its MSP base -- including help desk software.
Bottom line? MSPmentor thinks N-able will remain MSP-friendly, but General Manager JP Jauvin will need to balance (A) SolarWinds' expectations for N-able and (B) N-able's need to keep the company's current MSP base loyal.
The big winners are MSPs, which will surely find RMM software and cloud companies especially attentive to MSP business needs amid the market share war.

Come MSPs può monetizzare efficacemente la gestione dei dispositivi mobili

Mobile device management is growing among the companies with policies to bring-your-own-device in place. But the benefits of BYOD also come with headaches. Here's how MSPs can help customers ensure devices and data while at the same time by adding your own profitability.
The service sector is all about understanding the customer's needs and offering the best possible solution in a given situation. It is absolutely essential to understand the trends and changing needs of the marketplace for customers of the service. One such trend is the management of mobile devices.  Although MSPs have actively provided and solutions for infrastructure management, growth in the use of employee-owned devices such as Smartphones or tablets in the workplace, more commonly called BYOD, has created new challenges for organizations to manage.
Gartner predicts that by 2017, half of the employers in the world requires employees to bring their devices to work. According to the report, "BYOD is occurring in companies and Governments of all sizes, is more prevalent in organizations of medium and large ($ 500 million to $ 5 billion in revenue, with 2,500 to 5,000 employees).
BYOD also allows smaller companies to go mobile without a huge device and service investment. Adoption varies widely throughout the world. Companies in the United States are twice as likely to allow BYOD like those in Europe, where the adoption BYOD lowest of all regions. In contrast, employees in India, China and Brazil are more likely to be using a personal device, typically a normal mobile phone, at work. (Here's a link to the Gartner information).
This is the right opportunity for MSPs?
Compared to desktop computers, mobile devices have shown a strong growing market worldwide, which made the workforce more mobile today than ever before. The concept of a BYOD created challenges for organizations in terms of data security, application management and network security. Msp can play an important role in providing MDM as a service, and removing the load from the enterprise.
It is important for MSPs to analyze and interpret customer needs to ensure that the opportunity for MDM is ripe. Some of the questions may ask before pitching MDM might include:
Customers any mobile management challenges?Are there any mobile based on requests from customers? If the answer is Yes, then what is the reason.It will be a sound business opportunity?
If MSPs can find satisfactory answers to these questions, you could easily cash in on the opportunity. As evident from the forecasts of market analysts, organizations began to look for MSP that can offer end-to-end services for systems and mobile device management.
Create awareness:MSPs must play an active role in educating users about security issues that are involved in managing the device and how the MSPs can meet these demands.
As a consultant, MSPs must understand the challenges and propose solutions that can meet these challenges. For example, some of the pain points for customers who may have data security, access to information and provision of BYOD. Find the area of interest and start a conversation to clear their doubts and questions and propose the right solution.
Pricing and packaging strategy:        
More medium-sized MSPs limit their range of desktop management services/anti-virus management and patch management services. There are several other services such as mobile device management and content management that may not yet have been explored.
The biggest problem for most organizations is data security in Device Manager. Create a package with different levels of functionality. Introduce a package of integrated management that can help in the management of desktop and mobile devices. A basic package may contain maximum desktop management features and device management functionality needed as security management including pass-code policy, remote data deletion and blocking, etc.
Flexible packaging: The Service Pack must be designed with the 80 per cent of the core features such as security management and the 20 percent by adding features such as application management. Msp can provide further layers as the mobile application management, configuration profile or report generation and their package as an Advanced Edition.
The advantage lies in broadening the range of services and this expansion enables MSPs looking for new opportunities to increase revenue, while using know-how gained from the operation of specific vertical markets.
Prices: Create a value based on the pricing strategy and then let customers perceive the importance of the services that offer MSPs. For example, create different editions of price points, each variation with its offerings/hallmarks along with desktop management features that should be available in every Variant.
For example, a form might have the necessary security management, and another variant could you add on modules such as application management. These packages of different sizes can increase your chances of MSPs to serve customers of different sizes.
In order to grasp the opportunities in the market today, MSPs should study and analyse future trends to understand how the growth in the mobile industry is going to affect them, how to deal with the change in the nature of customer needs, such as going to the workload by companies and organisations to concern them.This knowledge will help MSPs address the growing challenges on the client side.
Vijay Saradhi, is offering a Marketing Analyst at ManageEngine, a division of Zoho Corp., where he manages the product marketing for its Desktop & Managementsolution Mobile Device. Has expertise on it, services and products with 4 years experience. You can contact him on LinkedIn or follow his tweets at: @vijaysarathi12

Tangoe integra gestione Telecom e MDM, aggiunge caratteristiche più profonde

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Comunicazioni del ciclo di vita (CLM) software e servizi di provider di gestione Tangoe, Inc (TNGO) ha recentemente annunciato nuove versioni integrate di suo mobile device management (MDM Tangoe) e in tempo reale telecome spese gestione (Tangoe rTEM) soluzioni, consentendo ai clienti di sfruttare le nuove funzionalità, tra cui un'applicazione client mobile singolo chiamata Tangoe Mobile per le funzioni combinate di MDM e rTEM.

Tangoe fondatore, Presidente e CEO Al Subbloie detto che molti dei clienti dell'azienda sono focalizzati sulla crescita della mobilità nel 2013.
Comunicazioni del ciclo di vita (CLM) software e servizi di provider di gestione Tangoe, Inc (TNGO) ha annunciato nuove versioni integrate di suo mobile device management (MDM Tangoe) e in tempo reale telecom expense management (Tangoe rTEM) solutions, consentendo ai clienti di sfruttare le nuove funzionalità, tra cui un'applicazione client mobile singolo chiamata Tangoe Mobile per le funzioni combinate di MDM e rTEM. Quali altre caratteristiche sono disponibili attraverso questa integrazione? Forniremo lo scoop.
Tangoe Mobile offre entrambe soluzioni dell'azienda in una singola applicazione sul dispositivo, consentendo agli utenti di tenere traccia dell'utilizzo del piano portante e ricevere notifiche di utilizzo da esso. Inoltre, la soluzione consente anche criteri di geo-fence su ogni dispositivo. Queste politiche sono legate a regole di utilizzo di location-based che consentono l'applicazione di criteri automatici basato sul rilevamento della posizione in tempo reale del dispositivo. Tali regole potrebbero salvare gli utenti e le aziende big time, quando si tratta di quei costi di roaming dati astronomici per i viaggiatori internazionali.
Tangoe fondatore, Presidente e CEO Al Subbloie, ha detto nel suo discorso preparato che molti dei clienti dell'azienda sono focalizzati sulla crescita della mobilità nel 2013.
"Le funzioni combinate del nostro leader MDM e soluzioni rTEM affrontare queste problematiche e offre ai nostri clienti aziendali con maggiore controllo su dispositivi mobili entrando l'impresa cos? come la visibilità in tempo reale in uso dipendente", ha detto.
Inoltre, Tangoe ha migliorato le versioni più recenti di Tangoe MDM e rTEM con le seguenti funzionalità:
Ottimizzatore piano portante per rTEM - basato sull'uso storico per voce, SMS e dati, Tangoe rTEM consiglia all'amministratore il miglior piano di vettore per ogni utente. Questo è particolarmente utile per le imprese in luoghi dove ci sono piani in pool, come l'Europa, cos? come per le organizzazioni negli Stati Uniti che non partecipano in pool piani;Dati specifici dell'applicazione di monitoraggio per rTEM - fornisce visibilità nell'uso dei dati specifici di ogni applicazione su un dispositivo. Questo dati consentono decisioni più informate per quanto riguarda l'utilizzo dell'applicazione e i costi corrispondenti dispositivi dell'operazione;Integrazione con Samsung sicuro per Tangoe MDM - fornisce enterprise-grade device management e sicurezza su dispositivi Samsung;Enhanced Windows Phone 8 supporto per Tangoe MDM - Tangoe MDM supporta una migliore esperienza utente Windows Phone 8 con un'interfaccia utente ottimizzata Windows Phone 8, il supporto per risoluzioni di nuovo e un processo di attivazione del dispositivo aerodinamico; esupporto per BlackBerry 10 per Tangoe MDM --ora supporta BlackBerry 10 dispositivi Tangoe MDM, dispositivo servizi e PlayBook, compresi synch BDS integrato e sicuro per l'applicazione di criteri.
L'interfaccia unificata sarà disponibile per il download tramite app store per iOS di Apple (AAPL) e Google (GOOG) gioco per Android a inizio luglio 2013.
Tangoe anche recentemente un accordo inchiostrate con SAP AG (ADR) per integrare la suite di software di Tangoe TEM Mobile (telecom expense management) con il portafoglio SAP Secure Mobile.