Features

Features

• Geography, skills drive IT Services M&A for Presidio, Accenture

  Presidio has acquired transACT Technology Solutions, a digital transformation specialist based in the United Kingdom, while Accenture purchased IAMConcepts in Canada.  Continue Reading

• MSSP automation amps managed service delivery, opens markets

  MSSPs are updating and broadening their technology stacks, emphasizing automation to break security service price barriers and reach new clients in a competitive market.  Continue Reading

• Guide to building and executing an MSP business model

  This managed service guide provides an overview of the business model, covers the basics of building a service provider business and discusses how to manage a maturing operation.  Continue Reading

• Partner's Apple Watch referee app lets NHL stripes keep focus

  Presidio designed the NHL Watch Comms App to sync with a hockey arena's game and penalty clocks and use haptic notifications to help officials keep their eyes on the game.  Continue Reading

• 6 trends shaping the IT services market in 2025

  Expect IT service providers to use AI to improve service delivery and automate customers' business processes this year, among other notable trends in the industry.  Continue Reading

• FinOps consulting grows as IT cost management efforts expand

  IT service providers pursue advisory, training and automation opportunities as customers adopt FinOps and apply its cost optimization principles across more IT resources.  Continue Reading

• 6 popular managed services pricing models

  Popular pricing models for managed service providers include monitoring only, per device, per user, all-you-can-eat or value-based pricing, a la carte and tiered pricing.  Continue Reading

• Partners' generative AI training plans aim for 1M+ employees

  IT service providers are upskilling a large portion of their workforces on the emerging technology. The campaign seeks to boost GenAI credibility with customers and tech vendors.  Continue Reading

• Ukraine IT services firms target new markets as exports drop

  Ukrainian IT services firms are eyeing new geographic markets and exploring digital transformation as the war and a difficult economy shrink international sales.  Continue Reading

• Cybersecurity market trends, from AI to post-quantum crypto

  Service executives list generative AI, the growing attack surface at the edge and post-quantum crypto standards as among the key security developments in 2024.  Continue Reading

• IT service execs point to 5 core zero-trust questions

  A partner-customer dialog around zero trust should focus on the basics of organizational awareness, upskilling, funding, technical tooling and user experience.  Continue Reading

• Partner ecosystem strategy: Co-innovation and other variants

  Co-innovation, generative partnering and co-creation describe alliances among customers, service providers and tech vendors. But what do the terms mean and what are the benefits?  Continue Reading

• 5 ways to improve MSP marketing and sales

  Review these tips to get a better understanding of the people, process and tools you'll need to bolster what has been a traditional weakness among service providers.  Continue Reading

• State and local government technology revs digital services

  Agencies, in a bid to quickly roll out citizen services, rely on a combination of chatbots, upgraded networks, no-code/low-code technology and cloud computing.  Continue Reading

• Tech giants foster green software engineering movement

  The Green Software Foundation, which includes Accenture and Microsoft as members, will create an ecosystem of people, standards, tools and practices to develop green software.  Continue Reading

• In-house vs. outsourced marketing for MSPs

  Content marketing has emerged as an effective strategy for MSPs, but it can get tricky when deciding if in-house or outsourced talent should create these marketing materials.  Continue Reading

• Accenture Cloud First exec cites C-suite engagement

  In this Q&A, Accenture Cloud First lead Karthik Narain reflects on the business group's first months of operations and the growing C-suite interest in cloud computing.  Continue Reading

• Top MSP marketing tools to generate leads

  MSP marketing tools are a must-have for successful lead-gen efforts. Execs at Valiant Technology, SADA and Synoptek round up the products supporting their marketing strategies.  Continue Reading

• Aruba partner tackles university's wireless network upgrade

  Doane University kicked off a two-phase wireless network overhaul in response to the pandemic. Learn how Aruba partner DataVizion has helped execute the project.  Continue Reading

• How leading SAP S/4HANA implementation partners compare

  Advisor firm UpperEdge attempts to pin down the differences between how SAP S/4HANA implementation partners Accenture, Deloitte and IBM approach client projects.  Continue Reading

• MSP onboarding checklist: Top tips for developing a process

  Establishing and standardizing an onboarding process can help ensure your client relationships begin strong. Experts share tips on how to develop an MSP onboarding checklist.  Continue Reading

• Key concepts of the MSP sales process

  To grow a managed service provider business, companies must develop a consistent MSP sales process. Use these tips to build a strong sales arm for your business.  Continue Reading

• 5 RMM tools MSPs can use to bolster client IT infrastructure

  Learn what remote monitoring and management software features and functionality MSPs and internal IT departments should consider to support client IT infrastructure and endpoints.  Continue Reading

• What do you need to start a managed service provider today?

  If you want to get your own MSP off the ground today, you need to be cloud native, have a Microsoft-based software stack and know the right market to focus on.  Continue Reading

• Managed services model takes evolutionary twists and turns

  The evolution of managed service providers began at the apex of the dot-com era and now continues with developments including cloud computing and industry consolidation.  Continue Reading

• Is the master MSP business model still relevant?

  Master MSPs emerged more than a decade ago as a means for channel firms to develop managed services, but experts are split on whether the traditional model continues to hold sway.  Continue Reading

• Outmoded insurance agency software gets customer-oriented upgrade

  Insurance customers' demand for more personalized services results in an industry-wide movement to modernize outdated company software and systems.  Continue Reading

• How to sell a small business in the IT services, VAR space

  Get advice on how to sell a small business in the MSP and VAR space, including determining the business valuation and finding a potential buyer.  Continue Reading

• How to mitigate risk associated with a customer's potential data breach

  Find out what steps to take to protect your business and reduce the risk associated with the inevitable data breach at a customer site.  Continue Reading

• Verticalization of cloud applications: Channel play

  Channel companies are seeing potential in the verticalization of cloud applications, in which cloud ERP, CRM services are adapted for verticals.  Continue Reading

• Parallel processing: Using parallel SQL effectively

  Using parallel processing only makes sense for your customers in specific situations. Find out when to use parallel SQL with the Oracle databse to avoid excessive usage.  Continue Reading

• Virtual desktop infrastructure: Five tips for improving virtual desktop performance

  Implementing virtual desktop infrastructure means that you have to switch emphasis from a client's local processing power to server processing power and network connectivity. Learn how to improve desktop performance and prevent errors before they ...  Continue Reading

• Ten steps for smooth desktop virtualization deployment

  Pulling off a successful desktop virtualization deployment project means you have to first understand which virtualization method is best for your client. This 10-step plan addresses common mistakes that are made in desktop virtualization deployment...  Continue Reading

• System Recovery and Diagnostic Tricks: Vista Recovery: Advanced Boot Options, WinRE and WinPE

  Vista's Advanced Boot Options, the Windows Recovery Environment Platform, WinRE and WinPE are all covered in this chapter excerpt from "Tricks of the Microsoft Windows Vista Masters." Learn about these options before choosing CompletePC backup.  Continue Reading

• Business impact analysis for business continuity: Data collection methodologies

  For business impact analysis (BIA) collect data through interviews and questionnaires. This excerpt from "Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery for IT Professionals" discusses various data collection methodologies and how to carry them out.  Continue Reading

• Business impact analysis for business continuity: Identifying business functions

  This excerpt from "Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery for IT Professionals" walks you through common business functions and encourages you to assess those functionalities that are not covered and include them in your BIA.  Continue Reading

• Business impact analysis for business continuity: Upstream and downstream losses

  Learn to mitigate indirect impacts that disasters can have on businesses. In this excerpt from "Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery for IT Professionals," the author discusses upstream and downstream losses.  Continue Reading

• Business impact analysis for business continuity: Understanding impact criticality

  When it comes to business functions, develop a rating scale to identify your customers' mission-critical functions. This excerpt from "Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery for IT Professionals" outlines a business function rating system with ...  Continue Reading

• What kind of incentives and partner programs does VMware offer to its resellers?

  Learn about VMware's three reseller partner levels: Professional, Enterprise and Premier. These levels increase in both the commitment expected from the reseller and benefits offered by VMware.  Continue Reading

• Managed services, your business plan and you

  Learn why a business plan is an essential part of any reseller's successful managed services business. Discover how to use a business plan as the impetus for refining your marketing strategy, locating sources of revenue and sizing up the competition.  Continue Reading