MSPmentor

Does Apple want to be a managed service provider? In some ways, yes. But so far those efforts aren’t going too well. The company’s MobileMe service — a cloud-based system designed to manage your contacts and calendars across a range of devices — is taking a beating from critics. Even The Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg, typically an Apple advocate, is telling readers that MobileMe is filled with problems.

From Apple’s MobileMe to Amazon.com’s Simple Storage Service (S3), we are seeing multiple examples of consumer-oriented companies stumbling a bit as they introduce managed services, software as a service (SaaS) and cloud-based solutions. Read More >

Still skeptical about Apple’s iPhone for business users? I’m not. And neither is Kaseya, the managed services platform provider. After extensive testing, Kaseya’s IT department has added the iPhone to its list of supported smart phones. Read More >

Software as a service (SaaS) sounds so simple. But the SaaS model gets complicated when businesses depend on multiple SaaS applications from multiple companies. The big challenge: How can an organization — or a managed service provider — coordinate data between multiple SaaS clouds? SnapLogic, an open source startup, is working to address that issue. Read More >

Symantec Protection Network (SPN), a software as a service (SaaS) platform launched in May 2008, is off to a solid start with managed service providers and VARs, according to Symantec Senior Director Chris Schin.

Still, Schin concedes that SaaS and the IT channel “are warming up to each other slowly.” His point applies to SaaS across the board — and certainly isn’t limited to Symantec. I spoke with Schin today to get an update on SPN and Symantec’s SaaS strategy for partners. Here’s a quick recap of the conversation.

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When it comes to hosted email, why zig when you can zag? That explains the strategy at EtomicMail, a managed service provider that’s hosting Zimbra — an open source email platform — rather than Microsoft Exchange.

Here’s a look at EtomicMail’s strategy, and the potential lessons learned for rival managed service providers.

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The MSPAlliance, working with Varilease, has launched a leasing program for its managed service provider (MSP) membership. Here’s a bit more on the MSPAlliance’s leasing program, along with other MSP industry leasing options. Read More >

Software as a service (SaaS) and open source continue to converge. The latest example is Apatar On-Demand, which now synchronizes Salesforce.com CRM and Intuit QuickBooks accounting software.

Apatar specializes in open source tools for data integration. And filling the gap between Salesforce.com and QuickBooks should be of great interest to VARs and managed service providers. Here’s a bit more about some of the trends here.

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The iPhone 3G goes on sale July 11, but Azaleos — a top managed service provider focused on Exchange Server — is already promoting a strategy for the new Apple device. Smart move. I wonder: Why aren’t more MSPs copying the Azaleos iPhone strategy? Read More >