MSPmentor

What role will Linux and open source middleware play in the managed services market? Gus Robertson, vice president of global business development at Red Hat, is weighing that question right now. Read More >

I asked several managed service providers yesterday whether their customers were interested in Macs and Linux as secure, easy-to-manage alternatives to Windows PCs. The answer was a resounding “no.” Instead, the MSPs said, many of their customers are willing to virtualize their desktops, shifting most applications up to a server.

The discussion points, which surprised me a bit, occurred during the Ingram Micro Seismic partner conference in Chicago. Here are more details.

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Is the party over for VMware and the virtualization market? Yes and no. In a surprise move, former Microsoft executive Paul Maritz has been named president and CEO of VMware, replacing ousted co-founder Diane Greene.

One possible reason, notes Barron’s: VMware’s revenue growth for 2008 won’t quite meet the 50 percent target that Wall Street was expecting. Plenty of companies would welcome such growth problems, but VMware shares are down more than 20 percent on the news.

Here’s part two of our top 30 highlights from the Kaseya User Conference in Las Vegas. This portion focuses on Kaseya CEO Gerald Blackie’s keynote, for the most part. Read More >

Business continuity is the ability of an organization to continue functioning after an unplanned interruption. Data disaster recovery is an important part of business continuity capabilities.

Why does your end client need a business continuity solution? And what are the key components of a business continuity plan? Here are some answers.

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No, Microsoft hasn’t acquired or launched a managed services platform. But the software giant continues to push deeper into the IT management market. In fact, Microsoft this week is hosting an IT management summit in Las Vegas.

Here are two key highlights from the event. Read More >

The convergence of open source with managed services and software as a service (SaaS) continues. The latest example: Red Hat, arguably the world’s best-known open source company, has created two staff positions to serve hosting partners. Plus, Red Hat is evaluating a strategy to work more closely with managed service providers, MSPmentor has learned. Here’s the scoop. Read More >

Most managed service providers have heard of hardware as a service (HaaS). Now, here comes “desktops as a service.” The term popped up during a chat I had earlier this week with MokaFive President and CEO Bill Demas.

Many tech media sites describe MokaFive as a desktop virtualization company. But MokaFive’s ability to meld desktop computing with software as a service has some potential implications for MSPs. Here’s a bit more about the company’s strategy, and desktop as a service vision. Read More >