Recent Articles
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Network Depot Delivers Instant MSP Kit
The winds of change are blowing for the small business solution provider, fueled by shrinking hardware margins, a dying break-fix market and general apathy for new product sales. That situation has forced many solution providers to rethink how they will survive, much less grow their businesses. Many are in the process of re-inventing themselves as…
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Procurement as a Service Gains Traction with MSPs
It seems the more IT services you provide to customers, the more they want you to sell them hardware and software. That is what many managed services providers find as they gain the trust of their customers. But some MSPs have little to no interest in messing with product procurement, which is time-consuming and generates…
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Is Microsoft the Managed Services Market’s Biggest Enemy?
Over the years Microsoft’s commitment to channel partners has been pretty much unassailable, regardless of what you may think of the company’s products or its inclination to throw its weight around. But as the managed services market matures, you have to wonder how long the world’s largest software company plans to sit on the sidelines.…
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SAAS Vendor Achieves Highest Security Standards for Cloud Transactions
Increased reliance on cloud computing and on-demand software models is highlighting the need for airtight security, particularly where billing is concerned. Aria Systems, a provider of on-demand billing and customer lifecycle management, is leaving nothing to chance. On Jan. 7, the company revealed its A+ Billing Platform has achieved Level One PCI (Payment Card Industry),…
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9 Steps to Better Business Automation
For a long time, IT solution providers talked but did not walk for themselves. They automated the businesses of their clients, but neglected their own businesses, often keeping track of billable time and trouble tickets on loose pieces of paper and awkwardly constructed spreadsheets. These bad habits started to change a few years ago when…
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Managed Services Success Still a Big Challenge
As the managed services market matures, some solution providers still struggle with how to transform their business to a fixed-fee model. Managed services experts and solution providers say the primary problem is cultural, rather than technical. It’s about people and old habits that die hard. It’s about sales representatives trying to protect their turf and…