What's Up? Access Picks Up Monitoring Tool
Using a Software-as-a-Service model, Access will disseminate the hosted IT Analytics managed services platform from Klir, said Chuck Scalia, director of IT Services at Access, Westminster, Colo. Klir describes its service as a node-monitoring solution that reads and reports on the performance of applications, network bandwidth, servers and other devices.
What makes the deal unique is that Access will have the same view into the data feed coming from an end user's network as customers who subscribe to the service, said James Maiocco, CEO of Klir, Seattle. With this capability, Access will be able to prompt VARs representing the service to take action to remediate a problem at a customer site if it appears the VAR has not taken action within a reasonable amount of time, he said.
Even though the Klir service will provide Access with a window into the health of its customers' customers, Access does not see itself playing the role of Big Brother. Instead, Access intends to use its visibility to help VARs take advantage of opportunities to sell more products and to expand its own OneTech services program, Scalia said. For example, Access can use the Klir service in conjunction with partners as an analytic tool to collect data to help justify hardware consolidation programs for customers, he said.
Access also will offer the Klir service as a one-time assessment tool for partners looking to create a snapshot of the state of an end-user's network, Scalia said. Klir excels as an assessment tool, said Matthew Kayes, president of Seitel Leeds and Associates, a solution provider in Seattle.
"We use it all the time as an assessment tool, which is how we get a foot in the door of many customers. It's a low-cost way to get quick insight into the LAN and WAN infrastructure and setup of a customer," he said.