System Replacements, Upgrades Lead Services Boom

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End users and businesses looking to upgrade and replace old systems have become a booming source of business for MSPs, according to partners interviewed by CRNtv.

STSG's Josh B. Thomas told CRNtv his company has seen the most growth in "system replacement and integration," although storage requirement upgrades also have boosted services growth.

Microsoft partner ClearPointe has seen a boom in business migrating users from Windows 2003.

"There's a lot of 'look' into what we're doing with the Microsoft Azure platform. People are looking at lift and shift modes for traditional on-premise or legacy applications that need to be moved. And as we look at customers that have older platforms on Windows 2003, they're evaluating new technologies, so one of theirs that we lead with is Azure," said ClearPointe's Charles Van Heusen.

Cisco partner Cirrity sees customers who increasingly want to move on-premise applications to the cloud. Chief Marketing Officer Gerry Baron expects demand for cloud services to "explode."

"With the variety of cloud services that we offer -- infrastructure, DR, backup and desktops -- those are all the kinds of things that customers are looking for business solutions for," Baron said.

For PCG President Dave Hodgdon, the biggest service that customers want is simple: 24/7 accessibility to MSPs. For his solution provider business, becoming accessible on evenings and weekends to manage and troubleshoot services is customers' biggest demand.

PUBLISHED MARCH 25, 2015