SilverBack Makes Managed Services More SMB-Friendly

The managed services market looms on the horizon for the many solution providers who are still wondering if it bodes well for them. While the VAR community may still be arguing over the pros and cons of the managed services model, one thing is certain: No one makes the point of entry as easy as SilverBack Technologies, a company that specializes in building managed services platforms.

SilverBack offers several managed services platforms, allowing solution providers to build completely customized services for their customers. SilverBack has lowered the entry points and prices for most of its service offerings, allowing solution providers to pursue the small- and midsize-business market.

In practice, SilverBack’s service allows a solution provider to monitor and maintain a customer’s IT hardware from their own data center. Setup is incredibly simple, with the solution provider doing little more than building a list of managed devices in a management console. The management console is the key to success in which solution providers can define domains, groups, sublevels, etc., to bring an organized management structure to what was once a randomly managed environment. Real-time monitoring, threshold-driven reporting and diagnostics are only a mouse click away for any managed device.

It would take many pages to detail every available feature in SilverBack’s portfolio, so it is safe to say the feature set is comprehensive. The management agent, SilverStreak (which is available as an add-on), is used to create policies and ease of use for VARs looking to become MSPs. SilverBack’s MSP is agentless in design—no software needs to be initially deployed to monitor a device. A dedicated VPN or HTTPS connection is not required for secure management and communications; the management and reporting tasks are delivered via a secure, self-generated HTTPS tunnel. (Basically, SilverBack monitors anything with an IP address.)

The product also can perform patch and vulnerability scans. That information is all rolled up into a comprehensive management console, where technicians can quickly make decisions to resolve problems before they become severe. The benefit to businesses is that they will have access to a 24x7 management center, without the costs associated with manning such a center on-site. The benefit to VARs is manyfold, as they can now offer an incredibly valuable service to their customers while garnering ongoing revenue for the services offered.

The need to retrain service personnel will be minimal; the product’s management console is intuitive and provides ample information, which can supplement most training chores. Technicians can use the product to not only identify problems, but also research the solutions, and execute those solutions if need be.

The management console software combines realtime and performance monitoring across networks, systems, applications and security. Technicians use an integrated, Web-based console that allows the management of thousands of customers segmented by views and sites. The product’s monitoring can automatically send alerts to a cell phone, pager or e-mail address. Also included is a time-based escalations capability, as well as alerts on scheduled events that haven’t been performed, such as backups. Platform support is extensive; SilverBack offers direct support for Windows NT 4.0, 2000, 2003, XP, Solaris 2.6-2.8, Linux, HP-UX, IBM AIX, Novell (requires Novell SNMP NLMS), and any MIB II or RFC 1315-compliant device. SilverBack originally entered the market as an MSP, then began to pursue what would be best described as a franchise-based deployment, and a channel program was born.

The company’s channel program is designed to create committed partners. The program is broken down into two levels: Instant MSP and BusinessBuilder. Instant MSPs have a minimum target level of just $99 per month, which makes entering the MSP market a cinch. BusinessBuilder level partners must achieve sales of at least $3,200 monthly, but they also have access to program benefits such as ongoing sales, product and technical training (on-site and Web-based, as appropriate) throughout the life of the partnership, and protected markets.

The Instant MSP program offers partners a risk-free entry to the managed services business and the ability to take advantage of all of the benefits of selling services without building a data center. Instant MSPs still retain and own customer contracts. Both tiers offer ample opportunity to partners, regardless of their size or target business market.

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