MSP Roundup: Kaseya Expands Cloud Offerings; Axcient, NetEnrich Team

Managed Services Roundup

Kaseya, Level Platforms and even Best Buy's Geek Squad are among the MSP vendors making news recently. Here's a roundup of what's been happening in the managed services space.

Kaseya Expands Cloud-Based Offerings

Kaseya has added a new entry-level cloud-based IT systems management offering to its product portfolio. The cloud-based Foundation solution offers unique pricing that lets MSPs enhance their break-fix processes with basic IT automation functionality with an administrator-based price for unlimited seats, according to the company.

The Foundation product complements Kaseya's existing Essentials and Advanced cloud-based product bundles and gives IT administrators hosted access to the Kaseya platform with pre-configured content and policies for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android and Blackberry devices. It also provides remote control, audit and inventory, alerting, reports and dashboards, Windows patch updates, standard policies and options to add on antivirus and data backup modules.

Level Platforms, Symantec Provide Security Endpoint For MSPs

Level Platforms has developed additional advanced integration with the release of the new Symantec Endpoint Protection Service Module, which allows MSPs to better deliver monitoring, managing and troubleshooting to clients' endpoint security infrastructure using Level Platforms' RMM platform, Managed Workplace.

"We designed our Service Module architecture to ensure that vital information from critical tools, such as Symantec Endpoint Protection, one of the fastest and most effective endpoint protection solutions, is presented to the MSP within their regular workflow in Managed Workplace," said Gordon Rielly, CTO of Level Platforms, in a statement.

With the new integration, MSPs can access up-to-date information on the health of all of their customers’ endpoint protection deployments from a single Managed Workplace dashboard, including includes the status of endpoints, detailed license information and the status of signatures and updates.

Meriplex Acquires ITR Technologies

Meriplex Communications, a Houston-based communications solution provider, has agreed to acquire ITR Technologies, which provides server, application and desktop managed services for the cloud. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"Adding managed servers, applications, and desktop services from the cloud complements our existing portfolio of global voice, data and infrastructure managed services," said said David Henley, president of Meriplex Communications, in a statement. "Meriplex now has the depth to provide a comprehensive managed services platform to business customers of all sizes around the world. We will continue to invest in cloud-based technologies as we identify opportunities to deliver immediate value to our customers," he said.

Meriplex also provides global MPLS, SIP trunking, and Cisco collaboration solutions and is a Cisco Multinational Gold Partner with a Master Specialization in unified communications, according to the company.

Axcient, NetEnrich Team On Monitoring And Management

Axcient and NetEnrich have built a technology alliance that the companies say gives MSPs access to fully monitored and managed data, application and system uptime as a service.

The Axcient/NetEnrich Managed Data Uptime Solution leverages Net-Enrich's managed monitoring, escalation and remediation services to VARs and MSPs deploying Axcient's backup and virtualization technologies.

"The alliance alleviates many time-consuming tasks for resellers, MSPs, and service providers, according to Axcient CEO Justin Moore. "NetEnrich handles all operational IT tasks such as monitoring, escalation, and remediation, while the Axcient solution securely backs up and instantly restores all data, applications, and systems. The end result is a stronger offering for IT providers, as they can now assure their customers that their data and applications are continuously monitored and will always be available," Moore said in a statement.

GeekSquad Expands Services Capabilties

Earlier this year, Best Buy expanded its services capabilities for the estimated $40 billion SMB market when it acquired mindShift Technologies, which provides managed IT, cloud, data center and other professional services across the United States. Best Buy's Geek Squad organization has added three partners to its Partner Program Network, which aims to further expand its services initiative created when it acquired mindShift Technologies last November.

The newly-launched program works with third-party sellers to provide services for their own customers. The three partners are: Business Integration Services, Citadel Systems and Digital Planet Communications. The agreement enables the three companies to offer Geek Squad Office Support, which features Geek Squad Agents available for unlimited 24/7 support via phone, online chat, remote, and, with an option to include on-site support. In addition, they will sell Geek Squad PC, mobile, networking and infrastructure support services, according to GeekSquad.

Nimsoft Adds Support For Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization

Nimsoft has added support for Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization to its Nismoft Monitor platform, providing MSPs with end-to-end visibility into their Red Hat and non-Red Hat resources, according to Campbell, Calif.-based Nimsoft, a CA Technologies company. Nimsoft Monitor now streamlines administration in heterogeneous virtualized environments by managing multiple virtualization technologies from a single platform.

The Red Hat support gives customers more choice in virtualization technology, said Mark Frost, general manager of the Nimsoft Solutions Group, in a statement. Key capabilities include: auto-discovery of Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization hypervisors; views of Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization and the underlying physical systems; real-time performance and availability of data; proactive alerts based on customer-defined thresholds and automation of common configuration and data collection tasks.

ConnectWise CEO Braves English Channel

ConnectWise CEO Arnie Bellini (left) fell four miles short of swimming the 27-mile English Channel last weekend.

Bellini, who had trained for months, swam 23 miles in about 13 hours before a strong current steered him off course, according to ChannelWeb UK.

A strong current pulled Bellini south as he tried to swim toward the shore, he said in a video posted on YouTube.

"I feel like I just had a boxing bout with Mother Nature and she beat the crap out of me," Bellini said in the video. "I should have started further north. I'm glad it's over because that water was very cold."