Remote Network Management Blog

As managed service providers look to expand IT service offerings, they should look to VoIP monitoring considering the increased use of VoIP among companies. In fact, MSPs can expect the number of seats for hosted VoIP and unified communications services to more than double between 2012 and 2016, according to a report from Infonetics Research.

by Brian Sherman

Over the past few years, I’ve had countless conversations with PacketTrap MSP customers and prospects. In most cases, the topic of conversation shifts to business development, revenue cycle and ways to use PacketTrap MSP to better service customers. Even at industry events, managed service providers spend far more time at sessions or talking to industry experts about revenue generation, rather than checking out the latest wares from vendors. Perhaps the simplest recommendation I can offer is that MSPs begin to shift away from the traditional ‘Break/Fix’ model to a professional IT services model of billing and service delivery.

The number of companies offering cloud resources and an influx of news and analysis related to cloud computing growth continues to dominate channel and traditional IT media. How much of the cloud discussion is hype? According to industry reports, not much…

by Brian Sherman 

Remember the old saying that the average individual uses less than 10% of their brain? Though it’s been disputed by a number of neurologists, most agree that men and women employ just a small fraction of their true intellectual power. Despite their enormous contributions, neither Albert Einstein nor Stephen Hawking could tap into the full potential of their minds.

Apple caused quite the buzz last week officially unveiling the new iPad. The latest enhancements to Apple’s tablet help to further drive home the company’s theme of a “Post-PC Revolution.” We wanted to set aside some time to talk mobile, Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), and what this means for the channel. As we close in on the first quarter of 2012, it seems like escaping the buzz surrounding BYOD is next to impossible. Mobile devices are synonymous with BYOD, thus resulting in an up and coming opportunity for MSPs to capitalize on mobile device management. In December of 2011, MSPmentor predicted that mobile device management (MDM) will become one of the most in demand managed services of this year:

It’s an exciting time for the PacketTrap MSP team as we announced the acquisition of BlueFolder (www.bluefolder.com), a company that for the past several years has developed and sold Field and Professional Service Management solutions to MSPs – building a strong MSP customer base in the process.  A professional services automation (PSA) system is a critical tool for many MSPs, as it enables organizations to streamline common business processes and daily tasks: job scheduling, technician management, CRM, service requests, billing and invoicing, equipment tracking and more.

By James Riley, JNR Networks 
CEO/Senior Engineer

As IT Solution Providers, we all work tirelessly to evaluate various products on the market and pick the optimal solution for our clients.  As we adopt an MSP model, this becomes even more imperative as we are placed "on the hook" for whatever support requirements come up.  As this happens, it behooves us to select solutions that will provide optimal uptime and minimal hassles.  Our knowledge, skill and ability to competently evaluate a client's need and deliver a solution that will work as advertised and not constantly cause headaches is what we strive to deliver to our clients.

In today’s changing IT landscape, the need for service providers to differentiate offerings from their peers is now more important and competitive than ever. Further, the average SMB’s network is becoming more and more sophisticated due in large part to the rapid adoption rates of migrating to cloud and virtual environments.  We have noticed that one of the current significant trends in networking right now appears to be infrastructure virtualization and its impact on networking. Here’s why.