In The Media

Rumor has it Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) could be acquired by a private equity firm — with Microsoft kicking in some money along the way. What does that mean for MSPs running Dell’s PacketTrap PSA or RMM software? Neither Dell nor PacketTrap will speculate publicly. But I will. Here’s MSPmentor’s spin on the situation — along with details about the new PacketTrap RMM 6.7 release, which adds support for Dell Device Monitoring, Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012.

I caught up with Jason Samples from PacketTrap at the ConnectWise IT Nation conference in Orlando.

Natan Ovadia, a partner management specialist at Quest Software's Packet Trap division, talks with Channelline CEO Robert Cohen about Packet Trap's offerings -- their flagship product, a remote monitoring tool for MSPs. And PSA product, a new service automation and ticketing tool to track orders and invoices.

By Joseph Walker
MSPmentor mentioned earlier today that "Quest’s PacketTrapteam appears to be heads-down on a cloud version of PacketTrap MSP, a remote monitoring and management (RMM) software platform." We can confirm that PacketTrap is indeed headed toward a launch of an SaaS edition of PacketTrap MSP.

I spoke recently with Mike Byrne (pictured right), Director of MSP at Quest, and he said Quest has a non-firm Q4 target release date for their new SaaS PacketTrap MSP software—which combines the company remote monitoring and management (RMM) software and their professional service automation (PSA) product. For anyone not familiar with PacketTrap MSP, I suggest you take a look at it here. It's a great network monitoring and management product at a reasonable price.

By Joe Panettieri
Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) expects to complete the Quest Software (NASDAQ: QSFT) buyout in Q3 2012. In the meantime, Quest has announced Q2 results, expanded support for NetApp storage, and is pushing deeper into the managed services software market. Indeed, Quest’s PacketTrapteam appears to be heads-down on a cloud version of PacketTrap MSP, a remote monitoring and management (RMM) software platform.

PacketTrap MSP already runs on-premises. The cloud version will deliver closer ties with PacketTrap PSA, a professional services automation (PSA) platform that Quest acquired last year. Together, PacketTrap hopes the cloud-based PSA and MSP solutions deliver end-to-end monitoring and business management services for MSPs.

by Joe Panettieri
Insight Venture Partners and a surprise partner now lead the bidding war for Quest Software (NASDAQ: QSFT). But published reports Tuesday evening suggest Dellcould still mount another counter-bid for Quest, which develops desktop virtualization, IT administration and managed services software.

By Joe Panettieri
While parent Quest Software considers its future ownership options, business unit PacketTrapcontinues to gain momentum in the managed services software market. Plus, PacketTrap is preparing a complete, cloud-based, end-to-end managed services platform, according to Mike Byrne, director of MSP at Quest Software.

By The Var Guy
If Dell buys Quest Software, it could thrust Dell into the virtualization market head-on against VMware (NYSE: VMW), Citrix Systems (NASDAQ: CTXS) and Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization(NYSE: RHT), among other potential rivals. But is Dell really trying to get into the virtualization market?

By Joe Panettieri,
Is Dell targeting Quest Software, owner of PacketTrap MSP and PacketTrap PSA, for a potential buyout? A potential Dell-Quest Software deal remained in negotiations over the holiday weekend, sources told Reuters. If Dell acquires Quest Software, what does that mean for the PacketTrap MSP and PacketTrap PSA software platforms? Here are some thoughts for managed services providers (MSPs).

By Nathan Eddy
MSPs can access a single console to manage business processes including job scheduling, technician management, CRM, service requests and billing and invoicing.