What were the biggest MSP (managed services provider) news stories, trends and developments for 2016? Glad you asked. Here are the 10 MSP stories, blogs and research projects that attracted the largest ChannelE2E readership this past year.
10. ConnectWise International Push (February 2016): Jason Magee moved up to the COO post as part of this broader strategy -- including President David Bellini driving international expansion.
9. New StorageCraft Ownership, Leadership (January 2016): A private equity firm acquired StorageCraft for $187 million, installed new leadership, and built an expanded global channel team.
8. Aldridge Buys Arterian, PacketDrivers (February 2016): One of the most interesting MSP buyouts of the year actually involved two acquisitions. Arterian and PacketDrivers gave Aldridge a Seattle-based footprint, and deep cloud expertise in Microsoft Office 365 and Azure.
7. ConnectWise Perspectives on the SolarWinds-LogicNow Deal (June 2016): ConnectWise CEO Arnie Bellini weighs in on SolarWinds acquiring LogicNow to build out the SolarWinds MSP business.
6. SolarWinds Acquires LogicNow (June 2016): The surprise acquisition combined LogicNow with SolarWinds' existing N-able business. The result was SolarWinds MSP -- and complete coverage on ChannelE2E. John Pagliuca, general manager of SolarWinds MSP, now leads that software division.
5. KKR Acquires Optiv for $1.9 Billion (December 2016): More of an IT security provider buyout, but plenty of people are watching to see where Optiv heads with Managed Services. Plus, ChannelE2E is the only media company to pinpoint the deal's actual value...
4. Top 50 MSPs for Amazon Web Services (January 2016): Admittedly, most MSPs have been late to monetizing Amazon Web Services (AWS). But these 50 MSPs weren't.
3. Top 100 Vertical Market MSPs (April 2016): Our look at the top 100 MSPs across manufacturing, health care, financial services, government, education and more. If you're a vertical market MSP looking seeking to celebrate your performance then participate in the 2017 edition of our Top 100 Vertical Market MSPs Survey and Research.
2. Kaseya Buys Vorex; Launches PSA Price War (February 2016): The RMM (remote monitoring and management) software provider pushed into PSA (professional services automation) with an acquisition and a price war. Some Kaseya MSPs embraced the PSA offering, but we haven't seen a tidal wave of migrations away from entrenched PSA platforms.
1. Presidio Buys Netech (January 2016): This regional buyout gave Presidio deeper Cisco, NetApp, VMware and EMC coverage in the midwest. But the bigger story involved Presidio CEO Bob Cagnazzi's continued investments in hybrid cloud.
