Barracuda MSP In the News
Latest Coverage Around the Web About Barracuda MSP
Weathering the Storm: Are Your Clients Prepared for Natural Disasters?
September 20, 2018- “The 2018 hurricane season began dramatically, with Hurricane Florence, a massive storm, bearing down on the East Coast of the United States. While residents either evacuated or secured their homes against the storm, tech companies also prepared. Microsoft, IBM, Google Cloud, Apple, Amazon and others all have data centers and other assets that were in Florence’s path.”
The Increase In Cloud Platform Cyberattacks Could Be Good News For VARs
August 31, 2018- “As more companies shift their IT infrastructure, data, and applications to the cloud, the need for reliable cloud security has become more acute. Fact is, the cloud has increasingly become a target for cyberattacks, as criminals follow the data from on-premises servers to cloud platforms.”
Barracuda Accelerates Growth in Email Protection
August 24, 2018- Barracuda MSP (MSP-focused division of Barracuda) acquired Intronis back in 2015. The company conducted a recent survey showing that over 3/4 of the threats come via email. Therefore, a lot of innovations have been made on the email security side of the business. Through a couple of acquisitions, they built an entire multilayer email security stack, starting with advanced protection against bad attachments to gateway protection for continuity, compliance and archiving. Barracuda MSP also protects against spear phising, using APIs within Office 365. Lastly, they educate their users through security awareness training, For more information, please visit www.barracudamsp.com
How WAF-as-a-Service Addresses Critical Customer Vulnerabilities
August 20, 2018- “For MSPs that want to extend their security footprint within their client base, providing web application firewall (WAF) services offers a way to increase revenues while reducing data breaches for customers.”
Top tips on how to deal with email security
August 10, 2018- “The aim of any business is of course to create revenue and profit, therefore finding new ways to make this possible is always on the cards for SMEs. In Barracuda MSP’s recent Evolving Landscape of the MSP Business report, we found 65% of SMEs said that reducing capital expenditure is one of the main drivers for introducing MSP’s into their operations. But, as well as the monetary benefits, the survey also highlighted addressing security concerns (30%) and overcoming skills shortages (47%) as other key drivers. Furthermore, our research showed that 86% of SME customers are turning to MSPs for email services, which could suggest that this is an area that SMEs are not only focused on but where attempted cyber attacks are taking place.”
Soft launch of Managed Phishline builds on Barracuda MSP Momentum
August 6, 2018- “Barracuda made Managed Phishline, an MSP-focused version of the technology they acquired from Phishline this year, available to MSPs in July.”
The Doyle Report: Email Threats Are Still Your Customers’ Worst Nightmare
July 31, 2018- “COMPTIA CHANNELCON — If you’re looking to help your end customers protect their data, apps and networks, don’t overlook their email boxes. They’re still the epicenter of an estimated three-quarters of all successful cyberattacks.”
Live Blog: CompTIA ChannelCon 2018 Day One
July 31, 2018- “Channel partners, IT professionals and technology companies have gathered this week for CompTIA ChannelCon 2018 in Washington, D.C. The conference is perhaps best known for attracting small business VARs and MSPs. But the times are changing — and CompTIA is evolving.”
7 Best Practices for Raising Your Prices
July 30, 2018- “It happens to every MSP sooner or later–that awkward moment when you need to confront your customers with an increase in the cost of their monthly services in order to stay profitable.”
Today’s channel rundown – 27 July 2018
July 27, 2018- “Barracuda Networks says the expansion of its MSP business has contributed to the accelerated growth of its email security business in Q1. Barracuda Essentials, the company’s all-in-one email security, backup and archiving service, saw 232 percent growth year over year in sales bookings through its MSP business in Q1.”
5 Channel Partner Updates: Thursday 26 July 2018
July 26, 2018- “Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Thursday, July 26, 2018. Actually, there are 15 timely updates designed for VARs, managed services providers (MSPs), cloud services providers (CSPs), independent software vendors (ISVs), telco master agents and telco agents to sip on. Take a look:”
Everything You Need To Know About Phishing
July 23, 2018- “Phishing attacks are on the rise, and they’re increasingly costly for businesses. The most recent State of the Phish Report indicates that 76 percent of information security professionals experienced a phishing attack in 2017, and Verizon reports that 90 percent of all cyberattacks (which increasingly include ransomware) begin with phishing emails.”
Backup and Disaster Recovery
July 12, 2018- “Backup and disaster recovery (BDR) solutions ensure the user’s data and applications are backed up and can be restored in the event of a disaster or data loss. Cloud solutions usually have this feature built-in, but for your clients that operate non-cloud systems, a BDR solution will ensure they can maintain business continuity.”
8 Tips For Building Stronger, More Profitable Vendor Relationships
June 28, 2018- “For many resellers, vendor relationships don’t extend much beyond the contract signing and some initial training. That may be fine for some product lines, but if you aren’t fostering a closer working relationship with a vendor, you’re probably leaving money on the table.”
Business pros beware: Phishing attacks are impersonating Netflix and Citibank
June 25, 2018 – “Email phishing attempts are not a new phenomenon, but cybercriminals are getting creative. The month of May alone saw over 10,000 unique phishing attempts, and June has already seen 2,000 attempted attacks, according to a report from cybersecurity company Barracuda on Monday.”
Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) News: 21 June 2018
June 21, 2018- “Each morning MSSP Alert broadcasts a quick lineup of news, analysis and chatter from across the global managed security services provider, SOC (security operations center) and IT outsourcing ecosystem. Here’s the update for Thursday, June 21, 2018.”
5 Tips for Helping Customers Overcome Data Protection Denial
June 14, 2018- “Ransomware attacks continue to happen more frequently, but many companies still aren’t taking the necessary steps to protect their data. When large attacks happen, companies may start to worry and begin investigating potential solutions, but the energy behind those efforts often dwindles. Despite the big headline-grabbing attacks like the WannaCry or NotPetya outbreaks in 2017, companies often fall back into bad habits because the ransomware threat doesn’t feel imminent after the news cycle moves on.”
Consolidate Your Buying With Barracuda MSP
May 23, 2018-“There are many benefits for IT resellers transitioning to a managed services model. There are also obstacles they must overcome before turning a profit, including logistics and timing as it takes a while to build this infrastructure within their organization. Their sales force might also not be happy when they don’t receive an immediate paycheck for a service they sell.”
Why IoT Must be Part of Your Customers’ Data Protection Strategy
May 22, 2018- “Not only are your customers’ IoT devices more vulnerable to tampering than traditional IT assets, many of these devices are designed with minimal protection. Security concerns around the Internet of Things (IoT) seems to have caused some confusion in the market. Companies that over-estimate IoT threats have slowed progress on related initiatives, while other companies have deployed connected devices with little concern or awareness of the vulnerabilities.”
Channelnomics MSP Awards: Barracuda MSP talks being an MSP ally and more
May 17, 2018- “Barracuda MSP’s VP of channel development, Neal Bradbury, talks to us about what it means to be an MSP ally, building trust with MSP partners and the toughest MSP challenges of the day.”
Best Practices For Cross-Selling And Upselling To Your Customers
May 22, 2018- “Most VARs are aware that cross-selling and upselling can boost their revenue, but not as many put the required effort into executing this type of program. The least-expensive and most profitable way to obtain new business is to target your existing customer base. Your customers are buying every product or service they use from somebody — why shouldn’t they be purchasing more of those things from you?”
As You Pursue New Growth Opportunities, Don’t Forget Your Existing Customers
May 21, 2018- “For MSPs in high-growth mode, customer churn is a persistent problem. You add new clients every month, but turnover is leaving your overall growth rate only slightly up or flat. You are replacing customers instead of growing your total portfolio, and it seems like the business is running in place.”
MSPs to get their day of recognition
May 3, 2018- “Get out your diaries and circle 23 May because from now on it will mark the day when managed service providers are celebrated. There are days for nearly everything, including backup and passwords, but the thought behind the latest addition to the calendar is to promote MSPs and increase support for that section of the channel.”
Helping Customers Find The Right Fit For Security
April 26, 2018- “When it comes to data security, there’s often a gap between what your clients think they need and what they really need. Your job as an MSP is to create and deploy a solution that will deliver both. But, determining what that solution is will require more than just checking off a list of features and capabilities.”
3 Email Security Challenges You Can’t Afford to Ignore
April 25, 2018- “Protecting emails and their content presents a significant challenge for your customers. According to IBM’s X-Force researchers, not only is the number of spam emails rapidly increasing, it’s estimated that more than half of all emails are spam. Considering the number of emails that pass through each employee’s inbox on a given day, this represents an ever-present threat of an infected network, unauthorized access to files or a ransomware attack that could result in data loss.”
Cast a Wider Net With Phishing Education
April 17, 2018- “The Anti-Phishing Working Group reports that phishing attacks continue to increase every quarter, showing up most frequently in the payment, financial, and webmail sectors. Attackers are also increasingly targeting Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications and webmail providers. As a result, anti-phishing solution providers have reported activation rate increases over the past year that range from double-digit to quadruple-digit growth.”
Meet the Channel: How Barracuda MSP’s Jayne Haggard Approaches Partner Education
March 30, 2018- “Meet the Channel is a recurring Channel Futures column that leaves the C-suite and focuses on how channel trends impact the day-to-day job functions of employees “in the trenches.” This week, we sat down with Jayne Haggard, training program manager at Barracuda MSP.”
Barracuda snaps at European cloud cluelessness
March 23, 2018- “New research from Barracuda shows that while cloud has been a industry bussword for some time, most EU businesses are clueless when it comes to the technology.The company’s recent “Firewalls in the Cloud” survey asked 164 EMEA IT professionals responsible for cloud environments and 57 per cent of organisations still believe their on-premise security is superior to the cloud.”
Barracuda uncovers user issues with cloud licensing
March 23, 2018- “A failure to provide customers with a menu of payment options for cloud services could be a problem, according to the vendor’s research.”
Barracuda: IT Pros Increasingly Concerned About Traditional Firewalls in the Cloud
March 22, 2018- “Barracuda Networks commissioned the study, which was conducted by Dimensional Research. Data was collected from more than 600 respondents from around the world to help capture a view of experiences and attitudes in regard to cloud security. Tim Jefferson, Barracuda’s vice president of public cloud, tells Channel Partners the challenge for the channel is to shift their business and value proposition around consulting and helping customers build and migrate workloads to public cloud.”
CIOs fear cloud is less secure than on-premises servers, Barracuda finds
March 22, 2018- “More than half (57 per cent) of IT decision makers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa believe their on-premises servers are more secure than the cloud, according to a new survey.”
Is Your Firewall Missing Part of Your Customers’ Data Traffic?
March 22, 2018- “The proliferation of mobile devices and cloud services is increasing the frequency of corporate communications that bypass traditional firewalls yet still must be protected.”
Cloud Versus On-Premises Security: 3 Myths MSPs Must Address
March 22, 2018- “When it comes to moving workloads to the cloud or leaving them on premises, there are still a few lingering myths customers believe that must be debunked for everyone’s sake.”
Barracuda Security Insight Platform Promotes Awareness, Aims for Vigilance
February 16, 2018- “Cloud-based security provider Barracuda Networks has unveiled a new platform designed to chronicle real-time threat levels based on email, network and web traffic. The vendor’s newly live Security Insight website aims to keep IT pros and consumers abreast of worldwide threat levels.”
3 Tips For Using Headlines To Improve Your Sales
February 14, 2018- “One of the best ways to engage, inform, help, and bring value to your customers and prospects is by providing content on your website, email newsletter, or even in a hard copy format. While original content is necessary for boosting your SEO (search engine optimization) with the major search engines, learning how to leverage the latest headlines from major media sources and trade publications can be invaluable, too. Plus, it’s free. Following are three tips for finding and using the latest news and other kinds of articles to improve your sales process.”
3 Tips for Improving Your Security Awareness Training
February 14, 2018- “It’s a well-known fact that the most significant security vulnerability at any company isn’t a technical flaw — it’s human error. Cybercriminals know this truth all too well, which is why 43 percent of documented breaches involve social engineering attacks, according to the 2017 Verizon Data Breach Investigation Report.”
Thoma Bravo Wraps $1.6 Billion Barracuda Buy
February 12, 2018- “PRESS RELEASE — CAMPBELL, Calif., Feb. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Thoma Bravo, LLC., a leading private equity investment firm, today announced that it has completed its acquisition of Barracuda Networks, Inc., a leading provider of cloud-enabled security and data protection solutions, in an all-cash transaction valued at $1.6 billion.”
5 Channel Partner Updates: Tuesday 13 February 2018
February 13, 2018- “Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Tuesday, February 13, 2018. Actually, there are 15 timely updates designed for VARs, managed services providers (MSPs), cloud services providers (CSPs), independent software vendors (ISVs), telco master agents and telco agents to sip on. Take a look…”
5 Areas Your Office 365 Customers Need Extra Help
February 6, 2018- “Within the past three years, Microsoft has made an impressive transformation in its quest to become a subscription company where customers rent rather than buy software. In fact, a survey conducted by Barracuda Networks in April 2017 with customers in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa found adoption of Office 365 increased more than 50 percent between April 2016 and April 2017. While companies are becoming more comfortable giving up control of their data and IT infrastructures to a third party, it doesn’t mean they’re completely confident — nor should they be.”
3 Ways To Reduce (And Delay) MSP Labor Costs
January 23, 2018- “According to LinkedIn’s State of Salary Report 2017, the highest paying field of study is computer science, with an average salary of $92,300, and the highest paying industry is software and IT services, with an average salary of $104,700. This is great news for those who’ve chosen an IT profession. But, when you add benefits and taxes to an IT professional’s salary, it’s easy to see how IT labor is the single biggest cost MSPs must account for when mapping their growth strategies.”
Don’t Leave Referral Marketing to Chance
January 16, 2018- “It’s become a truism over the years to say that MSPs struggle with marketing. The fact is most MSP business owners have engineering or technology backgrounds, not marketing or sales. Solving a computer problem requires a much different strategy than solving a branding problem. However, even the most marketing-averse MSPs are drawn instinctively toward one kind of marketing — word-of-mouth or referral-based marketing. In fact, some take pride in stating that referrals are their only source of marketing.”
Barracuda Acquires Cybersecurity Education Software Provider PhishLine
January 7, 2018- “Barracuda Networks has acquired cybersecurity education software provider PhishLine for an undisclosed sum. Together, Barracuda and PhishLine will help organizations combat email-borne and social engineering attacks, according to the announcement.”
Barracuda adds social engineering training capability with PhishLine acquisition
January 3, 2018- “Barracuda said this new capability is something that their partners have been asking for, and will allow them to take a more full-featured offering to their customers – which will be an additional revenue generator as well.”
Barracuda Buys Training Provider PhishLine To Bolster Protection Against Email-Borne Threats
January 3, 2018-“Storage and security vendor Barracuda has purchased social engineering simulation and training platform player PhishLine to help customers better measure and report on risks.”
A Look Back at the Top 5 Channel Trends of 2017
December 22, 2017- “As 2017 winds down and the holiday season is in full swing, it’s a good time to pause and reflect on the key moments that defined the year. In regard to the channel, these five trends topped our list:”
3 Predictions for MSPs: Security, Automation, and Growth
December 21, 2017- “From vendor consolidation to cyberattacks and widespread concern about the forthcoming GDPR compliance deadline — the IT channel was full of calls-to-action during 2017. Looking into the future some of these issues will continue to evolve and cause channel partners to work smarter and faster to meet the needs of their clients and the demands of the market. And, with that in mind, while no one knows exactly how these trends will manifest themselves, here are three predictions we have for MSPs in 2018:”
Opportunity knocks: Answer the door to managed next generation firewalls
December 21, 2017- “We understand that keeping up with security requirements can prove stressful, especially with increasingly sophisticated attackers breathing down you and your customers’ necks.”
ConnectWise IT Nation: 33 Products Bringing New Capabilities To MSPs
December 7, 2017-“Last month’s IT Nation conference was founded by ConnectWise to bring together the vendor’s MSP community and a variety of vendors of services looking to work through ConnectWise’s platform. But the IT Nation conference is more than one management platform developer’s showcase of its own capabilities. Instead, it brings together a wide range of companies looking to sell its services to or through with wider MSP base.”
Avoiding the MSP Integration Blues
December 5, 2017- “Integration has always been a challenge. It’s actually a dirty word for a lot of IT technicians. That’s because a lot can go wrong during an integration as a result of poor planning, unexpected complexity, and system incompatibilities.”
The Why and How of Selling Long-Term Managed Service Contracts
November 30, 2017- “A lot of MSPs can agree on the basics of selling managed services, including what to feature in their bundles, how much to charge for implementation and management services, and even the main points on their service level agreements (SLAs). But, when it comes to contract terms, lines get drawn in the sand, and passionate debates ensue.”
Barracuda Hopes to Turn VAR Partners Into Cloud-Savvy MSPs
November 30, 2017- “The announcement this week that tech investment firm Thoma Bravo reached a $1.6 billion deal to purchase Barracuda Networks and take the company private offered yet another clear signal that the “smart money” is betting on MSPs to profit big from the growth of cloud.”
Thoma Bravo Buys Barracuda Networks
November 28, 2017- “Security and backup vendor Barracuda Networks Inc., of Campbell, Calif., has agreed to be acquired by Chicago-based private equity firm Thoma Bravo LLC, in an all-cash transaction valued at $1.6 billion.”
Are You a Hybrid MSP by Design or by Accident?
November 28, 2017- “The majority of MSPs are offering hybrid IT services, but for many it’s by accident, which leads to unpredictable income and lower profit margins. “
Thoma Bravo Acquires Barracuda Networks, Extends MSP technology Footprint
November 27, 2017- “Private equity firm Thoma Bravo is acquiring Barracuda Networks for $1.6 billion in cash, the two companies announced today. The deal, subject to regulatory and shareholder review, is expected to close before Barracuda’s fiscal year end of Feb. 28, 2018.”
Private Equity Strikes Again: Thoma Bravo To Buy Barracuda Networks For $1.6 Billion
November 27, 2017-“Investment titan Thoma Bravo plans to purchase Barracuda Networks for $1.6 billion, just four years after the storage and security vendor filed for an IPO. The Campbell, Calif.-based security vendor said Chicago-based Thoma Bravo will purchase the company for $27.55 per share, or 22.5 percent higher than Barracuda’s average trading price of $22.49 in the 10 days leading up to the deal. Barracuda’s stock is up $3.73 (15.75%) to $27.42 per share in pre-market trading Monday.”
Security in the Cloud: Four Things Your Customers Need To Know
November 17, 2017- “A recent survey of 300 IT decision makers, conducted by research firm Vanson Bourne on behalf of Barracuda Networks, found that 44 percent of the respondents’ IT infrastructure is now on a public cloud. This isn’t a big surprise; after all there are often big cost-savings to moving IT workloads to the public cloud. The trend also suggests that many companies don’t want to deal with the headaches that come with managing on-premises IT systems.”
Managed Security Services provider Morning News: 16 November 2017
November 16, 2017- “Each morning MSSP Alert broadcasts a quick lineup of news, analysis and chatter from across the global managed security services provider, SOC (security operations center) and IT outsourcing ecosystem. Here’s the lineup for Thursday, November 16, 2017:”
Today’s channel rundown – 15 November 2017
November 15, 2017- “Barracuda Networks has expanded the public cloud functionality on its Barracuda Web Application Firewall and Barracuda NextGen Firewall in response to a growing number of customers running their infrastructure in the public cloud.”
Barracuda Expands Public Cloud Option for Firewalls
November 15, 2017- “Campbell, Calif. (Nov. 15, 2017) – Barracuda Networks, Inc. (NYSE: CUDA), a leading provider of cloud-enabled security and data protection solutions, today announced expanded public cloud functionality for the Barracuda Web Application Firewall and Barracuda NextGen Firewall. The updated cloud generation firewalls allow for utility-based consumption and automated security controls for DevSecOps workflows, giving customers an easy migration path to public cloud. Barracuda will demonstrate its award-winning cloud generation firewalls in booth number 1533 during AWS re:Invent, Nov. 27-Dec. 1, in Las Vegas.”
IT Nation 2017: ConnectWise Marketplace builds out vendor integrations
November 13, 2017 – “In conjunction with last week’s IT Nation 2017 conference, hosted by PSA vendor ConnectWise, numerous vendors in the MSP software space launched integrations with the ConnectWise platform.”
6 Partner Stories from IT Nation 2017
November 12, 2017- “Barracuda Networks Inc. has equipped its virtual and physical Barracuda Backup appliances to use Amazon Web Services as a replication target for protected data.”
ConnectWise IT Nation: 30 Managed Services Meeting Recaps for MSPs
November 12, 2017- “ConnectWise made plenty of news last week at its IT Nation partner event in Orlando, but so did its partners. Here’s a roundup of some of what they announced.”
Live Blog: ConnectWise IT Nation 2017
November 8, 2017- “The IT Nation 2017 conference, hosted by ConnectWise, kicks off today in Orlando, Florida. More than 1,000 technology solutions providers and MSPs are expected to attend. (No doubt the actual figure will be significantly higher… but we don’t have an official count as of this writing.)”
Barracuda MSP launches Intronis Backup integration for ConnectWise Automate
November 7, 2017- “Barracuda MSP builds on earlier integrations with LabTech/Automate with new automated deployment capabilities, as well as improvements to manageability.”
Now’s the Time to Make a Foray into Security Services
October 24, 2017- “The majority of businesses are being inundated with security threats, and they’re looking for trusted business partners who can help protect their networks and data.”
MSPs Selling Security Services: Bright Future Ahead
October 23, 2017- “According to recent research from The 2112 Group, the majority of MSPs (85 percent) currently are not offering any form of security services. It’s understandable why an MSP might be reluctant to delve into selling IT security services. After all, it puts an extra level of responsibility and pressure on the service provider to protect customers from what seems to be a losing proposition based on the latest cyberattack and data breach headlines we’re confronted by on a regular basis.”
MSP Data Protection and Security Solutions: A Two Run Homer
October 19, 2017- “With the onslaught of cyber-incidents that have made headlines this year — WannaCry, NotPetya, Wikileaks CIA Vault 7, Cloudbleed, and the Equifax breach, just to name a few — it’s easy to understand why many companies are feeling under protected. MSPs can also feel overwhelmed, especially after being inundated by so many data protection and security products claiming to be the ideal solution to today’s threats.”
Six Best Practices for Securing Multiple Sites
October 13, 2017- “When businesses agree to hand over monitoring and management of their IT environments to an MSP, they expect those environments to be protected. That puts the burden on MSPs to implement technology and best practices to secure client environments, not only at headquarters but also at any other sites the client operates.”
Is Your Company Name Stifling Your Branding Efforts?
September 29, 2017- “Take a moment and think about some of the biggest global brands you know. What do all those brands have in common? Most likely they represent a high standard of product quality and customer satisfaction.”
3 Warning Signs of a Problem Client
September 28, 2017- “No MSP likes to lose a client. Acquiring clients is hard work and expensive, so it’s usually in your best interest to do whatever it takes to avoid parting ways if a client relationship doesn’t work out as expected. But, once in a while MSPs have to face the uncomfortable decision of whether to fire a client.”
Managed Services Is Best Growth Model Says Channel Study
September 27, 2017- “Three-quarters of European channel partners in a recent study are saying that the managed services model is their best chance of growth in the coming period. There are still a lot of questions and some confusion especially about GDPR and compliance says Jason Howells, EMEA Director at Barracuda MSP which commissioned the survey.”
Build A Stronger Managed Services Offering Now. Here’s How
September 26, 2017- “According to a recent report from by The 2112 Group and Barracuda MSP, 64 percent of the channel partners surveyed report that services sold on a recurring revenue basis are their best growth drivers. For those new to selling managed services, however, it can sometimes be difficult to know where to start. Based on years of experience interacting with companies that have successfully made the move — and hearing the lessons they’ve learned along the way — here are three tips to keep in mind as you build or improve your service offering.”
Barracuda highlights growth in demand for security services
September 25, 2017- “The growth in demand for Security-as-a-Service is on the rise creating an opportunity for those MSPs in a position to add that to their portfolio. Barracuda, which has been actively engaging and recruiting managed service players, has carried out a report to guage the state of the market, revealing that security is an in-demand solution.”
MSPs And Resellers Can Amplify Their Social Media Reach With Employee Advocacy
September 21, 2017- “Studies have shown that businesses are starting to increasingly rely on social media to help build brand awareness and drive the sale of their products and solutions. For example, according to a recent Forrester report, 98 percent of sales and marketing leaders see value in social selling in the short and long term, and 49 percent have already developed a formal social selling program. Many Channel companies would agree with the potential benefits of social media marketing, but they also acknowledge they’re a long way from realizing its full potential.”
Is It Time To Step Up Your Managed Security Services Game?
September 21, 2017- “End users of all sizes are faced with a myriad of digital threats that can cause problems ranging from business disruption to reputation damage — or worse. In fact, last year there were so many breaches, ranging from the IRS to Wendy’s, that it was difficult to keep track of them, and this year’s breaches will likely eclipse 2016’s results. Earlier this year, for instance, the worldwide cyberattack by the WannaCry ransomware cryptoworm infected more than 230,000 computers in more than 150 countries in just one day. If that’s not bad enough, security experts predict that nearly one million new threats are released into the wild each day.”
How to Strengthen Your Technology Stack with Security
September 14, 2017- “As businesses of all sizes face a growing number of cyber threats, customers have come to expect that their managed services provider (MSP) will provide at least some level of IT security. After all, with stories like WannaCry, NotPetya attacks and the Equifax breach dominating today’s headlines, businesses are realizing that they need help to avoid becoming the next victim.”
Barracuda rebrands MSP arm Intronis
September 14, 2017- “Barracuda has rebranded Intronis MSP following the acquisition of the firm, in addition to introducing an enhanced ECHOplatform for new and existing MSP partners. Now known as Barracuda MSP, the offering retains its commitment to equipping MSPs with the tools they need to protect their customers from data loss and security breaches.”
Barracuda Strengthens MSP Brand
September 13, 2017- “Two years since the acquisition of Intronis, Barracuda Networks is getting less wordy with its branding. The vendor is doing away with the Intronis MSP Solutions by Barracuda brand and is now Barracuda MSP, the company announced Wednesday.”
Barracuda Rebrands Intronis In Full MSP Endorsement
September 13, 2017- “Nearly two years to the day after Barracuda acquired Intronis in a $65 million symbiotic deal that transitioned the company from a VAR-leaning network security provider to fully engaged with managed services providers (MSPs), we have a rebranding of the business.”
Intronis name gives way to Barracuda as new ECHOplatform, educational resources roll out
September 13, 2017- “Global expansion is a key factor in retiring the Intronis brand as a business unit in favor of Barracuda MSP. The Intronis name will live on as the backup product within the MSP platform.”
Today’s channel rundown – 13 September 2017
September 13, 2017- “Barracuda has re-branded its MSP business unit Intronis as Barracuda MSP. In its announcement today, the vendor said the name change is a signal of its commitment to the managed services market. Barracuda claims that in the past two years, it has increased MSP-based billings, grown its partner base by 25 percent and entered the European market.”
How MSPs Can Build Midmarket Managed Services Practices
August 30, 2017- “Regardless of an MSP’s vertical market preference, the most popular go-to customer for most MSPs is an SMB. More specifically, MSPs primarily target the “S” in SMB, which Gartner defines as companies with less than $50 million in annual revenue. Small businesses are a natural fit for MSPs because there are so many of them (nearly 30 million, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration). Plus, small businesses often can’t afford enough IT staff to cover their business technology needs, so the MSP model is very attractive.”
Backup vs. Archiving: Three Qualifying Questions
August 21, 2017- “By definition, backup and archiving serve two distinct purposes and both have different requirements. While backup is about getting a business up and running after an outage or crisis through the rapid recovery of data and applications, archiving pertains primarily to compliance and governance. Yet, it is not uncommon today for MSPs to come across customers who confuse these two terms, and understandably so given that both backup and archiving are broadly related to data protection.”
3 MSP Metrics (Beyond Profitability) That Indicate Success
August 18, 2017- “It’s tempting for MSP business owners to gauge their success based solely on profitability. And, while this highly important metric shouldn’t be ignored, it doesn’t offer the total picture of a company’s success — especially if you’re a VAR that’s only recently made the transition to selling managed services. Before you make a judgment about the success of your company, consider how you fare in the following three areas.”
Barracuda Adds Amazon Web Services as Replication Option for Cloud Backups
August 15, 2017- “Barracuda Networks Inc. has equipped its virtual and physical Barracuda Backup appliances to use Amazon Web Services as a replication target for protected data.”
Barracuda Backup Gains Amazon AWS Cloud Replication
August 15, 2017- “Barracuda Networks‘s data protection platform now supports public cloud replication to Amazon Web Services (AWS). The company says the solution will allow customers, channel partners, and MSPs added flexibility to choose between the company’s own Barracuda Cloud option and public cloud storage.”
Barracuda Networks Extends Backup Reach to AWS
August 15, 2017- “Aiming to provide IT organizations with a maximum amount of flexibility when it comes to backup and recovery, Barracuda Networks today announced it can now replicate data into Amazon Web Services (AWS) public cloud via a physical or virtual Barracuda appliance running Barracuda Backup software.”
Barracuda Adds AWS Support to Backup Product
August 15, 2017- “Barracuda Networks on Tuesday expanded support for its Barracuda Backup – Intronis MSP Edition to Amazon Web Services (AWS). Up until now, businesses could send data to the Barracuda Cloud or another backup appliance.”
Barracuda Backup now enabled for replication to AWS cloud
August 15, 2017- “Barracuda Networks has announced that their Barracuda Backup solution can now replicate data from either an on-premises physical or virtual backup appliance to the AWS S3 cloud. It’s a customer choice issue, offering another replication source for customers who want AWS. While this is the first public cloud option for Barracuda Backup, it won’t be the last. Azure will also be added as a replication target at some point in the future.”
4 Reasons Why SMBs Should Embrace Digital Transformation
August 14, 2017- “Any SMB company planning to use the cloud as an integral part of its IT infrastructure and looking to adopt emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) needs to be thinking about digital transformation. And, MSPs have a major role to play in helping customers plan, implement, and manage their digital transformation plans.”
Managed services pulling profits
August 9, 2017- “Most solution providers in North America are now offering a managed service of some type, according to new research. State of North America Managed Services, commissioned by Barracuda’s MSP business, Intronis, and undertaken by The 2112 Group, indicates managed services are driving growth and profitability in the channel.”
Intronis, Ingram Micro Studies Show Big MSP Security, Cloud Opportunities
August 4, 2017- “COMPTIA CHANNELCON — Channel research firm The 2112 Group has teamed with Barracuda-owned Intronis, the provider of backup and recovery for MSPs, and distribution giant Ingram Micro on separate studies that reveal eye-opening channel trends. The first, State of North America Managed Services, homes in on the importance of recurring revenue and the role managed-services sales can play in keeping a channel business viable and growing.”
3 Simple Ways to Improve MSP Customer Retention
August 4, 2017- “Depending on which study you read, acquiring a new customer is anywhere from 5 to 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing one. Even at the low end of the spectrum, it requires significantly more time and effort to obtain a new customer, especially when you take into account all the money spent on sales and marketing activities. The costs are even higher in cases where new customers are always being brought on to replace customers that have been lost. To ensure your MSP runs smarter — instead of just working harder — here are three tips to help keep your existing customers happy and to minimize the high cost of churn.”
Study shows startlingly slim penetration rates in security and backup managed services
August 4, 2017- “Just because a managed service is commoditized doesn’t mean that everyone is doing it. That’s one of the findings of a new State of North America Managed Services report. It’s not, however, the most significant finding. Those revolve around the growing role of security in managed services, and include the fact that while only a small minority of managed services providers sell security today, over 60 per cent may add security services within the next twelve months. The report was released at the CompTIA ChannelCon event here.”
6 Revealing Security, BDR, and Cloud Insights from Webroot, Intronis, and Ingram Micro
August 2, 2017- “Today in Austin, Texas, at the 2017 edition of IT membership organization CompTIA’s ChannelCon partner conference, Webroot, Ingram Micro, and the Intronis MSP Solutions by Barracuda division of Barracuda Networks all published interesting research studies on the state of play in the all-important markets for security solutions, managed services, and cloud computing. Here’s a look at some of the most revealing findings from those reports.”
More Evidence Recurring Revenue Drives MSP, VAR Profits
August 1, 2017- “Managed services are driving growth and profitability in the channel more so than other products and services, according to new research from the The 2112 Group for Intronis MSP Solutions by Barracuda.”
5 CompTIA ChannelCon Partner Updates: 01 August 2017
August 1, 2017- “Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Tuesday, August 1, 2017. Actually, there are 13 timely updates — many of which come from CompTIA ChannelCon in Austin, Texas. All of our updates are designed for VARs, managed services providers (MSPs), cloud services providers (CSPs), independent software vendors (ISVs), telco master agents and telco agents to sip on. Take a look:”
5 Channel Partner Updates: Monday 24 July 2017
July 24, 2017- “Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Monday, July 24, 2017. Actually, there are eight timely updates for VARs, managed services providers (MSPs), cloud services providers (CSPs), independent software vendors (ISVs), telco master agents and telco agents to sip on. Take a look…”
3 Tips for Building an Effective MSP Ecosystem
July 19, 2017- “Most MSPs didn’t start out as MSPs. More likely than not, they were project-based VARs and/or break-fix providers at one time, and at some point made a decision to become an MSP. As many MSPs can attest to, perhaps the most challenging part of that transition was choosing the right IT tools (e.g., RMM and PSA).”
Three Inconvenient Truths about Cybersecurity
July 18, 2017- “If one of your clients gets hit by the next ransomware attack,, that will reflect on you as much as on the client, unless you have done everything you can to help them address the inconvenient truths of cybersecurity.”
5 Invaluable Vendor Value-Adds You Need Right Away
July 18, 2017- “Let’s face it: The pace of business today is super-fast, and at times the only constant seems to be change. In this accelerated environment, it can be easy for MSPs to overlook their IT vendors — both the ones they use to operate their businesses more efficiently (e.g., PSA and RMM vendors), as well as the vendors behind the solutions they sell to customers (e.g., BDR and security). Each of these companies likely offers value well beyond the products they make, and taking the time to leverage this value can serve your business well. Here are five specific IT vendor value-adds that often are underutilized by MSPs:”
Barracuda CEO; Intronis Cloud Backup Surpasses 2,400 MSP Partners
July 12, 2017- “Barracuda Networks (CUDA) continues to gain momentum with managed services providers (MSPs), and much of the credit involves the security company’s Intronis business unit, according to CEO BJ Jenkins. “The MSP route to market is [an] area where we continue to invest to make solid progress,” Jenkins said during an earnings call earlier this week. “We achieved another quarter of record billings and now have 2,400 partners on the Intronis platform.””
Intronis brings fresh channel blood to Barracuda
June 30, 2017- “Intronis plans to continue expanding its channel base as it works with a greater number of managed service providers (MSPs). The Barracuda-owned firm has seen demand for its security platform increase and a greater number of partners come forward to work with the online backup and disaster recovery specialist.”
Controlling Hidden Costs Boosts MSP Success
June 26, 2017- “Handling hidden costs is a kind of business self-awareness. If an MSP can identify and manage these costs, you’ll know your business better. And that helps you set a course for managed services success.”
Why U.S.-based MSPs Should Care About Europe’s GDPR
June 21, 2017- “The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) clock is ticking. GDPR will be enforceable beginning May 25, 2018, and it is designed to empower citizens within the EU to control who has access to their personal data, including personally identifiable information such as a name, photo, email address, social media posts, or their computer’s IP address.”
WannaCry: The Perfect Managed Security Services Sales Starter
June 19, 2017- “It’s sometimes hard for an MSP to start the discussion about the value of the IT security services they provide. WannaCry, the latest widespread ransomware variant, offers the perfect conversation starter. WannaCry has infected hundreds of thousands of systems in just a few weeks, encrypting files and holding them for ransom. Using a tool developed by the NSA, WannaCry exploited a Microsoft Windows vulnerability in the implementation of the Server Message Block protocol. Although Microsoft issued a patch in March 2017, many systems were still unprotected when WannaCry first appeared two months later on May 12, 2017.”
6 Ways to Talk to Your Clients about Ransomware
June 15, 2017- “Rather than dealing with the fallout after an attack occurs, have proactive conversations about IT security with your customers. When WannaCry made its first appearance in May and infected hundreds of thousands of systems in just a few weeks, the issue of ransomware again moved to the forefront. Most victims of ransomware will agree that it’s better to be proactive about IT security and prevent ransomware rather than dealing with encrypted mission-critical files, a request for ransom and system restoration after an attack.”
Talking data protection with Neal Bradbury [Podcast]
June 13, 2017- “Data protection has been thrust into the spotlight by the recent WannaCry ransomware attack, but it’s always a hot topic for managed service providers eager to both help their customers protect their business, and maximize their own value.”
Today’s channel rundown – 12 June 2017
June 12, 2017- “Barracuda has introduced two new professional services offerings targeted at MSPs. The new Managed Firewall and Managed Backup Appliance have been developed under the Intronis brand, Barracuda’s dedicated MSP business.”
Barracuda Expands Service Offerings for Managed Backup Appliances and Managed Firewalls
June 6, 2017- “Barracuda Networks has announced the introduction of two new MSP Professional Services offerings to complement the MSP editions of the Barracuda NextGen Firewall and the Barracuda Backup Appliance.”
Barracuda Unveils NextGen Firewall, Backup Appliance Services for MSPs
June 6, 2017- “Barracuda Networks has launched NextGen Firewall and Backup Appliance professional services for MSPs. The new professional services are designed to help MSPs streamline security and data protection, the company indicated. The NextGen Firewall service enables MSPs to provide advanced threat protection, intrusion detection and prevention, traffic optimization and other firewall capabilities to customers, according to Barracuda. It works in combination with the Barracuda NextGen Firewall – Intronis MSP Edition security solution and offers 24/7/365 security event management, Barracuda said.”
Barracuda Expands MSP Offerings
June 6, 2017- “Barracuda Networks on Tuesday announced two new MSP professional service offerings – Barracuda NextGen Firewall – Intronis MSP Edition, and Barracuda Backup – Intronis MSP Edition, for MSPs looking to expand their monitoring and management services.”
Barracuda expands MSP Professional Services offerings
June 6, 2017- “Barracuda has announced new Managed Firewall and Managed Backup Appliance Professional Services offerings. These complement the MSP editions of the Barracuda NextGen Firewall and the Barracuda Backup Appliance respectively, and join the Intronis Managed ECHOplatform service that has been offered since 2015.”
How MSPs Can Find Extra Time Each Day
May 25, 2017- “If you’ve ever caught yourself saying, “There aren’t enough hours in the day,” it might be a sign you need to hire another employee–or it might just mean you’re not running your managed service practice as efficiently as you could be.”
Identify and own your company brand and label
May 19, 2017- “As technology has advanced over the years, IT channel businesses have evolved in response. Differences in hardware pricing structures, software delivery, business models, and more have forced IT channel companies to adapt. In the midst of this rampant channel change, an interesting phenomenon has occurred: Businesses are uncertain about what to call themselves.”
10 ways to protect against ransomware and other advanced threats
May 17, 2017- “The ransomware outbreak shows no signs of slowing down. Like a digital plague, it doesn’t discriminate, infecting anyone from individual users to small businesses to multinational corporations.It works by encrypting data in computers, preventing users from accessing their own files. To regain access, users must pay for a decryption key, but this doesn’t always guarantee the user will get their data back. In 2016, ransomware attacks cost victims roughly $1 billion, according to the FBI, but that figure accounts for only the reported incidents.”
Cloud and security: The next big MSP money makers?
May 10, 2017- “Last month, ConnectWise CEO Arnie Bellini told MSPs at IT Nation Europe – the vendor’s customer event in London, UK – that to be successful, they must invest in two areas: cloud and IT security.”
How to Transition From VAR to MSP
May 9, 2017- “There is currently a trend among value-added resellers (VARs) to adopt a new business model and become a managed services provider (MSP). In CompTIA’s 5th Annual Trends in Managed Services report, the IT industry trade association states that more than half of all IT solutions providers predict 75 percent of their revenue will come from managed services in the next two years.”
9 Questions MSPs Should Be Asking Their Prospects And Customers
May 5, 2017- “The best way for an MSP to increase their chances of closing a deal is to understand the customer. You also need to know what problem the customer is trying to solve and how the solution you are offering can help them address the challenges they’re facing.”
Five reasons your MSP isn’t getting as much business as it could
May 4, 2017- “One of the most vexing challenges MSPs have always faced is explaining to prospective customers what “managed services” means. But if you have to explain it, you’ve probably approached the conversation the wrong way.”
Barracuda Adds 690 Intronis MSPs, 1000 Cloud Security Customers
April 18, 2017- “Amid the shift from appliance sales to cloud and subscription services, Barracuda Networks won’t get left behind, CEO BJ Jenkins asserts. In fact, Barracuda added 690 MSPs and 1,000 cloud security customers to its ecosystem over the past fiscal year, Jenkins revealed during an earnings call yesterday.”
3 Tips for Uncovering IoT Security Sales Opportunities
April 18, 2017- “The Internet of Things (IoT) isn’t a distant vision of things to come. It’s here. Businesses are connecting devices, processes, and people to collect data that helps them make smarter decisions, take automation to new heights, improve the quality of products and services, and lower their costs. Cisco’s report Digital Business Transformation: Disrupt to Win projects there will be 50 billion connected devices by 2020, and estimates that 75 percent of businesses will be fully digital, or are planning to be, by that same year.”
What the Rise of Industry 4.0 Means for MSPs
April 14, 2017- “We’re on the verge of a $6.1 trillion technology revolution; embrace it now, so you can capitalize on it in the near future.The Internet of Things (IoT), machine-to-machine (M2M) technologies and cloud computing have sparked an evolution in the manufacturing industry, and the monikers being used to describe this merging of technologies and business principles are “Industry 4.0” and the “Industrial IoT (IIoT).” Research from Accenture predicts that Industry 4.0 could add $6.1 trillion in cumulative GDP to the United States by 2030, and MSPs that learn how to adapt their businesses can benefit from this exciting growth opportunity.”
5 Big MSP Benefits of Working with Fewer IT Vendors
April 14, 2017- “As a managed service provider, you probably have partnerships with a number of hardware and software vendors. However, you may reach a point where you ask, “How many vendor partners are too many?” When you consider the impact juggling a wide range of vendors can have on your business, the answer is that less is more.”
3 Ways Data Improves Customer Satisfaction
April 13, 2017- “As most MSPs can attest to, building and maintaining a successful business means establishing your expertise and authority as a business partner. Doing that involves constantly showing the customer the value of the services you provide, communicating with them on a regular basis about the health of their IT assets, and not being afraid to have difficult conversations when they are warranted.”
CompTIA AMM Wrap-Up Part 3: Picking Up the Pace on Security
March 30, 2017- “As leaders of CompTIA’s IT security community made clear last week at the technology association’s Annual Member Meeting, the security threat landscape has never been graver—or more potentially profitable—for channel pros.”
3 Reasons MSPs Should Embrace the Broader Role of MSSP
March 27, 2017- “Today, many businesses are padding IT security budgets, motivated to protect themselves from network damage, data breaches, and the regulatory fines and penalties that can result from cyberattacks. Cybersecurity research and market intelligence firm Cybersecurity Ventures reports that the IT security market has exploded from $3.5 billion in 2004 to an anticipated $120 billion in 2017. Over the next four years, the firm predicts, IT spending will exceed $1 trillion, driven by increases in cybercrime.”
3 Ways MSPs Can Satisfy Short RTO Requirements
March 23, 2017- “How much IT system downtime can your customers afford before it hurts their business? If you have a customer with a short recovery time objective (RTO), you may be struggling to meet that service level. RTO, the maximum amount of time a business can withstand from the time an outage occurs until operations are restored, varies widely from business to business. For some industries, RTO may be measured in hours, but other industries, such as healthcare or finance, may have RTOs measured in minutes due to their steady streams of new, crucial data.”
How to avoid common backup pitfalls
March 22, 2017- “Every MSP should offer data backup and recovery for clients. No matter what business your clients are in, or how big or small their companies are, they all need backup and disaster recovery (BDR) in the event a natural disaster, security breach, or human error causes data loss.”
How to Deal with Non-Paying Customers: 6-Step Contingency Plan
March 21, 2017- “For companies where prepayment is required, business transactions are cut and dry: If the customer doesn’t pay, it doesn’t receive the product or service. Things aren’t always that easy when you’re an MSP, though.”
How MSPs Can Overcome Disaster Recovery Planning Objections
March 21, 2017- “Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are becoming increasingly vulnerable to security risks and data loss resulting from malware attacks, DDoS attacks, server failures, and natural disaster. Here’s why — many believe they are too small to be a target for cybercriminals; and/or will never experience a fire, flood, or other catastrophic incident.”
5 Channel Partner Updates: 20 March 2017
March 20, 2017- “Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Monday, March 20, 2017. Actually, there are 21 timely updates for VARs, managed services providers (MSPs), cloud services providers (CSPs), independent software vendors (ISVs), telco master agents and telco agents to sip on. Drink up…”
Barracuda Updates Backup Appliance LiveBoot Solution
March 16, 2017- “The new 2.0 release includes a simpler user interface, shorter boot times for temporary virtual servers, and the ability to launch VMs in Barracuda’s public cloud based on Microsoft Hyper-V.”
Barracuda Networks Expands Cloud Services Reach
March 16, 2017- “As cloud computing evolves, it turns out that locally deployed appliances are turning into gateways to a variety of cloud services that either extend or augment a local function. Barracuda Networks this week unveiled two examples involving its own services and that of a third-party partner.”
Barracuda Releases LiveBoot 2.0
March 16, 2017- “Today Barracuda Networks Inc. announced the latest edition of its Barracuda Backup LiveBoot, version 2.0. The new version of LiveBoot includes Cloud LiveBoot for Microsoft Hyper-V, as well as VMware, which aims to give customers of both to see faster restores and minimized downtime. Other benefits of LiveBoot 2.0 include a backup and recovery option for larger virtual machines and a reduction of boot times.”
Barracuda Updates LiveBoot With Microsoft Hyper-V Support
March 16, 2017- “Barracuda Networks, Inc. (NYSE: CUDA) today announced Barracuda Backup LiveBoot 2.0, which includes Cloud LiveBoot for Microsoft Hyper-V and gives customers faster restores to minimize downtime in VMware vSphere and Hyper-V environments. Barracuda LiveBoot 2.0 offers a backup and recovery option for larger virtual machines, and reduces boot times.”
Barracuda Liveboot 2.0 adds Hyper-V support, speeds up boot times, enhances UI
March 16, 2017- “The faster reboot time applies in both VMware and Microsoft environments, and allows new machines to be spun up in a couple of minutes.Barracuda Networks has announced Barracuda Backup LiveBoot 2.0, an enhancement of the capability which has rapidly spun up VMware vSphere virtual guest machines from a Barracuda backup appliance or the Barracuda Cloud in the event of a failure with the primary storage system. Now it covers Microsoft Hyper-V as well. In addition, boot times have been significantly reduced in both vSphere and Hyper-V environments, and the user interface has been improved.”
Product Comparison: Backup And Recovery Software
March 1, 2017- “After multiple iterations of our annual backup and recovery product comparisons, you might think that there’s not much to report for 2017. However, due to the importance of such solutions; the ever-increasing data protection, retention, and recovery needs of customers; and the breakneck speed of innovation, there seems to be a lot to report with each version of this comparison.”
Five ways to educate your customers about ransomware
February 28, 2017- “Ransomware cost victims an estimated $1 billion in 2016, a 4,000-percent increase from the previous year. And ransomware attackers are getting bolder, demanding higher amounts, sometimes striking more than once, and even trying to turn victims into accomplices by inciting them to infect others.”
5 Ways MSPs Can Become Trusted Cloud Advisors
February 28, 2017- “Cloud adoption among SMBs is on the rise. A recent survey by Techaisle projects that, by the end of this year, the penetration of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications among SMBs will reach 94 percent, up from 73 percent in 2016. Furthermore, the number of cloud applications leveraged by SMBs is growing, and according to a recent study by Business Centric Services Group (BCSG), the average number of cloud apps in use at an SMB is expected to jump from three in 2015 to seven by 2018.”
To Stay Competitive, MSPs Need to Charge More, Not Less
February 27, 2017- “A common MSP challenge is how to win business in such a competitive marketplace. With technologies converging and more service providers expanding their portfolios to offer additional solutions, the field of providers targeting your potential market is growing even more crowded. “
Why MSPs Need to Diversify Beyond BDR Services
February 24, 2017- “MSPs who sell only basic managed services offerings comprising RMM, help desk and backup and disaster recovery are becoming an endangered species. It’s apparent, based on the mergers and acquisitions and product launches that have occurred in the industry in recent years that these solutions now are more frequently part of larger managed service offerings.”
Security vs. Performance: Don’t Sell a Firewall That Makes You Choose
February 21, 2017- “A firewall can be an effective tool against unauthorized access to a computer or network. The problem, however, is that the security rules associated with a firewall can also prevent employees from accessing files they need to do their jobs. As such, MSPs often find themselves the referees in this computer version of an immovable object meets an unstoppable force.”
Don’t Call It MSP Backup Anymore
February 1, 2017- “Amid Carbonite’s buyout of Double-Take Software and Datto’s acquisition of Open Mesh, the days of traditional backup services are over. Just about every major channel-friendly backup provider has embraced MSPs while rounding out their portfolios with business continuity, disaster recovery, data protection and availability services.”
3 Ways MSPs Can Capitalize on the SMB Virtualization Trend
February 1, 2017- “It wasn’t that long ago it was unheard of for an SMB to use virtualization technologies. However, a lot has changed since then. According to Techaisle’s SMB Server Virtualization Adoption market trends study, U.S. SMB server virtualization penetration was 41 percent in 2013 and grew to 54 percent in 2015.”
Securing Cloud Environments: Why MSPs Need to Act Now
January 25, 2017- “According to IDG’s Enterprise Cloud Computing Survey, 2016, 70 percent of all organizations now have at least one application in the cloud. The survey predicts that by 2018, less than half of all applications and platforms will preside on premises. Additionally, an average of 28 percent of survey respondents’ IT budgets are dedicated to cloud computing this year.”
Barracuda provides new security options for MSPs
January 23, 2017- “Managed service providers (MSPs) have new security options to protect their virtual and public cloud environments.Barracuda Networks, Inc., an cloud-based vendor of security, networking and storage, has introduced two new versions of it NextGen Firewall – Intronis MSP Edition. Made specifically for public cloud and 100 per cent virtualized environments, the two firewall solutions are being sold as subscription services.”
Intronis Launches Virtual and Cloud Editions of Its Subscription-Priced Firewall
January 23, 2017- “Intronis MSP Solutions, a division of Barracuda Networks Inc. with headquarters in Chelmsford, Mass., has added versions of its subscription-based firewall solution for virtualized and public cloud environments.”
Barracuda Introduces Virtual And Public Cloud Firewalls For MSPs
January 23, 2017- “Offering greater flexibility and scale, the new deployment options help MSPs protect on-premise virtualized environments or provide secure and reliable connectivity for Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google Cloud Platform public cloud deployments.”
Barracuda adds virtual and public cloud firewalls for MSPs
January 23, 2017- “Barracuda Networks has launched new versions of their firewall for both virtual environments and the public cloud. These new versions of Barracuda NextGen Firewall – Intronis MSP Edition leverage the same technology in the physical version of the firewall for MSPs that Barracuda introduced last June.”
Channel Partners
Barracuda Introduces 2 New Virtual Firewalls
January 23, 2017- “MSP-focused security provider Barracuda Networks announced on Monday virtual and public cloud versions of its Barracuda NextGen Firewall – Intronis MSP Edition. The offerings are sold in a subscription model and can be used to protect customer VMware, Citrix XenServer, KVM and Hyper-V private clouds and workloads hosted offsite in Microsoft Azure, AWS and Google Cloud Platform.”
Barracuda CEO Credits Microsoft, Amazon, MSP Partner Momentum
January 10, 2017- “Barracuda Networks continues to gain momentum in the IT security and business continuity markets. Among the reasons: Thriving relationships with Microsoft, Amazon, channel partners and MSPs that want to safeguard customer data. Next up: More momentum with Google Cloud Platform, Barracuda CEO BJ Jenkins predicted during the company’s earnings call yesterday.”
5 Channel Partner Updates: 10 January 2017
January 10, 2017- “Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Tuesday, January 10, 2017. Actually, there are 11 timely entries for VARs, managed services providers (MSPs), cloud services providers (CSPs), independent software vendors (ISVs), telco master agents and telco agents to sip on.”
5 Channel Partner Updates: 9 January 2017
January 9, 2017- “Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Monday, January 9, 2017. Actually, there are 22 timely entries for VARs, managed services providers (MSPs), cloud services providers (CSPs), independent software vendors (ISVs), telco master agents and telco agents to sip on.”
Vendor Predictions 2017 Part 4: Channel evolution
January 6, 2017- “Vendors’ crystal balls have seen a lot over the past few weeks. From cloud, to technology transformations, to security, vendors have shared their thoughts on what the channel should prepare for in 2017. But what about the channel itself? How will 2017 change the way solution providers, vendors or distributors do business?”
3 Business-Building Tips For MSPs In 2017
January 4, 2017- “The ringing in of the New Year provides an opportunity for businesses to take stock, reflect on their successes over the past 12 months, and address any challenges they faced along the way. At the same time, those who want to grow in the coming year are setting goals and evaluating new paths and opportunities to explore.”
3 Growth Opportunities For MSPs In 2017
December 23, 2016-“With the end of the year quickly approaching, the time has come to reflect on the trends and opportunities that have emerged in the past 12 months and look ahead to what can be expected in the in the coming year.”
How to Become an MSP Marketing Master
December 22, 2016-“MSPs are masters of technology, but did you also know that they can be successful at marketing? The Intronis MSP Marketing Masters Award honorees for 2016 – A Leap Ahead IT, CloudTech 1, EnKompas Technology Solutions, Results Technology, OXEN Technology and Techvera – are proof that MSPs can plan and carry out effective marketing campaigns that result in lead generation, improved brand awareness, and sales growth.”
The 4 Cs of Creating a Healthy MSP Sales Pipeline for New Business
December 20, 2016-“The prospecting strategies that worked for managed services providers in the past may not be as effective now. Simply sending emails or making cold calls may not be filling your sales pipeline, especially when prospects’ email inboxes are flooded with hundreds of messages each day and many send their calls directly to voicemail to help screen them.”
Should You Become an MSSP?
December 19, 2016-“In a climate of growing and evolving cyber threats, many businesses are outsourcing IT security to experts outside their organizations. The industry has recognized the opportunity to provide security services to the SMB market for some time, but a study released this year by Forrester for Masergy Communications revealed that 57 percent of enterprise companies are also seeking outside help for IT systems monitoring and 45 percent are outsourcing threat detection and intelligence.”
Top 10 BDR and Cloud Backup Predictions for 2017
December 14, 2016-“As we continue our technology predictions for 2017, here’s a look at 10 cloud backup and BDR( backup and disaster recovery) trends and milestones that we expect to unfold. Plus, how the trends will potentially impact VARs, MSPs and emerging cloud solutions providers.”
How to Differentiate Your MSP with Exceptional Customer Service
November 28, 2016-“Your customers are worth keeping. Study after study shows the importance of customer retention. While the cost to acquire a new customer versus retaining an existing one varies, one thing is universal: It’s far less expensive to keep the customers you already have. Additionally, MSPs generally agree that when it comes to revenue, the Pareto Principle usually applies: 20 percent of your customers represent 80 percent of your revenue. Most businesses don’t want to — nor can afford to — lose customers from that 20 percent. ”
DDoS Attacks: Customers and Their MSPs are Threatened
November 18, 2016-“On October 21, 2016, a massive distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack caused disruptions to Internet activity throughout the U.S. Exploiting millions of devices connected to the Internet, the Mirai botnet attacked Dyn, a domain name service (DNS) provider in New Hampshire. The attack flooded Dyn with massive amounts of traffic and overwhelmed the DNS provider’s systems. Dyn reported that some of its data centers experienced packet flow bursts 40 to 50 times higher than normal, even with mitigation solutions in place. It’s possible the actual magnitude of the attack was as high as 1.2 Tbps.”
3 Reasons MSPs Need to Combine Security and Data Protection
November 15, 2016-“With so many threats to data security, MSPs need to be strategic about how they guard against them. There is no single cure-all solution that can protect clients’ networks and data against malware, brute force, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS), and social engineering attacks—not to mention data loss from user error and natural disasters.”
3 Best Practices For Securing Customer Data At Multiple Locations
November 3, 2016-“For customers operating from a single location, protecting data, applications, and IT infrastructure can be fairly simple and straightforward. Yet, when a customer has multiple locations, branch offices, or remote workers, data protection and cybersecurity can begin to pose a significant challenge — one savvy MSPs can expertly address when they put the right tools in place and adopt the following best practices for ensuring data security at multiple locations..”
Ask the Right Questions: How to Discuss Data Protection and Security with SMBs
October 31, 2016-“Asking open-ended questions can be an effective technique for learning about prospects’ technology needs, their pain points, and the goals they are trying to achieve. When it comes to selling data protection and security solutions to small to midsize businesses (SMBs), however, it’s important to ask the right questions.”
The 5 Stages of SMB Cybersecurity Grief
October 25, 2016-“It may come as a shock to hear that your SMB clients and prospects aren’t interested in cybersecurity. However, with all the challenges SMBs are currently facing — from new overtime and minimum wage laws to rising wholesale costs and increasing competition — an invitation to talk about why they need to purchase cybersecurity solutions could be met with indifference.”
Mythbusters: 4 Cybersecurity Myths SMBs Believe, But Shouldn’t
October 20, 2016-“It can be a challenge to convince small to medium-size businesses (SMBs) that they need cybersecurity solutions. To overcome SMBs’ objections, MSPs need to understand that businesses of this size often have a belief system based on a lack of understanding about the risks, security best practices, and what a data breach could mean in terms of dollars and cents. Unfortunately, these false beliefs stand in the way of taking measures to protect sensitive customer, employee, and proprietary information.”
5 Channel Partner Updates: 13 October 2016
October 13, 2016-“Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Thursday, October 13, 2016. Actually, there are 16 entries for VARs, managed services providers (MSPs), cloud services providers (CSPs), independent software vendors (ISVs), telco master agents and telco agents to sip on. Take a look…”
Barracuda Extends Cloud-to-Cloud Data Protection to SharePoint Online
September 28, 2016-“Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Wednesday, September 28, 2016. Actually, there are 23 entries for VARs, managed services providers (MSPs), cloud services providers (CSPs), independent software vendors (ISVs), telco master agents and telco agents to sip on. Take a look…”
Barracuda CEO Praises Office 365 Security Wins, MSP Momentum
October 11, 2016-“Barracuda Networks CEO BJ Jenkins says the security and business continuity company is gaining momentum. The reason?: Cloud and MSP offerings.“In the MSP channel, we continue to expand the products available via our Intronis MSP solutions and added new partners,” Jenkins said during Barracuda’s Q2 2017 earnings call this evening. “Over the past year, we have added Barracuda Essentials for Office 365, backup and next generation firewall solutions. These offerings are attracting new MSP partners and we believe are catalysts to grow sales. In the second quarter, we added 160 new partners onto the Intronis platform.””
How To Use Ransomware To Drive BDR Sales
September 29, 2016- “The concept of ransomware is not new — it has been a part of the cyber threat landscape for more than 20 years. But, what makes it important to today’s cyber-security conversation is the emergence of “crypto” ransomware, i.e. CryptoLocker, CryptoWall, Locky, TeslaCrypt, and more recently Cerber.”
Managed Services And Networking News
September 28, 2016-“Barracuda Networks recently announced the launch of a virtual version of Barracuda Backup – Intronis MSP Edition. Available now in North America and Europe, the virtual appliance is sold as a subscription and leverages Barracuda’s technology to protect both physical and virtual environments. It provides a backup solution for MSPs that prefer to use their own storage or are looking to reduce their investments in dedicated hardware.”
5 Channel Partner Updates: 28 September 2016
September 28, 2016-“Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Wednesday, September 28, 2016. Actually, there are 23 entries for VARs, managed services providers (MSPs), cloud services providers (CSPs), independent software vendors (ISVs), telco master agents and telco agents to sip on. Take a look…”
4 Tips for Supporting SharePoint Online Customer Migrations
September 27, 2016- “SharePoint has become an indispensable collaboration tool for many organizations — about 200,000 of them, according to Microsoft. SharePoint gives teams the ability to create secure sites where they can store and organize mission-critical information, and SharePoint Online adds a new dimension. Because it is cloud-based, an organization’s staff can access information from their SharePoint site from Internet-connected devices — a significant benefit for teams with employees who work remotely or for companies that regularly share information, documents, or files with partners or customers.”
Barracuda Introduces Office 365 Email Threat Scanning Tool
September 27, 2016-“Available free for a limited time, the system is designed to boost sales of the company’s Office 365 security and data protection suite by exposing ransomware and advanced persistent threats hidden in corporate mailboxes. Barracuda Networks Inc., of Campbell, Calif., has introduced a new tool for hunting down ransomware and advanced persistent threats lurking in Microsoft Office 365 email messages.”
MSPs: Make Retailers’ “Customer Experience Is King” Mantra Your Own
May 5, 2016- “Like many MSPs, retailers are challenged with having to distinguish themselves from competitors primarily by fostering a positive customer experience. In fact, as recent Gartner research confirms, the customer experience is the new battlefield.”
Barracuda Preps Intronis Security Surprise for MSPs
May 4, 2016- “Intronis — the cloud backup and data protection service for MSPs — is performing well under Barracuda Networks‘ ownership, and is preparing to push into subscription security services, according to CEO BJ Jenkins.Barracuda acquired Intronis in September 2015, and now refers to the business as Intronis MSP Solutions by Barracuda Networks. So far, the Intronis business is performing well under Barracuda’s ownership — meeting the parent company’s financial expectations, according to Jenkins’ statements to Wall Street analysts on April 26.”
Compliance as a Service: Good for Your Portfolio?
April 28, 2016- “In March, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office for Civil Rights announced that it was launching the second phase of its HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Program. In short, healthcare organizations of any size and “a range of business associates of these entities” (read: those who “touch” patient data) are eligible for an audit. This is just one example of the challenges SMBs face in keeping up with the continued onslaught of regulations such as HIPAA and PCI, giving rise to a new offering: compliance as a service, or CaaS.”
Barracuda Expands Reach, Resources Across the Pond
April 19, 2016- “Barracuda Networks this week announced it has expanded into the United Kingdom partner channel with the launch of its Intronis MSP Solutions in that country.The launch builds on the success of the Intronis ECHOplatform in North America, where more than 2,000 MSP partners use the platform to service thousands of SMBs. The platform is operational from a U.K. data center.”
5 Channel Partner Updates: 19 April 2016
April 19, 2016- “Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to sip on for Tuesday, April 19, 2016. Actually, there are nine entries for VARs, managed services providers (MSPs), cloud services providers (CSPs) and independent software vendors (ISVs) to sip on. 9. Autotask Merges PSA, RMM: Autotask, as expected, has blended its PSA and RMM offering into a “unified” IT business management platform. Autotask unified platform now delivers real-time, bi-directional synchronization and reporting for improved efficiency, service delivery and business insights, the company claims. Here are deeper details.”
Barracuda Expands Reach into UK Partner Channel
April 19, 2016- “Barracuda Networks, Inc. have announced that it has expanded its reach and resources into the UK partner channel, with the launch of its Intronis MSP Solutions in the UK. Intronis MSP Solutions by Barracuda (Intronis MSP Solutions) includes innovative backup and data protection solutions for managed service providers (MSPs), as well as the recently announced Barracuda Backup – Intronis MSP Edition. The launch builds upon the success of the Intronis ECHOplatform in North America, where more than 2,000 MSP partners use the award-winning platform to service thousands of small and medium-sized businesses.”
Barracuda offers hosted data backup to UK MSPs
April 19, 2016- “Barracuda is expanding its reach into the UK channel with the launch of its Intronis MSP Solutions in the UK, marking the first launch outside of North America since Barracuda acquired Intronis in October 2015. Intronis MSP Solutions by Barracuda offer easy-to-manage, secure data protection and backup solutions for managed service providers. Barracuda Backup – Intronis MSP Edition is included in the offering.”
Barracuda expands options for MSPs
April 18, 2016- “It has been six months since Barracuda acquired Intronis MSP Solutions as it looked to add managed service backup and data protection offerings to its portfolio. Now UK MSPs will be offered the chance to sell Intronis technology, which is the first launch of the technology outside the US, and there could be the prospect of more features to come beyond just backup and data protection from Barracuda. “
5 Marketing Tactics That Drive MSP Success
April 4, 2016- “Marketing is a critical part of effectively growing any business. How and what you communicate about your business to customers and prospects can make the difference between success and failure. Yet, for many MSPs and IT service providers, marketing often falls to the bottom of the to-do list. For some, this is due to lack of experience or skill in marketing. Others simply don’t have the time or resources to focus on marketing their business.”
World Backup Day 2016: A Little Planning Goes a Long Way
March 31, 2016- “Thinking ahead and taking the time and attention needed to ensure the protection of data valuables is well worth it and doesn’t cost that much. Today, March 31, is World Backup Day, which reminds all of us that we need to back up all our personal and business-related documents, photos, videos—anything else digital that we value.”
Data Protection: Why There Is Strength (and Safety) in Numbers
March 26, 2016- “In today’s data-driven world, businesses of all sizes are finding themselves increasingly vulnerable to data breach and loss. Recent studies have shown, in fact, that cybersecurity attacks are on the rise, increasing in both frequency and intensity. For example, Arbor Networks’ 11th annual Worldwide Infrastructure Security Report (WISR), which was released in January 2016, surveyed 354 service providers and network operators and found that 56 percent of respondents reported multivector attacks targeting infrastructure, applications and services simultaneously, up from 42 percent in the previous year.” “
New backup appliance from 500GB to 112TB and corporate branding
March 25, 2016- “Intronis MSP Solutions by Barracuda Networks, Inc., provider of backup and data protection solutions for MSPs, announced it has expanded its offerings to include a subscription-based hardware solution, Barracuda Backup – Intronis MSP Edition. available in North America, Barracuda Backup – Intronis MSP Edition leverages Barracuda’s technology to provide MSPs with an appliance-based solution for their customers.”
Barracuda Backup – Intronis MSP Edition Helps MSPs Prevent Customer Data Loss
March 21, 2016- “Barracuda has a lot of experience simplifying IT with cloud-enabled solutions that help customers to protect their networks, applications and data, whether on premises or in the cloud. In fact, the company recently brought added protection to Microsoft Office 365 with Barracuda Essentials for Office 365. However, it’s Intronis (News – Alert) MSP Solutions by Barracuda that is perhaps the company’s best known offering. As such, the news that the company has expanded the suite’s offerings is significant.”
Intronis by Barracuda Releases New Appliance and Branding
March 17, 2016- “Backup technology vendor Intronis, as part of its acquisition by Barracuda, has launched a new appliance for MSPs, along with a fresh brand, now that it is part of the Barracuda corporate structure. Intronis, now known as Intronis MSP Solutions by Barracuda, has developed a subscription-based hardware solution, Barracuda Backup – Intronis MSP Edition. Available now in North America, Barracuda Backup – Intronis MSP Edition uses Barracuda’s backup technology to provide MSPs with an appliance-based solution for their customers.”
Intronis MSP Solutions by Barracuda Unveils New Backup Appliance
March 16, 2016- “Intronis MSP Solutions by Barracuda (formerly Intronis) has introduced Barracuda Backup – Intronis MSP Edition, a backup appliance that managed service providers (MSPs) can offer to protect their customers against data loss. Barracuda Backup – Intronis MSP Edition serves as “an all-in-one, subscription-based data protection solution that simplifies business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) service delivery for MSPs and IT service providers.” “
Intronis Introduces New Name and New BDR Appliance
March 16, 2016- “In some of the most concrete changes since its acquisition by Campbell, Calif.-based Barracuda Networks Inc. last September, Intronis has adopted a new name and introduced a new hardware-based backup solution built with Barracuda technology.The new moniker, Intronis MSP Solutions by Barracuda, underscores the company’s status as part of the Barracuda family, according to senior director of business development Neal Bradbury.“Barracuda has a very well-known brand worldwide and Intronis is going to start to take advantage of that,” he says, adding that the new name also calls attention to Intronis’s focus on the managed service provider market.”
Intronis: New Brand, New Appliance, Global MSP Push
March 16, 2016-“Intronis, the cloud-centric backup company owned by Barracuda Networks, is adjusting its brand and expanding its portfolio of solutions for MSPs. The efforts include subscription-based hardware, expanded platform software support, and a growing international footprint. The newly branded business is dubbed Intronis MSP Solutions by Barracuda. The goal is to (A) leverage the well-known Intronis moniker in the MSP sector, (B) emphasize Barracuda’s growing commitment to MSP-oriented sales channels and (C) give Intronis global upside from the Barracuda brand, according to Rick Faulk, VP & general manager of the MSP Business.”
Intronis dons Barracuda colours with new appliance, branding
March 16, 2016-“Backup and data protection solution provider Intronis, which was acquired last September by Barracuda, and is now a business unit of Barracuda, has made two major announcements which demonstrate its new corporate affiliation. First, Intronis announced a new name, Intronis MSP Solutions by Barracuda. Secondly, and likely more significantly to its many partners, Intronis also unveiled its first appliance, leveraging Barracuda’s hardware to provide a different deployment option.”
5 Channel Partner Updates: 16 March 2016
March 16, 2016-Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to sip on for Wednesday, March 16, 2016. Actually, there are 14 entries for VARs, managed services providers (MSPs), cloud services providers (CSPs) and independent software vendors (ISVs) to sip on. 14. Intronis: Updated brand, new appliances. This isn’t your father’s cloud storage company. Stay tuned for more updates involving Intronis later today. Er, make that “Intronis MSP Solutions by Barracuda.”
Holistic Data Protection for the SMB: Five Steps for MSPs
February 29, 2016- “In today’s competitive business climate, data is king. Organizations, both large and small and across all vertical industries, rely heavily on data to stay in business. The fact is that any outage, whether caused by nature or man-made, has the potential to put a company out of business indefinitely–or, in some cases, permanently.”
Best Practices For Hiring Technical Talent
February 2, 2015- “Advancing technologies, increasing service requirements, and a high demand for engineering talent are making it harder for managed services providers (MSPs) and IT solutions providers to fill open positions within their organizations. With pressure building, many are leveraging their distribution, peer, and vendor relationships to meet the need for skilled workers, while others are promoting from within and training; hiring for other qualities and then training; or, avoiding hiring at all until the right combination of skills emerges — anything to avoid putting an “almost capable” body in the chair. Why? Because hiring the wrong talent is a waste of time, money, and resources.”
Don’t Let the Winter Weather Get Your Customers Down
January 28, 2016- “From snow and rain on the East Coast and across the Central Plains to the wild El Niño weather patterns out West, people all over the United States are bracing for what could be a tough winter. For businesses, especially, the winter months can be difficult. Hazardous road conditions make it hard to get to and from work, snow and ice can damage power lines and bring down technology infrastructure, and cold weather can lead to burst pipes and flooding, causing businesses to close for indefinite periods of time.”
Blizzard 2016: Snow Storm Meets BDR, Cloud Backup, Business Continuity
January 22, 2016-“As predicted, Jonas — the Blizzard of 2016 — is knocking out electric power and packing feet (not inches) of snow across the Eastern Seaboard. But many channel partners have already taken precautionary steps to protect customers, businesses and the associated data from the massive snow storm.”
Your Technology Predictions for 2016: The Final List
December 31, 2015-“Last call… Last call… ChannelE2E made plenty of IT channel and technology industry predictions for 2016. Now it’s time to put our readers and industry leaders in the spotlight before we all sign off to ring in the New Year.Here’s a sampling of 2016 predictions that caught our attention, along with credit to the IT gurus who made them.”
Vendor Predictions 2016 Part 3: Cloud
December 30, 2015- “Cloud has been and will continue to be on the rise in 2016. Love it or hate it, with cloud seemingly here to stay, solution providers can expect disruption to continue fall from the cloud next year, so for the final part of our three-part series, vendors share predictions on how cloud will remain a game changer and force partners to reconsider various aspects of their business.”
Executive Viewpoint 2016 Prediction: Intronis – Top 3 IT Industry Predictions
December 28, 2015- “Over the past year, the damage caused by cybersecurity threats continued to grow, as new malware variants and data breaches multiplied unabated, affecting in turn companies both large and small. While I expect cybersecurity to continue to be a topic of interest in the coming year, there are a few other notable trends I see emerging in the IT industry. Here are my top three predictions for 2016.”
Trends in Managed Services: Three Predictions for 2016
December 28, 2015- “In the spirit of the season, here are three areas that I see continuing to positively impact the IT channel in 2016.”
The Best Work Cultures Have More Than Happy Hour and Free Snacks
December 22, 2015- “The success of your business can depend on a few different factors. The types of products or services you’re offering, or the audience you’re catering to, all of that can have a major impact on your bottom line. You might have the best product on the market, but without a dedicated, and more importantly, happy staff, it’s not enough. More than anything else, your people are the bread and butter of your business.”
The IT Service Pro’s Ever-Changing Business Model
December 23, 2015- “It’s often said that the only thing that is constant is change. Anyone who’s been working in the IT channel for more than six months —IT service providers, in particular — can certainly attest to this simple truth. Now more than ever, business models are changing rapidly— whether it’s by choice or chance—and the channel needs to be ready to capitalize on it.”
Pie in the Sky — How Cloud Solves the Storage Conundrum
December 17, 2015- “Register for this Dec. 17 episode of DM Radio to hear Host Eric Kavanagh interview several guests including Intronis’ Chris Crellin about the sea changes underway in the storage market.”
Leveraging Compliance as a Service to Fuel Business Growth
November 30, 2015- “As countless experts in the IT channel will attest, specialization is key to building a thriving business. With an increasing number of MSPs and solution providers heeding this advice, it is not uncommon to come across channel partners that are focused solely on serving clients in the healthcare, legal, banking or financial services industries. Now, those who already possess this vertical market expertise have an opportunity to differentiate themselves even further and grow their businesses by focusing on meeting a critical business need–compliance.”
3 Steps To Creating A Disaster Recovery Plan
November 18, 2015-Disasters don’t discriminate when choosing when and where to strike, making data centers of all shapes and sizes equally vulnerable.
Intronis at ChannelNext West BC 2015
November 18, 2015-Intronis’ Kyle Marsan was interviewed by e-channel news at the ChannelNext conference.
Moving documents & information to a new level
November 12, 2015- “Are you embracing the reality that document workflow solutions and business process tools are moving to the cloud? If not, perhaps it is time for you to take a closer look at cloud services opportunities that could take your dealership to new heights. Certainly, your clients would welcome your continued advancements as a services-led provider.”
Managed Services, Backup And Recovery, And Networking News From October 2015
November 12, 2015- “Each month, Business Solutions reports news on business in the channel. This month in managed services, backup and recovery, and networking news, Barracuda has entered in an agreement to acquire Intronis, Solarwinds N-able introduces a new remote control access platform, Carbonite announced its portfolio of disaster recovery solutions, SYNNEX boosts its K-12 solution set, Carbonite upgrades its backup and disaster recovery (BDR) platform, and CompTIA introduces cybersecurity training.”
Nine Questions to Answer Before Migrating to the Cloud
November 5, 2015- “Cloud computing is driving a fundamental transition in the evolution of IT. According to IDC’s 2015 global CloudView Survey, nearly two-thirds of enterprises are using or planning to use some form of cloud—whether for a single project or their portfolio, for test/development environments, or to run mission-critical applications.”
7 Ways To Increase Your Customers’ Awareness Of Cybersecurity
November 5, 2015- “Moving at the speed of business today means providing immediate access to critical business data and applications, regardless of whether workers are on-site or working remotely. It also means enabling workers to respond quickly to customer and partner requests via e-mail and instant messaging, and leveraging cloud computing to support instant collaboration between workers, customers, and partners in different geographic locations. But what many businesses and consumers discount are the relentless threats waiting for them once they “power on” and use the Internet and cloud computing to get it all done.”
Disaster 411: Is your business prepared to fight back?
October 30, 2015-“On the heels of September’s National Preparedness Month, an effort sponsored by the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Americans are being encouraged to take extra precautions to safeguard their homes, businesses, schools, and communities against disaster — long before disaster strikes!”
Three baseline IT security tips for small businesses
October 29, 2014 – “When massive organizations like Sony, Home Depot, and the Office of Personnel Management are hacked they grab equally massive headlines. Yet, while they rarely grab headlines, small and middle-market companies are particularly susceptible to hacks, said Chris Crellin, Senior Director of Product Management at Intronis, a data protection firm, because many SMBs can’t afford to employ a security team, or are uninformed of the risks posed by attackers.”
Four Ways to Better Secure Your Remote Workforce
October 29, 2015- “October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month and an excellent opportunity for MSPs and solution providers to educate their customers on how to protect their data, applications and IT infrastructure from cyber attacks.”
Have You Explored These Data Protection Options For Your Small Business?
October 22, 2015- “For millions of small businesses in the United States, their data is their lifeblood – small businesses wouldn’t be able to operate without it … Unfortunately, not all small business owners understand the importance of having business-grade data protection.”
4 Ways To Protect Small Businesses From Data Loss
September 30, 2015- “Since 2004, Ready.gov, a national public service campaign by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has recognized September as National Preparedness Month. As the month comes to a close, we remind you to stress with your clients that businesses should be prepared year-round for disaster. This is an opportunity for IT solution providers and SMBs alike to re-focus their efforts on ensuring that their data and critical business infrastructure are protected, should catastrophe strike.”
How to Convert Remaining Break-Fix Clients
September 22, 2015- As a managed services provider (MSP), you understand the benefits of the recurring revenue stream model. It provides predictable income, saves time and money, improves service levels, and boosts profitability, just to name a few benefits. But making the business case to your customers–especially those who’ve historically been on the “break/fix” invoicing model–may take a little more explaining.
The Business Side Of Managed Services
September 15, 2015- “By now, readers of this magazine should know that offering managed services is a great way to make your business more stable through predictable revenue and more profitable from lowered and controlled expenses. Readers should also know that transitioning to managed services isn’t always easy, depending on the current state of your existing practice. In an attempt to address some of the biggest challenges of new (and existing) MSPs (managed services providers), we put together a panel of some of the most sought-after industry experts to share their knowledge and experiences. We discussed common mistakes and best practices on the topics of sales, compensation, pricing, and bundling.”
Intronis; News!
September 14, 2015- In honor of National Preparedness Month our VP of Product Management, Chris Crellin, sat down with The Computer America radio show to discuss disaster preparedness. In the live broadcast of the show, Craig Crossman and Chris Crellin talk about the major and everyday disasters that pose a threat to small businesses.
Vendor Q&A Series: Neal Bradbury, Intronis
September 7, 2015- The latest channel exec to sit in the Channelnomics hotseat is Intronis’ VP of channel development.
Beyond The Headlines: Taking A Holistic Approach To Data Security
August 31, 2015- “It seems as if a week doesn’t go by without a data breach making headlines. From recent news of backup tapes gone missing from a Massachusetts-based hospital to a phishing attack at an Indiana-based healthcare system to a malware incident involving payment cards at several upscale hotels in California, the reasons for these data breaches vary widely. While each of these incidents offers a cautionary tale for businesses of all sizes, they don’t fully illustrate what’s needed to successfully fill the security gaps that exist today.”
Three Steps to Protecting Your Clients’ Business
September 1, 2015- “As a whole, small businesses are tremendous economic engines–creating jobs, stimulating growth and fostering innovation. Unfortunately, their size makes them especially vulnerable to catastrophic incidents such as fire, flood and extreme weather events, as well as to more localized problems including equipment failures, theft, and cybercrime.”
Intronis boosts marketing assistance to partners with MSP Marketing Booster Pack
August 28, 2015-“Backup and data protection solution provider Intronis has added to its training and enablement resources with a new Intronis MSP Marketing Booster Kit for its MSP partners. Accessible within the Business Track in Intronis University, it is a key element in a path that will see a formal sales and marketing certification program be available to partners.”
Best Practices For Defining Business Continuity Plans
August 7, 2015- “Every business has a different tolerance level when it comes to application downtime. Some can endure a few hours, while others will start losing revenue, and even customers, within minutes of a failure. At the end of the day, though, the total impact of a failure really comes down to the types of applications the business is running.”
Today’s top malware threats — are you prepared?
August 5, 2015-“Today, data breaches are nothing short of the norm. Organizations like Target, Home Depot, and even the United States Government have fallen victim to cyber criminals illegally accessing and tampering with the sensitive data in their private systems. While cloud computing has simplified the way organizations manage data, it has also made it easier than ever for hackers to gain access to systems and get their hands on critical corporate information.”
Making the Case for Business-Grade File Sync and Share
August 3, 2015- “What many businesses don’t realize is consumer-grade solutions simply don’t offer the security, manageability, scale or even the usability of their business-grade counterparts. With an increasing number of workers using smartphones and tablets to do their jobs, businesses are more compelled than ever to provide their employees with access to solutions and services that support mobility, increase productivity, and enhance communication and collaboration with co-workers, business partners and clients.”
10 Biggest BDR News Stories of 2015 (So Far)
August 3, 2015- “Intronis in June unveiled the Summer Release ’15 of Intronis ECHOplatform. This release includes a revamped dashboard and an Executive Summary report generator.”
6 Tips to Outline a Top-Notch Business Plan
July 30, 2015- “No matter what kind of business you’re running, or in what industry, a well-thought-out business plan is absolutely critical to achieving success. But, a lot of times, entrepreneurs set out on a business endeavor without taking the time to document their goals and the tactics they plan to use to attain them. This is a crucial piece of the puzzle that is all too often disregarded.”
Product Comparison: Backup & Recovery (BDR) Software
July 20, 2015- “The three BDR (backup and disaster recovery) product reviews we’ve done since 2013 have been among the most-read pieces of content on our website, and for good reason. Not only is BDR the central service of most MSPs (managed services providers), but also the reviews have been loaded with great insights from our tester, Eric Brown, CEO of managed services provider Remote Technology Management (RTM). Many established and would-be MSPs have told us that they find the product reviews to be valuable resources in evaluating new products or confirming their decision to use the products they do.”
5 Best Practices For Establishing A Security Policy
July 6, 2015- At the recent RSA Conference in San Francisco, an abundance of products and solutions — from firewalls and antimalware protection, to endpoint, mobile, and network security — were being marketed to protect organizations’ critical infrastructure, applications, and data. But without a robust security policy in place, even the industry’s best products can only go so far to protect an organization from data loss. That’s where MSPs (managed services providers) can step in and make a difference.”
Intronis backup software update features new dashboard, reporting tool
June 26, 2015 – “Intronis has released the latest version of Echoplatform, its backup software for IT service providers. The Summer Release ’15 of the Intronis backup software introduces a new dashboard and other enhancements.”
Intronis stresses better user experience with Summer Release ‘15
June 26, 2015-“Backup and data protection vendor Intronis has announced the Summer Release ‘15 of its Intronis ECHOplatform. While recent releases have focused on facilitating a new pricing model and on improving imaging, the theme this time is about improving the user experience, for both Intronis’ MSP partners and their end customers.”
3 Reasons Your Managed Services Sales Are Stagnant
June 25, 2015- “There’s no shortage of advice telling IT solution providers they should be selling managed services and earning monthly recurring revenue (MRR). Yet, when it comes down to it, making the transition from project-based or break-fix IT services to managed services is hard.”
Latest Intronis Dashboard Release Adds Filtering, Summary Report Options
June 24, 2015- “This week, backup and data protection solutions provider Intronis unveiled the Summer Release ’15 of Intronis ECHOplatform, which includes a newly designed dashboard and an Executive Summary report generator.”
Intronis launches simplified backup platform
June 23, 2015-“For smaller businesses organizing backups can be a chore which is why they often choose to buy a service solution from their systems provider rather than do it in house. Backup and data protection specialist Intronis is one of the leaders in backup platforms for IT providers and is launching a new release of its ECHOplatform designed to deliver simplified operations and improved value.”
Intronis Launches Summer Release ’15 of ECHOplatform
June 23, 2015- “The latest release of the data protection platform features greater optimization and customization with an all-In-one dashboard and new automated executive summary reports.”
Intronis Answers Partners’ Calls for Data Protection Platform Upgrade
June 23, 2015- “Massachusetts-based Intronis, the backup and data-protection provider, has unveiled the summer release of its ECHOplatform, with improvements the company says were inspired by partner feedback.The enhancements include a new and intuitive dashboard that’s designed to be easy to read and manage. It aims to help partners further streamline administrative tasks and speed up issue resolution by showing them the entire Intronis ECHOplatform portfolio in a single interface. New filtering options deliver the most critical data at a glance, and save those options for future use every time you log in to the portal.”
Professionals on the Move – June 17, 2015
June 17, 2015 – “Intronis, Inc. recently announced the appointment of Chris Crellin as Vice President of Product Management and Scott Graham as Vice President of IT & Operations. In his new role, Crellin will lead the company’s product strategy and management initiatives. His past experience includes product strategy, software engineering, product management and cloud-to-cloud backup.”
Hiring in the Hub: These Boston Tech Companies Made Moves This Week
June 12, 2015 – “Hiring news among Boston tech companies hasn’t slowed down for summer (yet). Here are the latest Boston tech jobs moves to know about: Chelmsford, Mass.-based data backup firm Intronis has made two new executive hires. Chris Crellin (formerly of Datto/Backupify) has joined as VP of product management, while Scott Graham (formerly of First Marblehead Bank and Avid Technology) has been named VP of IT and operations.”
Channel Partner Program Roundup: Intronis, QA, RCN
June 11, 2015 – “Gather round, readers, and settle in for another edition of Channel Partner Program Roundup, your weekly who’s who on all the latest channel partner news. This week we’ve got updates from Intronis, QA and RCN Business.”
Chris Crellin VP of Product Management, Intronis
June 10, 2015-“A former software engineer and product management expert, Chris Crellin joins Intronis from Datto, Inc. where he was responsible for product strategy and execution of the company’s cloud-to-cloud backup portfolio, following the company’s acquisition of Backupify. Prior to that he spent 14 years with RSA, the security division of EMC, where he served as the product manager for the SecurID portfolio. In his role for Intronis, he is responsible for leading product strategy and management.”
People on the Move in Boston: Scott Graham
June 9, 2015- “In his role as VP of IT & operations, Scott Graham is tasked with overseeing the strategic development and execution of Intronis’ internal IT initiatives, R&D, and operations.”
Intronis Announces Two Executive Hires
June 9, 2015-“Intronis, Inc. has announced the appointment of Chris Crellin as VP of Product Management and Scott Graham as VP of IT & Operations. A former software engineer and product management expert, Chris Crellin joins Intronis from Datto, Inc. where he was responsible for product strategy and execution of the company¹s cloud-to-cloud backup portfolio, following the company’s acquisition of Backupify. Prior to working for Backupify, and then Datto, Chris spent 14 years with RSA, the Security Division of EMC, where he served as the product manager for the RSA SecurID portfolio. In his role as VP of Product Management for Intronis, Chris is responsible for leading product strategy and management.”
People on the Move in Boston: Chris Crellin
June 9, 2015- “In his role as VP of product management for Intronis, Chris Crellin is responsible for leading product strategy and management.”
Intronis Expands Channel Leadership Team; Announces Two Executive Hires
June 8, 2015- “A former software engineer and product management expert, Chris Crellin joins Intronis from Datto, Inc. where he was responsible for product strategy and execution of the company’s cloud-to-cloud backup portfolio, following the company’s acquisition of Backupify. Prior to working for Backupify, and then Datto, Chris spent 14 years with RSA, the Security Division of EMC, where he served as the product manager for the RSA SecurID portfolio. In his role as VP of Product Management for Intronis, Chris is responsible for leading product strategy and management.”
Intronis Gets New Product VP From Datto
June 8, 2015- “Backup and data-protection provider Intronis has expanded its channel leadership team with two new hires.The first is Chris Crellin, the company’s new vice president of product management. Crellin comes to Intronis from fellow backup provider Datto, where he was responsible for product strategy and execution of the company’s cloud-to-cloud backup portfolio after it acquired Backupify. Before his work with Backupify and Datto, Crellin spent 14 years with RSA, EMC’s security division, where he was product manager for the RSA SecurID portfolio.”
Intronis appoints two new vice presidents
June 8, 2015- “Backup and disaster recovery solutions provider Intronis has two new vice presidents to call its own. The Chelmsford, Massachusetts-based company has appointed Chris Crellin as VP of product management and Scott Graham as VP of IT and operations.”
3 Ways Channel Partners Can Become Experts In Healthcare IT Security
June 4, 2015- “With data breaches on the rise in the U.S., the security of personal data is becoming a growing concern for both consumers and businesses, and rightly so. The major cyberattack experienced earlier this year by Anthem exposed the sensitive healthcare information of 80 million Americans — nearly a quarter of the U.S. population. And that’s just one example.”
Four Reasons Why Service Tiers Make Life Easier for MSPs
May 28, 2015- “Ensuring there is more than enough revenue coming in each month to cover expenses is a top priority for every smart business owner, including MSPs. If you are struggling to find the best way to price your services in order to hit your revenue targets, here’s a quick piece of advice: Take the time to evaluate (and potentially change) how you currently package and price your services. Is there a methodology? Do you offer bundles? Or, do you just pick a round number and roll with it? “
20 Expert Tips on Integrating Mobile and Cloud Strategies
May 27, 2015- “‘Bring your own device (BYOD) policies give your employees the freedom to create, collaborate, and execute regardless of time or space, so the key is to tap into the potential of these ubiquitous endpoints without putting corporate assets at risk,’ said Neal Bradbury, co-founder and VP of channel development, Intronis.”
Writing a Business Plan? 13 Challenges to Overcome
May 18, 2015- “[One of the top challenges is] keeping it short and sweet. The more concise and focused a plan is, the more likely business owners are to achieve the goals they have set out for themselves and their business.” – Rick Faulk, chairman and CEO, Intronis.
Why Do Large Enterprises Have Security Breaches?
May 11, 2015- “Large enterprises. Mid-sized businesses. Mom and pops.
Seems like they’re all vulnerable to data security breaches today, right? It’s no longer as easy as locking up the front door of the business. Just ask Slack, Target and even Salesforce, each of which dealt with cyber attacks on some level in the past few years.”
How To Choose A Business-Grade File-Sharing Solution
May 7, 2015- “Let’s face it, when it comes to file-sharing, there is a seemingly endless array of options, which can make it difficult for businesses to choose a solution that will meet all of their needs — especially when it comes to security and scale.”
5 Common Business Plan Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
May 5, 2015- “Writing a business plan is an important part of the business startup process. There has been debate in recent years concerning whether or not creating a formal business plan is really helpful. In our opinion, it is never a bad idea to go through the process of presenting your business on paper. If nothing else, it will really help you focus and dial-in the strategy and trajectory of your business.”
Intronis; The GizWiz!
April 29, 2015- “Intronis is changing the game when it comes to data protection. They build data protection solutions exclusively for the IT channel, selling only to IT services providers and never direct to small business end users. They developed the Intronis ECHOplatform, the first software platform designed to deliver complete protection for physical and virtual data in one location for a fixed price with unlimited storage.”
Three Reasons for Selecting Cloud Data Protection Solutions
April 29, 2015- “The move to cloud is opening up greater opportunities for channel partners to grow their businesses more profitably and expand their offerings to include much-needed support, such as cloud data protection services.”
The Download: Rick Faulk uses his smartphone to keep tabs on his Tesla…and his golf game
April 23, 2015- “Rick Faulk is the chief executive of Intronis in Chelmsford, a cloud-based backup and recovery service. His reliance on the cloud translates to nearly every aspect of his life: He controls his car, his home, and his business dealings through a series of smartphone apps.”
4 Things To Consider When Protecting Apps And Data In The Cloud
April 13, 2015- “The debate about which cloud is the right for business — public, private or hybrid — has been ongoing and may never be completely resolved, but most will agree the choice depends on the business and its unique requirements.”
Top 6 Channel Influencers From Talkin’ Cloud 100 Honorees
April 8, 2015- “Neal Bradbury co-founded Intronis, a Chelmsford, Massachusetts-based backup and disaster recovery (BDR) solutions provider that ranked 39 on the Talkin’ Cloud 100. He now supports Intronis’ channel program, serving as the company’s vice president of channel development.”
The VAR Guy’s Top 50 Channel Influencers List, 2015: 1-10
April 6, 2014 – “Bradbury co-founded Intronis in 2003. Early on and under his guidance, Intronis changed its DNA to become a channel-exclusive player with a white-label, SaaS-based BDR service offering built specifically for VARs, MSPs and CSPs. Since then, Bradbury has played a pivotal role in the development and success of Intronis’ channel program. Over the last year the volume of storage being managed by Intronis’ channel partners has grown significantly. In 2014, Intronis released a new pricing program that put the margin control back into the hands of its partners, and many have reported becoming more profitable and gaining an additional competitive angle in the marketplace.”
Today is World Backup Day – Is Your Biz Data Safe?
March 31, 2015- “It’s 2015, and although cyber attacks and data breaches are crowding the covers of newspapers and carving out an ever-present name for themselves on news networks across the globe, small business are still leaving themselves vulnerable to attack. What are they waiting for? Today marks the fifth annual World Backup Day, a day set aside to inspire small business owners to take the necessary precautions to protect and backup their critical business data, so it’s important for SMBs to educate themselves on the repercussions of data loss and take steps to stop cyber threats in their tracks.”
6 Tips to Fight the Data Gremlins on World Backup Day
March 31, 2015- “Whose fault is data loss? Intronis is blaming the gremlins, unveiling several new components of its “Data Loss Gremlins” Campaign, just in time for World Backup Day on March 31, 2015. Featuring six “gremlins” that personify common causes of data loss—including fire, natural disaster, theft, virus, user error and equipment failure—the company’s nationwide awareness and prevention campaign returns for a second year to help educate small businesses about the importance of data backup and protection.”
World Backup Day March 31, 2015
March 31, 2015- “According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, the number of data breaches in the United States increased 27.5 percent in 2014 alone. The 2013 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report also revealed that 81 percent of all breaches happen to small businesses. On the heels of escalating cyber security concerns, President Obama called for better cyber security in his State of the Union Address in January, leading to increased educational and prevention efforts. Intronis, Inc., a provider of world-class backup and data protection solutions for the IT channel, today unveiled several new components of its “Data Loss Gremlins” Campaign, just in time for World Backup Day on March 31, 2015. “
The Value of Time in Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery
March 31, 2015- “As the old adage goes, “Time is money,” and in the interest of saving money, we must not waste time. This is especially true when it comes to disaster preparedness and recovery—an area where many companies continue to fall short, as evidenced by the Disaster Recovery Preparedness Council’s 2014 Disaster Preparedness Benchmark Survey.”
World Backup Day 2015: A Reminder of the Pain of Lost Data
March 30, 2015-“Thinking ahead and taking the time and attention needed to ensure the protection of data valuables is well worth it and doesn’t cost that much. March 31 is World Backup Day, which reminds all of us that we need to back up all our personal and business-related documents, photos, videos—anything else digital that we value.”
Why Small Businesses Need to Celebrate World Backup Day
March 30, 2015- “As we bid one final farewell to winter and officially step into spring, small businesses should take a moment to commemorate one of our favorite holidays. While it may not be as much fun as St. Patrick’s Day or as widely celebrated as Easter Sunday, it’s one that could mean the difference between shutting your doors for good, or remaining a functioning business long after a cyber attack or natural disaster strikes. We’re talking about World Backup Day.”
IT Security Experts: Look for Risk and Opportunity in the Security Shadow
March 27, 2015- “Data is a company’s most important asset, but many small and midsized businesses don’t know, care or have enough in the budget to protect it, according to a panel of experts during the CompTIA IT Security Community meeting, held during this week’s Annual Member Meeting. ‘Some small businesses probably don’t know what confidential information is,’ said Neal Bradbury, vice president of channel development for Intronis. ‘It’s not a matter of if you need security; it’s a matter of the level of security they need.'”
World Backup Day on the Way, Highlighting Disaster Recovery
March 26, 2015-“Disaster recovery remains a vital piece of almost all storage strategies in the business world. Without proper measures taken to protect information, there’s the ever-increasing chance that a destructive loss of data can occur, and there’s not necessarily an easy fix in this event. An upcoming event day shines new light on this need, while new approaches to storage may help further. World Backup Day is soon to come, planned for March 31, and as a result companies are increasingly drawing attention to proper means of protection, Intronis reported. “
A Need For Recovery Speed
March 13, 2015- “The latest release of the Intronis software adds the ability to now recover images from local-based storage in a hybrid IT environment in as little as 30 seconds. In addition, Intronis has added the ability to recover images from local physical server environments using a combination of advanced algorithms, native data formats and reverse incremental backup techniques. Finally, there is also support for the latest version of VMware and the ability to retrieve specific files, folders, and databases from physical and virtual local image-based backups.”
Winter Release ’15 of Intronis ECHOplatform
March 13, 2015-“The release ’15 introduces several business-building features and core functionalities. The enhancements are designed to help channel partners support more complex cloud, virtualized and physical IT environments, grow their share of wallet with existing customers, and attract business by offering a real-time, cloud-based data recovery solution that’s built to protect the business.”
The next generation of CryptoWall malware emerges
March 11, 2015-“After a short-lived hiatus, the creators of CryptoWall have re-emerged with the next generation of the devious malware, coined “CryptoWall 3.0″. Just as security experts thought they had a handle on the original threat, the emergence of version 3.0 sparks debate as to what signals to look out for and how to protect against the rise of ransomware variants.”
Intronis Fights ‘Data Gremlins’ With New Platform Release
March 6, 2015-“Intronis released a new version of its ECHOplatform for backup and data protection, this one bolstered with Hyper-V rapid recovery. Intronis Vice President Neal Bradbury told CRNtv that the new version of ECHOplatform “really builds out the hybrid, local and remote data backup strategy in the platform. It basically reduces operational costs for a lot of our partners.”
Intronis adds rapid recovery for Hyper-V to ECHOplatform
March 6, 2015-“Intronis ECHOplatform, sold exclusively through service providers, can now instantly recover Microsoft Hyper-V and physical server images.”
Intronis slashes image-based recovery times with Winter 2015 release
March 6, 2015-“The improved functionality will help Intronis partners have discussions with customers about providing higher-value recovery strategies rather than simply selling storage.”
Briefing Note: Intronis Reverses Backups and Simplifies Delivery
March 6, 2015-“Intronis’ ECHOplatform is designed to protect all of a MSP/VAR’s customer data assets, while making it simple for them to maintain a cloud data protection service. This platform is an all-in-one data protection solution that provides server, laptop, VMware, and Hyper-V support, plus applications like MS-SQL and Exchange.”
Intronis Unveils ECHOPlatform Winter Release ’15
March 5, 2015-Intronis has announced the Winter Release ’15 of its Intronis ECHOplatform data protection platform. The BDR solutions provider said its new release is designed to help channel partners better support more complex cloud, virtualized and physical IT environments. Here are the details.
Intronis Introduces Winter Release ’15 Of Its ECHOplatform
March 5, 2015-New features include Hyper-V and imaging rapid recovery, plus object level restore from physical and virtual local image-based backups.
CompTIA Launches New Cloud Trustmark+ For IT Channel
March 5, 2015- CompTIA announced the launch of its new Cloud Trustmark+ for IT channel vendors. Neal Bradbury, Vice President of Channel Development at Intronis is quoted as saying, “It’s great to see the spotlight turned on the vendor and distributor community – especially as it relates to cloud – and allow those of us who continue to invest in R&D, partner enablement and support services to more clearly differentiate our value proposition and business credentials by earning the vendor Cloud Trustmark from CompTIA.”
Intronis brings Hyper-V and VMware 6 support to data protection solution
March 5, 2015-“Channel-only backup solutions provider Intronis has announced the winter 2015 release of its data protection solution ECHOplatform, which will see new functions including Hyper-V and imaging rapid recovery, object level restore from physical and virtual local image backups and VMware 6.0 support.”
Intronis simplifies cloud backup and recovery for service providers
March 5, 2015-“Backup specialist Intronis is simplifying and accelerating real-time data backup and recovery for its channel partners with the launch of a new release of its Intronis ECHOplatform.”
Intronis Updates Backup, Recovery Platform
March 5, 2015-“Backup and data protection solutions for the IT channel specialist Intronis announced the Winter Release ’15 of its ECHOplatform, which offers channel partners a variety of recovery options, including being able to recover an entire virtual machine or server, or restoring the data by copying the files through the portal of any hyper-V or image backup without mounting the image.”
Cloud BDR and Virtual Machines: What You Need to Know
February 27, 2015- During the past several years, virtualization has made significant in-roads in the SMB market due to a reduction in upfront investment costs, improved reliability and the proliferation of virtualization-dependent cloud services.
3 Reasons Why Specialization Is Critical To Success
February 27, 2015- You’ve more than likely heard the saying, “jack of all trades, master of none,” and while in most cases this applies to individuals, it can also pertain to businesses, including solutions providers and MSPs (managed services providers).
Don’t Leave Data Security To Chance — When Cloud-Based BDR Can Save The Day
February 10, 2015- The MSPAlliance predicts, this year, security will be one of the top concerns for both technical and non-technical users. This is no surprise considering that high-profile data breaches at Target, Home Depot, Lowes, and other retailers are making consumers increasingly aware of how vulnerable they can be to cyberattacks.
Why SMBs should consider DR as a service
January 30, 2015- In a study conducted by cloud backup provider Intronis Inc. and analyst firm The 2112 Group, more than 50% of SMBs that rely on an IT service provider for backup and recovery are using cloud-based technologies.
How to Capitalize on Private Cloud and Make Money Selling BDR
January 30, 2015- Businesses need the capabilities, performance and IT security only private cloud can provide. One example of how you, as an MSP or solution provider, can take advantage of this growth in private cloud is through cloud-based backup and disaster recovery (BDR).
Winter Storm Juno: How Are Northeast-Based Cloud Services Providers Holding Up?
January 26, 2015- Intronis — A spokesperson told Talkin’ Cloud that this Boston-based online backup solutions provider is in “regular contact with its data center’s operations staff in the Northeast and expects no ill effects from the winter storm bearing down on them.”
How Flexible is the Cloud?
January 13, 2015- MSPs will need to change and adapt to cloud — unless they’re willing to run the risk of becoming obsolete. Don’t be afraid of this change, attack it. Figure out what your firm has in its talent base and how you can best leverage the cloud to take your business to the next level. Here are the details.
Executive Viewpoint 2015 Prediction: Intronis – Top 3 IT Industry Predictions
December 31, 2014- As 2014 comes to a close, there is much speculation about what the New Year might bring for the IT industry. Here’s our list of what we expect to see in 2015.
Why Finance Leaders Must Walk the Floor, Jackie Barry Hamilton, CFO, Intronis
December 24, 2014- “What’s it like to serve as a CFO of a large-enterprise firm versus an emerging-growth firm? Join us as Jackie shares her CFO mind-set and reveals how her finance leadership has evolved from one career milestone to the next.”
2015 Cloud Predictions from Intronis
December 24, 2014- As we bid farewell to one year and welcome another, there is a great deal of speculation surrounding the cloud and what 2015 will bring to the industry. It’s no surprise that experts and enthusiasts alike are anticipating another year of innovation: after all, 2014 saw major advancements in cloud computing, as well as increased adoption across the board.
MSPmentor 250 List 2014: Honorees A to B
December 22, 2014- Welcome to the seventh-annual MSPmentor 250 list, honoring the world’s top managed services provider (MSP) executives, entrepreneurs and experts. This list is in alphabetical order, split into separate pages.
MSPmentor 250 List 2014: Honorees K to M
December 22, 2014- Welcome to the seventh-annual MSPmentor 250 list, honoring the world’s top managed services provider (MSP) executives, entrepreneurs and experts. This list is in alphabetical order, split into separate pages.
Back to School: Intronis Launches University for Channel Partners
December 22, 2014- Intronis has launched Intronis University, a business training and certification program for its channel partners.The Chelmsford, Massachusetts-based cloud backup and disaster recovery (BDR) solutions provider said the new program can help Intronis channel partners better support their customers.
Free schooling: Intronis offers partners ‘university’
December 19, 2014- Backup and data protection firm Intronis has announced the launch of Intronis University – a technical and business training and certification resource. Channel partners can access the resource from within Intronis’ web-based partner resource hub, Intronis Essentials.
Backup 2014: Acquisitions, spinoffs and cloud-to-cloud emerge
December 19, 2014- Backup 2014 included breakups as Symantec divorced itself, acquisition as EMC picked up cloud-to-cloud backup and additions as Hitachi Data Systems got into disk backup.
CryptoWall 2.0, Cloud Backup and the Do-It-Yourself Customer
December 19, 2014- The consumerization of IT is making some end customers feel more empowered than ever to take IT matters into their own hands rather than seek the help of IT solution providers. This is especially true when it comes to cloud services.
Cyber Monday Is Over!— Or Is It? Gadgets, Marketing Tips from Intronis
December 17, 2014- MSPmentor sat down with Intronis Digital Marketing Director Richard Delahaye to learn more about how channel partners can win some new gadgets this holiday season from the Boston-based backup and data protection solutions provider. Here’s what we found out.
Finding KPIs that matter to the business
December 11, 2014- Most companies rely on a set of quantifiable measures — key performance indicators — to gauge how well they’re doing. But the effective use of KPIs requires asking hard questions, starting with how do you determine what to measure? At the recent MIT Sloan CFO Summit, a panel of experienced finance leaders from emerging, midmarket and large companies discussed best practices for identifying, interpreting and deploying KPIs.
Help SMBs Overcome Their Data Backup Ignorance
November 26, 2014- The fact that you have so many customers who are not currently using your business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) solutions and services must mean that they all have their data backup figured out, right? If your target market includes SMBs, that assumption is far from reality.
Don’t Let Your Customers Get Burned by DIY BDR Pitfalls
November 20, 2014- There are several types of threats beyond natural disasters that can result in data loss. And, even those customers who are a bit more tech-savvy and invest in automated backup systems that allow them to “set it and forget it” are no match for one of the biggest threats to their data: human error.
How File Sync and IT Consumerization Make Money for MSPs
October 31, 2014 – One way or another end users are going to transfer files to and from mobile computing devices. Organizations have finally come to terms with this and want to provide their employees with file sync capability. The problem is that they don’t necesarily want to deploy and manage it. This has spawned two data protection companies to step in to help, creating a significant opportunity for MSPs.
3 Ways Successful MSPs Avoid Selling ‘Just’ Storage
October 31, 2014 – Listed in this article are the key tactics that some of the more savvy IT service providers are using to find success when selling storage. By removing storage as a standalone item on your line cards and following these three guidelines you can not only help your own business but better fulfill the needs of your customers. Article by Intronis VP of Sales, Rob Merklinger.
5 Tips To Maximize Your Managed Services Marketing Potential
October 29, 2014 – When it comes to leads, referrals can be some of the best you will ever get. Having the benefit of someone talking up how good your company is and the expertise you have is priceless. IT service providers relying solely on referrals will typically have a tough time finding a great deal of growth. In this article by Intronis CMO Aaron Dun, you will learn the 5 tips our partners from our best performing partners to help you maximize marketing potential.
File sharing frequently paired with endpoint backup products
October 24, 2014 – Backup venders are increasingly seeing file sync-and-share as a good fit for their backup solution. Intronis joins this already crowded market with the introduction of Intronis ECHOshare. Aaron Dun, Intronis CMO on the vision behind the product, “We saw an opportunity to come to market with a tool optimized for channel partners because of the user interface, security and the ability to manage accounts from any location.”
Intronis unveils file sync-and-share cloud offering for SMB customers
October 15, 2014 – In a recently published study, IDC estimated that almost half of U.S. enterprises with more than 1,000 employees either formally or informally adopted file sync-and-share solutions by the end of 2013. The sync-and-share market is forecast to grow to $2.3 billion worldwide by 2018, according to IDC.
Intronis Jumps Into Cloud-based File Sync, Share With ECHOshare
October 15, 2014 – Intronis has released a file sync and share offering called ECHOshare for channel partners to resell to their small and medium business customers. Intronis ECHOshare isn’t made to compete with companies like Dropbox and Huddle. It instead, was created in the hope that channel partners will switch to it from existing solutions to ECHOshare, which complies with HIPAA, SSAE-16 and PCI DSS.
Intronis’ ECHOshare Secures File Sharing, Collaboration for SMBs
October 15, 2014 –“Though news headlines as of late are filled with cyber-attacks and data leaks, many small business owners are under the false impression that these have nothing to do with them. But in the increasingly mobile workforce of today, this is a common misconception,” Chuck DeLouis, vice president of product management at Intronis on the importance of employing a secure file sharing solution like Intronis ECHOshare.
Intronis launches cloud-based file sharing for SMBs
October 15, 2014 – Intronis has launched a product designed to provide small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with a secure file-sharing tool that is integrated with disaster recovery. Intronis ECHOshare includes features like centralized management and permission based access, and remote wipe capabilities that enable IT to clear data off of lost or hacked devices.
Intronis ECHOshare brings simple, secure file sharing to SMBs
October 15, 2014 – Sharing files among employees can be difficult for any business,These approaches can put data at risk and also cause problems for support staff. Backup and disaster recovery specialist Intronis has a new solution to help businesses share files safely in the form of ECHOshare.
Intronis Unveils ECHOshare Cloud-Based File Sync and Collaboration Solution to Secure and Simplify Data Sharing for SMBs
October 15, 2014 – “The need for reliable, secure and scalable enterprise-grade collaboration technology is growing among SMBs and bringing forward a golden opportunity for VARs and MSPs to add even greater value to their managed cloud services portfolio,” says Neal Bradbury, Intronis Co-Founder and VP of Channel Development, in this article.
What’s the Best Way to Rank Software?
September 30, 2014 – There is some debate around the way software is ranked by companies like Gartner Magic Quadrant and Forrester Wave. This article features industry experts, including Intronis CMO, Aaron Dun, who provide different views on the subject.
5 Productivity Strategies the Best Service Providers Follow
September 25, 2014 – The U.S. economy suffers a nearly $1.3 trillion productivity loss each year, according to a recent study. To combat this issue, we have reached out to IT channel leaders for advice. Here are their five tips to streamline your business and become more productive.
Will you be prepared if disaster strikes?
September 20, 2014 – According to the National Federation of Independent Business, about 30 percent of small businesses will experience some sort of natural disaster. Often times businesses fail to prepare themselves properly, leading to the catastrophe of having to rebuild from the ground up. Listed here are the most important things to keep in mind to ensure the safety of your company’s data.
Data protection software for file sync-and-share unlocks opportunities
September 2014 – Neal Bradbury spoke with TechTarget about the growing importance of secure file sync-and-share capabilities for all businesses and announced our planned launch of ECHOshare, Intronis’ fully compliant file sharing product, in Q4.
Is Your Enterprise Ready for Disaster?
September 16, 2014 – September is “National Disaster Preparedness Month,” and Mobile Enterprise’s Editor in Chief Lori Castle contacted Chuck DeLouis, Intronis VP of product management, for his advice on DR concerns specific to mobile devices.
4 Must-Haves of Cloud-Based Collaboration
September 10, 2014 – As telecommuting grows, organizations have fallen back on email to share documents and collaborate, but not without problems. As a fix, many are turning to the cloud and file sync and share apps. Neal Bradbury offers four must-have features for selecting a cloud collaboration solution that meets the needs of your customers.
How To Sell Against Consumer-Grade Technologies
September 10, 2014 – It’s a fact — consumer-grade collaboration technology is built for the consumer. It’s not made for business, so why do so many small and mid-size businesses use it?
Be Prepared: How One Provider Saved a Business’s Data Following a Disastrous Fire
September 3, 2014 – Jeff Wargo, general manager at the Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead, MA, didn’t count on the unthinkable to happen when he considered some IT changes for his business. Wargo contracted with Pete Peterson, co-founder and vice president of sales for the managed services provider Internet and Telephone. As part of his recommended upgrades, Peterson encouraged Wargo to back up all of his company’s data to a private cloud through Intronis. 10 months later, disaster struck.
Video: Intronis: Unlimited Pricing Signals ‘Massive Transformation’ for Partners
August 22, 2014 – In this interview with Channel Partners’ Craig Galbraith at CompTIA ChannelCon 2014, the team from Intronis talks about their new bare metal recovery solution and how their new unlimited pricing plan is shaking up the backup/recovery sector.
Video: Intronis Ramps Up Partner Offerings
August 18, 2014 – Neal Bradbury of Intronis discusses the cloud back-up and recovery company’s ECHOplatform. Bradbury outlines margins for MSPs and other new partner plays.
Intronis ECHOplatform Automates Bare Metal Restore
August 15, 2014 – Intronis, Inc. announced Bare Metal Restore (BMR) is available as part of its ECHOplatform and flat-fee unlimited cloud and unlimited local storage pricing plan.
BMR Becoming More Relevant in the Software Defined Age
August 14, 2014 – BMR is a technology that never had the enormous buzz of other technologies such as deduplication. However the adoption and growth of BMR has been impressive and fast.
Intronis Offers Bare Metal Restore on ECHOplatform
August 12, 2014 – The update allows recovery to a replacement machine to address total system failure or a select point-in-time to resolve for data corruption.
Backup and Recovery Pricing Debate Heats Up
August 12, 2014 – Now that the cost of storage in the cloud has lowered the cost of backup and recovery, a fierce debate has emerged between vendors about how best to pass on those benefits to customers.
Automate bare metal restore for faster recovery with Intronis ECHOplatform
August 12, 2014 – Intronis launched a complete Bare Metal Restore (BMR) as part of its new Intronis ECHOplatform and flat-fee unlimited cloud and unlimited local storage pricing plan.
New Intronis ECHOplatform To Automate Bare Metal Restore
August 12, 2014 – Intronis, a provider of backup and data protection solutions for the IT channel, has launched a complete Bare Metal Restore (BMR) solution that is available as part of its new Intronis ECHOplatform.
Intronis Adds Restore Options to Cloud Storage Portfolio
August 11, 2014 – Backup and data protection specialist Intronis has added Bare Metal Restore (BMR) as part of its new Intronis ECHOplatform and flat-fee unlimited cloud and unlimited local storage pricing plan, available via channel partners.
Intronis Sweetens ECHO-U2 Deal With BMR
August 5, 2014 – Intronis channel partners will be getting more bang for their buck now that the vendor has built Bare Metal Restore (BMR) into its recently unveiled ECHOplatform.
Intronis ECHOplatform Automates Bare Metal Restore for Faster Recovery
August 5, 2014 – Intronis, Inc., a provider of world-class backup and data protection solutions for the IT channel, today announced complete Bare Metal Restore (BMR) is now available as part of its new Intronis ECHOplatform and flat-fee unlimited cloud and unlimited local storage pricing plan.
Intronis ECHOplatform Automates Bare Metal Restore
August 4, 2014 – Bare Metal Restore is now available as part of Intronis’ new ECHOplatform, offering complete physical-to-physical bare metal recovery and physical-to-virtual Bare Metal Restore recovery options for greater flexibility and performance.
Intronis automated Bare Metal Restore
August 4, 2014 – Backup and data-protection provider Intronis said on Monday that Bare Metal Restore (BMR) is now part of its new ECHOplatform and flat-fee, unlimited cloud and unlimited local storage pricing plan.
Intronis Integrates Bare-metal Restore Into ECHOplatform, U2 Pricing Plan
August 4, 2014 – Intronis’ new cloud-based backup platform now automates bare-metal restore for channel partners.
Intronis enhances ECHOplatform, adds bare metal restore
August 4, 2014 – Intronis on Monday introduced a new version of its ECHOplatform data protection software that now includes bare metal restore capability.
Intronis automates Bare Metal Restore for faster recovery
August 4, 2014 – Backup specialist Intronis has announced that it’s integrating Bare Metal Restore into its ECHOplatform for small and medium businesses, which offers a flat-fee unlimited cloud and local storage pricing model.
3 Keys to a Successful AYCE Managed Services Offering
July 31, 2014 – There are two primary reasons end users sign up for managed services contracts: They want less downtime, and they want predictable monthly IT expenses. If an MSP can’t address both needs, it’s going to remain stuck in the break-fix world.
Build A Foolproof Managed Services Sales Strategy
July 30, 2014 – When it comes to selling managed services, most managed services providers (MSPs) understand the benefits to the customers — less downtime, more scalability, and predictable monthly IT costs, all for a fair price. Where many MSPs struggle is predicting how much time they’re going to invest in monitoring and troubleshooting customers’ IT assets and then establishing a monthly price based on that estimate.
Anything Goes – How Online Service Providers Reshape Business
July 27, 2014 – Practically every kind of business service imaginable can now be outsourced quickly and fairly easily to an Web-based provider. Of course, there are best practices for porting your data and processes to the Cloud, and failure to abide by them can incur serious long-term ramifications. So listen to this episode of DM Radio to hear Host Eric Kavanagh interview several industry leaders, including Stan Swete of Workday, Chuck DeLouis of Intronis, and Hannah Smalltree of Treasure Data.
Intronis CEO Eyes Transformation from Storage Provider to Software Company
July 14, 2014 – Intronis CEO Rick Faulk told Talkin’ Cloud that the company is moving away from the storage business and toward the software market. Among the offerings on the company’s roadmap are a file sync and share service and bare metal restore. Here are the details.
Is Cloud Profitability An Oxymoron?
July 14, 2014 – The IT channel exists because businesses — especially SMBs — have a difficult time keeping up with the demands of IT. Yet with the growing adoption of cloud computing, some industry pundits are questioning where the channel fits.
Stay Armed Against Attack within the Cyber Battlefield
July 8, 2014 – Last December, the cybersecurity world was introduced to Cryptolocker, a malware responsible for encrypting files stored on network drives. The platform has since resurfaced as headlines warn of phishing attacks disguised as “decryption tools,” claiming to restore access to files infected by Cryptolocker. Many have fallen victim to these copycat attacks and paid for the bogus software in recent weeks.
Pricing MSP Services for Maximum Business Value
July 7, 2014 – MSPs often struggle with recognizing the value of the services they offer and with pricing those services accordingly. And if your services are not priced optimally, you could be missing revenue.
Intronis Launches Data Protection ECHOplatform Service
June 13, 2014 – The platform allows channel partners to standardize, customize and scale their storage solution to fit the needs of the customer.
Intronis Introduces Backup and Restore ECHOplatform
June 13, 2014 – Intronis, Inc. announced the ECHOplatform. Purpose-built for IT service providers, the platform serves as the foundation of the company’s data protection and business recovery solution.
Intronis ditches per-gigabyte cloud storage pricing, moves to flat rate
June 13, 2014 – Intronis, a cloud backup and recovery provider, has ended its per-gigabyte storage pricing model for its IT Channel partners who are starting to feel the brunt of the pricing war between heavyweight cloud providers like Amazon and Google.
Intronis Introduces New Backup And Disaster Recovery Platform With Fixed-Fee Pricing, Partner Resources
June 13, 2014 – Cloud backup and data recovery company Intronis has had a busy week, announcing a new platform, fixed-fee pricing model and partner enablement resources.
Intronis Moves the Cloud Backup Conversation Beyond Price
June 13, 2014 – The pricing of storage has always been somewhat problematic. Storage vendors would charge a significant markup over the basic price of hard drive. Customers would then visit their local store only to discover that the cost per Gigabyte for a hard drive was substantially less. Even allowing for the investment storage vendors make in software and controllers, many customers felt they were being take advantage of by storage vendors and their channel partners.
Intronis launches ECHOplatform with fixed pricing model
June 10, 2014 – Channel-exclusive cloud backup and recovery vendor Intronis Inc. today announced a new fixed pricing model for the new Intronis ECHOplatform.
Intronis Intros Unlimited Storage for Set Monthly Price
June 9, 2014 – Data backup platform provider Intronis is unifying its product elements under a single brand, the Intronis Echo Platform, and offering a new disruptive pricing model that provides unlimited cloud storage per SMB for on fixed monthly price.
Intronis introduces flat fee unlimited storage and protection
June 9, 2014 – Intronis, a provider of backup and data protection technology, has introduced a flat-fee, unlimited cloud and unlimited local storage price plan geared toward small-to-mid-size businesses, CMO Aaron Dun told TechRadar Pro. Dun said he believes the plan will change the way businesses approach data management and protection.
Intronis ECHOplatform Shakes Up BCDR Pricing
June 9, 2014 – What’s in a name? For Intronis Inc., it’s a better message about channel-focused backup and recovery solutions — and a significant shift in the way those solutions are priced.
Cloud provider Intronis discards per gigabyte pricing
June 9, 2014 – Cloud solutions company Intronis Inc. is rolling out a new cloud backup and data protection platform for IT service providers and is replacing its per gigabyte storage pricing model with a flat fee unlimited cloud and unlimited storage pricing plan.
