IT Support Provider's President Goes to Washington

By Tom McDonald | Sep 18, 2013 7:33:00 PM

Recently,  I spent a full day in Washington, D.C.  attending the sold out inaugural 2013 Datto Partner Conference.  The vibe was similar to the first VMware Partner conference I attend years ago. 

A keynote from CEO Austin McChord kicked off the event; he is completely unpolished, which is refreshing, as is the obvious fact that he is totally immersed in every detail of his business.  He rattles off facts, figures, and details.  Technical, business, and sales related data roll off his lips at a rapid-fire pace.  What did I learn? Here are some of the key things I took away from his talk:

  • Datto is exploding – 200+ employees; 112 of which were hired last year
  • Datto has 8000+ partners – wow!  Lots more Managed Service Providers (MSP) and IT Service Providers than I thought existed
  • The company is totally focused on the channel, particularly the MSP market
  • New MSP User Interface has been rolled out, making it easier for us to quickly setup and troubleshoot devices for our clients
  • Direct-2-Tech was introduced, this means when you escalate an issue, we go directly to the tech that can solve the problem – this is a great things for NSI, and NSI clients.
  • Tech support is 24/7/365, when clients need help, help is there.
  • Brand new software allows us to show our clients the incremental changes that are happening
  • HIPAA compliance  -  Datto is compliant and enables NSI to continue offering backup in regulated environments for clients needing this

The summary from Austin’s keynote for me was this – Datto gets it. They understand what we need to be the best possible ITsupport service provider to our clients.  Additionally, they enable us to offer enterprise class services to the smallest of businesses;  it is as simple as that.  Why that’s a big deal: 

According to the U.S. Census of 2010:

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VMware - End of Availability

By Tom McDonald | Apr 18, 2013 12:02:00 PM

VMware End of Availability

Managing software licenses and product support for your IT solutions is no fun.  There are so many things to keep track of, and it is a tedious administrative burden that must be managed in order for your business to maintain a healthy flow of information.  Additionally, this administrative task will be wrestled to the ground by a network administrator or IT support staff member, and is probably the last thing they want to deal with, and for good reasons.

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Don’t tell me I need a Network Upgrade !

By Tom McDonald | Dec 4, 2012 3:52:00 PM

Well, you probably do.  Regardless of how skilled your IT Support, Network Admin or Computer Services are, if you are a business owner you will be faced with upgrades. This is the reality of what it takes to run a business in today’s competitive market.  What if NSI stopped upgrading?  How would we stay in business and maintain our ability to provide services like TotalCare, Data Backup and Recovery, Remote Help Desk Services, On Site Computer Maintenance and Printer Repair?  We would stink, and no one would want our antiquated service offerings. 

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Discover the value: VMware Health Check from a VCP

By Tom McDonald | Apr 29, 2011 11:14:00 AM

With a VMware vSphere Health Check, one of our VMware Certified Professional consultants (VCPs) will work with your IT team and assist them with configuration and management of VMware vSphere by providing knowledge and guidance on best practices. If you're running the latest in VMware software, it is important that you are getting the most out of your environment. By working closely with your IT department our VCP will be able to provide concrete recommendations that will optimize your virtual IT infrastructure.

WHY THIS MATTERS:  Over time, adding new VM's and changes/upgrades to your virtual environment alters the efficiency. Having a VMware Health Check ensures you’re not over/under utilizing resources and your environment is staying within VMware’s best practices guidelines. Its a good idea to have a VCP check your environment every 6 to 12 months or a couple months after any major upgrade or change to the infrastructure. This ensures your infrastructure is well maintained and that any problems are realized before they require a major overhaul.

 

Benefits

• Optimize VMware vSphere performance
• Maximize resources through efficiencies and roadmap for future improvements
• Mitigate risk by leveraging experienced consultants and proven best practices

Deliverables 

• Collect data and conduct assessment of VMware vSphere (up to four ESX™ hosts)
• Identify potential opportunities to optimize configuration and improve performance
• Hold an interactive workshop to facilitate knowledge transfer on VMware vSphere best practice

Scope

• Up to two (2) days on-site, and one (1) day off-site to create assessment report
• Health Check includes up to four (4) ESX hosts
• Maximum of five (5) participants for interactive workshop
• Contact your local VMware representative for pricing information
• VMware vSphere Health Check will be delivered by a VMware Certified Professional (VCP) consultant 

Requirements

• Existing VMware vSphere including VMware ESX
• Administrator (root) access to VMware installations
• Conference room with projector and networked desktops/laptops running MS Windows® 2000 or higher

You've made an investment in your virtual infrastructure, so ensuring that you are getting the most out of this investment is key. By having a VCP consultant optimize your environment you not only ensure that vSphere is running to the best of its abilities, but also gives your IT the knowledge and training to maintain the virtual infrastructure.

Go Here to get the WhitePaper Outlining the Health Check processs and VMware best practices that are reviewed

IT Guide for Small Business Owners

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3 Ways to go Green with IT

By Tom McDonald | Apr 22, 2011 2:29:00 PM

Upgrading your computer

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