Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Be Prepared: Offer Backup & Disaster Recovery Services to Build Client Confidence


As their technology solutions provider, your clients trust you to stay prepared for the unexpected. Let your clients confidently rest knowing you provide true continuity of their businesses by eliminating the risk of downtime or lost data for their employees and customers with proven backup and disaster recovery (BDR) solutions included in your services catalog!

On Wednesday, April 4 at 1:00 PM ET, join this webinar for case study demonstration of how Trailside Communications pairs Datto's backup and disaster recovery solutions and Autotask's cloud-based business management platform to seamlessly manage service delivery, workflow and billing.

Scott Galbraith, President of Trailside Communications, will also show how his team improves service delivery by leveraging the unique integration to manage his clients' devices, and generates new business and recurring revenue.

Rich Akullian, Autotask’s Online Marketing Manager, and Karen Hames, Datto’s Product Director, will be on hand to answer questions and discuss the key integration benefits, including:
  • How the integration between Datto and Autotask streamlines the management and delivery of BDR services for all your clients
  • Automatically import and assign Datto-managed client devices to Autotask accounts
  • Create and manage BDR alerts and alert-based Autotask Service Desk tickets
Register Now! 

Website Best Practices for SEO, Keywords, Conversion and Content


When SMBs head to the web to search for a local technology solution provider or software company, you want your business to appear at the top of the results.

Considering your website is the cornerstone of marketing strategy (especially in the digital world), make sure it is primed and ready to be found by the top search engines!

In the first of our new Industry Expert Webinar Series, Dan Shapero, digital marketing expert and Founder of ClikCloud, and Rich Akullian, Online Marketing Manager at Autotask, share “must hear” secrets on how to build and optimize your website for organic search results using search engine optimization (SEO) best practices.

Register now for these essential takeways:
  • How to write content that connects you to your prospects and customers
  • Methods to discover top target keywords using website analytics
  • Tips for boosting website form submissions and improving lead conversion rates
Bonus: Webinar attendees will be eligible for a Free Website Evaluation from ClikCloud!

Register Now

Scale Your Business with a Virtual Team of Engineers


How can you grow your company without hiring new staff?

Find out how technology solution providers are using Help Desk and Network Operation Center (NOC) Services to grow their business without hiring any new employees. From daily administrative tasks to full remote monitoring and management (RMM) software, you can scale your business with a virtual team of engineers to support your clients 24x7.

Attend this webinar on Thursday, March 29 at 11:00 AM ET, to learn how Sean Robertson, President of Strategic Technology Associates, leverages the integration between Autotask and Cloud Services Depot to reduce his working hours while maintaining complete oversight of client site operations. By employing the NOC’s expertise and around-the-clock support, Strategic Technology Associates now provides true 24x7 network management for their clients with a guaranteed profit each month.
In this webinar, you will learn:
  • How Autotask and Cloud Services Depot work together to bring you a turnkey solution to support your clients 24x7
     
  • How the Autotask API allows partners to submit, observe and update NOC-related tickets from directly within Autotask's IT business management software
     
  • How to maximize your investment in an RMM platform by using vendor-trained engineers that have years of experience supporting SMB clients

Cloud Services Depot provides private-label IT Services for MSPs, VARs and independent IT Professionals. The Autotask integration is included free of charge for all resellers using NOC Services from Cloud Services Depot.

Register Now



Friday Coffee with Autotask: Understanding Service Level Management


Join us for a fast-paced overview of Service Level Management, designed to help you deliver on your customers' service expectations (or to your internal service targets).

On Friday, March 23 at 11:00 AM ET, grab a cup of coffee and take 30 minutes with Autotask's Joe Rourke. He'll demonstrate service level management including: service level options, managing tickets, queue prioritization, workflow rules for alerts/escalations and reporting.

Why use Service Level Management?
  • Ensure you deliver what your clients need
  • Meet delivery goals with established internal processes
  • Results in management and reporting of performance metrics
  • Continuous improvement of service delivery
  • Differentiates you from the competition
  • Improves your client satisfaction
Register Now 

Monday, March 12, 2012

CompTIA Quick Start to Social Strategies for Business Use

While the impact of social technologies on many business processes continues to grow, the use of social media tools and platforms in marketing and sales has become well-established.

On Wednesday, March 28 at 1:00 PM US ET, join Susan Cato, CompTIA Senior Director, New Media Strategies, and Rich Akullian, Autotask Online Marketing Manager, as they describe the social landscape and explain the steps towards becoming a social enterprise.

This webinar is packed with tips and tactics for leveraging social media in your marketing and lead generation activities. Discover how to:
  • Use social media to increase your online visibility
  • Drive more qualified traffic to your site
  • Turn that traffic into leads and sales
You'll also find lists of tools and resources to help you manage your time and measure the results of your social media marketing.

BONUS: Attendees will receive a complimentary copy of the CompTIA Quick Start Guide to Social Media for Marketing.

Register now!

The ABCs of Managed Services: RMM & NOC

Presenting the Autotask - Continuum Integration


It’s an established fact that to deliver managed services properly – and profitably – you need a comprehensive and seamless fusion between your IT business management platform and an intelligent Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) solution.

But imagine the possibilities of combining an RMM with an industry-leading Network Operations Center (NOC) to form a critical integration and an end-to-end managed services solution.

On Monday, March 19 at 1:00 PM US ET, please join us for an informative webinar presenting the integration between Autotask's business management and Continuum's RMM platforms and learn how you can:
  • experience significant time savings
  • streamline the process from issue to resolution
  • deliver 24x7 support with ease
  • organize, integrate, automate and optimize your IT business
What You’ll Learn
In just one hour, Owner of Empower Information Systems, Jason Holbrook, will demonstrate how he builds his business and reduces costs by taking advantage of this powerful integration. This is a unique opportunity to see both products working together in action!

Autotask's SVP Community & Business Development, Len DiCostanzo, and Continuum's VP Products, Dee Zepf, will be on hand to introduce their respective systems.

Who Should Attend
Anyone who is looking for more information about Autotask, Continuum, or current partners curious about how a peer uses best practices with the integration.

Register today!

Autotask Announces Release of German-Language Version at CeBIT

First Fully-Translated and Localized Business Management Solution Designed Specifically For Technology Services Providers and Software Developers

HANNOVER, GERMANY - March 8, 2012 -Autotask Corporation today announced the availability of the first fully translated and localized version of its award-winning IT business management software for the German-speaking market, and is demonstrating it at CeBIT 2012 in Hannover, Germany. Autotask software, which is designed to automate, optimize and streamline business and service processes for IT service providers, value-added resellers (VARs), managed services providers (MSPs) and independent software vendors, has tens of thousands of active users in 54 countries around the world, including Germany, Austria and Switzerland, who will benefit from the translated version.
 
“We have made a strong commitment to better serving our customers here, and to supporting the entire IT channel in Germany,” said Mark Banfield, Autotask Managing Director, International. “Translating Autotask for the German market is just the first step. We will shortly have an office in Frankfurt, and we have full sales and support resources available through our own staff and through our distribution partners.”

Speaking at CeBIT, the digital industry’s largest international event, Thomas Homrighausen, Autotask Managing Director, Germany, cited a recent report from Forrester Research, Inc., projecting Germany to be the largest market in Europe for IT consulting services at an estimated €16B in 2011, and the second largest for IT outsourcing services valued at an additional €12B.1.

Autotask software is specifically designed to automate and optimize business processes for IT service providers by integrating critical business systems in a single, cloud-based application and providing real-time reporting and service delivery intelligence. Users typically experience significant, measurable improvements in resource utilization, profitability and ROI within the first month after implementation.

“We are very happy that we have discovered Autotask. It is the perfect solution for optimising and expanding our business, and for keeping track of the time spent solving customers’ issues. In just one month we increased our billable time by more than 20%, and that was all with the English version.” said Maximilian Pfister, General Manager of niteflite networxx, GmbH, in Feldafing, Germany. “Having Autotask available in German just opens up the market and makes it much easier for solution providers to manage their businesses and improve their services and transparency for their clients.”

During CeBIT, Autotask may be found in Hall 16, stand F62, along with distributor acmeo cloud-distribution GmbH & Co. KG, a leading distributor of software-as-a-service (SaaS), cloud-based solutions for IT service providers, and GFI MAX, an award-winning remote-monitoring and management solution for IT service providers and MSPs, and a long-time Autotask integration partner.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Understand Your IT Business Model to Maximize Performance

Time and energy are precious resources to all business owners. Do you have a process for quickly reviewing financial performance on a regular basis to know where you are today and where your business is headed?

On Wednesday, March 14 at 11:00 AM US ET, join Autotask’s Len DiCostanzo and CoreConnex’s Tony Lael to gain insight into which areas you need to focus on to optimize your IT services business and measurably improve your financial performance compared to your peers. Teresa Bell from Citrus Networking Group will also be joining to share how she optimizes and measures her own IT services business.

During this session you'll learn:
  • How to find out where to focus in order to optimize your business and improve performance
  • How to create and follow a regular process for determining priorities
  • How you can better monitor the financial performance of your contracts and your company
  • How to benchmark your performance against peers and better forecast your future
  • How financial dashboards can help give you the visibility you need to manage the process
Register today!

Transform Your Business with a Hybrid IT Services Catalog

Years ago, it was easy enough to deliver break/fix services: you received a call from a distressed client and quickly went to work diagnosing and mediating the issue. Then as your business matured, you probably added professional services to your offerings, but perhaps it wasn't enough to sustain client satisfaction and your business's profitability.

Within the last decade, the industry trend to managed services forced you to re-examine your operations and business model. And just when you mastered that challenge, the buzz around cloud services exploded and further complicated the service delivery landscape.

Are you now wondering what could be next?

You're invited to listen to an insightful presentation led by Len DiCostanzo, Autotask SVP of Community & Business Development and QuoteWerks VP Brian Laufer. On Tuesday, April 19 at 11 AM US ET, Len and Brian will guide you through building a profitable IT services catalog to use to transform your business.

Learn how to organize the products and services you deliver now, and how to incorporate cloud services into your current offerings. Len and Brian will share:
  • Industry best practices and standards to transform your business
  • Methodologies to define services categories in your hybrid catalog
  • Where the 'cloud' fits in your catalog strategy
  • Why balancing product sales and services drives profitability and revenue
  • Determining your balance with a vertical focus using solution sets
  • How to align your catalog with the four critical stages to securing a client for life
  • How an à la carte menu makes it easy for clients to buy from you
  • How automating catalog sales reduces costs, increases profits
Register now!

The Benefits of Being a Member of the Autotask Community

With 2012 underway and 2011 in recent memory, I’d like to take a moment to celebrate our joint successes from 2011 and highlight what you can look forward to in 2012 as a member of the Autotask Community. Whether you are a current Autotask user and part of the Community already, or considering joining us, this webinar will ensure you understand the benefits of being part of the best Community on the planet.

During this webinar on Friday, March 9 at 11:00 AM US ET, Len DiCostanzo, Senior VP Community and Business Development, will share:
  • Our joint successes in 2011
  • The Autotask leadership team leading us into 2012 and beyond
  • Our service and support delivery options and processes
  • Community programs available to you to help drive revenue, and establish yourself as industry experts with your clients and peers
  • Community councils you can participate on to provide feedback and establish relationships with peers, vendor partners and Autotask resources
  • Upcoming product roadmap items and our new feature request system
  • Why Autotask Community Live 2012 will be the best conference you attend all year!
Register now!

Autotask CEO Mark Cattini and SVP Len DiCostanzo Named 2012 CRN Channel Chiefs

EAST GREENBUSH, NY - February 28, 2012 - Autotask Corporation, the world’s leading provider of hosted IT business management software, today announced today that Mark Cattini, President and CEO, and Len DiCostanzo, Senior Vice President of Community and Business Development have been named two of CRN’s 2012 Channel Chiefs. This prestigious list of the most influential and powerful leaders in the IT channel recognizes those executives directly responsible for driving channel sales and growth within their organization, while evangelizing and defending the importance of the channel throughout the entire IT Industry.
 
For the ninth consecutive year, Channel Chiefs were selected by the CRN editorial team based on channel experience, program innovations, channel-driven revenue, and public support for the importance of IT Channel Sales.
Autotask’s significant accomplishment is 2011 included the following:
  • To better serve and engage channel partners around the world, Autotask established operations in London, England, Sydney, Australia and Beijing China, and expanded local distribution and support operations in several other countries. The company also began full translation of its software into German, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, French, Italian and Japanese. Year-over-year customer acquisition increased 67% in North America and 122% in international markets.

  • In 2011, Autotask committed to a strategy of remaining ‘open’, making its software accessible through all major browsers, including Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Firefox and Safari, and launched a new version to support virtually any mobile computing device, including iOS and Android platforms. More than 6,000 users downloaded the mobile version of Autotask in the first 6 months since its release.

  • In response to strong user demand, and on the heels of record-breaking attendance at its Autotask Community Live user conference in May, 2011, the company launched a 3-month, 16-city, international ‘Community On Tour’ educational series to help channel partners maximize opportunities and profitability in 2012. The series engaged more than 2,000 registrants and attracted more than a dozen industry-leading integration partners.
“This is a great recognition of Autotask’s commitment to the channel, but that commitment goes far beyond one or two people,” Cattini said. “To an employee, everyone at Autotask is dedicated to our partners and to creating and delivering cost-effective solutions that support their success. Len and I are proud to accept the Channel Chief designations on their behalf.”

DiCostanzo added, “I would also like to recognize the Autotask user community and our strong vendor integration partners. Their active, ongoing participation and collaboration help ensure that the products and programs we develop deliver real value to the channel by helping them run their businesses more efficiently and more profitably.”

“The 2012 Channel Chiefs list recognizes vendor executives dedicated to driving channel programs in the IT marketplace,” said Kelley Damore, VP, Editorial Director, UBM Channel. “Our annual Channel Chiefs issue is a must-read for IT solution providers evaluating new vendors or looking to expand solution offerings. These are the people, the products and the programs that any savvy solution provider needs to know. We congratulate this year’s Channel Chiefs for their stellar record of business innovation and applaud them for their continuous dedication to the partner community.”

Selected by CRN's editorial staff, the 2012 Channel Chiefs list is featured in the February issue of CRN Magazine and will be featured online at www.crn.com.

Autotask Integrates Cisco OnPlus™ to Simplify Small Business Network Management

EAST GREENBUSH, NY - February 27, 2012 -Autotask Corporation, the world’s leading provider of hosted IT business management software, today announced the availability of a seamless API integration between its flagship Autotask Pro software and Cisco OnPlus™, a new cloud-based service that enables Cisco partners to deliver managed network services to their small business customers by providing safe, highly-secure and reliable visibility into their clients’ networks. 
 
The service, developed by Cisco and available at no charge to Autotask users around the world, allows IT service providers, value-added resellers (VARs) and managed services providers (MSPs) to create an OnPlus service desk queue within their Autotask system. The integration automatically converts OnPlus network and device alerts into Autotask service tickets and assigns them to the appropriate internal resource for resolution, according to customizable workflow rules, service level agreement levels and contract terms. Once completed, the two-way integration closes the corresponding alert in OnPlus and updates all time entries, work history and service time in Autotask.

“We are especially pleased to be able to offer the Cisco OnPlus integration to our global user community,” said Len DiCostanzo, Autotask senior vice-president of community and business development. “Cisco is one of the preeminent technology vendors in the world, and this integration adds clear value for our clients, and creates a new range of services they can offer to their SMB customers.”

Autotask’s integration of Cisco OnPlus is designed to support remote network assessment and the delivery of managed network services and features:
  • Instant access from virtually any computer or mobile device connected to the Internet
  • Automated ticket creation and alert handling
  • Customizable automated workflow policies
  • Round-trip ticket closure
“Autotask is doing some creative integration with OnPlus that helps partners provide better service to their small business customers,” said Dave Tang, senior director, small business strategy, Cisco. “These combined efforts help SMBs focus on their business while partners are able to offer a managed service with revenue streams that help grow their business.”