HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen10 Plus opens MSP opportunities
The HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen10 Plus adds capabilities that enable MSPs to monetize remote management services; plus other IT channel news from the week.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise has strengthened its SMB portfolio with the release of the HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen10 Plus. The company designed the entry-level server with input from IT services providers.
Available in subscription pricing starting at about $20 per month, the Gen10 Plus aims to appeal to customers in the small office, home office and remote office/branch office market. Compared with its predecessor, the Gen10, the Gen10 Plus provides a 200% performance increase, HPE said. Additionally, HPE equipped the Gen10 Plus with features used in its enterprise-grade products, including the vendor's 'silicon root of trust' security technology, HPE InfoSight server monitoring system, and Integrated Lights Out (iLO) remote server management capabilities that benefit MSPs.
Apart from its technical features, HPE sought to distinguish the Gen10 Plus with its compact form factor: the server is a third of the size of competitor Dell EMC's PowerEdge T40 server and weighs in at 10 pounds.
Tim Peters, HPE vice president and general manager of global SMB and midmarket, said the new server's iLO capabilities create opportunities for IT services providers. "What we heard from our [MSPs and resellers] that were calling on these small businesses or remote offices [is] they want to be able to monetize the remote management," Peters said.
He noted his company designed the ProLiant MicroServer Gen10 Plus to make deployments easier for HPE partners. Users can install the server can using HPE's Rapid Setup software. "A lot of our partners have been telling us, for simple installations of servers and configurations in small businesses, they would rather send out a junior tech … versus an experienced [technician] which would be used more on more complicated [installations]," Peters explained.
The company identifies three scenarios for the Gen10 Plus: as a 'small office in a box' solution for up to 10 users, with pricing starting at $125 per month; scalable file sharing and backup; and an edge-to-cloud configuration, which facilitates access to cloud services.
In other HPE related news, the company said its Tech Pro Community had a 61% average quarter-on-quarter growth since its launch.
2nd Watch intros data management service
Seattle-based professional services and managed cloud company 2nd Watch has rolled out an analytics service that uses serverless technologies such as AWS Glue, Lambda and EMR.
Robert Whelan, practice manager of data engineering and analytics at 2nd Watch, said the service aims to address two customer pain points: the multitude of tools available in the AWS market and projects that falter for lack of a business goal. With the new service, an analytics engagement starts with a business objective, drawing upon 2nd Watch consultants with business backgrounds in the healthcare, manufacturing and financial services sectors. Whelan said those vertical markets represent the biggest opportunities, but added the analytics service may be applied to any type of business.
Other Channel news
- MSP software vendor ConnectWise is ramping up security-related testing and processes in the development of its software. The move comes after security researcher Bishop Fox disclosed eight vulnerabilities in the vendor's ConnectWise Control product in January. As part of the new security initiative, ConnectWise said it will launch a formal bug bounty program and expand its Trust website for sharing information related to security, compliance and privacy.
- CenturyLink, based in Monroe, La., added IBM Cloud to its Cloud Connect Dynamic Connections portfolio, a network ecosystem that also includes AWS, Google, Microsoft Azure and Oracle. Last month, CenturyLink joined Azure's Networking Managed Service Provider Program.
- Most MSPs plan to expand their service portfolios over the next 12 months, with security specializations and managed IoT among the offerings getting the nod. Two-thirds of the 400 MSPs surveyed by industry association CompTIA said they plan to broaden their service lineup. In addition to security and managed IoT, the survey also identified developing core IT and emerging technology roadmaps, digital transformation consulting and needs assessments as higher-end services MSPs plan to add.
- NinjaRMM, a remote monitoring and endpoint management software vendor, said it closed $30 million in a growth equity funding round led by Summit Partners. The vendor said Summit Partners holds a minority stake in NinjaRMM.
- Zoom Video Communications built out its channel partner program with a referral program. The company also said it has inked master agent alliances with Avant Communications, Intelisys, Pax8 and Telarus.
- Aryaka, an SD-WAN provider based in San Mateo, Calif., launched regional bundles for partners. The company said the bundles have an entry list price of less than $2,000 monthly recurring revenue for a 10-site deployment within North America or Europe. Pricing is based on site capacity, the particular region and additional features such as last-mile management. Aryaka this week also partnered with distributor Lifeboat, which will provide the company's managed SD-WAN service portfolio to VARs.
- Woolpert, an architecture, engineering and geospatial services provider based in Dayton, Ohio, obtained the Esri ArcGIS Online specialty designation. ArcGIS Online is a cloud-based mapping and analysis offering.
Market Share is a news roundup published every Friday.
