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MSP channel gets more programmes, tie-ups and products
Sharp UK, Barracuda MSP and Toshiba Tec, and Cherwell are all taking steps to enhance their offerings and positions in the managed services market
The past few days have seen more developments across the managed services provider (MSP) space, with firms launching fresh offerings or forming partnerships and cutting ribbons on programmes to enhance their positions in the market and the channel.
Sharp UK
The firm has announced that after spending a year integrating its acquisition of Complete I.T. (CIT) in August 2019, it is now in a position to launch its workplace technology service offering.
Sharp UK is now pitching managed print services, visual solutions, IT support, telephony and Dynabook laptops to customers.
Stuart Sykes, managing director at Sharp UK, said that it had spent the past year learning from CIT about how it could enhance its proposition to the market.
“CIT has truly enhanced our IT expertise, and now with the global pandemic, we have every faith that our enriched solution can help a lot of organisations adapt,” he said.
Managing director at CIT, Colin Blumenthal, added his view that it had strong experience in providing local IT services and was now able to provide those on a much larger scale as a part of Sharp UK.
Barracuda MSP and Toshiba Tec
Barracuda MSP has managed to get its solutions added to those that Toshiba Tec offers as part of its managed IT services proposition.
Toshiba Tec works through a reseller network of 130 UK partners and has been looking for a way to add to its services in infrastructure, end user support, complete outsourcing and managed security. Barracuda MSP will add its portfolio covering email, network, application, and cloud security, as well as managed services and data protection.
“Managed services have long been at the core of our offering, so it was a natural progression to move into managed IT services, a market which we are focused on positively disrupting to offer real help to our customers,” said Ben Gaston, sales director at Toshiba Tec. “This extension to our portfolio was a logical progression in our aim to better support businesses and lift their operational burdens.”
Barracuda vice-president of MSP international sales, Jason Howells, said that it was clear that managed services was “a pivotal growth area not only for Toshiba Tec UK, but for its entire global operation”.
“I look forward to sharing our knowledge and skills with the Toshiba team and giving it a greater voice in the IT services market,” he added.
Cherwell
The enterprise and digital service management player has cut the ribbon on its MSP partner programme, making the announcement at its Clear 20202 virtual conference.
The firm will be making it easier for MSPs to adopt IT service management tools and will provide support and certification, new licensing models, virtual user groups and a roadmap, specifically around its managed service offerings.
“MSPs are uniquely positioned to drive digital transformation efforts for their customers – they’re an invaluable resource to the enterprise,” said Gerardo Quinones, vice-president of managed services at Cherwell.
“Our new MSP progamme will enable and empower our ecosystem of partners – providing enhanced support and certification directly from Cherwell, while facilitating networking and collaboration through our virtual user groups.
“We’re excited to launch this program at Clear 2020, deepen our relationship with our MSP partners and, ultimately, help to drive measurable business outcomes for their customers," he added.
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