The hybrid cloud model is providing new challenges to managed services providers, as is the continuing need for security, and this growth and success of the sector has placed an ever-increasing pressure on skills and resources.
With this new major theme, the UK Managed Services and Hosting Summit 2018 on 19 September in London will look at how the industry is getting more sophisticated in its approach to both technology and market issues. With Gartner’s popular keynote (pictured) kicking off the day with insights into customer expectations, a second keynote from two experienced marketeers, Jim Bowes, CEO and founder of digital agency Manifesto, and Robert Belgrave, chief executive of digital agency hosting specialist Wirehive will look at what the industry needs to do to talk to its customers properly.
As another key aspect of the event, now in its eighth year, is the direct experience of the MSPs themselves, so attendees will hear about Mitigating Risk from Andrew Evers, Head of IT, Reconomy on behalf of Watchguard, and about Security and the MSP from Paul Colwell, Technical Director, OGL on behalf of Kaspersky Lab. Other MSPs will also be presenting and discussing their real-world experiences, including Ron Argent, CEO of Cognition Foundry on behlaf of IBM.
The third keynote will be on the all-important topic of building value in the business with merger and acquisition activity high in the managed services sector and consolidation being driven by a fight for skills and for scale. Technology M&A experts Hampleton’s director Jonathan Simnett will point out the opportunities. He says that in the last year, financial investors have returned to tech company buying and this was driving up valuations in certain sectors, including automotive tech and e-commerce.
These aspects means that the issues to be discussed are moving well beyond the technology and into future strategies, says content director and Editor of IT Europa John Garratt. In response to points raised by managed services companies and their leading thinkers, the organisers have increased the presence of those engaged in driving the industry forward; so experienced management teams and those in the field will be talking at the event about the real issues they face in their day-to-day business, he says. "This scene-setting provides a core element and grounds the Managed Services and Hosting Summit in reality."
"A new level of responsibility is meaning that those in managed services are increasingly engaged in strategies and planning with their customers as well as in their own businesses. Experienced as many are in the nature of providing advice, new pressures are coming from all sides. Those that thought all the hard work on compliance had been done with GDPR this year going off with barely a whimper are looking at the next wave of ePrivacy rules and the impact of national as well as global standards," he says.
At the same time, now that managed services is no longer having to explain what it does and what it offers, there is a real pressure on marketing and getting a competitive message to customers and potential customers. Once again, it may fall to the provider to lift their vision to the future development of a business pipeline, with aspects of marketing and sales engagement that may be subtly different from the traditional IT supply model. Attendance at the event is free to qualified strategic management from MSPs, resellers and others. Apply here
The full-day event will ve followed in the early evening by the first ever Managed Services and Hosting Awards where the deadline is this week.
The full list of sponsors is
Altaro
Auvik
Avast
Barracuda
CA Technologies
China Telecom
Cogeco Peer1
ConnectWise
Continuum
Datto
Entrust Datacard
Fujitsu
Highlight
IBM
Identity Maestro
IT Glue
Jola
Kaseya
Kaspersky Lab
Keepabl
Mimecast
Park Place Tech
RapidFireTools
Redstor
SolarWinds MSP
Trend Micro
Volta
Watchguard
Webroot
For other sponsorship information contact Stephen Osborne
Sales Manager | IT Europa Media & Intelligence Ltd.
Tel: +44 (0) 1895 454 536 Email: Stephen.Osborne@iteuropa.com
