The other day I had the privilege of sharing my thoughts with Mike Vizard.  Mike is one of the people in the Media who get it. For those of you who do not know mike....

Michael Vizard Editor in Chief Michael joined InfoWorld Media Group in 1995. He has been covering computer technology for more than 14 years. As Editor In Chief, Michael is responsible for the day-to-day management of InfoWorld’s editorial department, in addition to leading the content of InfoWorld Online and managing strategic editorial partnerships. Michael is also a member of the senior leadership team, which provides the strategic vision for InfoWorld Media Group.

Mike understands technology and understands what it all means and where it is taking the Industry. Mike was way ahead of the curve when it came to Managed Services and has been writing on the Managed Service space for a very long time. The first time I talked with Mike Vizard was a few years ago, when I saw an article he had written on Manage Services. I thought it was so dead on I sent him a note, to share my thoughts.

When Mike Recently called me to ask my opinion on some items, I was happy to share it.  As I told Mike Vizard, Right or Wrong I always have an opinion.

One of the things I don’t like about being in the Managed Service Space is the name of the space. Many people who hear it have no idea what it means.

Ntirety is 100% focused on being the premier provider of Remote Database Administration services around the globe.  Ntirety is the largest provider of Remote DBA services today for SQL Server Databases. We are also considered a Managed Service Provider. Those most Managed Service providers do not touch the database.

Given my roots as a DBA/Developer go back to Oracle version 3, I never thought you would hear me say that, yet today I am proud to say it. SQL Server is an awesome database to run your business on and Ntirety does more of that Remotely then anyone else.  The mission of Ntirety is to set the standard by which other providers of Remote database administration services will follow.

What I don’t like is being called a Managed Service Provider. Its not that it a bad thing, its just not an understood term in the marketplace. There is even an alliance of vendors like Ntirety, trying to raise the standard by which  all Managed Service Providers operate. To learn more about Managed Services check out the Managed Service Alliance. Managed Service Alliance  Ntirety is a member of the Managed Service Alliance a of a group of MSP’s who take it very seriously.

The problem I have is that when companies are looking for Remote Database Administration services; they don’t think to search google for  Managed services. For my friends at Microsoft, they don’t think to use Live Search with the key words "managed services". So managed term not a market term that helps my business be found.  I am hoping the marketplace better understands the term some day. Perhaps Mike Vizard will coin a better term for what Managed Services is.

Mike Vizard and I started to talk about Gremlins of all things.  The fact that gremlins impact my clients ability to service their clients and Ntirety’s ability as a provider of remote DBA services to service my clients.  We recognized early on that to deal with these gremlins meant having strong processes, tools in place and the right people. That the combination of the three is what it will take to keep the Gremlins away.

Ntirety realized that home grown tools will never compete with a commercial solution like Precise suite. The combination of very seasoned DBAs, Precise Software Solution, strong processes has enabled Ntirety to have near perfect Client satisfaction from the inception of the company. The Precise solutuion has also enabled Ntirety DBA's to be so production, that we can keep prices very affordable.

As technologies virtualization take hold, the effect of gremlins will only get worse. Mike Vizard Latest  article is titled “How to Avoid Being Driven Mad by Managed Services”.

Here is a sample of the article..
When it comes to anything related to information technology, it’s always the little things that ultimately kill you. And nothing can kill a managed service business faster than all the costs associated with tracking down some intermittent performance issue that cannot be easily replicated.

Anybody running a managed service, or for that matter anybody in IT, has seen their share of gremlins, otherwise known as those inexplicable issues that adversely affect the performance of an application. There’s always a rational explanation. But how much time it will take to ultimately determine the cause and then fix it is anybody’s guess.

I think the article is posted on Eweek Channel Insider and is worth a complete read…..
How to Avoid Being Driven Mad by Managed Services

Posted by Michael Corey

www.ntirety.com