The number of managed service providers (MSPs) supporting mobile services and devices rose tremendously last year, if new data from Beachhead Solutions is any indication. The company, which offers cloud-managed mobile device security and data access control, saw its monthly MSP billings rise 63 percent in 2013.
The company attributes the increased MSP demand to the popularity of its SimplySecure Management System, which the company rolled out last year. The solution offers a web-based management tool that may be used to secure iPhones and iPads as well as Android phones and tablets.
The solution may also be used to manage and secure Windows and Mac computers as well as USB storage devices from a single sign-on console, making it an efficient and cost-effective tool for MSPs. Beachhead now has 50 MSPs utilizing its solution and has experienced nearly 300 percent growth from national resellers.
According to a recent MSP Today interview with GFI Max, mobile devices are becoming a significant part of MSPs’ IT province. As mobility continues to grow, coupled with the prevalence of bring-your-own-device (BYOD), MSPs simply can’t afford not to offer mobile device management (MDM).
“This is what their customers users want,” said Chris Martin of GFI Max of MSP support for mobility. “The challenge for MSPs is to enable this while keeping it secure. A further challenge is that most MSPs are working around mobiles free of charge and need to change the model to allow for more devices per user, often joined by a cloud backend. They might consider changing to per user pricing to better reflect the increased number of devices to support.”
“MSPs continue to be valuable partners for Beachhead,” said Cam Roberson, director of the reseller channel for Beachhead Solutions. “MSP sales reps have their eyes and ears tuned to the marketplace and really understand what businesses want from the technology solutions they implement. That feedback from our MSPs allows us to continue developing the data security technology that MSPs and resellers want to add to their repertoire of tech services to fulfill customers’ needs.”
Beachhead’s SimplySecure solution provides a variety of benefits for MSPs, including a single sign-on cloud console for all subaccounts and user interface features like account snapshots and management by user that are tailored to MSPs. The offering also provides monthly reporting summaries and delineation for MSP subaccounts and monthly billing without any customer or reseller time or cost commitments.
Edited by
Cassandra Tucker
