Letter From the Editor Allie Young - 21 November 2001 A major market shift that has transformed and broadened the IT services opportunity is the phenomenon of services delivered over a network. Many industry observers would say that the most popular embodiment of this emerging concept was the application service provider model, but arguably, a close rival for market attention is the management service provider (MSP) model — the focus of this month's Spotlight. The current economic cycle has created an atmosphere where enterprise customers are drastically cutting capital outlays in technology while also cutting internal IT staff to reduce operating expenses. Outsourcers have been one of the biggest beneficiaries of IT belt-tightening. But another outcome has been that enterprises are looking at alternative ways to gain access to the technology functionality they need, at affordable pricing.  Read more

Allie Young

	Overview MSPs: NOC NOC ... Who's There? Eric Goodness - 21 November 2001 MSPs must determine the right questions to ask to gain entry into the Internet data center and the internal enterprise IT environment.

MSPs Self-Actualize: Building a Foundation Through Managed Security Kelly Kavanagh - 19 November 2001 MSPs that can provide effective managed security services will hold an advantage as enterprises turn to outsourcers to deliver a stable and reliable network foundation.		Falling Short: MSP Market Inhibitors Eric Goodness and Raymond Paquet - 20 November 2001 Although the MSP market has great promise, enterprises must consider the key inhibitors to this market before making any decisions.
Behind the Hype: MSP Market Drivers Eric Goodness and Raymond Paquet - 19 November 2001 The MSP market has not lived up to industry hype, although significant market drivers continue to spur the hype. Users must understand what is driving the MSP market before using an MSP as an NSM option.		MSPs and IT Services Providers: Feeding From the Same Trough Lewis Clark - 19 November 2001 MSPs must recast their value proposition for a new set of clients and a cost-conscious IT climate. However, the field is crowded with competitors that are all vying for a slice of the reduced IT budget.
MSPs in Western Europe: Network Management Opportunities Khalda Parveen and Eric Goodness - 20 November 2001 Outsourcing of remote monitoring and management services will become more common in the present economic slowdown. Recommendations are made to allow MSPs to take advantage of this trend.		MSPs in Asia/Pacific: Opportunities Emerging Sin Phua - 19 November 2001 The acceptance of MSPs in Asia/Pacific has been tepid, but it will increase during this period of economic slowdown.
Why Are SSPs Morphing Into MSPs? Adam Couture - 19 November 2001 SSPs are realizing that more golden opportunities exist with storage management services than storage utility services. Now, many SSPs are morphing into new business models to become storage MSPs.		MSPs in North America: Extending Yourself in the Channel Eric Goodness - 20 November 2001 A vendor survey of 58 MSPs shows that most have initiated some form of channel development, but it remains to be seen whether they are giving these partners the right access to their full portfolio.