CSPs, IT management

Office 365, Azure Cloud Management Tools Dominate Microsoft Ignite 2016

A lengthy list of Microsoft Azure and Office 365 cloud management tools will seek the spotlight when Microsoft Ignite 2016 -- the company's enterprise conference -- kicks off Sept. 26 in Atlanta.

Among the companies to watch:

  • AvePoint will showcase its latest solutions for Office 365 and SharePoint migrations, management and data protection. More than 15,000 companies and 5 million cloud users worldwide have leveraged AvePoint's tools.  Founded in 2001, the company is privately held and headquartered in Jersey City, N.J.
  • Cloudyn, which develops multi-cloud management tools for MSPs and CSPs, will focus heavily on Azure purchasing and usage tools.
  • GSX Solutions will preview an all-new GSX Gizmo web interface. GSX develops monitoring and reporting solutions for unified communications, whether on-premises or in the cloud, including Microsoft Office 365, SharePoint, Exchange, Skype for Business, Blackberry servers and IBM applications.
  • SolarWinds will demonstrate its suite of application, database and network monitoring solutions at the conference. I'm not sure if the company's SolarWinds MSP unit -- representing N-able and LogicNow -- will be on hand.

Cloud Billing, Monitoring & Application Management

For the past few years, MSPs and channel partners have been exploring a range of Office 365 and Azure opportunities. The key goal: Pushing beyond "reselling" Microsoft's core SaaS products.

Much of the initial focus involved Office 365 billing management and monitoring -- using tools like ConnectWise CloudConsole, Autotask CSP Boss, Kaseya 365 Command and distributor platforms like Ingram Micro Cloud.

But the cloud monitoring market is rapidly shifting toward Application Performance Management (APM), where upstarts like AppDynamics and New Relic are growing fast; Datadog is jumping in; and established players like SolarWinds and CA Technologies are seeking to keep their products fresh.

In some ways, the situation is overwhelming for MSPs and CSPs -- which now have at least 50 cloud management and monitoring tools from which to choose.

No doubt, the list will grow as additional cloud management tools surface at Microsoft Ignite.

Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri is co-founder & editorial director of MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E, the two leading news & analysis sites for managed service providers in the cybersecurity market.

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