FrontRange is not a new company, but they are getting ready for a big push into the managed services profession in 2013. Here's why I say that.
First, although their HEAT 2013 platform is already used by over 15,000 customers, the company has never really been viewed in the managed services arena as a major player in the professional services automation (PSA) market. I suppose this is because HEAT has never viewed itself as a PSA. It is IT service automation and management software, designed to help IT departments run themselves more efficiently.
I believe they are just beginning to realize that managed service providers can also benefit from this technology and can also represent a significant revenue stream for FrontRange...more on that later.
Second, I believe the lack of mid-market penetration by traditional PSA vendors has left a wide open space for vendors like FrontRange to operate.
Third, the company has recently hired Dixon Fiske to head up their global sales efforts. Some of you may remember Fiske as the senior vice president of worldwide sales for Nimsoft, prior to their acquisition by CA Technologies. Fiske was responsible for leading Nimsoft's sharp revenue growth that ultimately lead to their sale. I'm sure team FrontRange is hoping Fiske can replicate that success.
Getting back to my belief that FrontRange will be spending more time in the managed services channel in the near future, I believe this partly due to the recruitment of Dixon Fiske, and partly because I see similar trends within FrontRange that occurred at Nimsoft only a few years ago.
Nimsoft, like FrontRange, did not start originally as a managed service provider platform. Yes, there were some early adopters but it was not built for that purpose exclusively. MSPs only became a focused target by Nimsoft later on in their career. FrontRange has similar technology that is currently being used by IT departments, but has incredible functionality and potential for managed service providers.
There was a moment when Gary Read (former CEO of Nimsoft) realized that the Nimsoft technology was being adopted at alarming rates by managed services organizations; this trend was enough reason that Read decided to focus the company almost exclusively on those types of engagements. Recruiting more managed service providers became an important goal for Nimsoft.
