Integralis sets its sights on managed services
System integrator reveals plans to move further into the managed services market
Integrator Integralis has unveiled its Managed Security Service (MSS) portfolio following a multi-million pound investment last year.
The firm is also aiming to double the amount of devices it manages in the coming year. It has 1,000 devices currently on its books and about 160 customers worldwide.
Graham Jones, operations director at Integralis, said: “Margins are tight for system integrators. We made the decision a year-and-a-half ago that we didn’t want to push out too many products.
“We are looking to change the branding of Integralis, with a stronger focus on managed services. From a reseller point of view we will still work with the leading vendors, and we are looking to add some significant new vendors to our portfolio,” he said.
Integralis’s managed service offering features its recently created Integralis Security Information Service (ISIS). This logs any security information defined by Integralis or an Integralis client via its customer portal. Its Security Service Appliance then permits distributed processing of the necessary security data, even if primary communication fails.
Alan Reid, managing director of distributor Sentryst, said there is money in managed services, but it involves a lot of work.
“Margins on products are much tighter. Resellers need to make money on services. But for a reseller to make money in managed services it has to be a big player,” he said.
“A firm such as Integralis has the money to invest to build its own service. This is still a challenging environment, but I’m sure Integralis will do well.”
However, Clive Longbottom, service director at analyst Quocirca, said there is still some suspicion among customers over managed services.
“The problem is the mindset of end-users. They often want to see security, and some view it as a greater risk to hand over their security to be dealt with from afar. A degree of
education is needed to alter perceptions of managed services, but it is a good idea in principle,” he said.