Abiquo, an enterprise cloud management software company, has introduced a new series of educational webinars to help managed service providers integrate cloud computing into their service offerings and build a successful managed cloud services business.

The most pressing issues confronting MSPs will be dealt by the “Manage the Cloud for Success” webinar series, presented by MSPAlliance and MSPexcellence.

Topics such as managed services market opportunity for cloud services, cloud management technologies for MSPs, application examples and effective go-to-market strategies, will be covered by the series. Each webinar will cover a specific topic and will include the perspectives of industry expert Charles Weaver, president of the MSPAlliance, as well as panelists Todd Hussey (News - Alert) and Dave Zwicker, co-founders of MSPexcellence.

“The convergence of cloud computing with remotely managed IT services is one of the most important and difficult challenges faced by managed service providers today,” said Charles Weaver (News - Alert), president and CEO of the MSPAlliance, in a press release. “Providing an overview of the key technologies and business strategies that will enable them to profit from the cloud will enable them to effectively evaluate how they can capitalize on the opportunity offered by cloud computing. This educational program will serve as a catalyst for that discussion.”

Five critical success factors for converging cloud and managed services will be covered by the first webinar in the Manage the Cloud for Success series, to be held on March 17, 2011, at 1 p.m. EST. These factors include creating a formal strategic plan, developing a profitable business model, building an effective marketing machine, managing a predictable sales process and continuously measuring success.

A formula for achieving these success factors with strategies published in the Abiquo (News - Alert) Cloud Accelerator Playbook will be presented by the panelists from MSPexcellence.

MSP’s, is guided by the playbook through the development of a profitable and scalable cloud services business with effective sales and marketing strategies, best practices for pricing and packaging cloud services, and worksheets and templates that provide step-by-step guidance for providing managed cloud services based on Abiquo technology.

“MSPAlliance represents the gold standard of performance for managed service providers around the world,” said Pete Malcolm (News - Alert), Abiquo CEO, in a press release. “We believe our approach to cloud management will strongly resonate with this elite class of MSPs as we continue to build momentum as the leading business and technology enabler of managed cloud services.”

A global association of 10,000 members has been established by the MSPAlliance, which offers a framework for educating and certifying MSPs who, with honesty, integrity and professionalism, provide secure, reliable and cost-effective services to their customers.

As a component of its Cloud Accelerator Program, recently announced with MSPexcellence, Abiquo is sponsoring this educational webinar series.

In related news, Abiquo released its flagship cloud management software, designed to offer business policy management support.