Our ControlUp partnership

TechDay covered our ControlUp partnership under the headline "blueAPACHE partners with ControlUp on managed services", reporting it as a managed services transformation.

What TechDay reported

We have formed a strategic partnership with ControlUp, making us ControlUp's strategic delivery partner in the region. Under the arrangement we embed ControlUp ONE into our managed services and offer the platform as a standalone product for mid-market organisations.

The partnership centres on software that gives IT teams real-time data on device health, application performance and user experience. It changes how our service desk handles customer support, by giving agents access to a user's recent experience history before a ticket is raised — including performance trends, prior incidents and the condition of end-user devices. The system can also detect some issues and trigger automated fixes, reducing the number of cases that need manual intervention.

ControlUp, which sells software for digital employee experience and endpoint operations, said the arrangement goes beyond a conventional reseller agreement: the platform is being integrated into our operating model rather than added to a sales catalogue.

The wider shift

TechDay placed the agreement in a broader move across managed services, from reactive support towards more automated operations. For mid-market customers that often means greater pressure on service providers to identify and resolve problems before they disrupt staff or business systems. Providers are under pressure to show they can run large environments with more automation and stronger visibility into day-to-day end-user issues — particularly in organisations with distributed workforces.

We are using ControlUp ONE as part of a broader reworking of our managed services business, intended to push beyond traditional monitoring and patching into support based on the experience of each user and device.

Why we chose ControlUp

We chose ControlUp partly for its strength in virtual desktop infrastructure, an area where we already have experience through work with Citrix and Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop environments.

We are running ControlUp ONE in our own environment before taking it to customers, which lets us test and refine features internally before they are used in client settings.

Both companies described the arrangement as a mutual investment: we contribute integration and operational expertise, ControlUp provides the software platform, and the partnership gives ControlUp a delivery partner in the region.

Bob Johnson, SVP of global partners and alliances at ControlUp, said: "blueAPACHE is exactly the type of partner we need in this region. They understand what it takes to deliver managed services at scale, and they have the technical depth to embed our platform properly rather than just resell it."

Two ways to work with us

We embed ControlUp ONE into our managed services so our team can see how devices and applications are performing for your people and act on issues earlier. We combine that visibility with our operational processes and automation.

For customers that run their own IT teams we also resell ControlUp ONE directly. In that form it is offered for endpoint monitoring and automation, alongside patch management and application-layer management. We bring experience in implementation, integration and operation, including virtual desktop environments, to help you adopt the platform.

Talk with our team

Related

• Our ControlUp partnership announcement
• ARN's coverage
• emPOWER Managed Services
• Our partners

Frequently asked questions

Does your ControlUp experience cover virtual desktop environments?

Yes. It is part of why we chose ControlUp — our VDI experience comes through work with Citrix and Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop environments, and that experience is part of how we help you adopt the platform.

What is the difference between your managed service and the reseller option?

Under the managed service we operate the agreed capability for you. Under the reseller option you take ControlUp ONE directly and keep operational ownership, with the product offered for endpoint monitoring and automation alongside patch management and application-layer management.

Who is responsible for the platform itself?

ControlUp develops the platform and provides the software. We contribute integration and operational expertise and run it inside the services we deliver.

What does our service desk see that it did not before?

A user's recent experience history before a ticket is raised: performance trends, prior incidents and the condition of end-user devices.

Do you run it yourselves first?

Yes. We run ControlUp ONE in our own environment before taking it to customers, so features are tested and refined internally first.

Source

TechDay's coverage of our ControlUp partnership, reproduced in our own voice. The quote from Bob Johnson is as published by TechDay.