Q3 2009 | Vol. 4 ■ Issue 1

PUBLISHED BYSMB Nation, Inc.

Bainbridge Island, Washington

Harry Brelsford, PublisherEditorial Staff

EDITORVicki McCown

LAYOUTAl Alarakhia

COVER ART DIRECTORMichael Young

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSDavid S. Schafran

Aaron Booker

BUSINESS STAFFHarry Brelsford, CEO

Cyndi Moody, Vice PresidentDavid Valencia,

Business Development ManagerPatti Passinault, Accounting Manager

Jennifer Hall, Events Manager

TELEPHONATION.COMChris Bangs, Webhead

SMB Nation, Inc.12715 Miller Road NE, Suite 202

Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 USA

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SMBPartnerCommunityEDITORIAL

By Harry Brelsford, CEO


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Start Your Engines – It’s Our Fourth Year!I’m always amazed at how fast the year passes. This issue (Issue 4-1) marks the start of ourfourth year for publishing this magazine. We’ve learned much about the publishingindustry and are excited to drive a continued community conversation in good times andbad. The challenges we have all faced are leading to big rewards – so hang on for therecovery ride!

Over the past four years, we sincerely hope that we’ve provided you the community-basedcontent you find valuable. We’ve tried to blend the technical and business conversationsunder the guise of “GeekSpeak marries BusinessSpeak.” My e-mail and voicemail boxesare always open, so contact me directly with your feedback as we not only survive butcontinue to thrive.

Here We Grow Again!It’s been said repeatedly that the labormarket is a lagging indicator. Layoffscontinue past a recessionary turnaround. Ibeg to differ. This recession has increased thesupply of amazing talent, and we jumped atthe opportunity to hire David Valencia as ournew Business Development Manager.

David brings a long career in SMBtechnology business development startingwith the well-respected Aderdeen Group inSouthern California. Following stints at PogoLinux and US Micro, we snagged this fellowBainbridge Island resident who can literallywalk to work! Welcome aboard, David!

Speaking of our location – it’s changing again (sort of). With the uptick in the economy,we’re investing in better office space. We have secured a lease on larger space in the samebusiness park on Bainbridge Island. Stop by and visit!

SMB Nation 2009 Fall – See You There!In so many ways, I can say we’re headed in a new direction. Part of our growth is toappropriately expand the SMB Nation conversation to be focused on the SMB economicsector, which we discovered is very large (something you already knew). Social media andVoIP are additions to our traditional GeekSpeak and BusinessSpeak tracks. Conferencechairs including Susan Bradley, Wayne Small, Scott Cayoute, and Tcat have workedovertime to lock down the content schedule 100 days from the event. You now know whatyou’re getting and when you’re getting it when it comes to conference content.

This is our 7th annual fall conference and the changes we’re pursuing have freshened upthis community confab. Join us October 2-4, 2009, in Las Vegas for SMB Nation Fall 2009!

Twitter TimeTime to give a big shout out to everyone in the SMB Nation tribe who have joined theTwitter revolution. Twitter is powerful stuff – much more than the 140-character limitwould indicate. Twitter nearly brought down a Middle East regime, and it’s connecting

David Valencia

LAST ISSUE?So you noticed the little call-out on the cover, eh? This isn’t really our last issue.But if you don’t renew your SMB Nation Tribal membership – it’s your last issue!So run over to our Web site at www.smbnation.com and click the Join the Tribelink. We wanna keep you!

SMB Nation Sponsor VisitsSpring 2009


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SMB Nation tribal members in new waysevery day. I’m so jazzed on it that Iattended O’Reilly Media’s Twitter BootCamp in New York City in mid-June.We’ve retained Dan “Mr. Twitter”Hollings as a speaker at our fallconference. And I want you to FOLLOWME (@harrybrelsford), where I’ll tweetlike a bird.

Facebook Power!Part of my fascination with social mediais the ability to quickly communicatebroadly. I flippantly posted a comment onmy Facebook wall as I was writing theeditorial for this magazine’s edition.Good friend (friend is a noun and a verbin the Facebook world) and sponsorVirtual Administrator posted a reply onmy wall supplementing my growth talkwith its own story. It’s the kind of goodnews we like to report. Rich Forsen fromVirtual Administrator commented,“Where’s your editorial on the growth ofVirtual Administrator since we went toour first trade show (yours)? We’ll have abooth at WPC, Harry – drop by!”

Speaking of Microsoft’s WorldwidePartner Conference (WPC) in mid-July2009 in New Orleans, we’ll be releasing

this edition of the magazine there (orhere, if you’re reading this at theconference). Come up and chat with meat WPC – we can talk the old-fashionedway, F2F (face-to-face).

In This IssueNow the good stuff. You’ll find a fantastic“State of the Union Managed Services”article by David Schafran from New YorkCity. This is compounded with ManagedServices survey results I believe you’llfind interesting. Aaron Booker fromBellingham, WA, asserts that MicrosoftWindows Home Server isn’t just for thehome. And I pontificate on SMB VoIP andour sister site, Telephonation. Plus, meetthe new Small Business SpecialistCommunity Partner Area Leads (PALs).

Have a great summereveryone…harrybbbb

Harry BrelsfordCEO, SMB NationPublisher, SMB PCFounder, Telephonation

On the cover – Steven Moore from NNT Solutions enjoys racing a NASCARautomobile at the Dale Jarrett Racing School. Steven and his capable crew supportthis customer with SMB-related technology solutions from Microsoft and othervendors. Steven is a very strong manager running an efficient organization basedon his first career as an Army Ranger. NNT Solutions is located just outsideAtlanta in Gainesville, GA. Learn more at www.nntsolutions.com.


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COVER STORY

n the midst of this uncertain economy,I tend to hear the same questions a fewtimes a week: “What are you seeing in

the managed services market?”; “How isit out there?”; “How are other MSPsdoing?” My answer: “It’s a great time tobe an MSP if you’re doing it right.”

The current economic climate hasgenerally been beneficial to ManagedServices Providers (MSPs) as businesseslook for ways to control IT costs.However, while I see many MSPsthriving and growing, I also see anumber struggling or even imploding.When I look at what separates thesetwo groups, a number of things standout – and most have nothing to do withthe recession.

Some of these differences are obvious,such as Quality of Services andCommitment to Customer Service.Companies whose services are lackingeventually lose their clients tocompetitors who provide an exceptionalcustomer experience. In addition, anMSP whose clients are anything short ofraving fans is unlikely to get manyreferrals – and referrals are the MSP’snumber one avenue for new business. Besure your customers are happy. Askthem directly, honestly solicit theirfeedback, be willing to hear what theyhave to say and make changes wherenecessary. I’ve never met a VAR or MSPwho doesn’t think they listen to theirclients, but I’m surprised how many donot live up to their own expectations indigging deep to understand what is andis not working.

Another obvious item, which is linked tothe economy, is the financial health of anMSP’s client base. I speak to many MSPswho are suffering as their clients andprospects go out of business orshort-sightedly cut back spendingbeyond what they really need tomaintain their IT environment, eitherbecause they do not have the money orthey have adopted a foxhole mentality.While MSPs can’t financially rehabilitate

their clients, they can take steps toprotect themselves. For instance,vertically focused VARs and MSPs mustassess the health of their verticalmarket(s) and, if necessary, diversify intoother markets. While more difficult, thesame analysis and possible expansionneeds to happen regarding geographicmarkets.

Some of the other challenges that preventMSPs from achieving their revenue andnew client acquisition goals are lessobvious:

Service Definition: Almost every MSP I’veworked with could strengthen its servicedefinition in one way or another. Theservice definition is critical to the MSP inseveral ways:

• It clearly defines the various services,explains how they will be delivered,and establishes the Service LevelAgreement (SLA). This enablesalignment of expectations internallywithin the MSP (between marketing,sales, operations, administration, andmanagement – even if all these arehandled by only three people) andexternally with prospects and clients.

• A clear service definition allows formore accurate calculation of the cost ofdelivery, a critical input to servicepricing.

• The service definition helps the MSPdetermine its technical and businessrequirements. This is key to criticaldecisions such as selecting the remotemonitoring & management (RMM)platform and ticket / professionalservices automation (PSA) system ordetermining which delivery partnersfit best.

• A concise service definition helpsinternal resources understand theservice and its value. It is surprisinghow many people I meet, especiallythose in client-facing roles, whocannot clearly articulate and conveytheir services’ value to a customer. Insome cases these people do notunderstand the service. Sometimes

they don’t fully believe in the valuestatement or even the MSP’s ability todeliver it. Whatever the reason, it isone of the biggest differences betweenclosing the sale and one more meetingwith a prospect who is “not right forthe service.” Too often I hear MSPsdismiss failed prospects as“unqualified leads” when, in fact, theymight have made the sale had theyproperly communicated the value.The current economic climate trulyexacerbates this issue – customerswho do not fully connect with theservice’s value won’t buy.

The service definition must begin withfocus on the MSP’s customer base. Whoare the clients (size, vertical markets,level of complexity, security needs, etc.)and what services do they want? Do theywant fully outsourced IT, an escalationsource for an internal IT staff, or tooutsource a particular aspect of their IT,such as firewall management? Rarelywill all of an MSP’s clients have the sameneeds, so a tiered approach may work

I

by David S. Schafran

What exactly are Managed Services?

Managed Service includes any numberof IT services remotely delivered to aclient by a Managed Service Provider(MSP) who assumes responsibility forthe delivery, monitoring, and/ormanagement of all or certain ITfunctions, usually for a fixed recurringmonthly fee. Services commonlyprovided by MSPs include: remotemonitoring and management ofnetworks, servers, applications,workstations, and security; remotepatch distribution; data backup; andhelp desk services. The managedresources may reside on the customerpremises, be hosted by a third party, orbe hosted by the MSP. In some casesthe MSP may even own the hardwareand software, delivering a completesolution for a particular need, e.g., amanaged firewall service or hostedvirtual file server.

Don’t Let the Economy Scare You –It’s a Great Time to Be an MSP

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better than “one size fits all.”Attitude and Beliefs: A person’s attitudeand beliefs about their business, theirservices, the competitive climate, and theeconomy play a huge role in howeffectively they convey their firm andtheir services to others. That can have ahuge impact on the success of thebusiness:

• Those who go on the offense to growtheir business will enjoy bigger andbetter results than those who “play notto lose.” Marketing is a perfect

example. Many companies curtailmarketing in a difficult economy. Butabundant research shows thatcompanies who maintain or evenincrease marketing during a downturnoutperform their competitors duringthe recession and into the recovery. It isimportant, however, to be sure yourmessage works within the economicclimate: focus on value, cost savings,and return on investment.

• Believe in the value of your servicesand make others believe in it too.When a client tells me they are getting

push-back from prospects on price, Istop them and ask if the issue iscompetitive pressure (another MSPoffering the same service for less) or alack of perceived value (the customerthinks your service is not worth whatyou are charging). Nine times out often it’s a perceived value issue; theMSP can’t sell the value because theydon’t fully understand or believe in it.

• Commitment is another bigdifferentiator for firms whosuccessfully transition into managedservices. Managed services require adifferent business model, a differentservice delivery methodology, and adifferent sales approach. Thistransition requires a change inmindset. Those who don’t commit tochanging the way they do businesswill get lousy results.

The shift from reactive break/fix servicesto proactive management is acceleratingand those who do not adapt willeventually get left behind. IT servicesfirms that aren’t yet making thetransition should ask, “What am Iwaiting for?” The abundance of RMMsystems, Master MSPs (see the sidebar:What’s a Master MSP?), PSA systems, andmanaged services consulting andcoaching firms (like mine) provide aplethora of resources to get it right.

The bottom line is that the managedservices market continues to grow, andthere’s plenty of room for well-runcompanies with strong customer focusand excellent service delivery to exceland to grow their businesses – even inthis difficult economy.

David S. Schafranis President ofTransformat ionS t r a t e g i e s

(www.TransStrat.com), a consulting andcoaching firm working with MSPs and ITconsulting and support companies tointegrate or enhance managed services withintheir offerings, increase revenue, reduceservice delivery costs, and position theirmanaged services to scale. David can bereached at [email protected].

What’s a Master MSP?A Master MSP is not a managed services provider (MSP) who gives really, reallygood service. Master MSPs provide services to MSPs that enable them to delivermanaged services without having to build and staff a network operations center(NOC) and make a large investment in monitoring and management tools.

Startup costs used to be the biggest challenge to firms wanting to enter the managedservices space. An MSP had to purchase a remote monitoring and management(RMM) system, build a NOC, build a suitably resilient network for service delivery,and allocate (or hire) sufficient staff to man the NOC during business hours ormaybe even 24x7. If the NOC was not staffed 24x7, the MSP had to decide how tohandle alarms off hours. Master MSPs free the MSP from these issues, just as anMSP frees its clients from many of the same concerns.

Master MSPs take the multi-tenancy aspects of managed services to a second levelby serving multiple MSP’s clients directly or indirectly. The MSP leverages theMaster MSP’s NOC, RMM, ticket system, and staff to monitor the client’senvironment. Alerts can be routed to the MSP’s team, to the Master MSP’s team, ordirectly to the client, depending upon how the MSP and Master MSP structure theirrelationship. Some Master MSPs perform an initial level of triage then escalate theissue, while others can retain ownership of an issue through resolution. The MSPgets the benefit of the scale of the Master MSP while typically paying only for thespecific number of devices under management at any given time.

The list of services Master MSPs offer is as diverse as the number of Master MSPsand may include:• Monitoring & Management of Systems, Networks , Applications, and

Workstations• Reporting• Ticket / Professional Services Automation (PSA) Systems• End User Help Desk • Security Monitoring and Software• Patch Distribution• SPAM Filtering• Online Backup & Recovery• Virtualization Services• On-Site Reach into Other Geographies

Additionally, because the success of the Master MSP generally aligns with thesuccess of its MSP clients, many Master MSPs also provide non-technical resources,including sales and marketing templates, customer agreements, service definitiontemplates, peer groups, and training.

Once an MSP reaches a certain size and scale, it may make financial sense to bringthese functions back in house, but that inflection point is different for every firm asthe question concerns management time, resources, skill sets, and money.

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GEEKSPEAKby Aaron Booker

s SMB consultants and channelpartners with an interest intechnology, most of us have heard

of Microsoft’s Windows Home Server(WHS). Some of you may even associatethe words “home” and “Microsoft” withthings like “Bob” or “Windows Me.” Andfor those of you who heard about theissues when WHS first shipped – wherefiles that were opened directly from theserver *could* get corrupted – all of thepreceding have led you to avoid WHS. Oryou may have just been ignoring it,waiting for it to fade away like some ofthe products above.

What you may not know is that WHS hasbeen a very successful product since itslaunch just 18 months ago. WHS has beenadopted by enthusiasts all over the world,and there is a thriving “add-in” softwaremarketplace with both free and low-costsoftware applications to get WHS to dojust about anything you’d like it to. Andbest of all is that, underneath a simplifiedconsole, WHS is just Server 2003. WHS issolid technology that can do just aboutanything, once you use Remote Desktopto connect to it. You may be noticing atrend here – if you like Small BusinessServer (SBS), you’ll probably find WHS agreat operating system as well.

One of the people I interviewed for thisarticle was Steven Leonard, SeniorProduct Manager for the Windows HomeServer group at Microsoft. Steven gave mesome great background stories on howWHS came to be, as well as about howMicrosoft sees it being used currently.Microsoft definitely views WHS as havinga limited role in small business. Stevenwas careful to state that: “Some smallbusinesses may find the features ofWindows Home Server compelling, suchas backup of up to 10 computers,centralized file storage, and remote access.Something to consider is that WindowsHome Server cannot function as a domaincontroller or be joined to any ActiveDirectory domain. For more sophisticatedsmall businesses that plan on growing,Windows Small Business Server 2008 addsadditional business functionality andscales well beyond 10 users.”

A little history: A few years ago, a team atMicrosoft was noticing that home userswere increasing the number of PCs insidethe home. No longer was there just onecomputer in a home; computers weremultiplying – laptops coming home fromwork, kids with computers, Media CenterPCs, kitchen PCs, etc. So the WHS team(much like the Small Business ServerTeam did when SBS started) lookedaround at server bits different teams wereusing and started picking and choosing.The WHS team wanted to build a productthat was simple for home users to use,backed up their data automatically, andhelped them share data among their homecomputers. In the end the WHS teambuilt something that looks a lot like SBS –with features such as file sharing bothlocally and across the Internet (SharePoint“lite” is under the hood) and Remote WebWorkplace (really!) for accessingcomputers from remote locations. Theseremotely accessed computers have to beWindows XP Pro or Vista Business, in thesame way they have to be with SmallBusiness Server. The WHS Team also feltthat backup was critical – so they grabbedbits from the Windows Server 2008image-based backup solution. Thisbuilt-in backup software allows up to 10computers to be automatically backed upon a daily basis. The backup functionalityis pretty amazing – image-based for fastrestores and fast incremental backups.Also this backup solution is “smart” – soif you have five PCs with Vista on yournetwork, you back up all the identical filesonly once (including common Office 2007files). I can honestly say that this backuptechnology is what got our company,Hardlines, fired up about WHS. Thesecond part of our excitement was theprice. Acquiring WHS as a hardwareappliance that will backup 10 PCs(includes software and is legally licensed)at a starting retail of $599 is prettyamazing! This WHS price point is cheaperthan standalone backup softwaresolutions from third-party ISVs.

Some other WHS factoids include: • WHS is also available in an OEM

version from your distributor. Thiswould be an option for system builders

who build their own boxes. • Because WHS is based on Server 2003, it

can do just about anything Server 2003can. For example we’re using a WHS asa DHCP Server with BootP support fora client who needed BootP for its hostedvoice solution. Not only that, but theyget backup for their remote office PCs atno extra cost. All the features of Server2003 are available – you just use theAdd/Remove Programs feature afteryou Remote Desktop to the server toadd what you need.

Intrigued?If my article has you intrigued – I’d like totell you how other SBSers are using WHSin their practices. While writing thisarticle, I used our client base’s experiences(at Hardlines Company), and emaileddozens of Solution Providers/VARs whohave WHS installed. My research alsoincluded internal Microsoft WHS teaminterviews and speaking directly withsmall businesses that use WHS daily. Afew things became very clear – startingwith the name game. Nobody calls thisproduct “WHS” or “Windows HomeServer” when they are positioning it toclients or using it in their business. I’veheard a lot of creative names fromPartners; here are a just few: “WindowsMicro Server” (most common), “WindowsWorkgroup Server” (it supports up to 10PC clients – a Workgroup), “WindowsBackup Server” (the most common use inour SMB consulting space), “HP MediaSmart Server” (the most commonvendor/product name that partners areselling), or just the use of model numbers,e.g., Hewlett Packard EX485 or EX487.The one consistent theme, though, is thelack of the word “Home” in the marketingand sales from Partners. No real surprisethere, but still interesting. What it tells meis that, although Partners love theproduct, they don’t want to taint itsviability by getting that four-letter word“Home” associated with it.

As you might guess (and was validatedby my research) the most common use ofWHS is as a Backup Appliance. AlthoughWHS isn’t a domain controller, it serves asa great appliance in a domain environment.

A

Windows Home Server –Can It Be a Business Solution?


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GEEKSPEAK

You just install it as usual then install theagent software on up to 10 PCs that youwant to back up – and it quietly does thatjob, in the middle of the night, everytwenty-four hours. It has de-duplicationtechnology built in, so the amount ofstorage space used is very efficient. Itdoesn’t back up the same files on everymachine – just one instance of them. If thefiles are different in any way, they bothget backed up. The restore function iswhat is really impressive. If a user deletesa file or overwrites a file, the time neededto recover is literally seconds – just openup the agent (in the System Tray) andrestore it. If the issue is more serious, likea failed hard drive, you just replace theHD and put the restore CD in the PC andboot from it. You then point at the WHSserver you want to restore from (morethan one can be installed in largernetworks – we have up to three in onedomain) and pick the computer and thedate you want to restore from. In aboutan hour, your computer will be imagedand you’ll be back in business. It’s abeautiful thing.

ISV SupportLevel Platforms Incorporated (LPI) isspecifically supporting WHS as “theserver” for monitoring workgroups –including SBS boxes or whatever is there.This is a really nice MSP platform – andit’s cheap hardware. [Editor: See our MSPcover story to learn more about the MSP area.]Many of us are trying to find ways thatsmall workgroups (3-10 users) canbecome profitable. By using tools like LPI,you can nicely support that workgroupand charge them a monthly fee for it.

I interviewed Peter Sandiford, CEO ofLPI, about WHS/LPI and the SOHOmarket. As usual he had a lot of insight inthe MSP space – and the following to sayabout where they’re going with WHS.

“Windows Home Server is the perfectfirst server for the SMB market. Inaddition to providing full serverfunctionality and very easy nativeback up, with Managed Workplaceinstalled, WHS is transformed into afull Managed Services gatewayoffering full asset discovery, remotemonitoring of everything, patchmanagement, remote control, scriptautomation, reporting, and everythingelse MSPs provide to their largercustomers. With our recentlyintroduced monitoring of Hosted

Exchange from Microsoft BusinessProductivity Online Suite (BPOS) andGroupSpark, MSPs can also sell hostedmanaged Exchange providing acomplete and very inexpensive fullymanaged IT environment never beforeavailable to this market segment.Literally overnight, Windows HomeServer has created a great newuntapped market of over 2 millionbusinesses that are now open forbusiness to MSPs and solutionproviders serving the small end of themarket. Every solution providerselling Small Business Server needs toadd this product to their bag of tricks.”

Another way to monetize WHS is to do itthe same way that we used to with SBS –just use RWW or Remote Desktop toremote into the box to maintain andmanage it. I have a story about this tomake my point. As I was writing thisarticle, one of my techs and I were drivingto Seattle to install a WHS for a MicrosoftSBS executive. She and her husbandwanted a way to back up their work andhome PCs – and for their bookkeeper toremote in to do their books. Of course shecould use LogMeIn or the Live Mesh betafor that, but she really wanted theautomatic backup piece as well. Sinceshe’s 100 miles away from our office,we’re going to use RWW to manage theWHS machine remotely, as well as herhome PCs. If she ever gets a Mac at home(competitive research?), the HP MediaSmart WHS appliances have “Apple TimeMachine” support built in for Mac OS X10.5 or newer. We like that, as manyhomes and small offices haveheterogeneous networks.

WHS is vastly cheaper than SBS, bothupfront and ongoing. For the SmallOffice/Home Office, it’s great that there’sno Exchange Server management annuityfee requirement with WHS. In myopinion, that’s the single biggestdifference comparing WHS to SBS 2003 –no Exchange. If you do have a smallworkgroup that wants Exchange-basedemail, this is a great opportunity to startusing a cloud vendor to provide theExchange capability. But keep the hybridapproach of having the data backed uplocally on the WHS box. There are anumber of cloud vendors for Exchangehosting. We personally likeGroupSpark/Seismic from Ingram Micro.Of course, Microsoft has BPOS as well,but we won’t sell something that doesn’t

have our brand attached to it…

Recommended action: Buy an HP MediaSmart 485 or build a WHS with the WHSsoftware from the Action Pack. Back upall the laptops at your office. Save days ofrecovery time when a tech crashes theHD on his laptop. Restore that HD in anhour when that happens – instead ofperforming clean installs for “237”programs/tools/utilities and tweakingof same!

Aaron Booker is the CEO of Hardlinesand Varvid. I lead a technology firm – Hardlines Company– that provides outsourced IT to localbusinesses in Bellingham, Washington. Thebusiness also provides Internet-delivered videoto organizations that run the gamut from theFortune 500 to nonprofits and even down tohigh school graduations and basketball games.If your clients need help delivering video onthe Internet, we love to partner – whetherproviding live streaming services, streamingvideo on demand, or creating viral content forsites like YouTube. We specialize in helpingclients with events and testimonial video.Watch Varvid.com to see the upcoming eventsfor which we’ll be providing coverage.

Aaron [email protected]

ResourcesLearn more about WHS• We Got Served:

http://www.wegotserved.uk (thecenter of WHS news). This site hasreviews of hundreds of add-ins andcontent that is constantly updated –new vendors selling WHSappliances, etc.

• Windows Home Server Blog (from Microsoft):http://blogs.technet.com/homeserver/

• Microsoft WHS Home Page:https://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/windowshomeserver/default.mspx

• WHS manufacturers in the UnitedStates

• Hewlett Packard – Media SmartBrand: http://www.hp.com/united-states/campaigns/mediasmart-server/

• Acer – Aspire EasyStore:http://tinyurl.com/pugm5s


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O’Reilly Twitter ConferenceJune 15, Manhattan, New York


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BUSINESSSPEAKby Harry Brelsford

ld school is back in school. Thinkabout it. The oldest most reliabletechnologies such as power,

printing, and telephony are undergoingmajor upgrades and changes. Power hasgone green and is receiving a lot of“green” from the Obama administrationin the form of stimulus funding (imagineDetroit retooled for manufacturing windturbines). Printing is now on-demanddigital. And telephony has gone VoIP!

Old-time telephone folks don’t want tohear the following: Telephones are nowpart of the digital data network and theyreally “work.” Adding fuel to the fire,VoIP telephony is invading the small andmedium business (SMB) space with aferocious and precocious attitude! Thecomputer guy has added VoIP to hisarsenal, but the telephony girl isn’t asquickly reaching out to manage datanetworks. Round one goes to the SMBtechnology consultant!

My job at SMB Nation is to spot trendsand capitalize on opportunities. Then it’smy job to bring you along for the ride.Just the other day, when asked to describewhat we do, I answered that we’ve madea lot of SMB consultants a lot of moneywith Small Business Server (SBS), and wewant to do it again with VoIP and othertechnologies. We first reported on VoIP inthe April 2007 issue of SMB PC magazineand profiled prominent SBSer MarcHarrison in New Jersey. I wrote anotherVoIP article “Response Point Roars” forthe April/May 2008 SMB PC edition (youcan read these stories online atwww.smbnation.com). We’ve had VoIPvendors participate in our events since 2005, including Avaya,Vonexus/Interactive Intelligence, andMicrosoft’s Response Point and OfficeCommunication Server teams. Sohopefully I’ve earned your trust andrespect as a bona fide member of the SMB VoIP community. With thatunderstanding intact, let’s move forward.The best is yet to come.

VoIP – Shining Economic StarTelephones go back to the days of snakeoil salesmen, so as an SMB technologyconsultant, you have every right to beskeptical of the VoIP opportunity.

Recognizing that, I’m going to give you afew fast data points to show you some VoIP velocity. OnForce(www.onforce.com) compiles amazingdata from its membership and the jobtickets it processes. Last fall, in the depthsof the world financial market’s free fall, Iwas seeking any good news. I found itwith OnForce’s Service MarketplaceIndex (3Q) report. Simply stated, theaverage VoIP order ($522.65) was overtwo times larger than the average serverorder ($223.46). Holy shifting supplycurves – that job-size gap speaks volumesabout the VoIP opportunity.

We have our own internal VoIPopportunity evidence that I want to sharewith you. We started our SMB VoIP,Telephonation, one year ago as a secretskunk works project. (It was in stealthmode until October 2008 and announcedat the SMB Nation Fall conference.) ChrisBangs and I spent the summerdeveloping the site on the open sourceJoomla platform that you can sign up forat www.telephonation.com.

Our investment in VoIP has paid off. TheSMB VoIP conversation is now four timeslarger than the traditional SMB Nationdata networking conversation – as

measured by Web traffic to our respectivesites. We have between five and ten freshposts daily in our forums but, moreimportantly, an average of more than 300guests are online at any given timereading the content.

So what is the content of Telephonation?Its roots are in Microsoft Response Point.But in the past few months, we excitedlyexpanded the conversation to beinclusive of the overall SMB VoIPcommunity. Here are recentconversations driving the SMB VoIPcommunity fast forward! • What is the state of Hosted VoIP? • Astra 6757i – user status• Call Waiting Tone• BlackBerry Greeting VoIP from Agito

O

Veni, Vidi, VoIP


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This excellent report from David Bainum, CEO of RiteTech(www.ritetech.net), just about says it all.

I agree that there’s hope for the RP platform. While I think a lot of us werehoping for a more firm release timeline (or commitment) for a more majorversion 2.0, I think the responses were honest, sincere, andunderstandable, given the current economic climate. I’ve posted below afew other items of what WAS mentioned that I found interesting and/orpromising, which I took from my rough notes as well as from some of theQ&A’s asked and/or answered in the town hall meeting:

- As Harry B. mentioned, a new Resource Kit is being released in the next60 days or so. It will assist with mass-configuration of users and phones,as well as non-RP-compatible SIP devices (manually). Those are nicethings to look forward to. These also do not sound like the actions of aplatform that’s about to be “end of lifed” or in which Microsoft wouldhave zero interest in its succeeding over the longer term.

- OEMs have also offered some new announcements, including the newD-Link phone, the recently announced Quintum gateways, and anupcoming Syspine program of some sort in July.

- The existing Microsoft RP organization is funded for Microsoft FY2010,which started July 1. The next Microsoft budget planning cycle starts inDecember ‘09. They reiterated that the product has not been“end-of-lifed.“ It’s in maintenance mode for the time being and newfeatures will be considered on a case-by-case basis, particularly if some ofthem can be potentially rolled out as part of a smaller package of some sort,as opposed to a more grandiose set of features as was originally proposedfor v2 several months ago.

- The RP team is actively looking at how to enhance the RP platform overthe longer term, even if that means (possibly) considering “other options”in terms of core codebase ownership (which I’d have to speculate couldeven mean possibly considering allowing future platform enhancementsto be performed by another party, e.g., an OEM or perhaps a consortiumof OEMs or perhaps other parties) and/or possibly considering alternateplatforms or approaches for the product. That particular topic (possible“alternate owners” of RP or an “alternate universe” where another partyowned the RP codebase) always gets my imagination going, because I’mreminded of another platform (the Adobe ColdFusion web scripting

language) of which many said that it was “supposed to have died by now.“ColdFusion has changed ownership hands several times (from Allaire toMacromedia then to Adobe), yet the platform continues to thrive (in nosmall part due to very strong community support) – and some wouldargue it’s doing even better than it ever did before under its originalownership or creators (Allaire). Other successful platforms or products(e.g., Erwin database modeling software, Numara Software Track-It, etc.)have also successfully survived and/or thrived beyond various changes ofownership.

To offer some perspective, prior to the “Microsoft layoff news” of earlyMay, the release information that everyone had to go on was to roughlyexpect another RP release (which, admittedly, was pretty ambitious interms of its proposed feature set) maybe in the December time frame, buteven that was not 100% certain.

So I think what a lot of it boils down to is that if RP is a good fit todaywith its existing feature set and support, it’s still a good fit, and theOEMs, ITSPs, etc., will continue to support the product and theirwarranties. Otherwise, stay tuned for future news and/or developmentslater in the year. Future features and/or release roadmaps are alwaysnebulous. If RP’s current status as announced today “spooks” a potentialclient or VARs, well, the situation is what it is. Each prospective clientand/or VAR will have to make that judgment call in terms of whetherthey’d rather spend their time and/or effort for a more expensive and/ormore complicated system rather than selecting RP based on how it’savailable and supported today, given the current “unknown” in terms ofa major release schedule.

I’d like to take a moment to publicly thank John F., Doug K., Mike Z., theRP OEM team, and everyone else who took time out to help put togethertoday’s town hall and update the community on what’s going on. I thinkthe approach (e.g., willingness to share information) and candor say a lotabout the level of integrity, character, and caring about the platform thatthe various parties involved have for it and for those otherwise involvedwith working w/ RP.

[Editor: There were numerous deals mentioned by Aastra, Syspine,and dLink. You are encouraged to visit Telephonation to find thelink to replay this Webinar.]

Update on Microsoft Response Point – June 30th Town Hall Meeting

BUSINESSSPEAK

• Packet8 SIP Service for Response Point

Most recently we added a productcomparison area on Telephonation byteaming with our friends at ProCompare.The idea is to have you, the SMB channelpartner, provide VoIP product reviews forthe benefit of all. Polling and surveying isone element of the new social mediaparadigm to encourage, embrace, andextend community involvement.Needless to say, we’re all in this togetherand will be only as successful as you make us (PLEASE JOINTELEPHONATION!).

In our events model, we are delighted toannounce the new Telephonation track atSMB Nation Fall 2009. We have the

following amazing VoIP speeches withmore to come.

• T101: Veni Vidi VOIP - How To VoIP!• T302 How To Sell VoIP in SMB• T402: SIP: From hobbits dream to

power player in telecom • T401: VoIP Panel.

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WinSUG MeetingJune 4, 2009, North San Diego County, California

SMB Nation Spring 2009May 1-3, 2009, Montclair, New Jersey


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June 17, 2009, Long Island, New YorkBiking – Jeff Leventhal (founder, OnForce), Joe Panettieri (MSP Mentor, VAR Guy), Herb Seigel (formerly CA)

Small Business Server 2008 Build DayMay 9, 2009, Las Vegas, NV

Pacific Software Publishing Golf TournamentJune 30, 2009, Redmond, Washington


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Small Business Server 2008 Build DayMay 30, 2009, Redmond, Washington

NNT Customer Appreciation DayMay 15, 2009, Gainsville, Georgia

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by Harry Brelsford

PERCEPTIONS

Era Beginning, Middle, or End?Managed Services Survey

ight now the managed servicesparadigm feels a lot like aneconomic forecast. Depending on

who you ask, managed services is just atthe start of its era. Others feel it’s in themiddle of its “run.” And a few even thinkits hype has reached the point signaling itsera might be peaking and on its waydown. These are casual observationsgleaned from numerous conversations.But I wanted to get the facts instead ofopinions (which everyone has). So Ioffered a short managed services survey inthe month of June and added past surveydata to write up this Perceptions column.

Let’s jump right into the data.

Q: Are you seeing an opportunity toprovide managed services to your clients?If so, which businesses in your marketshow the most promise?Small businesses under 50 employees 80%Small businesses with 51-250 employees 20%Mid-sized businesses with 251 to 1000 employees 0%Large businesses with over 1001 employees 0%

Harryb’s take: According to our data, it’ssafe to say that the managed servicesconcept is a small business concept. It’snot getting traction in the mid-market orenterprise space. But here’s the irony. I’mconvinced that over 15 years ago,companies like CA were “this close” – asMaxwell Smart would say – to nailingmanaged services. CA’s Unicenter wasproviding much of the monitoring andremote management embraced today. And– the irony part – Unicenter was at theenterprise-level. What if CA had broughtthat thinking to the small business-level?

Q: If you’re not offering managed servicestoday, what is your biggest barrier toestablishing this offering? (Check all that apply.)Market acceptance 50.0%Current sales staff’s ability to sell andsupport managed services 40.0%Current technical staff’s ability tosupport managed services 50.0%

Investment required to establishmanaged services offering 30.0%Ability to track, manage, and bill forservices offering 30.0%

Harry’s take: I suspected the marketacceptance response would score high, butI am a little surprised that staff trainingwas equally strong. That tells me that thereal challenge for ISVs providing MSPsupport software and services is trainingthe actual SMB consultants to best utilize“managed services.” Lots of headroom forlearning more about the MSP paradigm.Note to self: Add more MSP trainingcontent at the SMB Nation Fall conference!

Q: What type of managed services areyou offering most today?Remote Management and Monitoring services 84.0%Data Security – data back-up andrecovery services 52.0%Business Continuity services andsolutions 44.0%Help Desk services 64.0%Print and Document Management 4.0%None 8.0%

Harry’s take: Confirming what I believe tobe true, remote management andmonitoring led the way with managedservices and largely define the managedservices paradigm. I am surprised thatbusiness continuity services scored so low(44%). Why? Because I’m really pushingthe “mini-management” concept with theTrusted Business Advisor tagline. I’d liketo see the business continuity questionscore much higher in the next poll – evenahead of the techie stuff like remotemanagement and monitoring.

Q: Where do you see the mostopportunity to build your managedservices portfolio?Remote Management and Monitoring services 54.2%Data Security – data back-up andrecovery services 37.5%Business Continuity services andsolutions 50.0%Help Desk services 29.2%Print and Document Management 12.5%

Harry’s take: This is a forward-looking

question. I am pleased to see that folkshave more excitement about businesscontinuity services in the future. There ismuch less excitement for help deskservices and even remote managementand monitoring services are downplayed.This response set suggests that themanaged services paradigm will bechanging shortly.

Q: Do you partner with other VARs orMSPs on a regular basis? If so, how manysubcontractors do you work with in amonth? 1-2 subcontractors per month 40.0%3-5 subcontractors per month 8.0%10-15 subcontractors per month 4.0%More than 15 subcontractors per month 0.0%None 48.0%

Harry’s take: There is good news and“room for improvement” with thisresponse. The good news is that a simplemajority (52%) believe in the power ofpeer-to-peer partnering. But just underhalf (48%) haven’t gotten religion yetabout partnering.

Q: How much revenue have you generatedfrom your managed services business? Under $500,000 68.0%$501,000 to $2 million 20.0%$2.1 million to $5 million 12.0%$5.1 million to $8 million 0.0%$8.1 million to $10 million 0.0%Over $10.1 million 0.0%

Harry’s take. In our third annual salarysurvey (SMB PC 2Q), we asked whatpercentage of your overall revenue isderived from managed services. The mostpopular response (statistical mode) wasthat less than 10% of your revenue camefrom managed services. The majority ofresponses (over 50%) reported less than30% of your revenue came from managedservices. So it doesn’t surprise me that themajority response (68%) above was in thesmallest revenue category. That’s what Icall a direct correlation. Likewise, when Iparticipated in a managed servicesWebinar with Jim Hamilton (from theMSP Partners trade group), he definedsomeone as having a managed servicesbusiness model if over 10% of their

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revenue came from managed services.And he commented that he didn’t expectSMB consultants to have more than 50%of revenue from managed services. Thissuggested hybrid-like business models,not “either/or” mutual exclusivity.

Q: Are you using Software-as-a-Service(SaaS) solutions to manage yourbusiness? If so, which ones do you useand why?Harry’s take: We allowed narrativeanswers for this and the usual suspectsappeared, including Zenith, HoundDog,Autotask, Connectwise, Kaseya, and themost popular response: NO.

Q: If you are offering managed services,what do you consider the biggestbusiness challenge facing your company?(Check all that apply.)Contracts and Billing Workflow 18.2%Improving Services Workflow 18.2%Increasing Tech Efficiency 31.8%Coordinating Scheduling and Dispatch 4.5%Getting My Business Organized 18.2%Improving Profitability 18.2%Winning New Customers 68.2%Delivering Your Managed

Services 18.2%Accurate and Timely Reporting and Business Metrics 27.3%Accessing All of My Business Data in One Place 22.7%

Harry’s take: Dog bites man! Isn’twinning new customers always thebiggest challenge facing SMBconsultants? Hang in there – it’s like theconcept of time: it has no start and noend. You will always be engaging inbusiness development your entire career.See my casual correlation next.

Casual CorrelationsSo I left you hanging on that lastquestion. Winning new customers meansa lot of business development activity.And that means a lot of lunches thatmight have direct or indirect biz devefforts. So on a trip back East in early Juneto scope out new SMB Nation Spring 2010venues, I found myself in Lloyd Neck,NY, (Long Island) having lunch with JoePanettieri from MSP Mentor.

While Joe and I do not have directbusiness between us, we’re stakeholdersin the SMB technology community and

its good to get together and comparenotes. We both agree that the managedservices opportunity is huge, and I cantell you that few outlets have capitalizedon it like MSP Mentor. Visit this site(www.mspmentor.com), read Joe’s blog,and tell him harrybbb sent ya!

ShoutOuts!A couple of tweets.• Thanks to Brian at AutoTask for

assisting with the design of themanaged services survey.

• Thanks to Neil Roiter (TechTarget) forhis coverage of this topic and forincluding me in his article titledManaged services a learning process forVARs, customers (http://bit.ly/qtL5L).

Next up: ContentManagement and SharePointSurveyWith the start of the fourth year ofpublication, it’s a bit odd we’ve neversurveyed you in the content managementarea including SharePoint (e.g.,CompanyWeb in SBS). Visit our Web site atwww.smbnation.com to complete ourcontent management survey, and I’ll reportthe results back here). Cheers!

Portland Wizards/KP Enterprise’s Zero Downtime SeminarJune 9-10, 2009, Portland. Oregon

Symform Advisory Board MeetingJune 25, 2009, Seattle, Washington

Response Point PartyMay 29, 2009, Bainbridge Island, Washington


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NPA names 2009Professionalism Winners!

The Network Pro-fessional Association(NPA) named itsannual professional-ism award winnersat Interop. Congrat-ulations to these

professional players in our field!

Best Networking Professional - CareerAchievement AwardSteven Potter, Systems SoftwareEngineer, Spottek Systems, Nova Scotia,Canada

Professional Excellence and InnovationAward: Corporate Fortune XKamal Vyas, Senior Network Engineer,NetApp, Sunnyvale, CA

GovernmentRichard Boe, Manager, Federal AviationAdministration Air Traffic OrganizationIT Directorate Operations Group, FederalAviation Administration, Washington,D.C.

Outstanding Mentor AwardRegner Sabillon, CIO ICARUS ITSolutions Inc, Calgary, Alberta

Top of the Mark - Volunteer AwardKaliyan Selvaraj, Technical Consultant,Dell India Pvt. Ltd, Bangalore, India

Learn more about the NPA atwww.npa.org. Note that there was asmall business award category thatappeared to go unfilled. Sounds like agreat opportunity for a worthy SMBNation tribal member to be nominatedfor next year (hint-hint).

Managed Services Survey –Nintendo DS Lite Winner

A very happy Wade Smith (CEO, TamarinTechnologies, Plano, TX) has won the one(1) Nintendo DS Lite that we put up for alucky winner who completed our recentmanaged services survey. There wasnothing random about Wade’sprofessional strategy. He is wrapping upa “day job” in the defense sector (for awell-known defense firm) and preparingmake Tamarin Technoligies his full-timeendeavor. This is very exciting news asmany of us started as weekend warriorsand part-timers before we made the leapinto being a full-time SMB consultant.When asked how to use the Nitendo DS

Lite, I suggested try ordering food anddrink from your seat at the Texas RangersMLB baseball game at the ArlingtonStadium (true story).

INTEL Visit – IT Director!In early June, I madethe three-hour jauntto Portland Oregonfrom my BainbridgeIsland, WA homeoffice. I visited with

an Intel program manager who is drivingdevelopment for the Intel IT Directorsolution. Here is the solution description.

Intel(r) IT Director is an intuitive, easy touse utility delivering Intel(r) vPro(tm)technology-based benefits to your smallbusiness customers. Reduce unexpected ITrelated costs, help save time, and maximizereturn on investment of IT purchases. Fewsmall businesses have dedicated ITdepartments to maintain their computersystems, even though they have many of thesame business needs as larger enterprises.Small business owners are concerned aboutwhether their network is secure, if their data is backed up, and if their computers are healthy.

Small businesses often do not have theexpertise or network infrastructure requiredto utilize the new technologies to help managetheir networks easily and cost effectively.Intel(r) IT Director was specifically designedfor small businesses to easily manage theirnetworks and access technology with thelatest Intel(r) platforms.

With Intel IT Director, a small businessowner can easily identify and configure IntelvPro technology-based systems in thenetwork and monitor whether all systems inthe network:

• Have a firewall enabled• Have anti-virus and anti-spyware

programs installed• Have a backup solution enabled• Monitor hard drive space available• Block USB devices

The product website is www.intel.com/go/itdirector and tell them harrybbbbsent ya!

D&H is Cisco Small Business“Distie” of the Year!

Ya’ gotta love it – D&H gainingmindshare during the recession!

D&H Distributing announced today that it isthe recipient of a Cisco Partner SummitDistributor Award for Small BusinessDistributor of the Year. Cisco unveiled thewinners June 3 at its annual channel partnerconference in Boston.

The objective of the Distributor Awards is torecognize exemplary distribution partnerswhose behavior Cisco would like otherdistributors to model. All winners are selectedby Cisco Worldwide Distribution executives.

“I have the honor and privilege of recognizingD&H Distributing as a Cisco PartnerSummit Distribution Award winner,” saidDave O’Callaghan, vice president ofworldwide distribution at Cisco. “The SmallBusiness Distributor of the Year Awardrecognizes D&H’s performance andaccomplishments as a Cisco distributionpartner in 2008.”

“We’re proud that our work with Cisco hasled to their choosing us as the Small BusinessDistributor of the Year,” said Dan Schwab,co-president at D&H Distributing. “Itvalidates our dedication to driving sales forCisco’s products in the small business sector,and reflects our expertise in the SMBnetworking arena in general. We lookforward to many more years of success withCisco in this profitable sales area.”

Cisco Partner Summit Distributor Awardsreflect a distribution partner’s performanceworldwide. Categories include SmallBusiness Distributor of the Year, TopInnovator, Partner Elevation, MarketAcceleration, New Distributor of the Year,Cisco Services Innovation, and WorldwideDistributor of the Year.

ESET and the great circle strategy!

I recently spoke with Darin Andersen,ESET COO (www.eset.com) about it’snoticeably larger role in the SMB channel.He shared with me the successful ESETstrategy that I have seen used inpublishing and sailing: the great circlestrategy. Here is what I mean. Inpublishing, it’s a well known strategy togo to Paris as the “Great AmericanAuthor” to publish you work and returnhome a hero. In sailing, there is a racing


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strategy where you tack again the fleet. Inthe case of ESET, it successfully grew itsSMB channel partner program and itssales by starting first with the internationalmarkets. ESET accomplished this whilesome of its competitors focused on thedomestic US market. Now ESET hasrenewed its focus on the US market and isready, able and willing to engage withSMB Nation tribal members.

ESET recentlybagged its 56thVB100 award:

ESET, the leader in proactive threatprotection, today announced it has captured arecord 56th VB100 award from VirusBulletin, a widely-respected independentcomparative testing group. ESET is still theonly company with more than 50 VB100awards and continues to lead the industrywith the highest detection rates combinedwith zero false positives – the winningformula in malware prevention. June’s reportfocused on the 64-bit version of WindowsServer 2003 platform.

Virus Bulletin introduced its first VB100award in 1998, and conducts severalcomparatives every year, rotating itsplatforms between Linux, Windows,Windows servers and Novell Netware. Inorder to display the VB100 logo, an antivirusproduct must meet two criteria: (1)Demonstrate it detects all “In-the-Wild”viruses during both on-demand and on-accessscanning; and, (2) Generate no false positiveswhen scanning a set of clean files. Since theinception of VB100 awards in 1998, ESET’santivirus products continue to boast a successrate of over 96 percent - the industry’shighest. Most antivirus vendors have successratios in the 50 – 75 percent range.

“ESET’s NOD32 has an excellent history inVB100 testing, with excellence in bothdetection rates and speeds,” said John Hawes,Virus Bulletin. “Detection rates in theexpanded polymorphic sets were impeccable,and fairly reasonable in the trojan and RAPsets. With the WildList covered with nodifficulties and no false positives or otherissues, ESET earns another VB100.”

ESET is powered by ThreatSense®technology, an advanced heuristics engine thatenables proactive detection of malware notcovered by even the most frequently updatedsignature-based products. Unlike traditionalapproaches, ESET solutions decode andanalyze executable code in real-time, using anemulated environment. By allowing malware

to execute in a secure virtual world, ESET isable to clearly differentiate between benignfiles and even the most sophisticated andcleverly-disguised malware.

Equally important, I was briefed onESET’s partner conference that justconcluded in Malta – sounded like fun!Finally, ESET was named to Gartner’sMargic Quadrant!

– ESET, the leader in proactive threatprotection, has been included for the first timein leading analyst firm Gartner’s “MagicQuadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms,1Q09,” published May 1, 2009 , whichaddresses security technologies for theprotection of corporate network endpoints forthe SMB and large enterprise market.

“We consider our inclusion in the quadrant tobe validation of our exponential growth andinnovation in the anti-malware space,” saidAnton Zajac, CEO, ESET LLC. “With 667percent growth in revenue over the last threeyears, we’re continuing to take market shareand are committed to developing solutionsthat stay one step ahead of socially engineeredthreats and Web-based attacks.”

According to Gartner, “Malware isincreasingly Web-based (that is, it uses theWeb as a distribution method and acommand-and-control channel) andmultistage — meaning there are multiplecomponents that can be installed after theinitial infection, depending on the motivationof the attacker and the victim’s profile. Inaddition, the exploits of socially engineeredtrojans, which trick end users intodownloading and executing malicious files,are on the rise and will continue to causehavoc in 2009 and beyond.”

ESET integrates Internet threat protectioninto its complete line of end-user and gatewaysecurity solutions that proactively blocksmalware before it can compromise systems orsteal data. Powered by ThreatSense®technology, an advanced heuristics engine thatenables proactive detection of malware notcovered by even the most frequently updatedsignature-based products, ESET NOD32Antivirus and ESET Smart Security deliverthe fastest malware protection available tocombat viruses, spyware and rootkits. Unliketraditional approaches, ESET solutions decodeand analyze executable code in real-time,using an emulated environment. By allowingmalware to execute in a secure virtual world,ESET is able to clearly differentiate betweenbenign files and even the most sophisticatedand cleverly-disguised malware.

In addition to offering the most advancedprotection from evolving threats, ESETcontinues to update its product features tosupport growing customer needs. ESETNOD32 Antivirus and ESET Smart SecurityBusiness Editions feature a full-range ofmanagement capabilities that include supportfor high-end databases, fine-grained control ofendpoint security, and greater scalability forlarge and dispersed networks. With many oftoday’s compliance initiatives requiringrobust endpoint security, ESET is a valuablecomponent that offers critical business-classmanagement features, such as external driveaccess control and scanning, Cisco NetworkAdmission Control (NAC) compatibility, andenhanced logging and reporting functions.ESET Business Editions enable companies toremotely deploy and manage ESET softwarewith ESET’s Remote Administrator,providing a single management console tocontrol an entire network from a singlescreen. Furthermore, the integratedSysInspector makes it easier for ITadministrators to diagnose and resolveproblems, allowing businesses to quicklyprevent dangerous attacks.

PALs Named by MSFT!Microsoft names Worldwide Partner AreaLeads (PALs) for the Small BusinessSpecialist Community for Fiscal Year 2010(started July 1, 2009). The PALs act asadvocates for the partner program and thepartner community. Congratulations to all!

Alex Huart Andy Trish

Ed Henzel Fabio Cazzaniga

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Dimiceli joins SpamSoap!Leonard Dimiceli hasjoined Spam Soapthis month as theDirector of ChannelSales. Leonard comesto Spam Soap with abreadth of channelexperience from

throughout the country. Adding Leonardto Spam Soap is another example of ourcommitment to Spam Soap Resellers &Partners.

Although Leonard’s responsibilities asdirector are vast, they really just comedown to one thing. “Listening to ourSpam Soap Resellers & Partners.” To thatend, many of you will be hearing fromLeonard in the next few months. Eitherdirectly or through webinars and onlinetraining. He wants to get to know youand see how you use Spam Soap’scomplete line of products to support and grow your business. Visitwww.spamsoap.com.

Announcing Tech Trust Partners!

Scott Cayouette has teamed with anotherSouthern Florida partner to create TechTrust Partners. This is a consultancybased on the principals of Robin Robinsand will religiously utilize her toolkit,step-by-step, from day one! Many readerswill know Cayouette in his numerouscommunity roles: SBSC US AdvisoryGroup Member, WW SBS User GroupLeads Co-Leader, VP, Tech Trust Partners,Co-Chair, BusinessSpeak Track (SMBNation 2009).

Verizon Launches SmallBusiness Portal!

The newly redesigned Verizon SmallBusiness Center Web site – founder here(http://www.business.verizon.net)which now features powerful onlinecollaboration tools, advanced Web-basedbusiness software applications andinteractive professional networking – isopen to serve small businesses acrossAmerica, at www.business.verizon.net.

“Small businesses need a lot more thane-mail and Internet access to becompetitive, especially in today’schallenging economy,” said Monte Beck,Verizon’s vice president forsmall-business products and services.“We built the Verizon Small BusinessCenter to offer small businessesleading-edge technology tools andbusiness resources to assist them inbecoming more agile, productive andefficient – all appropriately scaled for theneeds and budget requirements of a smallbusiness, and all conveniently integratedon a single Web portal.

“What we’ve created with the newVerizon Small Business Center is similarto what an information technologydepartment would build for a largecorporation, but at a fraction of theprice,” said Beck.

The centerpiece of the new businessportal is the Verizon CollaborationCenter, powered by Cisco WebExtechnology, with voice and Webconferencing that enables users tocollaborate with peers, clients andvendors in a virtual environment that

works like an Intranet. Licensed users canshare documents and calendars, discussideas, set goals, and manage projects andbusiness operations. With the VerizonWeb Meeting add-on, users can meetonline – in real time – with co-workers,partners, suppliers and customers.

“With the Verizon Collaboration Center,small businesses can embrace today’s mostinnovative collaboration technologies tosolve problems collectively, acceleratedecisions, increase productivity and createcustomer value,” said Subrah S. Iyar, chiefstrategy officer, collaboration softwaregroup, Cisco. “Since this is all done online,travel costs are reduced and operatingefficiency is increased.”

The Verizon Collaboration Center is ahosted service available anytime there isInternet access.. It does not require anyhardware or software investment. Thereis also no need for in-house IT support,which helps small businesses save evenmore. Since the service is Web-based, allthat is required is a computer (PC orMac), an Internet connection and a Webbrowser. A Verizon Collaboration Centeruser pack for one to five employees costs$24.99 per month, with discounted rateswhen more users are added.

“The small-business sector is a veryimportant segment of Verizon’s customerbase,” said Beck. “We have, and willcontinue to develop, more business tools– like the Verizon Small Business Center –for the small-business marketplace.”

Small business expert Steve Hilton, vicepresident at Yankee Group, said, “If youlook to the future of small business, you seecommunications technologies playing anincreasingly important role in the day-to-day operations of an efficient, well-runenterprise. Verizon is making a strongmove to arm small businesses with more ofthe technology tools they need to thrive ina convenient, centralized, online portal.”

One-Stop Portal Designed Especially ForSmall Businesses

The Verizon Small Business Center offersan intuitive layout, allowing users tonavigate quickly to the business tools andinformation they need to perform dailytasks. For example, under the “MyApplications tab,” e-mails and calendaritems are neatly displayed and easy toaccess and monitor.

John Krikke Keira McIntosh

Neil Pearlstein Oliver Kiel

Oliver Sommer Rick Bahl

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New features such as “ProfessionalNetworking” allow registered users whocreate a profile to exchange ideas withothers in their industry, buildrelationships and improve their onlinenetworking presence in this community.

The Verizon Solution Recommender,located under the “Marketplace” tab,helps business owners navigate all thebusiness products and services Verizonoffers. Verizon’s small- and medium-sized business customers can also enjoysavings on FedEx shipping rates andcredit card processing services throughthe site’s Alliance Discount Program.Verizon continually leverages its buyingpower to bring these customers usefulproducts at competitive prices.

A set of simple questions helps users ofthe Web site gauge what products andservices are needed to start, grow orimprove their business. Users can alsoorder value-added services such as theVerizon Internet Security Suite, wirelessphones and calling plans, wireline phoneplans and high-speed Internet service.

The expanded “My News & Resources”section highlights business news fromThe New York Times that is relevant tosmall businesses, and provides expertadvice from AllBusiness.com andinfluential technology, government,regulatory and small-businessbloggers. Users can personalize thispage by choosing from among morethan a dozen content categories to bestsuit users’ interests and needs.

Verizon offers a broad range of productsand services for businesses of all sizes.Some businesses may qualify to enroll inthe Verizon Business Link Rewardsprogram, which enables companies toearn and redeem points for various itemssuch as gift cards and certificates atleading retailers, meals at top-rated localrestaurants, and tickets to professionalsporting and entertainment events.

Over the next few months, the VerizonSmall Business Center will offer free,informative webinars every otherweek. The first webinar takes placeApril 21 with Shankar Iyer, seniordirector of business communities forCisco Systems, who will discuss howsmall businesses can maximize the useof new technology to acceleratebusiness processes, which can help tocut costs and lead to more efficiency.

Sample This SMB Nation 2009 Fall Conference Content!

Breaking news! Man and woman can liveon content alone. Help us prove this atthe SMB Nation 2009 Fall Conference (LasVegas, October 2-4, 2009). Here is asample of recently added content.

BS101: Geekonomics! Your SMBCountercyclical OpportunitiesSpeaker: Harry BrelsfordYes – it is possible to survive and thriveduring tough times. The key is to identifyspecific viable opportunities. Enjoy Harry’soften humorous presentation on topopportunities that are countercyclical innature. These industries are historicallyunderserved and technology hungry. Thisfast paced speech starts with SlumdogMillionaire and ends with “sinners.”Presented in a “photo essay” format that isa great break from traditional PowerPointslide deck presentations. Based on the SMBPC magazine cover story with the samename by Harry (Issue 3-4, 1Q2009). Thisspeech has been updated with newopportunities and includes references fromHarry’s forthcoming “Geekonomics” bookand SMB in-depth salary survey results!

BS201: How To Get SMB StimulusFunding!Speaker: Harry BrelsfordThis “how to” speech allows you to takeadvantage of the coming macro-economicinjection of US Federal governmenteconomic stimulus funding. Don’t miss outon this once-in-a-life time opportunity. Inthis session, you will learn specific Federaland State funding programs, how to writea grant to obtain funds, targeting specificeconomic sectors that will receive funding(e.g. medical) and private sector stimulusfunding resources including distributors,ISVs, hardware manufacturers. Theemphasis on this lecture is tactilespecificity, not broad generalities.

BS202: HOW TO CREATESUCCESSFUL VENDORRELATIONSHIPSThe “Secret” to Working with VendorPartnersSpeaker: James Kernan• A 100-day “baby-step” action plan for

solidifying key vendor relationships;follow this plan and you’ll havevendors throwing cash at you formarketing.

• How to get vendors to “slip” you newaccounts and opportunities that otherresellers don’t even know about.

• Web site linking; how to use your web

site to automatically secure newcustomers at your vendor’s expense.

• How to get vendors to cheerfully payfor AND promote your events andtrade shows to their top clients.

• A proven “tiered” formula fordetermining who your top partners areand allocating your time and focusaccordingly.

• Informative vendor panel to educateyou on “best practices” to negotiatingand working successfully with vendors.

BS401 BusinessSpeak PanelSpeakers: NumerousThe power of a professional conference ishearing from your peers! The alwayspopular BusinessSpeak Panel is BACKAGAIN and guided by our outstandingspeakers. These “Guides” will invoke anunconference format to drive maximumcontent rich conversation that start withyou – the attendee. Attend this session tohear what’s on everyone’s minds. Withbetter times ahead – the conversation israpidly changing and you need to be partof it. Special emphasis on managedservices. Be prepared to critically THINK!

GS401: GeekSpeak Panel (GeekSpeakTrack)Speakers: NumerousNo SMB Nation conference is completewithout the infamous and always highlyrated GeekSpeak panel. Guided by“MVPs” and other gurus, this panel if yourchance to learn from the “founders” of theSMB technology practices we use today.Have you ever seen a famous name up onthe technical forum boards and Newsgroupand wanted to meet these people? TheGeekSpeak Panel is your chance!

T101: Veni Vidi VOIP - How To VoIP!Speaker: Jay WeissIt’s one of those terms that is both a nounand verb: VoIP. Learn the facts about a newepoch in technology – the telephone! Butthis isn’t your grandparents telephone withliver operator switch boards. This is the newdigital-based era of telephony running onyour customer’s data networks. Conver-gence has truly arrived in arrived in SMBand the apex of voice and data is rapidlycreating new opportunities for you, the SMBconsultant. SMB VoIP author shares hislatest research from his forthcoming book ofthe same title. Follow Jay’s often-humorouspresentation as he went from hot shot SBSerto newbie VoIPer and made good!

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smb partner community magazine q3 2009

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