SMB Partner Community Magazine 2009 Q1

Q1 2009:Q1 2009 3/24/09 3:34 PM Page 1

Q1 2009:Q1 2009 3/24/09 3:34 PM Page 2

SMB

Part

ner C

omm

unity

Q1 2

009

1

Check out our blog at www.smbnation.com

Q1 2009:Q1 2009 3/24/09 3:34 PM Page 3

Q1 2009 | Vol. 3 ■ Issue 4

PUBLISHED BYSMB Nation, Inc.

Bainbridge Island, Washington

Harry Brelsford, PublisherEditorial Staff

EDITORVicki McCown

CONTRIBUTING EDITORSEric Steinberg, USA

LAYOUTAl Alarakhia

COVER ART DIRECTORMichael Young

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSAshutosh Tiwary

BUSINESS STAFFHarry Brelsford, CEO

Cyndi Moody, Vice PresidentPatti Passinault, Accounting Manager

Jennifer Hall, Events Manager

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

Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 USA

Tel: 206-201-2943Fax: 360-824-6042

E-mail: [email protected]

© Copyright 2009 SMB Nation Inc.All Rights Reserved

Please contact us for reprints andreproduction of content.

ISSN 1933-8899

PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40064408

RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO

EXPRESS MESSENGERINTERNATIONAL

P.O. BOX 25058LONDON BRC, ON CANADA N6C 6A8

SMBPartnerCommunityEDITORIAL

By Harry Brelsford, CEO


SMB

Part

ner C

omm

unity

Q1 2

009

2

Slumdog SMB EconomicsWhen you really think about it, aren’t all “economics” local? I recently had a “feet on

the street” economic epiphany that I want to share. It’s a message of SMB hope! Not only did Slumdog Millionaire save Hollywood, but I suggest this movie has planted

the seeds of economic recovery throughout the whole world. Here is what I mean:Several weeks ago on a Sunday evening, my wife and I attended a sold-out showing

of Slumdog Millionaire at the old-fashioned 1930’s era movie theater on Bainbridge Island.

We arrived early to insure we couldget tickets for the showing an hour later.There was a line of people waiting topurchase tickets (a good sign). We thentrotted across the street to Edna’s—acountry inn with an outstanding seafoodmenu. Edna’s was PACKED and we had towait to be seated. In fact, we ended up inthe lounge. Edna’s, having completelyUNDERESTIMATED the demand thatevening, had a staff of only threeemployees valiantly trying to serve over ahundred patrons. A call went out foradditional staff to come in. It was a level ofmicro-economic activity that I personally

had not witnessed in six months or more. This is a true story.Let me try to explain my Slumdog economic stimulus a different way, starting where I

left off using a step-by-step approach.

• Slumdog Millionaire arrives at Bainbridge Island movie theater. • Local residents flock to movie and eat and drink at Edna’s before the movie. • The waitress called in unexpectedly that Sunday night to work at Edna’s makes an

unexpected $100 and avoids eviction from her apartment. • The apartment building owner, confident his units would remain rented, commits to a

new pickup truck at the local car dealer. • The car salesman makes a significant commission, the likes of which he hasn’t seen in

months. • The car salesman makes good on his promise to take his girlfriend to see the movie

Slumdog Millionaire and eat dinner at Edna’s before the show. • The car salesman buys an engagement ring for his girlfriend. • The jeweler also decides to view Slumdog Millionaire at the next showing. • The movie theater owner, sensing increased ticket sales, commits to upgrade the

theater’s old popcorn maker, which he buys from a Midwest manufacturer. • The Midwest popcorn machine manufacturer sees sales increases across the board for its

machines and rehires several workers.

And so on…you get the point of this economic recovery velocity! To think that thiseconomic recovery started with Slumdog Millionaire!

Looking Forward!I really enjoyed putting together this issue of the magazine. This issue marks our

return to circulation as a quarterly journal in print! We are also super-jazzed about ourhybrid content concept. As you can easily see, many articles start in print for a page or soand then migrate over to our BLOG at www.smbnation.com. This win-win format is greenand lean—and allows us to talk to you in a variety of media modalities that let you learnyour way.

An overarching theme in this magazine issue is HOPE. The more I looked intoeconomic opportunities for you, the SMB consultant, the more I found a thriving tree ofopportunity. My Geekonomics story, based on my current speech about top opportunitiesin 2009, has a decidedly counter-cyclical paradigm. And guess what? Many of thesesuggestions are already working for folks worldwide. Microsoft South Africa has asked meto chat with its partner program managers about how these money-making suggestions

Slumdog Millionaire playing at theLynwood Theater on Bainbridge Island.

Q1 2009:Q1 2009 3/24/09 3:34 PM Page 4

1. Cyndi Moody shipping SBS 2008 book (Feb 2009)

2. SBS 2008 books in warehouse!3. Books shipping to happy readers. 4. SMB Nation Europe (London, Dec 2008)5. Jeff Middleton (right) talks with attendee at

SMB Nation Europe6. Harry visits with Charles Imeme

(Call4Support) at SMB Nation Europe7. SMB Nation Ireland (Dec 2008)8. Harry with Microsoft Ireland SMB/SBS

managers

6

43

5

1 2SM

B Pa

rtne

r Com

mun

ityQ1

200

93


can be embraced in its SMB partnercommunity. (Hint: Start with goldmining.) The BusinesSpeak multi-community article shows we are allconnected within a few degrees ofseparation, kinda like LinkedIn! TheGeekSpeak contribution concernsMicrosoft Response Point Service Pack2—it’s ready for prime time. That isfollowed by a VoIP SMB survey that is

extremely interesting. Andwe end with a virtualizationcontribution from AshutoshTiwary, CEO at Doyenz.

SMB Nation Web siteKeep an eye peeled towardsour revamped web site atwww.smbnation.com. Forexample, we now haveforums for communitypostings and Q&A. Theforum idea was born ofnecessity. The MSN Groupsclosed in late February andwe need to port our 70-282and 70-653 exam cramgroups over. So weimplemented the ActiveForums module! A “bestpractice” would be toBOOKMARK our web site

and check it often for updated news.

See You at SMB Nation Spring!In early May, we hold our fourth

annual Spring show, and it’s a crackerbarrel full of immediately useful contentyou can use to not only survive butTHRIVE! Smart businesses are gainingground right now, while weakcompetitors falter. Be smart and attend

SMB Nation Spring 2009. Details aboutthe May 1-3 event to be held in the New York City area are atwww.smbnation.com.

Harry BrelsfordCEO, SMB NationPublisher, SMB Partner Community

Kinda hard to see, but over 15,000 worker bees surround a Queen Bee and are starting to build a new hive.

The message? This “opportunity tree” speaks to renewedproductivity and the need to get back to work!

Photo taken in Cape Town, South Africa.

SMB Community Photos!

87

Q1 2009:Q1 2009 3/24/09 3:35 PM Page 5


SMB

Part

ner C

omm

unity

Q1 2

009

4

COVER STORY

ately, I have been spending a lot oftime in the opportunity module ofthe ERP system we use at SMB

Nation. This exercise is both therapeuticand practical. The “therapy” is thatworking with opportunities leads tooptimism, so I feel better about myselfand my company. The “practical” side is that there is always plenty ofopportunities out there – in good timesor bad.

While researching this article, Irealized that opportunity is in the eye ofthe beholder. Whereas one person’ssaintly behavior is offset by another’ssins, both saints and sinners havecounter-cyclical opportunities rightbefore their eyes. I have compiled a list ofopportunities you might consider in 2009to “go and grow” your SMB-basedtechnology consulting practice. Much ofthis analysis is pulled from my researchand worldwide observations.

Medical and Education SectorsTied at the top of my opportunity list

are the medical and educational sectors.As you can see in this figure, takenrecently from The Wall Street Journal, thesetwo sectors are currently ADDING JOBS!I am not suggesting that all ye oldeSBSers quickly retrain as nurses. Rather,when developing your razor-like focus inresponse to challenging conditions, youare encouraged to seek out economicsectors that are actually demonstratingeconomic growth. The medical sector isbenefiting from a demographic trend ofan aging populace. Education is seekinggrowth from a counter-cyclicalviewpoint: folks improving themselveswhen confronted with unemployment (or“under-employment,” where their skillsare underutilized).

But enough econometrics (hey –isn’t that the type of math that got usinto this trouble?). SMB consultantsreally “get it” when fellow partners echowhat the broader statistics tell us. In arecent workshop that I conducted inEMEA, a partner proffered histestimonial that his niche in theeducational area has served himespecially well in this economy. OtherSMB consultants have told me that theirmedical clients are life savers – literally!

Keep the Faith!“Our SMB PC magazine cover boy”

Mark Moreno (aka “Christ’s IT Guy athttp://christsitguy.blogspot.com/) has alot of positive energy and that is leadingto terrific results – even today! What’sMark’s secret sauce? He has combinedhis passion for IT with his Christian faith.One of his niches is serving as theoutsourced SMB technology consultantto churches. In a sense, Mark is doingwhat many readers (and writers, such asyours truly) want to do: combine passionand professionalism or business andpleasure and make a reasonableeconomic profit along the way. TheElkhart, Indiana, resident has found hiscalling and supports both the datanetworking and telephony needs ofchurches around the country.

So why weave this conversation intoan economics article? For one simplereason. During economic downturns, Ihave witnessed – and research confirms –that folks turn to sources ofenlightenment and empowerment to helpthem improve their condition. For someit’s the pew and, as you will read shortly,for others it’s the pub. For Mark, servingmega-churches and other parishes hasallowed him to report growth indowntimes.

It should also be noted that when Iinterviewed Mark at the ITEXPO show in

Miami in early February 2009, he spoke atlength about his successful managedservices practice and rattled off adizzying array of facts and figures (e.g.,“truck roll rates”) that has convinced meto write a detailed article on this topic ata future date.

Natural Resources – HedgingSomeone is always making money.

This can be accomplished by taking shortpositions in securities performing poorlyor long positions in areas that go up whenmost indicators go down. An example ofthis is GOLD! Whereas most business-minded folks – likely you, the reader –have a business model predicated uponcontinual growth, there are other businessmodels such as trading against misery.Gold is really considered a tradingvehicle, not a “growth investment,” and itthrives in fearful times. So notsurprisingly, gold has flirted with andcrossed over $1,000 USD per ounce inrecent times. That translates into busymines, such as those outsideJohannesburg South Africa, that need ITsupport! Another natural resource to trackis oil, which can outperform the market ina downturn. But be careful. What goes upmight just go down as we’ve all seen inworld oil prices over the past year. Well-known SBSers Philip Elder and StuartCrawford live in Alberta, Canada, anestablished and prolific oil region andhave benefited from the strength of oilprices over the years in their SMBtechnology consulting practices.

Necessities Something I learned growing up in

an oil crash in Alaska (mid-1980s) wasthat suppliers who provide “necessities”to shoppers are essentially immune toeconomic downturns. Today thattranslates into the “outperform” resultsreported by WalMart with is sales of foodgoods and basic necessities. This isechoed by similar results from Costcowarehouse stores, dollar stores, andsecond-hand stores.

Article continues at our BLOG atwww.smbnation.com

L

Top 2009 Opportunities forSMB Consultants by Harry Brelsford

Adding up to 2.6 million2008 job losses and gains by industry,in thousandsTotalConstructionManufacturingMiningRetailWholesaleTransporationInformationFinancialsBusiness servicesEducation and health careHospitalityGovernment

-2,589 -632 -791 63 -522 -164 -146 -85 -148 -681 536 -167 181

Q1 2009:Q1 2009 3/24/09 3:35 PM Page 6

Q1 2009:Q1 2009 3/24/09 3:35 PM Page 7

SMB

Part

ner C

omm

unity

Q1 2

009

6


GEEK SPEAKby Harry Brelsford

hey say you can take away thetechnology from the boy but youcan’t ever take away the inner

GEEK! I proved this once again lastweekend when I had one of my GEEKSUNDAYS. No one was in the main officeof SMB Nation, so I was left alone toperform IT maintenance, includingimplementing Microsoft Response PointService Pack 2. I love these days, as Idon’t get enough geek time as a CEOdriving business development and otheractivities in my “day job.”

For those new to Microsoft ResponsePoint (RP), it is a complete small businesstelephone system that is voice-driven andeasy to use. In early February 2009, RPService Pack 2 was released at an industrytradeshow (ITEXPO, Miami). I had theopportunity to sit down with the new RPgeneral manager, John Fredrickson, anddiscuss RP SP2 and beyond. ResponsePoint SP2 contains the followingincremental improvements that I think areespecially notable and we are utilizing.

Intercom & pagingAfter hours receptionist settingsVPN & multi-subnet support (moreon this in a moment)Launch a Web page from anincoming callNew trunk devices (e.g., T1 support)Support for analog phone (FXS) andother devicesParked call returnPersonal contacts can be called withspecific services

BEST PRACTICE: You can learn moreabout the above specific features byvisiting www.telephonation.com andlooking under the forms for informationon the new “Quick Start Guides,” whichfocus on end-user usage (e.g., how to usethe intercom). You will also see a link toallow you to view the February 11, 2009,Response Point Town Hall Meeting.

So my Seattle Sunday started in earnest. I arrived at the office and visited the RP Web site just likeanyone else would (www.microsoft.com/responsepoint). Clicking on theMicrosoft Response Point SP2 link bringsyou to a SP2 landing page. Click the FreeResponse Point SP2 Download – ClickHere for SP2 NOW! button. I was thentaken to the Microsoft Response Point 1.0

Service Pack 2 landing page inside theMicrosoft Download Center.

BEST PRACTICE: Print out and reviewthis page completely! It is your simplifiedstep-by-step installation procedure forSP2. One of the reasons careful reading iscritical here is that you will want todownload the hardware firmwareupgrades for your respective telephone(Aastra, Syspine, D-Link). You will needthese firmware upgrades for a later step.

The basic Response Point SP2implementation process can be dividedinto four steps after you download thefile (as discussed above). I downloadedthe 100 MB RP SP2 file from thedownload page without incident. Then Ispecifically adhered to Microsoft’s four-step RP SP2 deployment approach. Hereis my experience:

1. Upgrade the Administrator softwareon the administrative computer. Atthis step, following the step-by-stepprocedures, you will run the setupwizard to update both theAdministrator and Assistantprograms on the administrativecomputer you are currently workingfrom. Basically you will click Next,agree to the licensing, and then clickFinish. Simple stuff.

2. Upgrade the base unit software. Aspart of this process, the setup routinewill make a backup copy of yourexisting Response Point configurationsettings and data files (approximately249 files in my case). Some whirlinglater and you have a rebooted,upgraded base unit. You will notice“red error messages” listed next to thetelephones in the Administrator thatthe telephones have out-of-datefirmware. I discuss that in Step Four.

3. Upgrade the Assistant software oneach workstation computer. Iperformed this for one machine at theSMB Nation office. I handled it twoways. First, I upgraded the laptop Iwas working on to adhere to thesuggested four-step methodologyrevealed here. But I had each staffmember upgrade his or her ownlaptop later in the week by clicking on

an UNC link to our f:> server storagedrive (a folder called “DataMaster”).The upgrade procedure for theAssistant was standard stuff where theuser agreed to read a welcome screen.

4. Upgrade the device firmware. Iviewed this as perhaps the mostimportant part of the SP2implementation. In my experiencewith RP, many sins are solved with afirmware update to the telephoneunit. What was impressive with RPSP2 is that the telephone deviceupdate cycle worked flawlessly. Inpast firmware updates, I have had tomanually restart a telephone here andthere (power down/power up), butsuch was not the case this time.Impressive and bullet-proof. It shouldbe noted that the ClearOne speakertelephone for RP, which I installed inthe same weekend visit, did notrequire a firmware update for RP SP2.

Branch officecommunications

This is the first part of my story to get“branch office” RP connectivity betweenmy main Bainbridge Island office and myhome office. Essentially I wanted“Extension 121” to ring all the way to myhome office desk. Simple stuff on thewhite board, but to be honest, anincomplete story as of this writing andsubject to a follow-up article.

The first step I took in pursuit ofVPN connectivity was to stop and READthe VPN quick-start guide here(http://www.microsoft.com/responsepoint/help/quick-guides.aspx).


TA Weekend Warrior Installs RP SP2!

The ClearOne RP speakerphone worksamazingly well at SMB Nation

Q1 2009:Q1 2009 3/24/09 3:35 PM Page 8

SMB

Part

ner C

omm

unity

Q1 2

009

7

BUSINESSSPEAKby Harry Brelsford

Multi-Community: Degrees of SeparationWe are all connected somehow…

an cannot live on bread alone.As we all know, good healthrequires a balanced mix of all

the food groups. A balanced technologyecosystem that supports the SMBtechnology consultant results in betterbusiness outcomes. Having attended acouple of different shows in the pastcouple of months, I have discovered thatseveral SMB technology vendors crossparty lines and are truly bipartisan. Thevery premise of this article is to identifyvendors and sponsors who servemultiple technology communities

My first tale occurred right after thestart of the year. I recently had business inthe San Francisco area. Before traveling, Icontacted a sponsor, EMC, to arrange avisit. They suggested I visit the EMCbooth at MacWorld for our businessappointment. The more I thought aboutit, the more I saw the brilliance in thisrequest. Heck, I had just received anApple iPhone for the holidays, and Iwanted to learn more about my new toy!I also wanted to learn more about newtechnology communities in 2009, so off toMacWorld I went!

First ImpressionsWhen I walked into MacWorld, I

quickly realized that this group knewwhat the word “Community” meanswith a capital “C.” Whereas I thoughtSBSers knew community, we don’t haveanything on the Macintosh crowd. Attown hall meeting to discuss the future ofMacWorld (Apple announced itswithdrawal from the 2010 MacWorldshow) I witnessed over 600 folks offeringadvice on how to keep the communitygoing. These attendees even looked likeus SBSers, I arrived at the realizationsthat what we have in common is strongerthan what pulls us apart!

EMCSMB Nation supporter EMC had a

popular booth to promote its Macintosh-centric storage solutions. This is anexample of a vendor bridging out acrosscommunities to sell its products andwares. EMC is known for its storagesolutions. But did you know that EMChas started to expand its horizons? Itsacquisition of Iomega provided aplatform for an SMB-managed-services

solution. A visit to its Web site atwww.emc.com reveals its applicationssolutions and its push into cloudcomputing. And don’t forget that EMCacquired VMware in late 2003/early 2004.

A postscript note. In a follow-up visitwith EMC at its Pleasanton, CA, office, Iwitnessed firsthand how one teamsupports multiple communities. The SMBteam I work with was jammed on aMacintosh product release!

xTupleThe xTuple story is the ERP in SMB

story. This firm, also exhibiting atMacWorld, actually has a presence in theWindows world and open sourcecommunity. Its core ERP competency withits high-end ERP application is in themanufacturing sector (the OpenMFGEdition). But the version most likely to beof interest for SMB Nation tribal membersis the PostBooks version. This SKUprovides what I know to be true about ERPsolutions, including accounting, sales andCRM support, purchasing, productdefinition, inventory, reporting and evensupport for light manufacturing. Inspeaking with xTuple president and CEONed Lilly, I learned of xTuple’s communityroots and how this ERP system has grownby a grass-roots paradigm of buildingadditional features and functionality basedon community input. Lilly emphasized thecross-cultural aspects of this offering withits support for multiple communities. LaterI learned it had released a newmultilanguage pack, further extending itsreach. Lilly must be doing something right

because at press deadline, the Norfolk, VA-based company reported 250% revenuegrowth in 2008. Good news indeed at atime when others are reporting earningschallenges. xTuple’s earning success can betraced to several factors, including adoubling of its customer base. Particulargood news is that xTuple looks to expandits channel partner program in the 2009.Learn more at www.xtuple.com.

By the way, I will write an ERP storyin the next SMB PC magazine issue thatoutlines the opportunity for SMB Nationtribal members (read SMB consultantsand SBSers) to morph into highlyprofitable ERP consultants in the SMBspace. And I conclude by telling you thatxTuple was, in my opinion, the mostBusinessSpeak-oriented application atMacWorld, where the primary showfocus was more consumer-based, likewith my iPhone!

ReflexionSo I dug a bit deeper to discover

other multi-community connections inthe vendor community. I didn’t have tolook far. In chatting with Scott Barlow atReflexion (a Boston-area company thatprovides a hosted e-mail spam-prevention service), he shared twofactoids. First, as a hosted service,Reflexion is really multi-community. It isworking with standards (SMTP, POP) toanalyze e-mail. Those standards areindifferent to the type of platform you areutilizing. True enough.



Ned Lilly, president and CEO at xTuple, isdriving success in difficult times.

EMC booth with significant activity. This is a company that is successfully serving

multiple communities.

M

Q1 2009:Q1 2009 3/24/09 3:35 PM Page 9


SMB

Part

ner C

omm

unity

Q1 2

009

8

VIRTUALLY THERE!by Ashutosh Tiwary

ew technologies such asvirtualization, cloud computingand enterprise class automation

tools are driving significant changes in ITfor the SMB. They are transforming theindustry landscape and creatingefficiencies of scale and enabling qualityof service that were not possible before.At the same time, current economicconditions, market consolidation andprice competition are exerting increasingeconomic pressure on your business.Customers want to pay less yet demandbetter quality and service. The currentbreak-fix model no longer fits the bill; itdoesn’t give your customers the qualityof service they need at a price they canafford, nor relieve you of the never-ending feast-or-famine in your business.You need a business model that gives youa predictable revenue stream and allowsyou to grow and manage a profitablebusiness in this economy.

This new market climate combinedwith the latest technology trends areushering in a “New IT Economy,” onewhich requires dramatically betterbusiness models in order to provide thequality and efficiency of IT needed in theSMB. These needs can be met bycombining traditional managed serviceswith new technologies like virtualization,cloud computing and automation. In thisseries of articles we will delve into howthese technologies work, when they aremost useful, how they will affect yourbusiness, and finally, how to make theNew IT Economy work for you.

In order to take advantage of thisNew IT Economy, it will be important toconsider the following: • Do you have a standardized IT

environment that you can configureand deploy automatically using bestpractices?

• Can you minimize downtime by

effectively testing patches, upgrades,migrations and new applicationinstallations before you put it into yourcustomer’s production environment?

• Can you provide remote rapidresponse when problems occur orprovide rapid local failover withminimal data loss?

• Can you provide zero-touch offsitedisaster recovery including rapidoffsite failover in the event of acatastrophic failure?

It’s a daunting task. How are you toaccomplish all this without significantupfront investments in tools andtechnology while continuing to providethe excellent personalized service to yourcustomers so far?


N

The New IT Economy: Technology TrendsTo Transform Your Business

Q1 2009:Q1 2009 3/24/09 3:35 PM Page 10


SMB

Part

ner C

omm

unity

Q1 2

009

9

by Harry Brelsford

SMB VoIP Survey Results

PERCEPTIONS

riters like to play on words aspart of their craft. With thewinter cold and flu season

upon us, I have received numerousmeeting cancellations on my schedulebecause colleagues have “lost their voice.”And that got me thinking. If their voiceisn’t working, is their VoIP working in theeconomic winter storm? That is, how isthe VoIP segment of the technology sectorholding up in the Great Recession?

So I created a VoIP survey with a twist.Over 260 readers answered a dozenquestions about VoIP in the SMB area. Mostfolks provided contact details in order to beentered into the prize drawing for an AppleiPod giveaway. The winner of the iPod wasBob Pogue, who is now happily listening tohis playlist. And what is the twist on thissurvey? Simply this. In new and emergingtechnologies, often the most qualifiedindividuals—known as subject matterexperts—work in the private sector at ISVs,vendor companies, and the like. So Iteamed up with New Global Telcom’s Julie

Buchanan and Matt Wilson, and wedesigned a valuable VoIP survey. I will nowpresent the results and offer analysis.

1. What services are you currentlyproviding?Networking infrastructure (91.1%)Mobility sales, services, support (52.7%)VoIP-specific sales, services, support (44.2%)Telephony sales, services,and support (35.3%)Line of business applications (35.7%)Database development/programming/development (32.6%)Web hosting (27.5%)Host e-mail (26.7%)

Analysis: The above question allowedmultiple response because SMBconsultants wear multiple hats. Theresults also show that we are a bunch ofcomputer guys and gals still deeplycommitted to the local areanetwork/wide area network world. Fair

enough—that’s an honorable past,present, and future.

2. Are there additional services you planto add to your portfolio to grow yourservices in the coming year?Yes (66.7%)No (33.3%)Mother of invention time. The interestingthing about challenging times is that it forcesyou to re-create yourself real quick! So folksare eager to learn about new opportunitiesand then deliver those opportunities.

3. If “yes” to Question 2 (above), whatnew services are you considering offeringin 2009?VoIP sales, service, support (56.2%)Security (36.6%)Telephony sales, services,and support (28.1%)Web hosting, hosted services (25.5%)


W

Q1 2009:Q1 2009 3/24/09 3:35 PM Page 11


SMB

Part

ner C

omm

unity

Q1 2

009

10

TECHNOLOGY WATCH

SBS MVPFrank McCallister Deceased

Frank McCallisterMicrosoft MVP (mostvalued professional),passed away in his sleepin late February 2009 ofcomplications from arecent heart attack. Frankwas 78 years old. Frank

McCallister was born in Toledo, Ohio6/17/1930. He grew up in St. PetersburgFL and Atlanta GA, Graduated GeorgiaInstitute of Technology 1952. After Pilottraining was USAF Fighter Pilot Retired in1975. Traveled Europe, Turkey, and Libyain late 60’s flying F-100 aircraft. Frank wasthe first commander of detachment ofSkyraiders escorting helicopters into Laosand North Vietnam rescuing our downedpilots. Frank was a moderator, friend andan MVP’s MVP. Frank has been very activein these newsgroups for many years evenas recently as last month, even beforebeing awarded as an MVP. Frank will besorely missed by all of us who have hadthe privilege to know him. Not only forwhat he shared technically, but for what heshared as a person. He will be missed andfondly remembered.

Reflexion Awarded!

Scott Barlow reports that Reflexion hasbeen awarded the VARBusiness TechInnovator of the Year award for themanaged services category. Visitwww.reflexion.com.

The Utility Company MakesEntrepreneur 500

This long-time SMBcommunity memberwas named to

Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top 500 list andrecognized for being one of the toptechnology franchises. Aaron Bradley alsoreports a new Utility Certified VendorProgram “We are excited to announce thelaunch of our Utility Certified VendorProgram! This program was designed toevolve our Connected Office services tobetter meet the needs of specific verticalmarkets (like insurance, legal, etc.)” Learnmore at www.theutilitycompany.com.

Using Windows Home Serverfor Managed Services?

Level Platforms hasagain shaken theSMB IT space with a

new paradigm: using Windows HomeServer (WHS) for SMB managed services.“The SOHO market represents atremendous opportunity for solutionproviders looking to providecost effective best in class support tosmaller businesses,” said Peter Sandiford,CEO Level Platforms. “Most of our 3000Partners worldwide provide managedservices to the Windows Small BusinessServer market. With this announcementwe are radically expanding the size of theiravailable market and bringing the benefitsof managed services to millions ofbusinesses that were not previouslyaccessible to the service providercommunity.”“This solution rocks,” saidAaron Booker, President of Hardlines, aWashington based solution providerfocused on the small business market. “Byadding the Windows Home Server to itsarsenal of Microsoft integrations, LevelPlatforms has blown the lid off a hugelyunderserviced and important segment ofthe business market”. Learn more atwww.levelplatforms.com and see the nextissue of this magazine when we reviewWHS as a data backup tool.

Doyenz Launches AutomatedVirtual IT Managed Service

This is anaffordable SaaSs u b s c r i p t i o n

offering that requires no hardware orsoftware investment, allowing ITconsultants to build a recurring repeatablerevenue stream and grow their profits,while lowering costs and improvingservice to their SMB customers. Visitwww.doyenz.com.

Diskeeper Earns Microsoft GoldPartner Status!

L o n g - t i m e SMB Nations u p p o r t e r ,

Diskeeper Corporation, happily reports itis now a Microsoft Gold Partner inaddition to being having the SmallBusiness Specialist title. Diskeeperprovides disk management utilities. Visitwww.diskeeper.com.

Aastra Reports Record Revenues!

We like goodnews and in

from Aastra – lots of cash on hand and

record revenues. Reporting its 43rdstraight quarter of profitability, Aastrasales increased from $606M to $832M forthe year ended 12-31-08. All indicatorswere up including Gross Margin (up to47% from 42.8% of sales) and Net Incomeended at $261.8M compared to $155.2M.Aastra is one of three Microsoft ResponsePoint hardware suppliers. Visitwww.aastra.com.

Nancy Williams Joins Secure My Computer

Long-time SMB community member andformer SMB Nation employee (back in the“early days”) Nancy Williams reportedthat she has joined Secure My Computer(SMC) as Vice President – CommunityRelations. “In my new role I will workwith SMC’s partners, vendors and othersin the SMB community in an effort to helpMSPs grow their businesses and developcommunity relationships.”

Williams recently left MSPSN.SecureMyCompany is a wholesaledistributor of Managed Services Software,specifically hosted Kaseya. In the next few weeks there will be some big changes and announcements at SMC;including a corporate name change, new vendor relationships and a newservice offering for MSPs. Visitwww.securemycompany.com.

SMB Photo and Varvid offersdeals for SMB Nation Spring

Attendees!As part of our “technology makeover”theme at SMB Nation Spring, SMB Photoand Varvid. For $49.95 (normally $199.95),SMB Photo offers an amazing professional“headshot” portfolio so that you can takeyour professionalism to the next level withnew mug shots for your Website, businesscard, brochure, etc. You will own the full release to these photos. Visitwww.smbphoto.com.

Varvid offers asimilar packagewith a short video

clip introduction service in a Web 2.0 socialnetworking connection kinda way.Imagine a professionally edited video clipof up to three minutes of yourself on yourWebsite introducing yourself to customersand be interviewed by a reporter. Thisservice is delivered at the highestprofessional levels and is only $199(normally $399). Visit www.varvid.com.

To attend SMB Nation Spring, visitwww.smbnation.com

Q1 2009:Q1 2009 3/24/09 3:35 PM Page 12

Q

A

Q

A

Q

A

QA

Why is the StorageCraft Reseller Partner Program right for solutionproviders?StorageCraft offers tremendous support for our channel partners – fromtechnical training and marketing support through lead sharing andfavorable pricing margins and incentive programs.

• No cost to join, no certification requirements.• Free NFR software: Award-winning software solutions that are easy to

use and easy to sell.• Free product training and sales support – dedicated business

development manager and technical account manager assigned to helpyou.

• Marketing support – lead generation and lead sharing; co-marketingopportunities.

• No channel conflict with inside sales – leads are passed to solutionproviders; we value our partners and want them to succeed!

What differentiates StorageCraft from others selling similar products?Our flagship product – StorageCraft ShadowProtect – is an award-winningline of backup, disaster recovery and migration solutions. Its coretechnology is extremely stable, used on millions of installations around theworld.

Reviewers in the U.S. and around the world are raving aboutShadowProtect’s speed and reliability and solution providers are takingnotice. Our partners have found that ShadowProtect makes backup,disaster recovery and system migration a remarkably easy task because ofits ability to restore servers, desktops and laptops quickly – even todissimilar hardware or a virtual environment.

How can solution providers learn more about StorageCraft programs andget on the road to increased profits today?For more information about the no-cost StorageCraft Reseller PartnerProgram and information about how to become a StorageCraft partnertoday, visit: http://www.storagecraft.com/Partners/PartnerPrograms/

What are StorageCraft partners saying about us?“Partnering with StorageCraft has saved us and our clients time, money,and headaches — and, more importantly, it has greatly reduced servicecalls for everyone. We use ShadowProtect every day on all our systems.Now my team and our customers are able to get some sleep at night.”

~ Jeff Wood, CEO, Wood Networks(www.woodnetworks.com)

Q1 2009:Q1 2009 3/24/09 3:35 PM Page 13


SMB

Part

ner C

omm

unity

Q1 2

009

12

TS2NAMIby Harry Brelsford

often use the ferry ride from my bucolicBainbridge Island to the downtown Seattlearea to write. So as I boarded today,

determined to write about the Microsoft TS2series, I grew anxious. What could I say aboutthis venerable half-day technical sale eventseries aimed at Microsoft partners that hadn’talready been said on these pages over the pastseveral years?

Then I (literally) received a reminder e-mail to my mobile telephone from Microsoftabout upcoming TS2 events. That remindergot my creative juices going, and I realizedhow well-run the TS2 events model is andhow long it’s been here. Take a bow, for TS2 isa brand!

I found my topic at that moment. I wouldwrite about my own experiences in attendingTS2 events. My first reaction to the TS2reminder e-mail was to say, “Oh, yeah! I needto go to a TS2 event.” I realize many readers—with the best of intentions to regularly attenda TS2 event—might have become complacentin recent times and simply not prioritized in-person attendance. That behavior is wrong.Seriously, if everyone starts to take TS2 eventsfor granted, soon there will be no attendees—and you know the rest of the story. So I hope

this column motivates you to visitwww.ts2seminars.com and sign up NOW foran upcoming event. Just do it.

Taking my own advice, co-workers atSMB Nation and I recently attended some TS2events to get back in the groove. I came awayfrom the half-day session impressed with thepreparation and business and technical depthof the content. This stuff is REAL and not salesfluff. I actually felt sorry for the TS2 instructor,relegated to life on the road and the constantchallenge of mastering a new technology skillset every three months. Imagine a chefworking at a high-end restaurant andcontending with a complete menu changeevery ninety days.

I asked both Patti and Jenny at SMBNation to share their TS2 experiences with mefor publication. Here’s the ladies’ viewpoint.

Jenny (she recently attended events in bothLas Vegas, NV, and Bellevue, WA): “TS2 eventsare a great way to connect with other partners toenhance your technical knowledge, as well as buildface-to-face relations. At all of the TS2 events Ihave attended I have met fantastic people who wantto enhance and grow their business through theknowledge provided by the education presented at

these events.“

Patti (she attended the event in Bellevue, WA):“At the TS2 event in Bellevue we were able to makethe introduction of SMB Nation to six people whohadn’t heard of us. We gave them a synopsis of whowe are, talked about our magazine, and directedthem to our websites. They responded with greatinterest and excitement about things to come andthe turn of the economy.”

Next StepsNow I want to hear from you. PLEASE

visit my blog at www.smbnation.com andmake your entry to the online version of thisarticle as a “comment” so I can synthesize andshare your feedback with the Microsoft TS2team.

Factoid: Did you know? Our SMB PCmagazine is distributed to each TS2 attendee!It’s true and it’s one of the reasons we’regrateful for TS2 events.

Next month – we’ll have our regular TS2columnists, either Charles V or one of theothers, return to this space with specificupdates.

IYes! I Attended A TS2 Event!

Q1 2009:Q1 2009 3/24/09 3:35 PM Page 14

Q1 2009:Q1 2009 3/24/09 3:35 PM Page 15

Q1 2009:Q1 2009 3/24/09 3:35 PM Page 16

Documents

SMB Partner Community Magazine 2009 Q1