q2 2012 smb nation magazine

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Issue 6-5

SMB NatioN aNd SMB techNology Network

preSeNt the 2Nd aNNual SMB 150 awardS

The 2012SMB 150LiST ReveaLed

The Channel’s

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contents

17 Community Photos / 26 Pluggedin / 28 PeoPle on the move 37 teChnewswatCh/advertising index/events Calendar

q2 2012

6 Editor’s NotE By Regina P. CiaRdiello

Fighting for a Cure 6

7 MsP sPEak By Steve CoPeland

Part 6: How to Avoid the McDonald’s Effect within Managed Services

12 MvP By HaRRy BRelSfoRd

MVP Events…Meet the Gurus

16 cloudsPEak By Mike l. CHaSe, (aka ‘dR. Cloud”)

The Social Side of “The Cloud”

18 BusiNEss sPEak

By HaRRy BRelSfoRd and Regina P. CiaRdiello

Calling all “Geeks”

20 vENdor ProfilE

The Adoption of Cloud Software is Growing Exponentially

22 casE studY

IT Guru Helps Rocky Mountain Urgent Care Embrace the MSP Switch

27 guEst sPEak By Jay MCBain

How BYOD and BYOA are Furthering the Consumerization of IT

31 sPEcial rEPort By HaRRy BRelSfoRd and Regina P. CiaRdiello

More Details on Microsoft Small Business Competency Trickling Out

32 sEcuritY sPEak By JoSePH WalkeR

Top Five Security Threats Facing SMBs

34 BusiNEss sPEak2.0 By tRaCy anna BadeR

An Open Letter to the SMB Community

38 HarrY’s corNEr By HaRRy BRelSfoRd

Streaming Conferences du Jour

Issue 6-5

q2 20124 SMB nation www.smbnation.com

depa

rtmen

ts

The 2012 SMB 150 LiST ReveaLedBy Harry Brelsford8

cover story

GeekspeakThings SMBs Should Know about Windows 8By Onuora Amobi

24 14perceptIonsSMB Cloud Adoption Lessons for Success

By Anurag Agrawal

On The COveR: This month’s cover features a mosaic style design inspired by a video shown at the recent Intel Partner Summit. The main photo features SMB 150 recipient Eriq Neale, surrounded by a “mosaic” of all of this year’s winners.

www.smbnation.com SMB nation 5

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Become a total solutions provider to your clients today. For more information on Total Managed Print, visit www.okidata.com/TMP

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Feel like a partner again with OKI

Fighting For a CureNormally each month I use this column to discuss what’s in store for this current issue,

as well as any activities and events that we have upcoming in our community. However, this month I wanted to take a different approach, and instead get a little more personal. While we are all aware that the focus of this month’s Cover Story (See Page 8) is on the winners of the SMB 150, there is more to this group of channel influencers than just a list of names. Those that have been honored are real people with real lives—lives that go beyond our SMB channel community, and more.

Real PeoPle, Real-life StoRieSFor instance, some of you may (or may not) know that Eriq Neale of Third

Tier, who is one of our SMB 150 recipients, was diagnosed in the last year with liver cancer. By all standards, Eriq is considered a young man. He’s only 43 years old, which is not even middle-age, and was in excellent health. It seems almost like you never know what is going to happen, or where life will take you, at least I’m sure that’s what Eriq felt upon receiving his diagnosis. While some might have just retreated into a world of depression and gloom, Eriq decided that he would grab “the bull by the horns” and instead turned his situation by extending positive energy through his work for the SMB com-munity and his Web site: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/eriqneale/mystory. On this Web site, Eriq also posts blogs updating family, friends and colleagues on his condition and his general feelings about what he is going through. A

recent post discusses a visit from his brother, and how he was even able to keep up with his wife, Anna, on a recent jogging outing. After reading this post, I felt like a very lazy person, since I am lucky if I can make it a couple of minutes running around the block in my neighborhood before I am out of breath!

There are also other members of our community who fight on for their causes, and keep things moving, despite their situations. I recently received an email from another SMB 150 recipient, David Schafran, of Cogent Growth Partners, who is doing an MS Walk at the end of April in New York City. Schafran, whose wife, Karen, was diagnosed with MS in 2001, started a walking team, “Got Wine??,” to raise money and awareness to put an end to MS. Schafran first did the MS Walk in 2002, and he and has team continue to walk each year. Even better, is that his wife’s health continues to improve, and he has since raised more than $420,000 in the past 10 years.

Eric Ligman, Director, Microsoft’s Director, Worldwide Partner Experience, also shared his story with us about his daughter, Samantha, who was diagnosed this fall with fluid on the brain (hydrocephalus). The fluid was discovered this fall, after Samantha sustained a concussion dur-ing a soccer game, and she was admitted to surgery at Seattle Children’s Hospital the next day to hopefully permanently drain the fluid, as well as a biopsy on the mass to help determine what it is.

Thankfully, Samantha is doing well. Per a blog post on her CaringBridge site: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/samanthaligman, it states that the mass on her brain has not grown at all, and Samantha is doing great. In fact, she is doing so well, that her team of doctors said she can forego any additional three-month checkups, and instead move to follow-ups every six months.

final thoughtSUsually, this is the point in the column when I let our readers know that their questions,

comments and story ideas are always welcome. However, this month, I would instead ask each of you to instead think about what it is in your life that you are most thankful for. sN

editorialPublished By SMB Nation, Inc.Bainbridge Island, WA 98110

PUBLISHERHarry [email protected]

EDITORRegina P. [email protected]

ART DIRECTORJay Sevidal

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSAnurag Agrawal, Onuora Amobi, Tracy Anna Bader, Mike Chase, Steve Copeland, Jay McBain, Eriq Neale, Joseph Walker

CONTRIBUTING PHOTGRAPHERTracy Anna Bader

BUSINESS STAFFHarry [email protected]

Tom [email protected]

Jennifer HallmarkSenior [email protected]

Chris BangsBusiness Development [email protected]

Jeremiah IglesBusiness Development [email protected]

Heather ChildersData Entry/Production [email protected]

Theresa PerryAccounting [email protected]

Marianne [email protected]

Edna [email protected]

SMB Nation, Inc.9727 Coppertop Loop NE

Building 8, Suite 203 Bainbridge Island, WA 98110

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

ISSN 1933-8899 To renew/apply/change subscriptions to SMB Nation magazine, and its weekly newsletters, visit our Web site at www.SMBNation.com, or email Heather Childers: [email protected].

Regina CiaRdielloEditor

6 SMB NATION www.smbnation.com Q2 2012

The Channel’s Best FriendQUARTER 2 ISSUE 6-5

mspspeak

by Steve CopelandCEO, Manage My IT

www.smbnation.com SMB NATION 7

This monTh’s BirTh of a Managed Services Provider column is especially near and dear to my heart. It marks my first anniversary as CEO of Manage My IT, as well as the fact that it was this time last year that I began writing this column for SMB Nation.

This year has been amazing in all facets of that word. We opened our doors and our company with one thing in mind, and that was to do things differently and to share those experiences in this regular column series. We have had some high points and some low points, some positive experiences and some learning experiences, and during those times, I have found an amazing community of peers and friends.

I would like to thank those of you that have read this little piece of the world and encouraged me; I would also like to welcome those who are reading this column for the first time. I don’t have a weekly blog or radio show, although I keep a journal in the hopes that one day it will encourage others to reach for their goals and strive to open their own company.

the “MCDonalD’s” oF ManageD serviCes

For this month’s column, I am going to discuss the “McDonald’s effect.” Or as I like to say: “Here is your man-aged services, would you like fries with that?”

Each and every one of us does managed ser-vices differently; we have a different combination of tools, skill sets and even best practices. For each and every way there is to build an IT infrastructure, there are at least 211 dif-ferent ways to implement it, and 400 ways to build an MSP. So why do our cus-tomers look at us as a simple solution? After all, they only want their IT infrastructure to work and not go down. Simple, right? I mean how hard can IT be?

Our customers expect two things from us: uptime and reliability. We present and sell another: maintenance and support. So what do you do differently than ABC MSP or even ZYX MSP? Leaders in our community and in this profession have discussed this. It is evident that large com-panies think what we do is simple. What is it you do that is different? We are all selling Big Macs, but what is in your secret sauce?

I am old enough to remember Styrofoam containers at McDonald’s, and maybe I am naive enough to somehow think that at one point the food actually tasted good. I also remember that what seemed like every other fast-food company trying to mimic them. It seems like it’s happen-ing again with Burger King stealing McDonalds’ recipes in

a recent commercial. There is an old saying in business, “The fastest way out of business is imitating your compe-tition.” Perhaps Burger King hasn’t heard that one? Have you heard that one?

staying CoMpetitive anD uniqueThere is a fierce competition ongoing in our marketplace.

We set out to be different. We want to change not only our business model, but also our customers’ way of viewing us. We also strive to not imitate our competition, but instead innovate on it.

McDonald’s didn’t become who they are because their meat or product was better. In fact, it is just a burger between two pieces of bread. McDonald’s didn’t become better because they got customers out of the drive-thru faster, or were the least

expensive, or gave you refills on drinks. McDon-ald’s became who they are because they served food up better with a smile, in some Styrofoam contain-ers dripping with grease. They didn’t even have bet-ter promotions.

Every company in the world uses Microsoft or Apple. Every company in the world uses some kind of device to access their

data whether in the cloud or on-premise. Every company in the world eats hamburgers. They look to us to show them how our burger or our way of making it is different.

It doesn’t matter what PSA or RMM tool you use, if you attended this training camp or that one, that you are part of this peer group or if you use this business coach or that one. It doesn’t matter if you use Dell, HP or a black box from Bakersfield. What matters is you all of these with one goal in mind, servicing your customers better than anyone else, but more importantly in the way they want to be serviced. It’s what our customers want and something they will never get with these mega-MSPs entering the market. sN

Steve Copeland is Founder and Owner of Manage My IT, an Irvine, Calif.-based managed services start-up. He can be reached via email at: [email protected]. Follow Steve on Twitter @managemyitinc.

THE BIRTH OF A MANAgED SERvICES PROvIDERPART 6: HOW TO AvOID THE MCDONALD’S EFFECT WITHIN MANAgED SERvICES

FOR EACH AND EvERy WAy THERE IS TO BuILD AN IT INFRASTRuCTuRE,

THERE ARE AT LEAST 211 DIFFERENT WAyS TO IMPLEMENT IT,

AND 400 WAyS TO BuILD AN MSP.

8 smb nation www.smbnation.com Q2 2012

R e a c t i o n

SMB NatioN aNd SMB

techNology

Network

preSeNt the

2Nd aNNual

SMB 150

awardS

Like good manners, leadership is always in good taste. Good times or not, there are always those achievers in any community who pay it forward, send the elevator back down and give more than they take. We believe such a list is presented here with the naming of the SMB 150 influencers for 2012. So raise your glass high, and toast these heroes for the SMB technology community.

How we Got tHereIn an industry full of awards such as the ASCII Cup, MSP Mentor 100+250,

CRN 100+500+et al, Channelnomics’ Channel Influencers and many more, we purposefully sought to be distinctive and different.

In creating the 2012 contest, we borrowed some of the best tactics used by the amazing Ramon Ray at his Smallbiztechnology.com site and his “Small Business Influencers” contest. Ray’s brilliant contest approach includes using both a popular vote and judges. In our case, we allowed the popular vote to account for 40 percent of the weighted total. The judges accounted for the remaining 60 percent of the award calculation. Judges included Jeff Connally (CEO, CMIT); Chip Reaves (former CEO, Computer Troubleshooters); Josh Peter-son (COO, FusionTek); and Larry Schulze (CEO and founder, Taylor Business Group) who cast unbiased and independent votes for the “true” SMB 150 technology influencers (in their educated opinion). The judges submitted their votes free of outside influences, not consulting the popular vote totals to avoid the appearance and practical effects of bias.

the 2012 SMB 150LiSt revealed

By Harry Brelsford, Chairman and Publisher, SMB Nation

coveRstoRy

Continued on page 10

www.smbnation.com smb nation 9

Of cOurse we also wanted to hear from this year’s SMB 150 winners, so we reached out to a few of this year’s honorees for their take on being nominated, and ultimately winning this coveated award. long-time SMB community leader karl palachuk shared the following regarding his inclusion in this year’s SMB 150: “i am very honored to be named to this list once again,” he said. “and i’m delighted to share the honor with community and business leaders from all over the world.”

palachuck is known for his user group advocacy, content and community par-ticipation that includes hosting and speaking at events. For example, his SMB online conference will be presented in late June 2012.

we also heard from additional winners, as noted below:

“I commend SMB Nation and BlackBerry and thank the SMB community for their vision to recognize those who are taking early stakes in the rapidly growing SaaS and Cloud space. SaaSMAX is committed to helping the chan-nel learn and profit from new SaaS opportunities while efficiently managing all of their SaaS deals, sales commissions and vendor relationships in a single place.” – Dina Moskowitz, FounDer anD Ceo, saasMaX, inC.

“I am grateful to both my industry peers and the SMB 150 judging panel for extending this honor to me as a member of our industry’s best and brightest thought leaders. As a small business owner myself, it gives me a sense of pride to know that I am grouped with other individuals in my industry whom share my thoughts on why it is so important to promote the SMB community and the individuals who serve it.” – Chris wiser, FounDer anD Ceo, teChsquaD it

“We sincerely appreciate the nomination. My team and I look to do one thing: serve our clients by giving them the tools, confidence and capabilities they need to take their business, income, profits and personal success to the next level. Although my clients’ success is reward enough, everyone here at Technology Marketing Toolkit appreciates the nod from the industry. I also want to point out that everything we do is possible because of the brilliant professionals working with us, namely the entire ‘Team Robin,’ our Producers Club Captains, my Genius League members and the Sponsors who make a LOT of things possible. All of these folks go the extra mile to give back and strive for excellence.” – robin robins, PresiDent, teChnology Marketing toolkit

“It is all about service. Helping IT service organizations go from good to great to awesome is why I get up in the morning. Having this acknowledgement from my peers makes me realize that I am on the right track in helping our commu-nity as a whole.” – stuart CrawForD, PresiDent anD CMo, ulistiC inC.

“I am honored to be included and representing Cisco, and women in IT, in this year’s SMB150! I am in esteemed company of 149 fellow winners whom I admire, and respect, as well as all of the wonderful nominees. It is espe-cially humbling to be in the company of 23 exceptional women represented on the list. It was wonderful to see such advancement and recognition of women in IT and inclusion and diversity of channel members from all over the world!” – MiChelle ragusa, CisCo relationshiP Manager

aaron bookerahsun saleemalan Helbushalex Rogersalistair Forbesallen milleramy babinchakamy Lubyandy Goodmanandy trishanurag agrawalarlin sorensenarnie belliniaustin mcChordbarbara Doveben m Johnsonbill Holebob Godgartbob Penlandbradley J. Dinermanbrian shermanCarl mazzanti Carlos Fernando Paleo da RochaCarlson ColombChris amoriChris bangsChris ChaseChris smithChris sterbencChris timmChris WiserChristy saccoCindy batesCorey simpsonCurtis HicksDamian LeibaschoffDan sturgillDan WensleyDana m. EppDave FoxallDave seibertDave sobelDavid belliniDavid schafranDebi bush

Dina moskowitzDona KeatingDoug YoungDouglas GrabowskiDrew PhelpsEd CorreiaElvis GustinEric LigmanEric townsendEriq nealeGareth brownGary PicaGeorge sierchioGreg starksHarry brelsfordHilton travisian moyseJames KernanJamison WestJan springJay mcbainJeannine EdwardsJeff DryallJeff middletonJeff shreeveJeremiah ilgesJerry KoutavasJim mugliaJoe HillisJohn iasiuoloJohn KrikkeJosh FreifieldJosh PetersonJoy belinda belandJustin mooreKaren ChristianKaren GuarinoKarl PalachukKeith nelsonKent mcnallKevin HoffmanKevin RoyaltyKevin WeilbacherLarry DoyleLaurie mcCabeLawrence Hsu

Lee EvansLen DiCostanzoLenin srinivasanLeonard DimiceliLinda brothertonmark Crallmark Hicksmatt makowiczmatt nachtrabmeaghan Kellymichael Jenkinmichael Reubenmichelle Ragusamitch GarvismJ shoernancy Williamsofer shimratoliver sommerPaul DippellPeter sandifordRamon L. GarciaRayanne buchianicoRichard KenyonRick bahlRob RaeRobin RobinsRobyn DavisRyan morrisscott barlowscott Cayouettescott schreimanscott scroginsean Danielsean sweeneyshari Godgartsteve Copelandsteve Harpersteve noelsteven bankssteven teigerstuart Crawfordstuart selbstsuresh Ramanisusan bradleysusanne Danseyted Hulsyted Rollertero Leskinenthomas Foxtim barretttim beardtodd thibodeauxtodd nielsentravis austinVlad mazekWain KellumWalter scottWayne smallZak Karsan

R e a c t i o n


The popular vote went viral with candi-dates campaigning to aggressively solicit as many votes as possible. It was BIG FUN in a true election year with more than 68,710 votes cast. A voter was allowed to vote once per day (24 hours) for the candidates of his or her choice. Campaign techniques mirrored real-world campaigns; tweeting, Facebook entries, press releases, telephone calls, emails, direct mail, shaking hands and kissing babies! We even hosted a 60-minute online debate!

In 2012, we created categories to better-define the candidates. Our belief is that an influencer can be an expert, leader, media professional, partner or vendor. The open-minded SMB technology community is inclusive, and we wanted our contest to reflect exactly that. Category definitions are:

experts – MVPs, technical gurus, subject matter experts, bloggers, and oth-

ers that provide information and guidance to the partner community.

Leaders – User group or trade asso-ciation leaders that better the partner community.

Media – Press, authors, editors, blog-gers and others that provide news and other content of interest to the partner community.

partners – MSPs, owners, VARs/VAPs, resellers, channel partners and any-one else selling to the SMB end user space.

This parTicular friday afTernOOn was stacking up to be another late-February Friday. We had a drop off in support requests, we were getting some internal documentation update, and we were getting close to finding a new office space that would make more sense for us. in fact, my employee Quinton and i were at one of the office spaces we were considering when a call came through on my cell phone that turned my world upside down.

in the week leading up to that Friday afternoon, i had gone from seeing my doctor about a strange abdominal pain to having Ct and mRi scans done, to heading back to the hospital by way of the ER later that night, getting a biopsy of the tumor and a PEt scan, all leading to the same conclusion: i had cancer.

i had no idea where it had come from, and the biopsy showed conflicting information about the type of cancer it was, so i was scheduled to have a liver resection done so they could biopsy a much larger tissue sample.

my liver surgery took place at the end of march 2011, and i spent the next month recovering from that surgery. in addition to the liver tumor, they found a cancerous lymph node and other tumors growing on the underside of my abdomen. surgery was not going to be able to remove all of the traces of can-cer, so i was then referred over to chemotherapy.

i started the chemo around may 1, and thus the downhill battle began. the first chemo cocktail they tried nearly killed me. another chemo concoc-tion was tried 8 weeks later, and while it wasn’t as bad as the first chemo, i certainly couldn’t say i was enjoying going through the treatments. i took a short break from chemo in July, and started taking an oral chemo medication in august. i tolerated that medication much better, but after doing a couple of cycles of it, we found that it wasn’t preventing the growth of the cancer in the way that we had hoped.

i then started another oral chemo drug in september, and by the time i finished the cycles in December, we did another scan and found the nodules that had made their way into my right lung along with other new growths found in my abdomen. after a visit to mD anderson Cancer Center in Houston, i started another chemo round in January, and we did another scan roughly 6 weeks after starting it. same result, nothing stop-ping the growth of the cancer.

You may note i’ve not said anything about my businesses that i work with, third tier or Eon Consulting. that’s because i took a medical leave of absence starting when i had the liver surgery. both organizations managed to keep moving and growing without my input, although i did check in frequently to see what was up.

in march of 2012, i made the decision, with careful consideration of my wife, and the rest of my family, that i was not going to continue with chemotherapy. i wanted the time i have left here to be time that i enjoy and can physically move around. that wouldn’t happen while on chemo. so at this point, i have stopped all cancer treatment and have gone under hospice care, and we wait to see how long i’ll be around. this has been incredibly difficult, and part of my coping mechanism has been to write periodic updates to my spot at Caringbridge, an online journal for patients going through medical care. if you want to read more details, you can follow me at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/eriqneale/journal.

in many ways, i feel lucky that i have received the diagnosis early, even though going through the treatment has been anything but a joyride. i have been able to take time to get my affairs in order so my wife doesn’t have to deal with those things on her own during a period where she will be in great grief. i have donated my body to a local medical school, so i can still continue to edu-cate people even after i’m gone. i’ve been able to transfer essential knowledge to my business associated at third tier and Eon Consulting. i’ve also been able to make time to spend with people i might not have done so otherwise.

i have no idea how much time i have left, but i have learned a very important lesson: Live every day to the fullest; and i don’t mean that in a motivational slogan way. i have really worked on enjoying each day and finding at least one good thing about every day that i get to spend here. i hate that i won’t be present to receive my smb top 150 award or at any of the other events that i would normally attend, but that’s the straw that i’ve drawn for this life. i’m choosing to make the time i have left the best time i can have with what i have left. sN

sMB 150 Contest• Nomination (early 2012)• popular voting (March/april 2012)• Judges voting (april 2012)• election results (april 2012) • award celebration (May 16th la, ca)

coveRstoRy

Continued from page 8

Living Life to the fuLLestSMB 150 Recipient Eriq Neale Continues to Fight On

By eriq neaLeOwner, EON Consulting

LLC, and Partner Third Tier


ron frere’s Lessons for efficiency and Work-Life BaLance

iT’s True that many of this year’s smb 150 winners most definitely have the work-life balance situation to a tee. However, there is one member of our community that while not included in this year’s smb 150, still deserves a mention on how to make the most of the all-important “work-life-balance, and that’s Ron Frere.

Ron Frere is many an it professional’s dream come true. He started his own it consultancy in 1992. by 2004, he had earned enough money for him and his wife to buy the snow Goose inn. Eight years later, he’s living in Vermont, away from the hustle and bustle of boston. While he still maintains a number of longtime clients, he spends much of his time relishing in the natural beauty of rural Vermont while keeping inn with his wife.

Ron’s story is a lesson in efficiency and work-life balance. after his kids were off to college, he and his wife decided to buy the snow Goose inn. When i asked him why, he said: “Peace in the family!” popped out before anything else. Ron had had his career, and it was time for his wife to have hers.

only, Ron wasn’t quite finished with his. His clients—mostly small law firms—had no intention of letting him leave. Ron’s need to serve clients from several hours away propelled him to heights of efficiency that left me slack-jawed and jealous. about three times a month, he made the drive of 150 miles down rural state highways to spend three days meeting with clients in eastern massachusetts, boston and the Connecticut shore.

When he’s not on the road, Ron does all of his work from the comfort of his country manor. When i asked him how, he explained to me the magic of remote monitoring. all of his clients’ servers have remote management installed, and most of them have remote power management. all of his production servers run on Hyper-V and are backed up throughout the day for easy recovery. (He mentioned that he especially likes shadowProtect for quick and painless backup and recovery.)

When i asked Ron how he had grown such a successful business, he paused for a moment. “i never did much marketing,” he said eventually. “When i started my business, i knew i wanted to go vertical. it was going to be either doctors or lawyers, and i chose lawyers.”

i could hear the smile in Ron’s voice when he added, “From the beginning, i lived by an important prin-ciple: i don’t work for a business unless the owner makes more money than me.” Ron assured me that what he meant was he wanted to work for established businesses that were on their way up, not fly-by-night opera-tions always looking for the cheapest shortcuts.

i sat back and thought: Here was a man who had barely spent a dime on marketing, who was spending most of his time working in the comfort of his own home, whose wife was living her dream, whose motto was, “Peace in the family!” i was hesitant to pump Ron for more information, but i had to know more. this guy had what i wanted.

Happily, he obliged. “network, network, network,” he offered. Ron couldn’t stress enough the importance of talking with both his peers and people in the business community. He still receives calls on a regular basis from new potential clients, and they’re all referrals. He said that what small firms most appreciate is how he functions as their Director of it. He’s decidedly not an msP; he’s not trying to sell a package.

What Ron does is sit down with each client and figure out what they need. He takes responsibility for their servers, email, phone, and whatever other it services they need. Ron makes sure all of his clients have exactly what they need to accomplish their goals at exactly the right price. and if something goes wrong, he knows how (or where to turn) to fix it.

“Do you worry about competition?” i asked him.“my clients receive sales calls on a regular basis. the msPs are quite aggressive actually, and they usually

have some sort of attractive package. but my clients don’t want a package. they want a Director of it. they want a relationship.”

Ron hasn’t lost a client yet. sN

Vendors – Sponsors, hardware and software manufacturers, service provid-ers, and anyone else providing something for sale to the partner community.

CoMMunity CeLeBration!A shout out to BlackBerry as the pri-

mary sponsor for the SMB 150 contest, along with additional support from OKI Data Americas, CharTec, Quest Software/PacketTrap and others for supporting our efforts to prosecute a progressive and world-class professional awards contest. Our sponsors will be supporting our May 16th awards ceremony in Los Angeles, Calif., which has committed attendees from the U.S., Brazil, Australia and Canada. At

the event, each SMB 150 incumbent will be awarded an amazing award plaque and a BlackBerry PlayBook (64GB). “I encourage everyone in the SMB channel community to join me in celebrating the accomplishments of the men and women who made the SMB 150 list,” said Josh Freifield, President of the SMB Technology Network. “Each and every one of them has spent countless hours growing our community and deserves every accolade we can give them. I can’t wait to toast them in Los Angeles.”

tHe FinaL wordPerhaps Freifield said it best when

asked for his summation of this year’s SMB 150 Channel Influencers. “Looking at the list of winners, it becomes clear that the quality of these unsung SMB heroes has been well represented,” he added. “By utiliz-ing a voting system in conjunction with an esteemed panel of judges consisting of Jeff Connally, Josh Peterson, Chip Reaves, and Larry Schulze, we’ve been able to honor people based on their contribution and par-ticipation in this closely knit community.” sN

“Looking at the List of winners, it

becomes cLear that the quaLity of these unsung smb heroes

has been weLL represented.”

Ron Frere (left) recently hosted Harrybbb (right) in Vermont at the Snow Goose Inn, which he co-owns with his wife.

By Joseph Walker, Contributing Writer, SMB Nation

Pho

to b

y Tr

acy

Ann

a B

ader


mvp

My intention with this coluMn is to share with you a roundup of events that are Microsoft MVP-centric. I start with our own MVP Nation, discuss Dave Sander’s IT Pro Appreciation Day and Jeff Middleton’s IT Pro Conference.

MVP NATION, MARCH 2-3, 2012, REDMOND, WAA few days before our annual MVP Nation conference,

Microsoft released its Windows 8 “Customer Preview” at a mobility conference in Barcelona, Spain. That led to our presenting current Windows 8 information to an audience of 400 attendees (200 live, 200 online; see Harry’s Corner, Page 38, for more information on conference streaming) at the well-respected Microsoft Conference Center in Redmond. Many speakers were Microsoft MVPs themselves, but not all. However, all speakers were esteemed technical Windows 8 gurus who were well-received.

The original idea behind MVP Nation was to have a public-facing event featuring and hosting Microsoft MVPs. The intended audience of IT Pros, SMB channel partners, Microsoft partners, resellers and consultants would receive instant gratification from the current content being deliv-ered. What we ultimately discovered was the alignment of the conference largely adhered to plan but that the MVPs were more comfortable in the role of speaker and not as much as mere attendee.

The content provided at MVP Nation included: • MVP Nation Welcome Address.• Windows 8 Expert Panel.• Installing and Configuring Windows “8” –

The old and the new!• MVP Nation 2012 Keynote Speech.• Disaster Recovery and Data Protection Planning - Keys

to Maximize Business Continuity.• How Symform is Disrupting the Cloud Storage Market

and Why That’s Good for Your Business.• Windows Server 8 Hyper-V more Virtualization Than

Ever -Session I.• Introducing Windows MultiPoint Server 2011.• Windows Server “8” Hyper-V - Even More Available and

Advanced Tactics -Session II.• What you DON’T know about Windows 8 Workstation!• Why SMB2.2 based NAS Storage is a “must have” for

Windows Server “8” deployments.• 10,000 computers, 10 staff and 1 script.• Ahead of the Curve – Windows Phone Deep Dive for Fun

and Profit!!!• Windows “8” Tablets Demystified.• Town Hall Meeting, March 3rd.

Moving forward – we’re open and receptive to your ideas about what MVP Nation could or should be. We believe that a strong technical focus makes sense and should that focus expand to encompass the mid-sized and enterprise markets? How about on-site certification testing? Please let us know your thoughts!

BTW – you can sign-up to watch the entire MVP Nation conference (taped sessions) at mvp.smbnation.com for $99 USD. Special shout outs to Onuora Amobi (Windows8update.com), Tony Bradley (PCWorld) and Wes Miller (Directions on Microsoft) for lending us a hand on two expert panels!

IT PRO APPRECIATION DAy (MARCH 23, 2012, CHARlOTTE, NC)

Long-time successful community advocate Dave Sand-ers, a Microsoft MVP, recently held the IT Pro Appreciation Day that wasn’t your normal technology event. It had a com-munity charity theme in addition to technology content. “It was driven by our desire to help out deserving charities that help the homeless and kids in need including Autism Speaks, Kids First of the Carolinas, and OliveWhite, an organization that takes homeless men and women off the street, places them in housing and provides rehabilitation to turn their lives around. All proceeds go to these charities,” Sanders shared.

It was also priced very different from other industry events. For $10 at the door for full admission including lunch, attendees were treated to expert lectures from numerous MVPs such as Kevin Royalty, Grey Lancaster, Cliff Galiher, Andy Goodman, Amy Babinchak, Rhonda Layfield and Dave Sanders himself. Microsoftie Yung Chou presented on

the conference season is in full swing for the mVP set

mVP eVents… meet the gurus

by harrybbbChairman and Publisher

SMB Nation

Community advocate Dave Sanders, a Microsoft MVP, held the IT Pro Appreciation Day on March 23 in Charlotte, NC. In addition to technology content, the event had a community charity theme and donated all proceeds to various charities, such as Autism Speaks, Kids First of the Carolinas and OliveWhite.

numerous cloud topics. Topic ranged from Hyper-V Lynch, Mulitpoint Server and Windows Storage Server. It was con-sidered a major success with a great day of content and community giving at its core.

it Pro coNfereNce (JuNe 8-9, 2012, NeW orleaNs)

Banking on crowd interest in the theme “Trusted Identity: Faith in a Technology World,” Microsoft MVP Jeff Middleton is hosting his IT Pro Conference, taking place in New Orleans via seven-day Caribbean cruise, June 10-17.

While the event is celebrating its fifth anniversary, there are some new offerings for 2012, such as the conference’s Technical Pre-Day on Thursday, June 7. Known as the “Third Tier Brain Explosion,” this full day of content will occur just in time for the start of the event’s Jazz Reception Welcome party. Note there is a separate registration fee required to attend the pre-day.

Prior to the departure of the seven-day cruise on Sun-day, June 10, the IT Pro Conference will also be holding a two-day French Quarter Weekend Conference on Friday,

June 8 to Saturday, June 9 at the Aster Crowne Plaza Hotel in New Orleans. Attendees can also enjoy the Saturday Night Dine-round and Balcony Cocktail Party that evening, before the ship departs the next morning for the one-week cruise.

“By no means is this going to be a conference structured entirely on the arcane concepts of security, authentication, and validation of logons and access rights,” Middleton said. “Yes, how computers manage a Trusted Identity is a fasci-nating technical feat. No doubt we will address that in some sessions, but there’s a much more troubling concern rising about real-life vs.E-life Trusted Identity.

The IT Pro Conference 2012 is set to explore not only the new products and technologies used today, but the vision of how providing IT consulting in the future is moving well beyond product knowledge of functionality.

Those who have already committed as sponsors for the event include: HP & Microsoft Coffee Coaching, Storage-Craft, eFolder and BackupAssist.

For more information on the vision and details of the event theme, go to: http://www.conference2012.sbsmigration.com. sN


14 smb nation www.smbnation.com q2 2012

Cloud computing is the thread that ties together new and emerging technologies namely, mobility, virtu-alization and managed services for SMBs. As cloud adoption among SMBs continues to accelerate, both

SMBs and channel partners are trying to figure out harmony among the cacophony of vendors announcing cloud application solutions almost on a daily basis. SMBs are looking for real-world lessons and best practices from early cloud adopter SMBs. Channel partners, however, are looking for vendors to partner with that can provide end-to-end solutions and support for SMBs.

Recently, Techaisle conducted an extensive primary research study sponsored by Dell, with U.S. SMBs who have been using cloud business applications. The objectives of the study, which covered both the IT Decision Makers (ITDM) and Business Decision Makers (BDMs), were to understand:

l Which cloud business applications are being used by SMBs?l What are the benefits realized by adopting cloud business

applications?l What did SMBs learn during their cloud implementations?l What best practices can be utilized for maximizing the value of

cloud applications?

AverAge No. of cloud busiNess ApplicAtioNs used by smbs

2

2

22010

42011

7expected

2012

SMB Cloud BuSineSS AppliCAtion Adoption ACCelerAting

Techaisle survey research data shows that SMBs have already moved ahead from the the “trial” stage of cloud adoption. It is not sur-prising to find that the average number of cloud business applications

being used by SMBs has doubled from 2 in 2010 to 4 in 2011. SMBs are planning to add an average of three new cloud applications in 2012.

The reasons behind this growth are not surprising. Cloud has become a great equalizer for SMBs. Based on the survey data, 87 percent of SMBs say that cloud applications have given them a competitive advantage, and 85 percent believe that cloud appli-cations have made their teams more productive by giving them access to capabilities typically available to only large enterprises.

87%

85%

85%

83%

81%

74%

cloud applications are providing us with a competitive advantage

cloud is allowing us to gain capabilities that only large enterprises could afford

cloud applications make people & business more productive

cloud business applications offer superior tco

cloud applications are allowing us to get to market faster

i cannot imagine without cloud applications

beNefits reAlized by

AdoptiNg cloud busiNess ApplicAtioNs

(Percentage who resPonded “strongly agree” + “agree”)

SMBs StArt their Cloud Journey with SaaSBased on the study, it was revealed that most SMBs begin their

cloud journey with cloud business applications, also known as, SaaS (Software-as-a-Service). Users access applications over the Internet, and simply pay a monthly subscription fee.

46%saas/

business apps

26%iaas/

cloudinfrastucture

26%saas & iaas at

the same time

1%not sure

first cloud usAge

Deploying cloud business applications is much easier than on-premise software and becomes productive almost immediately. However, cloud infrastructure requires a higher level of IT sophis-tication and takes longer to implement.

The study also shows that within cloud applications, 55 per-cent of SMBs begin their journey with CRM, and later on add other cloud applications such as business intelligence, project manage-ment, marketing automation, etc. The survey even shows that one in two business applications users consider CRM to be their mission-critical application.

CRM applications provide SMBs a window to the outside world, typically their customers and partners. It helps SMBs manage their sales process efficiently, provides ability to generate and maintain sales leads and create a better sales forecasting plan. It is not out of place to find SMBs using CRM with marketing automation and business intelligence.

SMB Cloud Adoption leSSonS

for SuCCeSS

By Anurag Agrawal, CEO, Techaisle

Real-life SolutionS fRom eaRly Cloud adopteRS

perceptions

three Key leSSonS for A SuCCeSSful SMB Cloud Adoption StrAtegy

SMBs have been the trend setters in cloud adoption. This detailed study conducted by Techaisle with the early adopters has revealed three key lessons for a successful cloud adoption strategy.

1. Correct vendor selection helps avoids pitfalls.2. Planned deployment drives better experience.3. Sound integration ensures maximum productivity.

Lesson 1: Correct vendor selection helps avoid pitfalls. The primary research found that 69 percent of SMBs would prefer to procure their cloud applica-tions from a single trusted vendor that was capable of providing high-level applications as well as efficient deployment, integration and support.

As SMBs add more cloud applications, managing multiple ven-dors with multiple SLAs becomes taxing and inefficient. There are many different vendors delivering just applications or just services, or just integration but not a single vendor or partner that can help SMBs with an end-to-end solution.

Lesson 2: Planned deployment drives better experience. Although cloud applications are easier to implement than on-premise software, 49 percent of SMBs experienced a longer-than-anticipated deployment cycle. New technologies always bring in a sense of apprehension during deployment. SMBs can take several steps that ensure quick deployment:

l Find partners that provide implementation packages rather than custom engagements, which can become pricey and lengthy.

l Doing a test-drive before committing helps SMBs know what functionality they are buying.

l Identifying applications with intuitive interface that are similar to what end users have experienced as consumers.

41%limited

integration with

other applications

49%longer than

anticipated deployment

cycle

40%lack of training

36%lack of

customization

deploymeNt issues fAcedright vendor will helP avoid these issues

Lesson 3: Sound integration ensures maximum productivity. As SMBs add more cloud applications, it becomes critical to integrate those applications with each other and on-prem-ise software. SMBs have found that they need tremendous flexibility to adjust their integration as their business pro-cesses change.

Application integration has been quite common among large companies, many of which obtain integration on a custom basis. However, in recent years, application integration platforms have grown in popularity and new platforms are available to integrate cloud applications. For example, Dell Boomi is an efficient integra-tion platform that allows SMB end users to integrate their cloud applications easily and effectively without coding.

As per the survey data, the greatest benefits of integration for SMBs are – improved operational efficiency, improved productivity and improved connectivity.

54%

52%

52%

44%

37%

32%

improved operational efficiencies/costs due to reduced manual processes

improved employee productivity due to automation of tasks and information

improved connectivity with partners and customers

better visibility into performance and operations

improved accuracy of orders, billing and payments

improved cash collection cycle

beNefits reAlized becAuse of

ApplicAtioN iNtegrAtioN

ConCluSionAs it has in the past, technology continues to impact the way

SMBs work. The increasing adoption of cloud and growing reliance of SMBs on cloud business applications underscores the tectonic shift in how IT is being consumed today. Nearly all technologies first find their way into the hands of a few businesses that are not afraid to take a leap of faith, and, in doing so, they successfully separate hype from reality and chisel a path for others to follow.

The early adopters have shown that not only cloud business applications are the new SMB imperative, but also that a suc-cessful cloud implementation strategy is highly dependent upon selection of right cloud vendor, planned deployment and sound integration. sN

To download a copy of the white paper with survey trends, go to: www.techaisle.com/#smb-cloud-adoption-lessons-for-sucess or www.dellcloudapplications.com/crm-resources/whitepaper-cloud-adoption-lessons-success.


indifferent

prefer to work directly with different vendors

prefer to procure applications from a single trusted it vendor

8%

23%

69%


cloudspeak

by Mike chaseCTO, tamCloud

AKA “Dr. Cloud”

What has more hype, pitfalls, highs, lows, turns, twists and drama than the economy, politics, religion and your in-laws combined? You guessed it! Enter, THE CLOUD. Your infrastructure may be going up in a puff of smoke even as you read this, but when it does, rest assured some joker four blocks down will call it “Cloud” and extoll the wondrous virtues of it all. Cloud isn’t just about technology, it’s about perspective. You hear buzz words every day, but there’s a social side to the Cloud which begs one simple question: Which Cloud is the best fit for you, your company, and your customers?

Personal Cloud – You’re alreadY There, so WhaT’s nexT?

Love it or hate it, a lot of us got sucked into someone’s personal Cloud against our will. Whether you have an iPhone or an Android device, you’re tied into Apple’s iCloud or Google Play (formerly known as Android Market) from day one when you bought that phone or tablet. It started off completely innocent. Store some music up there, pictures, a few files. Next thing you know, your Cloud cherry got really popped and suddenly your entire OS, apps, data and more are all provisioned from and synchronized to the Cloud. Wow, how did that happen!?

In the world of VDI, you can have a company that offers a hosted virtual desktop, and at the bottom as one my clients so eloquently put it, “the cost of doing nothing” by just stay-ing on physical desktops (and believe me, there’s a big cost associated with sitting on your hands and not diving into the savings Cloud offers).

Offline VDI is that grey area in between; it’s not the Yugo, but it’s not the Ferrari either. It allows you the luxury of using real windows on real laptops but provisions and manages everything on them from the cloud while adding encryption, remote wipe, bi-directional synchronization (which means you can then get to your files from android, ipad etc without virtual desktop using trend micro safesync, drop box, box.net, spi-deroak or others) and tons more cool features which leverage the power of the Cloud on a wide variety of devices.

PubliC Cloud – dediCaTed vs. MulTi-TenanT

In the past, public cloud was automatically assumed to be multi-tenant, shared infrastructure. Au contraire! In 2012, numerous providers are emerging, which offer dedi-cated public cloud. This means customers can choose from dedicated, isolated, secure physical cages, racks and infra-structure (servers, storage, networks, wanx, load balancers, firewalls) in co-location facilities worldwide which give them a high degree of physical control & security, but the hardware, software, professional services, and much more is “rented”

on a monthly basis by a Cloud Service Provider (“CSP”) to the customer.

Today, CSPs can offer hosted virtual servers, desktops, apps, storage (native virtualized replication targets for any IP based SAN), backup, wireless (controller lives in the cloud), and entirely virtualized PBX, auto-attendant, voicemail, video calling, and more. It’s new, it’s sexy, and it just works.

PrivaTe Cloud – Co-Managed vs. iTaasExtending the cost model, services, and features of a

CSP into your private datacenter is what Private Cloud is all about. It’s not about merely virtualizing your servers. But, private cloud is nothing new. With CSPs, varying levels of co-management or ITaaS/outsourcing are available. Tight integration with your Microsoft active directory helps leave you in control while p2p VPN and private circuits can link your virtual private datacenter (“vpDC”) in the Public Cloud to a Private Cloud in your own datacenter resulting in a Hybrid Cloud. Some customers with SAN’s that can replicate over IP (NetApp, Compellent, etc.) will use this to enhance their DR strategy by first replicating to a public cloud, then mounting those volumes in the Cloud and spinning up their VMware ESXi or HyperV servers, adding virtual desktops, etc.

TiMes are Changing – is Your var or MsP KeePing uP?

Savvy VARs and MSPs are all embracing Cloud, many of them pushed by customers and competition alike to “get with the times.” Cloud is a multi-billion dollar industry, which makes it very tantalizing, but it’s not easy and can be extremely risky. No one wants to have spent the last 10-20 years building a VAR or MSP just to lose it in the fog of war we know is Cloud. Trying to figure out what to offer, at what price points, which products to use to build a CSP infrastructure, how to mitigate legal liability, train sales personnel & engi-neers, innovate the right services, and differentiate yourself in a vast ocean of emerging providers is no easy task!

Ask what your VAR or MSP is doing around Cloud and partner yourself with the ones who are forward looking. After all, you want your infrastructure in the Cloud, not on fire going up in a puff of smoke! Smoke, isn’t Cloud! ;-) Stay glued to Cloud Speak during 2012, and we’ll explore further. sN

Mike L. Chase currently serves as the Chief Technology Offi-cer for tamCloud.com, a Cloud Services Consulting company which helps VARs, MSPs, private/public corporations and oth-ers worldwide make sense of (and money in) the Cloud via cloud management tools, hosted servers, online VDI, offline VDI, hyper scalable storage, cloud backup systems, virtualized application delivery platforms, infrastructure design, cloud based UC/IP phone systems, video & mobility devices all of which are used to deliver next generation datacenters -- all in the Cloud.

Why Cloud is more than just teChnology

the soCial side of “the Cloud”


photossmb community

1aBrett Hill, Office 365 MVP, at CloudIntelligence in Seattle. 2aKen Thoreson at the ChannelPro SMB Forum in Orlando. 3aWill Lea Thompson make a guest appearance at this year’s Back to the Future themed Fall Conference? 1bGuy Kawasaki addresses the audience at the Parallels Summit. 2bHarrybbb attended the GeekWire Annual Summit in Seattle this March. 3bCJ Bruno, Vice President, Intel, at the company’s summit in New Orleans last month. 1cHarrybbb (left) and Neil Ticktin, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, MacTech at the MacTech Boot Camp in Seattle. 2cMargaret Dawson of Symform. 3c Ramon Ray, Smallbiztechnology.com (left); and Marian Baker, Prime Strategies (right) served as co-hosts for this year’s Small Business Summit 2012 in NYC. 1dSMB Nation Editor Regina Ciardiello (left), and Scott Hintz (right), co-founder, TripIT at Small Business Summit. 2dSpamSoap’s Jenna Chase at her company’s booth at LPI’s Road Show stop in Newark, NJ. 3dThe Small Business Tour made its Seattle stop in April.

1

a

c

b

d

2 3

businessspeak

q2 201218 smb nation www.smbnation.com

Back during the end of March, Geek Squad, which is the wholly owned subsidiary of Best Buy, announced its indi-rect channel program at the Spring 2012 Channel Partners Conference & Expo in Las Vegas. Before getting into specif-ics, we would like to give a quick shout out to our friends at Channel Partners magazine, who first reported on this item on Monday, March 26.

Per an item on its Web site, Channel Partners said that “Geek Squad is recruiting master agents, network and cabling experts and IP telephony systems resellers to sell Geek Squad’s phone, online and on-site IT help desk support, except for hardware repair, to SMBs around the country.”

The new channel program will involve actual Geek Squad employees carrying out the work, with target end users hav-ing “one to 20 computers in their offices and cannot afford a full-time IT expert.” Billed at a per-seat price each month, the standard package, according to Channel Partners, “covers network integration, client and server administration, and diagnostics and repair.”

Regarding compensation, Channel Partners said that “partners will earn a lump sum that equals the amount of the first month’s revenue — for example, if an end user com-mits to the minimum 12-month contract for $500 per month, the partner receives a one-time $500 payout — as well as residual commissions based on volume.”

Natural act – Geek Squad – the New MSP oN the block!

So what does this all mean for the SMB channel? Even though Best Buy is known for selling its big-screen TVs, per-sonal computers and smartphone devices to the consumer crowd, Geek Squad’s parent company has been in the Man-aged Services arena since last year when it purchased MSP mindSHIFT in 2011 for $167 million.

At SMB Nation, we feel that this single act has the poten-tial to up-end and change the SMB channel. Here’s why, per our thoughtful analyses:

Strategy: The original news item posted on the Channel Partners Web site speaks toward a well-thought entry into the SMB channel. Geek Squad will “do the work” and sales agents (initially from the telecom sector) will get the gig. It’s really that simple. Geek Squad is using the agent model so popular in telecom and something that has been an unnatural act in the IT community.

CompenSation Simple. A $500 spiff to the sales agent for a long-term contract (12-months at $500 per month from the

customer = 8.33%) plus a monthly residual paid over the life of the contract. The commission amount wasn’t disclosed but is rumored to be into the double-digits, which would implicitly make it a higher payout rate than the single-digit spiff.

ServiCe offer Geek Squad employees perform the actual work for end user in the 1-20 space. The standard offer is billed per-seat price per month and includes basic IT work including network integration, client and server administra-tion, and diagnostics and repair. There is an “undefined” advanced package that builds on the standard package and costs more because the additional services of unlimited on-site diagnostics and repair are included.

rootS Few people know that Geek Squad was “one of us” as a successful IT consulting business in Minneapolis (the home of BestBuy). Started it 1995, it was later acquired by BestBuy, and frankly, has gone on to be a shining star in the BestBuy portfolio. Compare that to the less stellar acquisition and disposition of SpeakEasy in the telecom space.

Geek Squad currently boosts more than 20,000 employ-ees and several hundred more at mindSHIFT. Finally – there are up to a few more thousand employees at several BestBuy call centers in the US doing direct sales.

Missing? Where does mindSHIFT fit? It’s not clear but if I had to speculate, I’d say it a Latin American strategy at work here. There is the upper-class (mindSHIFT as a master MSP) and there is Geek Squad in the lower “S” space. But there is a vacuum in the middle-class or medium enterprise space. Time will tell how BestBuy closes this “M” gap.

coMMuNity coMMeNtS aNd quoteSAs you might imagine, the SMB channel had their own

“feedback” to share on this announcement. Here are just a few snippets we received on the SMB Nation Facebook Wall:

Matt Anderson: “Interesting.”

Michael Minnich: “BestBuy recognizing that in order to make sales it takes relationships; and that VAR now means Value-Added Relationship (Builder)? The commission is the PICA model as best as I can recall.”

Bill Morgan: “Let’s herd some nerds on the more buy range.”

Dan Tomaszewski: “I’d find it more interesting if Nerd Herd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Buy More, was launching a chan-nel program.” sN

Calling all “geeks”Will geek squad be the neW msP kid on the bloCk?

harrybbbChairman and Publisher

SMB Nation

regina CiardielloEditor

SMB Nation

SMB NATION

2012 FALL CONFERENCE

W W W . S M B N AT I O N . C O M

L A S V E G A S , N E VA D A1 . 8 8 8 . S M B . N A T 1

vendorprofile


By any measure, growing businesses are choosing cloud software at an alarming rate. Leading analyst firms indicate the annual growth rate for the SMB market is expected to be 25 percent or more through 2014. A recent study of the U.S. market for SMBs indicates that on average, SMBs will have deployed seven cloud applications in 2012. This growth rate reflects a fundamental market shift in

cloud software adoption and poses interesting chal-

lenges for companies who are in the midst

of this sea change. From choosing the right appli-cations among a complex and

expanding land-scape of software

vendors, integrating cloud and legacy applica-

tions, to implementing cloud software with minimal business disruption, more and more growing businesses are look-ing for a trusted vendor who can help.

TradiTional Barriers To sMB adopTion

SMBs have traditionally faced three com-mon barriers to adopting cloud software.

1) Complex IntegratIons: Historically, companies have faced making the difficult tradeoff between all-in-one application suites or buying individual best-of-breed applications and cobbling them together through long, costly, custom-coded software integration projects. Despite the promise of the application suites, most SMBs have chosen to purchase cloud applications one

at a time and devote pre-cious staff and financial resources building cus-tom integrations between these applications.

2) laCk of analytICs:

Companies have tradi-tionally evaluated new software in terms of how it can best help them not only better operate their businesses, but also how the new software can help them better understand true busi-nesses performance. In a world of “Blood, Sweat and Excel” SMBs have been slow to adopt new software for the sake of new fea-tures alone.

3) Hype not Help: Companies have been skeptical to invest with new cloud software vendors particularly after seeing many new market entrants fold up shop when times get tough. Faced with trying to choose from a growing number of look-alike cloud appli-cations, many companies have sat on the sidelines waiting for solutions from a trusted vendor with whom they already do business.

applicaTion inTegraTion Made easy

The days of complex, custom-coded application integration projects are quickly fading. New, cloud-based application inte-gration solutions are now available to SMBs. Designed to be “configured” not “custom-ized,” these solutions take much less time and technical savvy to implement. Devel-oped in the cloud, they give SMBs flexibility to deploy quickly without the need for addi-

tional hardware and give companies the ability to pay as they grow.

powerfully siMple analyTics

Analytics solutions have traditionally been practical for large enterprises with internal technical staffs capable of devel-oping, implementing and maintaining complex legacy software. New, cloud-based analytics solutions are making powerful analytic applications practical for SMBs. Designed with out-of-the box reports, dashboards and integrations to popular SMB business software such as Salesforce.com CRM, Intuit Quickbooks and Microsoft Dynamics GP Accounting, these solutions require less technical resources to support and put the power of robust analytics in the hands of business users quickly.

Help froM a TrusTed parTner

A recent Techaisle survey of U.S. SMBs who have deployed cloud applications revealed that up to 50 percent of respon-dents experienced significant challenges in keeping track of different SLAs. Also, up

the adoption of Cloud software

is GrowinG exponentially

a sea ChanGe is Currently oCCurrinG in Cloud

software implementation


to 48 percent complained that explaining their business to each vendor was tedious and time consuming. Limited budgets and resources mean that growing businesses look for a single vendor to help them pull together the right cloud application soft-ware, deliver implementations on time and on budget, and provide both a single point of support and a single invoice.

ToTal soluTion approacHDell Cloud Business Applications offer

SMBs an end-to-end cloud software solu-tion consisting of a family of best of breed applications for all business functions, simple cloud-based application integrations, pow-erfully simple analytics and productized implementation services designed to get companies up and going quickly. Backed by Dell, a trusted vendor to millions of SMBs worldwide, this new solution offers SMBs the comfort of knowing they can work with a

single vendor whom they have come to rely upon for much of their existing IT solutions.

To provide the best possible solutions offering for growing businesses, Dell Cloud Business Applications has forged partnerships with industry-leading cloud application software providers. The current Dell Cloud Business Applications offering includes applications from the likes of Sales-

force.com, Adobe and AppExtremes. Utilizing Dell Boomi cloud integration

technology allows Dell Cloud Business Applications customers to implement the applications that are right for their business one at a time and integrate them with the rest of their technology suite. Dell Boomi gives SMBs the flexibility to incorporate cloud applications at their own pace and rather than rip and replace existing many applications in one step.

Dell is also delivering enterprise level business intelligence technology at an attractive price point for the SMB in the form of pre-packaged, simple and powerful cloud analytics. Dell Cloud Business Applications helps SMBs navigate the transformation to cloud applications with a total solution from a vendor they trust. sN

To learn more about Dell Cloud Business Applications, visit www.dellcloudapplications.com

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THe days of coMplex, cusToM-coded applicaTion

inTegraTion projecTs are quickly

fading. new, cloud-Based applicaTion

inTegraTion soluTions are now availaBle To sMBs.

Q2 2012

Demographically, Matthew McGuire’s business, with 150 employees, would be classified as “just a small business.” However, there’s nothing simple about it. Rocky Mountain Urgent Care includes 32 phy-sicians and 14 physician’s assistants across 14 locations, delivering services seven days a week. Their business model (and competi-tive advantage) is to combine urgent care and family practice together to make comprehen-sive medical care more accessible to patients.

McGuire, who is the company’s COO, explains the concept: “Patients can access urgent care services at a lower cost than an emergency room visit, and then seamlessly move to the follow-up with their family phy-sician—all within the same organization,” he says. “The level of care is better while the overall cost is lower.” Not surprisingly, this comprehensive approach requires a stable, flexible IT infrastructure to run smoothly and efficiently.

Making the Managed ServiceS Switch

Like many SMBs, Rocky Mountain Urgent Care realized that managing its own IT wasn’t cost- effective. Instead, the company turned to IT Guru, an IT services provider in Den-ver, Colo. “We provide complete managed IT services that give SMBs more effective IT functions while lowering their IT costs with a predictable, flat-rate fee structure,” says Joseph Axne, president of IT Guru.

One of the key elements of IT Guru’s managed services is its ability to com-prehensively monitor and manage its customers’ IT networks and systems remotely, thus reducing costly service visits. The company does this by using advanced management software combined with desktop PCs based on Intel vPro technology. PCs powered by an Intel Core vPro proces-sor help businesses cut costs and increase efficiency by taking advantage of intelligent performance and unique hardware-assisted and manageability features.

PCs based on Intel vPro technology let us prevent many problems, solve problems more quickly, and eliminate many inter-ruptions for our clients,” notes Axne. “For Rocky Mountain Urgent Care, that means higher productivity and better patient care.” Because PCs based on Intel vPro technology allow IT Guru to do more PC maintenance after hours and repair PC problems more quickly, Rocky Mountain Urgent Care’s employees experience fewer interruptions,

are more productive, and can deliver better service to their clients.

reducing unneceSSary downtiMe

For Rocky Mountain Urgent Care, any PC downtime reduces the level of service it can provide to patients. IT Guru minimizes downtime by using the advances of Intel vPro technology to access and manage Rocky Mountain Urgent Care’s PCs around-the-clock, seven days a week—even if the PCs are off or their operating system is dis-abled. This allows IT Guru to proactively watch for many developing issues and inter-vene before they negatively impact the PC user’s workflow. When problems do arise, they can often be corrected remotely, with-out the cost and delay of a field service visit and without interrupting the PC user. “Intel vPro allows us to reach out remotely to pre-vent and fix problems, even if someone is on the road traveling,” says Axne.

McGuire loves the positive impact on his employees and their work. “IT Guru can access our PCs and diagnose and repair problems quickly,” he notes. “The tools they use make them much more responsive than other providers we’ve had experience with.” With Intel vPro technology-based systems,

casestudy

22 smb nation www.smbnation.com

How Rocky mountain uRgent caRe Reduced Pc downtime based

on intel vPRo tecHnology

Solution Provider: IT Guru (www.it-guru.net)

end uSer: Rocky Mountain Urgent Care (www.rockymountainurgentcare.com)

vendor Cabinet nG: Intel (http://msp.intel.com/small-business)

reSult: Reduced PC downtime that would otherwise be critical in a health-care-related setting.

msP HelPs HealtHcaRe

PRovideR save $65 PeR Pc PeR yeaR


IT Guru is able to reduce PC downtime by 75 percent.

For the repair of many hardware and software problems, Intel vPro technol-ogy’s remote capabilities eliminate a field service call by allowing IT Guru to diagnose or fix problems remotely. On average, Intel vPro tech-nology reduces the time it takes IT Guru to repair a hardware problem by 60 percent. “People pay us to keep their employees pro-ductive,” says Axne. “Tools like Intel vPro help us do that more effectively.” McGuire agrees and emphasizes the impact. “This is very positive for our patients,” says McGuire. “While a PC is down, our ability to respond to the patient is diminished—good outcomes depend on access to informa-tion right now. IT Guru’s ability to fix a PC remotely improves health care.”

Because data security is a paramount concern to any business, but even more so for a highly regulated industry such as

healthcare, IT Guru can proactively protect its customers via Intel vPro technology-based PCs, It can constantly monitor PCs based on Intel vPro technology to ensure that critical security software is in place

and up-to-date, without bothering the PC user. Regular security patches and updates can be done automatically after hours, even to PCs that are turned off—which means that Rocky Mountain Urgent Care’s critical busi-

ness, and patient data is better protected. “By letting us reach PCs that are turned

off, Intel vPro helps us maximize our customers’ security much more quickly, whenever a new critical security update becomes available,” said Axne.

Power ManageMent caPabilitieS that lower energy coStS

With the ability to turn off groups of IntelvPro technology-based PCs after hours

and then power them back up before the start of the next business day, IT Guru can save their customers money through lower energy usage, increasing the return on their PC investment. “On average, we’re able to save our customers $65 per PC per year in energy costs,” says Axne. “Over a cus-tomer’s entire installed base, those savings can add up.

For Rocky Mountain Urgent Care’s McGuire, IT Guru’s use of tools like Intel vPro technology-based PCs is just one example of their comprehensive approach to making IT work better.” IT Guru is our IT department,” explains McGuire. “More than just an IT pro-vider, it’s a key collaborative partner for us. Technology is constantly changing. We rely on IT Guru to look at the opportunities and analyze the return on investment of various options.” In the case of its PCs, Intel vPro technology is paying off handsomely for Rocky Mountain Urgent Care by increasing its productivity and the level of care it can deliver to patients. “IT Guru’s responsive-ness is critical in a healthcare setting,” says McGuire. sN

Without any hint of exaggeration, it’s fair to say that 2012 will be remembered as a huge year in the history of computing. Toward the end of this year, Microsoft will intro-duce Windows 8 to the world, and there will be profound implications for consumers, OEMs and SMBs.

Based on what we have seen so far in the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, the latest Operating System (OS) from Microsoft will introduce many changes to the way we use our computers.

That said, here are 8 things SMBs need to know about Windows 8.

1 The new MeTro sTyle inTerface is differenT The primary Windows 8 user interface (dubbed Metro) is radically differ-ent from anything Microsoft has ever done. This beautiful, new tile-based interface scrolls from left to right and is best used with a touch interface. This new user interface is a very radical departure from the Windows that most consumers are used to and will take some time to adjust to.

2 Training will be necessary Microsoft has decided to remove the traditional Start Menu that we have all grown accustomed to. This controversial move is an indication of how different the new version of Windows is and guarantees that end users will require substantial user interface training.

3 businesses May need a TableT sTraTegy The intro-duction of the Metro UI will force businesses to define (or at least consider) a slate or tablet strategy. A lot of the new OS will work best on a touch screen, and so we can expect a slew of new Windows tablets to hit the market this holiday season. These tablets will be direct challengers to the Apple iPad, and businesses will have to figure out if (and where) tablets fit into their organizations.

4 a new server os is coMing as well Microsoft is also developing a new Server OS (Windows Server 8), which will introduce a lot of new performance enhancements to the existing versions of Windows Server. Companies will need to figure out if these changes are useful and justify

an upgrade in their back office.

5 windows Phone 8 Microsoft is also intro-ducing a new version of their mobile

phone OS, which will be called Windows Phone 8. It is widely expected to have features that

are consistent and compatible with the rest of the Windows 8 family. Companies will need to

figure out not only what these enhancements are, but also if (and how) they fit into their Windows

deployment strategy.

6 cloud coMPaTibiliTy With the introduction of Sky-Drive to Windows 8, Microsoft will give the new

Windows OS an unprecedented level of cloud integra-tion. The average end user will have access to storage in the cloud and that access will need to be defined and managed as appropriate by businesses.

7 The need for new develoPMenT Tools With the introduction of this new OS, there are also going to be exciting new development tools for developers. Applications can be developed in Metro using HTML5, Cascading Style Sheets, Level 3 (CSS3), and JavaScript. Windows Presentation Foundation or Silverlight applica-tions can be developed in XAML, with code-behind in C++, C#, or Visual Basic. There will be a lot of choices for business developers.

8 inTroducing The windows aPPlicaTion sTore Micro-soft is introducing an application store to Windows. This is exciting for many reasons. It allows businesses to create and sell their apps to a large audience. It may also provide a creative way for businesses to deploy and distribute internal applications. The Windows Store model is still being built and refined but it’s something to watch out for.


geekspeak

By OnuOra amOBi, Editor,

Windows8update.com

Businesses need TO Plan dePlOymenT Carefully

As you can see, businesses will have a lot of new hardware, features and enhancements to study and analyze. It’s going to be crucial for com-panies to step back and think through what items are crucial and what items are nice to have. Strategic planning will be a critical part of deploying Windows 8 successfully in the years to come. To sum this all up, it’s fair to say that Win-dows 8 may be an exciting opportunity for both consumers and companies to achieve substantial gains in productiv-ity and efficiency.

For vendors that service SMBs, this will create a tremendous opportunity. Those vendors will need to stay tuned to all the latest changes coming from Microsoft and use that information to provide strategic roadmaps and guid-ance for their customers. Vendors who find ways to provide strategic value to their clients regarding Windows 8 will have their hands full over the next few years. sN

Onuora Amobi is the Founder and Executive Editor of Windows8update.com (http://www.windows8update.com). A former Microsoft MVP for Win-dows Desktop, Onuora has more than a decade of information security, project management and management consult-ing experience. He has specialized in the management and deployment of large scale ERP client/server systems.

Onuora has also shown leadership in positions that have ranged from consultant to Principal/Director. His work history includes positions at VERITAS Software, Deloitte & Tou-che (now Deloitte Consulting), EDS Enterprise Solutions, IBM, Kaiser Permanente and Warner Bros Studios among others.

In addition to running multiple technology websites, Onuora works with vendors and SMBs to plan for the upcoming rollout and deployment of Windows 8.


Step aSide, Metro:The BesT new windOws 8 Business feaTures and aPPs

The new MeTro Touch inTerface, controversial Windows logo redesign, and snazzy mul-timedia apps have captured more attention than anything else about Windows 8, but microsoft’s new operating system represents much more than just sexy aesthetics and apple-like simplicity.

microsoft’s engineers have been hard at work transforming Windows 8 into an operating system every business user will want to have.

Here are 10 of the most useful new Windows 8 business features and apps (ranked in order of my preference):

overall, microsoft has done their best to make Windows 8 simple to use and easy to support. i look forward to helping users understand and implement the magic of remote access, cloud connectivity, virtu-alization, and mobile productivity. now if only i could convince all of my clients that the cloud isn’t going to eat their data and spit it out in China. sN

1 WindoWs to Go Remember when you had to boot up from a floppy? Well, it’s back. With Windows 8, it’s possible to construct an entire image—operating system, applications, data and all—and put it on a bootable Usb memory stick. that means employees can take their “computer” anywhere and work within a secure environment, whether on a desktop, laptop, or tablet. it’s like the opposite of cloud computing, but just as cool.

2 direct Access: Remember the days of configuring obnoxiously fickle VPns? For me, that day was as recent as last thursday. microsoft is promising that its new remote access technology (i.e. Directaccess) will deliver more performance, more security, and less complexity. Directaccess provides remote access to intranet resources, like network volumes, internal websites, and line-of-business software without having to launch any additional network connections.

3 skydrive With office Web Apps Win-dows skyDrive, microsoft’s cloud storage service, is integrated seamlessly into Windows 8. there’s no need to download cumbersome software, addi-tional plug-ins, or third party syncing tools. With skyDrive, a user’s data is always there, everywhere. it’s even accessible on non-Windows platforms, like android and ios. With office Web apps, users can open, edit, and share their data on virtu-ally any device with a browser.

4 remote desktop services RDP was pretty cool, right? RDs is cooler. it enables multiple people to concurrently log into the same remote session and seamlessly share their desktops with one another.

5 refresh Every Windows 8 machine comes with the ability to “refresh” it to its original or other saved states—without losing any user data or

custom settings and configurations. Refresh is refreshing quick and simple to use, and it should eliminate a whole lot of software headaches.

6 WindoWs poWershell AutomAtion okay, i admit it: i’m a pretty crappy scripter. i’ve always wanted to get better, but the time was just never right. now, it is. the new Windows Power-shell provides a clear and straightforward interface for creating automation scripts. i’ve already started playing with the 1,200(!) new task-oriented cmdlets for Powershell. Dare i say: You should as well.

7 inteGrAted mobile broAdbAnd Win-dows 8 natively supports 3G and 4G technology, which means no more dealing with obnoxious third party drivers and finicky connection tools from companies like sprint and Verizon. (You’ll really appreciate this if, like me, you’ve ever had to re-install Windows on a client’s computer because their mobile broadband connection utility went belly up.)

8 msecure if you’re the type of person who has 100 different passwords, then this app is for you. it enables you to store and manage all of your passwords in one secure, touch-friendly, intuitive interface. Protected by 256-bit blowfish encryp-tion, msecure supports usernames, passwords, account numbers and Pins.

9 evernote not much needs to be said about Evernote, the app that remembers things so that your brain doesn’t have to. there’s already a Win-dows 8 app for it, and it works beautifully.

10 internet explorer 10 i’m currently a big Chrome fan, but microsoft is promising a modern HtmL5 browser that can do it all without any plug-ins. if they can actually deliver on that, it will mean far less headaches for it works tasked with keeping computers secure and up-to-date.

By JOsePh walker Contributing Writer, SMB Nation


CisCo Expands sMB

TECh porTfolio To

BoosT produCTiviTy via

sMarTphonEs, TaBlETs

Cisco has expanded its small business product portfolio with new wireless access points,

routers, switches, unified communications and partner-managed service

offerings. These new solu-tions are designed to help drive customer productivity and growth by allowing small businesses to get the most out of smartphones, tablets, and cloud applications and services.

Cisco also announced new offerings that help its VARs offer new remote network management services. By extending the cloud-based partner managed service offerings of the Cisco OnPlus Service with new wireless network management tools and capabili-ties, Cisco will enable its partners to capture the growing demand for outsourced IT services that are being driven by the surge in smart-phones and tablets that require secure Wi-Fi connectivity.

These new products are being introduced at a time when mobile-connected devices are expected to exceed the world’s population in 2012, and the adoption of cloud services by small and SMBs is expected to hit 98 percent by 2015. Fur-thermore, during the next two years, SMBs in the U.S. alone are

expected to spend $50 billion on cloud services.

Voice and unified communi-cations technologies are also part of Cisco’s aim to provide a valuable productivity boost to any busi-ness, especially small businesses. In fact, workers using unified communication technologies are estimated to gain 32 minutes per day of time in productivity.

MCafEE rElEasEs nEw

dEployMEnT opTion for iTs

MovE av soluTion

McAfee announced a sec-ond deployment option for its Management for Optimized Virtual Environments, or MOVE, solution earlier this morning. The McAfee MOVE system may now be deployed on either via multi-platform or through a new agentless option. Both deploy-ment options are managed by the McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator.

The MOVE is designed to be a comprehensive security solution that will protect users’ networks from all types of virtual and physi-cal attacks. Also, the MOVE is able to integrate into VMware’s vShield Endpoint, which McAfee believes will help standardize network security for businesses. Network security is a major concern for enterprises moving towards virtual environments. The new MOVE agentless option is specifically designed for easy deployment.

nETEnriCh ups ThE anTE on

soluTion providEr sErviCE

offErings for daTa CEnTErs

NetEnrich said it will expand its service offerings for solution providers with data centers that is both complementary to the services already offered by data centers, while enabling solution providers to gain revenue and increase profit, without building additional infrastructure.

As part of a move to “double-down” on the data center, NetEnrich is enhancing its all-in-one remote infrastructure management and operations services to enable solution provider partners with data-center and cloud services offerings to support managed co-location, managed hosting and cloud ser-vices, and other advanced services.

NetEnrich’s new services will also enable solution providers with data centers to provide high value offerings such as DevOps and TechOps support for social gaming, social media, SaaS and social networking companies.

All of these services enhance a Data Center’s IT operations capa-bility without the cost of technical RMM tools or increased staff. “

The specialized services available through NetEnrich’s Data Center Practice are recom-mended for use in conjunction with the company’s traditional 24x7 remote IT Operations center, or ROC IT business support ser-

vices such as 24x7 remote IT and cloud infrastructure monitoring, troubleshooting, full-and partial remediation and complete IT Operations and administration.

QuEsT sofTwarE’s

paCkETTrap Msp vErsion 6.2

inCludEs psa inTEgraTion,

voip MoniToring

Quest Software released its PacketTrap® MSP 6.2, which is the latest version of its RMM platform for MSPs. By using PacketTrap MSP 6.2, MSPs can now access a single console to manage – and simplify – business processes including job scheduling, techni-cian management, CRM, service requests and billing and invoicing.

In addition to integrating with PacketTrap PSA, PacketTrap MSP 6.2 features other enhancements such as monitoring support for Cisco wireless controllers, which are increasingly used to manage all wireless access points, and new monitoring templates for pre-defined monitoring and alerting of common applications.

In an additional twist, Pack-etTrap MSP 6.2 also allows MSPs to monitor customers’ Avaya VoIP infrastructure, which includes Avaya Aura Communications Manager, Avaya DP Office, PBX systems, IP Phones, Gateways, switches, routers and end-to-end network, physical and virtual IT infrastructure. sN

pluggedin


if you havEn’T BEEn following the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) trend, you likely will soon. The trend can be traced back to the first smartphones and began to accelerate with the proliferation of $300 netbooks five years ago.

Solution Providers were successful, for the most part, in keeping these consumer devices off the corporate net-work due to lack of security, manageability as well as raw horsepower, but that is changing. Connectivity is moving toward ubiquity, the cloud business model is real, and the iPad release in 2009 forever changed the hardware landscape.

It is no surprise that the tablet market is growing at a dizzying pace. Gartner is calling for 294 million units worldwide within four years, while Forrester is expecting 82 Million of them in the U.S. alone by 2015. Apple com-mands almost 90% share, but more than 125 other tablets have come to market by early-2012.

Some of the early limitations of tablets, like netbooks before them, included lack of security, manageability and compatibility. Newer devices have dramatically improved and now offer things such as PKI authentication certificates, biometrics and remote wipe capabilities, making them acceptable to IT departments. One lesser-known limitation that still exists is if the device is subject to a legal hold – the company is in a legal dispute of some kind – the end user will lose their personal device for an extended time.

Smaller companies, for the most part, do not have a mobility policy in place and were the first to adopt BYOD. The growth into industries such as healthcare and finance has taken less than a year to happen.

The story isn’t just about managing secondary and ter-tiary devices from the consumer market. Industry experts as well as futurists are calling for more devices, perhaps dozens per individual, gaining access to secure corporate and gov-ernment networks within a few years.

WhAT IS BYOA?The consumerization of IT isn’t just about hardware – we

are at the beginning of another interesting trend: BYOA – Bring Your Own App. Some have predicted that the explosion of more than 1 million apps may spell the end of the traditional desktop internet. While that is likely premature, apps could provide some real advantages in the business world including cutting down on training time, allowing employees to feel more invested, and replacing costly software licensing with cheaper apps.

However, there are several issues with BOA including:

l Compliance and regulations (differing by industry) blocking adoption.

l Security of the data on public clouds and intermixed with consumer data.

l Portability of the output.l Information fragmentation.

We are already seeing examples of where corporate com-munication has been fragmented into public clouds including

personal email, LinkedIn, Face-book, Google+, Twitter, and a growing number of other social media platforms. Other app categories are quickly gain-ing popularity such as human resources, expense reporting and CRM. Every employee has somewhat unique productivity and efficiency requirements and Solution Providers will be challenged supporting this rap-idly growing ecosystem.

WhERE ThE ChANNEl FITS IN

Solution Providers will be crucial in managing this complexity of dozens of devices (and perhaps hundreds of apps) per person. New ser-vices and practices will evolve that focus on mobile device management (MDM), vendor management, security, compli-ance, data organization and protection in this increasingly fragmented world. New revenue models will also evolve including recurring micropayments by device and app – in many cases pennies per month.

To be effective in managing this potential chaos and, more importantly, profiting from it, Solution Providers will need to have built a solid business foundation with predict-able and repeatable business operations. Also needed is a way to organize all of these hardware, software and services offerings and filter information to stay on top of it all. sN

Jay McBain is Co-Founder of ChannelEyes, a free and secure social network for Solution Providers to get a filtered snap-shot of new program highlights – every day. Join today: http://www.channeleyes.com.

How bYoD anD bYoa are FurtHering tHe Consumerization oF itwHere will tHe CHannel Fit in going ForwarD?

guestspeak

“IT IS NO SURPRISE ThAT ThE TABlET MARkET IS

GROWING AT A DIzzYING PACE. GARTNER IS CAllING FOR 294 MIllION UNITS WORlDWIDE WIThIN FOUR YEARS, WhIlE

FORRESTER IS EXPECTING 82 MIllION OF ThEM IN ThE U.S.

AlONE BY 2015.”

By Jay McBainCo-Founder, ChannelEyes


peopleon themoveHarrybbb appointed to itt program

advisory Committee Our own Harrybbb has received an appointment to the ITT Tech Program Advisory Committee, responsible for advising the School of Information Technology on its curriculum offerings. The committee, compris-ing business leaders and technology experts,

advises ITT on the technical training and certifications that are most relevant to the needs of today’s employers.

While Harrybbb is definitely no stranger to the IT community, he is however, new to the ITT community, but has substantial experience in the field of higher education. He has taught for over 12 years as an adjunct professor at Alaska Computer Institute, Alaska Pacific University, Griffin College, Central Washington University and Seattle Pacific University. Most recently, he has served as the Dean for the School of Technology at Aspen University, an online accredited college.

“I spend a lot of time traveling the country talking to IT professionals, especially those serving the SMB channel,” Harry said. “One thing I’ve noticed is the SMB IT channel is starting to gray, so it’s important that we provide our youth with the education and experience necessary to support the SMB channel. ITT plays an important role in doing that.”

Jennifer anaya returns to ingram miCro as vp

marketing for nortH ameriCa We heard from Ingram Micro last month that Jennifer anaya, who previously served as VP of Market-ing for NetEnrich, has joined the distributor in a similar capacity, focusing

on the North American region.According to Ingram Micro, Anaya’s

appointment reflects the distributor’s constant focus on partner enablement and vision to become the IT channel’s top-performing marketing services organization in North America.

In her new position at Ingram Micro, Anaya will be handling the distributor’s U.S. and Canadian marketing organizations, in addition to branding and marketing the company’s North America region. She is also accountable for setting the strategy, establishing the tactics and overseeing the day-to-day operations of the company’s Marketing Services and Events Agency, as well as customer communities, marketing services engine, two Solution Centers and the Ingram Micro Experience Center, a 1,000-square-foot technology demonstration facility located inside the distributor’s Buffalo Solution Center that showcases advanced Cisco architectures such as data center, Borderless Networks and collaboration in real-world business environments.

While Anaya recently rejoined her Ingram Micro alum, Justin Crotty at NetEnrich last year, she surely is no stranger to the distributor, spending close to a decade working in a variety of roles. While at Ingram Micro Anaya was tasked with overseeing the adoption of Ingram Micro’s Partner Smart brand and spearheading several strategic marketing and communications initiatives including the successful launch of the company’s agency in 2006.

dinCloud taps kevin sCHatzle to lead as president

dinCloud, a provider of hosted virtual desktops has tapped Kevin ScHatzle to lead the company toward its next stage of growth as its new president. dinCloud recently closed its first round of seed funding and successfully launched its flagship hosted virtual desktop offering.

An industry veteran, Schatzle has 24 years of technology experience that includes management positions at HP, ComputerLand, En Pointe Technologies and SupplyAccess. He most recently served as president for the U.S. subsidiary of a global leader in IT Infrastructure Management solutions.

“Clearly cloud is the hot buzzword in the technology marketplace. However, in order to take full advantage of the cloud’s benefits,

companies need to work with a service provider that fully understands the challenges of operating in the cloud, such as proper licensing requirements, security measures, application availability,and extending control to the customer,” Schatzle said in a media statement. “My decision to join dinCloud is rooted in the belief that this company is one of the rare few who possess the expertise in software licensing and technology innovation to rapidly migrate customer infrastructure into the cloud. Going to market with a service that saves customers 30-50%, provides customers with a secure and backed up operating environment and vastly improves the end-user’s productivity, is an opportunity to be a part of a company that could change the game on the desktop.”

Under Schatzle’s leadership, dinCloud also plans on adding additional industry veterans in the coming months. One of these new executives will likely be a new CTO, which was previously held by Mike Chase, who recently told SMB Nation he is no longer with the company. Chase, who authors our regular CloudSpeak column is now with another cloud provider known as tamCloud.

Cogent growtH partners appoints industry

tHougHt leader as partner GeorGe SiercHio has joined mergers and acquisitions advisory firm Cogent Growth Partners as a

Partner, effective Jan. 1, 2012.For the record, according to David Schafran,

Cogent’s managing partner, he and Sierchio first met several years ago at SMB Nation’s Spring Conference when Sierchio did a presentation on: “Run it Like You’re Going to Sell it.” Who knew a few years later, that one meeting would stem a long-lasting partnership?

Sierchio has owned and operated several successful service and consulting businesses in the last 20+ years, including IT business advisory company Action Business Partners, Inc. This includes his work as a consultant and coach to owners of IT companies providing guidance in profitability, overall growth and M&A related activities. He is highly experienced in the areas of strategy, finance, operations, marketing, human resources and corporate structure. Specific to mergers and acquisition, he is well versed in many areas including growth strategy, acquisition targeting and evaluation, valuation, due diligence, deal structure and integration. sN

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Last month, we chatted with Thomas Hansen, Micro-soft’s VP SMB Worldwide, and he shared more details about the forthcoming Small Business competency inside

the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN). Readers will recall that the “SB” competency was announced March 1, and Hansen said the full program will roll-out in June 2012 before the main event of the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) in mid-July in Toronto.

The top takeaways from our interview with Hansen include:Redo The SB competency is more than two years in the making

and is the accumulation of one prior attempt that was postponed when the MPN was launched. Essentially, Microsoft went back to the drawing boards to get it right and it sought worldwide cus-tomer feedback to “make it right.” Hansen underscored Microsoft’s commitment to a HUGE small business market. Ergo the ongoing investment of time and money into the new SB competency. “We expect the SB competency to be far and away the largest compe-tency in MPN very quickly,” he said.

Businessspeak “We want the Microsoft Partner to speak the lan-guage of the small business itself,” Hansen shared, when he divulged that the SB competency is as much about business understands as technical knowhow. He commented that Microsoft realizes there is often a cultural mismatch when big league IT pros try to integrate into a small business. What Hansen didn’t share was HOW the SB partner will in fact learn to be more business savvy. Hansen prom-ised that information will be more forthcoming at a future date (but known before the June program launch). He added that, so far, the only “negative” feedback he has received from partners was that they wished Microsoft had introduced this program earlier.

Cloudspeak “In for a penny, in for a pound of cloud” was the message we heard regarding the technical emphasis of the SB compe-tency. Legacy on-premise solutions such as Windows Small Business Server weren’t really the main part of the conversation with Hansen. Instead, it a greater focus was on Office 365. Interesting but albeit somewhat risky strategy for Microsoft to be all in for cloud when the channel has expressed revenue reservations about that path. But Han-sen countered that “once we announce the actual detailed program guidelines you will note that there is a WinServer/SBS element to it. So we are certainly not throwing on-prem under the bus.”

Brand MergerOver the next year or so, Microsoft will slow merge the SB

competency with the long-standing Small Business Specialist Com-munity (SBSC). Ultimately, the SB competency will prevail, and the

beloved SBSC blue badge will go away. Think of it as how FedEx first merged and then ultimately eliminated the Kinko’s brand. “The Small Business Specialist Community (SBSC) will continue to thrive and Microsoft will continue to support our SBSC partners. Both brands will co-exist for approximately 12 months after the introduc-tion of the Small Business Competency. After that period the Small Business Competency will be the brand to small business custom-ers and the Small Business Specialist Community will evolve to become an MPN peer-to-peer community. We will provide a smooth pathway into the Silver Small Business Competency for those SBSC partners that value the MPN offering/branding.” Hansen shared.

InduceMentsSo let’s dig deeper into the above conversation. For many “small

guys,” the SB competency will require elevating up to silver MPN status where there are real membership costs but also real mem-bership benefits. To help with the transition, Microsoft will offer a lower Silver competency admission price between June and the end of 2012. Hansen declined to be more specific or name that price in during our interview.

soMethIng for everyoneHansen also noted during our conversation, that the SB Com-

petency is not just for a specific group of Microsoft partners; It is open to everyone, no matter how large or small they are, or if they are located in a major U.S. city or small local overseas. “Because we are a multi-national company, this is multi-national offering,” Hansen said. “How people engage may vary, but this is available to all partners, and how they choose to apply it is up to them.”

fInal thoughtsWhen we were involved “back in the day” with the creation of

the SBSC program, it was often viewed as a partner-level inside the Microsoft Partner program. The SB competency essentially has a different paradigm with it truly being a competency (like Desktop, Hosting, Mobility). I would offer this in closing. Be careful what you asked for. To all those older tired community curmudgeons who complained about the SBSC title, you now have the SB competency. Are you happy yet? sN


By harrybbb, Chairman and Publisher, SMB Nation andregIna cIardIello, Editor, SMB Nation

Thomas Hansen, Microsoft’s VP SMB Worldwide, is flanked by Tom Poole, CEO, SMB Nation (left), and Harrybbb (right) during a recent visit from SMB Nation at the Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, WA.

More Details on Microsoft sMall Business coMpetency trickling outNew Program Expected to Roll out this Coming June

specialreport

32 smb nation www.smbnation.com q2 2012

Many sMall businesses are on a tight budget—especially when it comes to IT costs. Companies that struggle to afford new technology are even less likely to ensure that they implement a comprehensive and effective security pro-gram. Unfortunately, that leaves the digital assets of small businesses vulnerable to hackers and other ne’er-do-wells.

A study released last year by Javelin Strategy & Research found that data and identity theft hit SMBs even harder, and with more frequency, than individual consumers. SMBs have become attractive targets to cybercriminals and hackers because they typically have more money than consumers but far less security savvy than their corporate counterparts. As a result, SMBs’ online fraud losses in 2010 grew to over more than $8 billion—a sting made all the more painful by most small businesses’ lack of the zero liability protection afforded consumer credit cards.

While SMBs and their employees engage in any number of risky digital behaviors, they make some mistakes much more often others. Thankfully, MSPs and IT consultants have a wide assortment of low-cost tools available to them to help SMBs fight back against the growing tide of security threats. Here’s a list of the most common security threats facing SMBs and what IT professionals can do to help.

1Poor Web Site SecurityMany small businesses take a “fire-and-forget”

approach to their Web sites. In other words, they recognize the importance of creating a Web site but do little to actually maintain it. Infected Web sites are one of the number one purveyors of malware, and a large number of those sites are unsecured installations of the e-commerce and CMS platforms favored by SMBs.

Because of their steady traffic and track record of poor security, SMBs’ Web sites are also a common target for spam-mers. Hacker-spammers typically gain access to a site by taking advantage of unsecured blogging platforms or other user plug-ins, misconfigured web forms, weak admin credentials, or improperly set permissions on folders containing config scripts.

Useful tools for scanning and securing Web sites include Net-sparker, Wapiti, and Skipfish. Companies like Zscaler, Symantec, and Webcertiv offer cloud-based Web site security services.

2 Vulnerable netWorkSOne of the most common security mistakes small

businesses make is mixing their internal and pub-lic facing networks. Many businesses, such as restaurants, coffee shops, small retailers, and service shops offer unen-crypted, public Wi-Fi access to customers. Unfortunately,

some of them run their internal network on the same SSID as their public network. In some cases, businesses separate their public and private networks but either fail to secure their private network or use weak WEP encryption.

IT professionals can offer to help businesses secure their networks by recommending network penetration testing. Net-work-savvy pros—or those willing to learn—can conduct their own penetration tests with the help of a few handy utilities:

l Nmap is a port scanner that includes service and OS identification.

l Nesses provides a variety of automated vulnerability scanning features, including searching for unbroadcasted but insecure wireless networks, open file shares, and firewall holes.

l THC-Hydra conducts brute-force password cracking against Windows, Linux, and OS X.

l Cain & Abel sniffs out and tests the security of RDP sessions.Anyone who doesn’t feel comfortable conducting penetra-

tion tests can become a reseller for cloud-based penetration testing services, such as SAINTexploit, iViz, and nCircle.

3 unSecured PoS SyStemSWhen Verizon released its annual landmark

report on credit card data security this past March, a key finding was that restaurants and small retail businesses rank among hackers’ most popular targets. Specifically, cybercriminals exploit vulnerabilities in these businesses’ point-of-sale systems. The problem has grown so large that entire marketplaces for stolen credit card numbers have emerged on Tor, a popular anonymous network. Anyone with the Tor browser can go online and purchase stolen credit card numbers for a dollar or two each.

Here’s how a typical POS hack occurs: A hacker, usually in another country, uses software to scan the Internet for IP addresses that are likely those of servers belonging to restau-rants or retailers. The hacker then plugs those IP addresses into another program that tries to log into the servers with the default (or other common) passwords for the most popular POS platforms. Once the hacker gains access to the POS server, he can set up any number of malicious programs. This type of attack recently allowed a gang of Romanian hackers to steal customer credit card information from more than 200 Subway franchisees.

IT professionals can help protect businesses against POS attacks by setting up secure POS server passwords or using encrypted cloud-based POS services, such as ShopKeep or VelaPOS.

4 lax data management and ProtectionMany small businesses, especially unregulated

ones, treat confidential and other sensitive informa-tion (including their own) with far less care than they should. Common practices at many SMBs include engaging in finan-cial transactions on unencrypted wireless networks, emailing passwords and credit card numbers to themselves or others, and storing confidential information on laptops or mobile devices that aren’t password protected or which have weak

securityspeak

By Joseph walkerContributing Writer

SMB Nation

top Five security threats Facing smbshow to beat the industry’s

most pressing dangers


password protection. (Anyone with a Hirens boot CD, for example, can bypass a Windows user password.)

While nothing can replace employee training and security-conscious company policies, businesses can address most of their data management snafus by relying on data encryption. TrueCrypt is a free and easy-to-use disk encryption tool that doesn’t require any effort on the part of employees, and com-panies whose employees store confidential information on their mobile devices can use apps like DroidCrypt (Android) and My Eyes Only (iOS) to secure their data.

5 malWare infectionSIt’s the lucky small business that hasn’t been hit by

a malware infection. Estimates vary widely on the rate of malware infections, but even Microsoft accepts that millions of computers are infected across the world. The cost to disin-fect a single computer can easily exceed $100, and that price soars when infections hit a server or the wider network. Beyond the cost of disinfection, modern malware often seeks to steal financial information or send out huge volumes of spam, leaving SMBs in hot water with customers whose information has been stolen or with ISPs who label them as spammers.

Beyond traditional antivirus products, IT professionals can help businesses guard against malware with a number of simple steps:

l Install ad-blocking browser plug-ins, such as AdBlock Plus.

l Configure automatic updates for Windows, Web browsers, Adobe Reader and Flash, and Java.

l Preload malware removal tools, such as MalwareBytes and TDSSKiller.

l Sandbox Web browsers with software such as Sandboxie or Spoon.net.

As MSPs and other IT services providers identify and discuss security concerns with their SMB clients, it is important that they insert the cost of security breaches into the conversation. For SMB owners to commit money and effort to IT security, they must be able to weigh the value of security against the cost of securing their IT infrastructure. Compromised Web sites, point-of-sale systems, and networks can lead to both loss of trust and loss of money (even if only prospective sales). Larger security breaches can even lead to major lawsuits, loss of credit, and destruction of data. Most SMB owners don’t want to a take those kinds of risks. But they need IT professionals to provide them with the education necessary to make informed decisions. sN

Joseph Walker runs an IT consulting and computer repair business (and consults with other consultants, too). He’s also been doing technical writing and IT industry reporting for the past five years in his spare time. He was a banker once upon a time in a city far away, but he didn’t much like that. There’s even more to his story, but biographer is sadly not one of the many hats he wears.

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businessspeak 2.0

The following is a letter written from tribe member Tracy Anna Bader to Harry Brelsford, Chairman and Publisher, SMB Nation, on why it makes sense for the SMB community to start buying local—right at home.

Dear Harry:I am not sure if you have more speeches to give, but if

you do, as a lifetime small business owner, I’d like to share my thoughts with you that I think are extremely relevant, especially given the ongoing economic recession. I truly believe we can all help to create a lasting economic recovery by taking small steps to make big changes.

Since your attendees are tech support for small busi-nesses, and derive their business (which includes their income and salaries) from small businesses in need of their expertise, products and services, it is crucial that they make a conscious effort to patronize and support small businesses—especially their customer base. If you want someone’s business—be sure to give him or her yours.

So, when your readers need to make a purchase or seek services, ask them to put their dollars back into the local economy the best they can. Example: the small, indepen-dent, locally owned grocery store or grower co-op over the huge chain...the locally owned athletic shop, coffee shop, boutique, spa, bakery, over the huge mega-chains...etc.

You get the picture: When making a purchase or seeking a service—think personal-buy local-support your local entre-preneur/small business owner if you can, and their product or service is, of course, comparable to what is offered by the chain. If their product or service is substandard, and you consciously chose not to patronize their business, then do them a favor and be honest. Help them by tactfully letting them know why they are not getting your business.

If necessary, spend a little extra to help ensure the survival of small business. If something is less expensive because it is made overseas, then consider why it is less money. What are the true costs of incredibly cheap labor? Are you really getting “more” for your money by shopping at a major chain…can you get by with less quantity and more quality? Small business just cannot compete against the advertising power of the major chains.

Also, consider the benefit of your money, no matter how small a purchase, being reinvested back into your com-munity and ultimately the lives of those whom your own business may, in fact, depend on. By investing your dollars in your community businesses, you are building valuable relationships too.

If your clients benefit from local business, be sure you make an honest effort to give them yours. When travel-

ing, try to apply this strategy to the local economies you are visiting. Plus, supporting small businesses will make your travel experience richer, and more authentic, if you immerse yourself in the local culture rather than going to universal, uniform chains.

Who would appreciate your individual dollar the most? Where will it make the biggest difference? With so many small businesses closing their doors, they are going to be greatly missed. They add flavor, pizazz, and uniqueness to a region and contribute in a positive way to the quality of life of a community.

The perceived savings of a few cents on a product by going to a chain over a local independent business has a greater cost involved: the domino effect of business and the local economy.

When you patronize and support a small locally owned business, you are supporting your community, contribut-ing to the American Dream of independent small business ownership and the chance to have a meaningful life doing something you love to do, helping others make a positive contribution to the world. For, in small business ownership, there is tremendous responsibility, accountability, pride and sense of accomplishment and contribution.

Harry, since your business at SMB Nation is geared toward helping small businesses, if there are fewer small businesses, this means fewer clients for your readers/supporters to help, and so on. The bottom line: Make an investment in small business by supporting other small businesses, support your local economy and create a net-work. Just something to think about... sN

Tracy Anna Bader

Tracy Anna Bader is an award winning artist and designer. A graduate of the University of California Davis she has been a business owner since 1985 while still attending college in Davis and then in San Francisco. Her one-of-a-kind, handmade art-to-wear jewelry was shown regionally and nationally and sold in over 200 galleries, boutiques and stores nationwide.

She moved home to Alaska to re-establish her business in 1991 and from 1992-2009 owned and operated Tracy Anna Bader Design Studio and Denali Wear by Tracy Anna Bader in downtown Anchorage, Alaska, participating in local, regional and national shows. She was a recipient of the Heart of the City Award for Economic Developments, Small Projects; Top 40 Under 40 Leaders in Business Alaska Journal of Commerce. Currently attending graduate school full-time at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth awarded a Graduate and Teaching Assistantship to work on her MFA.

an open Letter to the smb CommunityWhy it makes sense to buy LoCaL noW

by Tracy anna bader

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IDC: PC Market returns to PosItIve Growth, but GaIns are sMall

The worldwide PC market saw a slight increase in volume during the first quarter of 2012 compared with the same quarter in 2011, with shipments rising 2.3%, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker.

According to IDC, the results are slightly above the analyst firm’s February projections of a 0.9% year-on-year decline due to hard disk drive (HDD) supply constraints in addi-tion to weak economic conditions, competition from other devices, and uncertainty about Windows 8.

HDD supply remained a key constraint through most of the first quarter, although PC makers generally had better access to drives than customers in the retail and distribution channels. As a result, large PC vendors were able to maintain shipments by managing inventory or absorbing price increases, while the impact to shipments from smaller PC makers was in line with expectations.

“Slow growth in the U.S. shows that despite interesting and new form factors like all-in-one desktop PCs and Ultrabook– class notebook PCs, the market remains conservative and focused on replacements,” said Loren Loverde, IDC VP of Consumer Device Trackers. Commercial buyers are still cautious, while consumers are evaluating multiple products and may be waiting for the release of Microsoft Windows 8 later this year. sN

CALENDARMay 16, 2012SMB 150 Live eventthe Westin bonaventure, Los angeles, Cahttp://www.smb150.com/

May-June 2012CLoud inteLLigenCe teChnoLogy ConferenCeSselect U.s. Citieswww.intelligence-conferences.com

May-December 2012MaCteCh Boot CaMpselect U.s. Citieshttp://www.mactech.com/events/locations#byDate

July 8-12, 2012MiCroSoft WpC 2012metro toronto Convention Centretoronto, Canadawww.digitalwpc.com

October 12-14, 2012SMB nation 2012 faLL ConferenCe Rio Conference Center, Las Vegas, nevada

October 17-19, 2012(Save the date)mactech Conference 2012

WEbSEmiNARS:To view previous SMB Nation Web Seminars on-demand, go to: www.SMBNation.com, and click on the “Events” tab.

D&H Distrbuting ........................ inside Front Cover, 37

Catalyst telecom .................................................................5

oKi Data americas .............................................................5

autotask ...............................................................................13

avalara ..................................................................................21

WasP barcode ................................................................23

Channel Eyes .....................................................................29

Exchange Defender .........................................................33

intel .........................................................inside back Cover

storageCraft ....................................................back Cover

ADiNDEx

TEChNEWSWATCh

Congratulates

Your National Technology Distribution Partnerwww.dandh.com/smbnation

SMB 150 nominees and winners!

Thank you for your contributions to the channel.

Best of luck and success!

encourage you to take your head out of the sand, and take a fresh look at the events mar-ket. More and more events are streaming live so you can watch the content speakers from the

comfort of your office, home office or living room. It has arrived, and it translates into no travel, airfare and hotel expenses, and the news gets better. Conference organizers are still *discounting* these virtual seats vs. the in-person admission ticket. On average, the online virtual seat is <50% the in-person listed price. I predict this is the wave of the future for events and I make my case below with a few examples.

MVP NatioN, March 2012We enjoyed a robust audience of 200 virtual attendees

tuning in from every major continent except Antarctica. With the assistance of Zenith Infotech, we were able to stream our content sessions to this coveted worldwide audience. You can see a valuable example of this here as we’ve made the Windows 8 Expert Panel session available for free via video at www.smbnation.tv.

Better yet – you can attend the entire early March 2012 MVP Nation conference, focused on Windows 8, in arrears, for $99. That includes 12+ content sessions in our OVERTIME format to watch what you want, when you want! Call 1-888-SMB-NAT1.

SuPer hero robiN robiNS “big SeMiNar,” aPril 2012

I need my annual dose of Vitamin RR, and in the past, I’ve attended Robin’s annual spring boot camp live in Nash-ville, TN. For a number of reasons, including busily raising my two teenage boyz, it wasn’t possible to attend live this year. So instead, I attended the four-day boot camp virtually and loved it to death.

The RR virtual experience even allowed me to view the presentations of the seven finalists from Robin’s Pro-ducers’ Club that competed for a shiny new Audi and designation as Robin’s official spokesperson for the next year. While I am sure it was a tough call for all of the judges to decide, Robin made the announcement on the afternoon of Friday, April 13 (following a presentation by Lou “The Incredible Hulk” Ferrigno) that she had chosen a runner-up and winner.

This year’s runner-up, (who also received a pretty cool Rolex watch) was Fred Reck, President, InnoTek Computer Consulting, and the winner of the Grand Prize Audi was John Motazedi, CEO, SNC Squared. Congrats to both John and Fred from all of us at SMB Nation!

the SMall buSiNeSS tour aPril 12, belleVue, Wa

Frank Coker, a serial entrepreneur from CoreConnex, held his first “The Small Business Tour” in Seattle this past week. His intention with this kick-off (to be followed by an additional 10 cities over the next few months; details at www.thesmallbusinesstour.com) was to explore the areas confronted by small business owners each and every day: money, growth, customers and people.

Never one to miss a free lunch, I attended this event for the second half of the day. Why? There was an unfor-tunate technology event collision between Robin Robins’ boot camp and this event. But have no fear – harrybbb was “here” at both events. While in-person at Frank’s event, I double-dipped and watched Robin’s event stream to my netbook laptop.

SMb oNliNe coNfereNce, JuNe 2012Karl Palachuk, himself a notable entrepreneur, is host-

ing “the first all-online conference for computer consultants, MSPs and IT. Professionals of all kinds.” This will be a three-day online ONLY format using a podcast approach (no video) June 26-28, 2012. My intention is to attend this and write up a summary for you at a future date. Learn more at the site: http://www.smbonlineconference.com/.

aNalySiSI’m in the events business, and my 12+ years of experi-

ence, I believe, allows me to make the following observations about the new-new conferencing approach. I like it a lot, and you can expect SMB Nation to embrace this attendee content delivery model at all events moving forward.

Hybrid. I truly believe you have to have a hybrid setting. I’m not convinced you can have a virtual-only show. I’ve seen many virtual tradeshows, (including ours in June 2008), fall flat with cartoon characters lecturing via audio and more cartoon characters trying to roam an empty tradeshow hall. You need the gestures, visual affirmation and participation of a live audience to create some “there there” for the virtual attendees who can’t be “here here.”

Virtual audience questions. At MVP Nation, I made an extra special effort to ask the “virtual questions” from the remote worldwide audience to the live speakers. It was actually a cool buzz builder. I’d remark that Leen in the Neth-erlands wants to know more about the SMB protocol in NAS 2.x in Windows 8. Granted, I looked like an old man squinting at Hootsuite on my iPhone to see the questions up on Twitter using the #mvpnation tag. Next time I’ll use my BlackBerry PlayBook so I can read in larger text (folks – I got old!). sN

by harrybbbChairman and Publisher

SMB Nation

Streaming ConferenCeS du Jourharry’sCorner

How the Virtual Event Market is Taking Hold in our Space

q2 201238 Smb nation www.smbnation.com

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