MSP University Managed Services Blog

Get Dell’s MSP Channel Perspective Direct Tomorrow

Join our good friend Stuart Crawford tomorrow, Friday July 25, as he hosts Greg Davis, the DELL Channel Boss on Small Business IT Radio. Hear the show live at Noon Eastern. It will also be available via download afterwards.

Join here: http://www.smallbusinessitradio.com

Stuart Crawford

Regular readers of my blog know my perspective on Dell's MSP Channel Strategy, but please do not solely rely on my opinion – tune in tomorrow to evaluate Greg Davis' responses to Stuart's questions for yourself, then post your comments back here so we can get your perspective…

P.S. - also check out Stuart's new e-book - you can get it absolutely FREE:

Hot off the presses: http://blog.itsuccessmentor.com/connect-the-dots

IT Services in today’s global economy are in a constant state of change, driven by changes in the economy with raising full costs, demands in flexibility from employees and the always on world that we live in today.

The changing landscape is now forcing IT Specialists to look at new ways of doing business, call it the next version of Managed Services if you wish, however it is much deeper than just managed services.  IT Professionals must now look at new focus areas, new business areas and let off the gas pedal on the network and data.  Our client’s requirements with IT go much deeper than just setting up servers, workstations and then monitoring them with the latest managed services tool.

Connecting the Dots to Success - a guide to success in the second half of 2008 for IT Professionals.

The landscape is changing in the IT community, gone are the days of setting up servers and workstations and letting the client go and hoped they called you for support. Well, they did, just at the wrong time, usually when you are fighting another fire at another clients.

How do you reach true success with that model? Well you don’t.

My new eBook on “Connecting the Dots to Success” is about clearing up the IT Services roadmap so that we all succeed in 2008. New online solutions and technologies are changing the landscape, are you ready to succeed. What does your formula look like?

Get this free eBook online today at http://blog.itsuccessmentor.com/connect-the-dots

Erick Simpson
MSP University
www.mspu.us

How will Microsoft’s Software plus Service strategy affect you?

There is a raging debate among many of my colleagues through direct conversation, blog posts and user group forum threads about Microsoft's Software plus Service (S+S) and Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) announcements recently. Microsoft has stated that some of these hosted offerings will be available for its partners to market to prospects and end-customers in a traditional manner, and some will be marketed by Microsoft directly to end-customers.

Although the mechanics of how all of this will occur have not been fully baked, some of the facts include that Microsoft will bill the end-customers directly, thus they will need to be identified during a registration process for these services. Microsoft will commission partners a small percentage of usage yearly. These are a few of the factors that have some partners up in arms:

1. Microsoft will sell directly to end-customers
2. Microsoft will bill end-customers
3. End-customers will be identified even when sold by partners
4. Commissions margins are considered too low at an ultimate 6% of billing after the 1^st year

In full understanding of these factors, I recently posted this response to one of the group threads discussing this topic:

Service providers will need to modify their strategies to sell in this new world. The way I see it, there are 4 basic types of service providers that S+S/BPOS will affect:

1. Smaller service providers who have either not built their business practices to the point where S+S will affect them
2. Service providers who have not developed the business acumen and client relationships to stave off Microsoft or any other direct vendor from penetrating their customer base
3. Service providers who have built the business acumen and deep client relationships to guide their clients through technology decisions
4. Hosting providers

                 For group 1 – no harm, no foul, as S+S will have little effect.

For group 2 – possible threat, so they will need to decide how to get in front of it. Their 2 choices are to embrace the offering and sell it as-is to their client base where it makes sense, or partner with a hosting provider who will provide the same services, but private-labeled, and allow for higher revenues to be generated.

For group 3 – no harm, no foul, but they can still sell private-labeled hosting services through a hosting provider to earn higher revenues and differentiate their offerings from competitors.

For group 4 – wow – this group has some serious competition, and will need to invest in marketing more heavily than in the past to deliver a compelling message to their prospects illustrating why they should buy from them instead of Microsoft.

Good, bad, right or wrong Microsoft is taking steps to respond to Google's competitive threat. If we were Microsoft investors instead of partners, we would demand that Microsoft do something. Unfortunately, their response with S+S and BPOS will disenfranchise certain groups of partners who fail to react, while others will adapt to succeed.

I once heard that the reason railroads faltered in the face of the advent of air travel is that the companies that owned the railroads thought they were in the railroad business, and only too late did they realize that in fact they were in the transportation business.

Are we in the railroad business (selling software licensing)?

Or are we in the transportation business (building business acumen to identify our client's challenges, pain and goals and advising them of ways to address them through technology as a true business partner and Trusted Advisor)?

Time to decide…

As always, I'd like to hear what you have to say…

Erick Simpson
MSP University
www.mspu.us

Live from the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference part 2

Well here we are at the WPC for the 3^rd day, and after a warm-up from Allison Watson, who highlighted 5 partners with testimonials on how they used Microsoft technology to bring interesting solutions to their well-known clients, Steve Ballmer stormed the senses in typical style, opening with a scream as he stalked the perimeter of the stage at the Toyota Center like a caged tiger (a pretty good-sized one).

Of course, this is what the crowd and attendees have been waiting for, as Steve's energy and enthusiasm rolled off the stage and up into the highest rows of seats. He really doesn't need a microphone and amplifier…

After some preliminary thanks and the requisite report of how well Microsoft products did last fiscal year, Steve's presentation focused squarely on Software Plus Services. What I found interesting but not surprising was Steve's announcement of Microsoft's initiative to build a completely web-based development platform, opening the door for more Microsoft applications to be Software Plus Services friendly, as well as allowing the ability for developers to develop on this web platform.

Steve went on to say that Microsoft is focusing on 4 primary areas:

• PC
• Enterprise
• Consumer Internet
• Consumer Devices

Again, not surprising, but interesting when contrasted with some of Allison Watson's "A-List" presentation yesterday, where she highlighted some of the Skunkworks-type development that goes on behind the doors of the mighty Microsoft, such as Microsoft Robotics (which demonstrated a small robot like many we've seen – think ASIMO, just much much smaller) which begs the question "who do partners sell that to?", and Microsoft's cool Astronomy program, which is like a "Virtual Earth" for the Universe, leveraging the capabilities of the Hubble and other telescopes, but again begging questions of relevance to partners…

Steve closed the last half hour or so of his keynote by answering pre-submitted questions regarding key areas that highlighted his presentation, always seeming to have just the right spin on topics such as competition with partners through Software Plus Service, Cloud Computing and others.

Entertaining, Steve's performance seemed to me weighted towards properly positioning Microsoft's message to Partners worried about their future, as the organization makes the necessary move to S+S in order to remain relevant and competitive against contenders like Google.

In fact, I had several conversations with some key Microsoft folks here this week regarding the sensitivity that their S+S messaging must embody, and the 3 types of partners I thought would need to be addressed in very different ways:

• Partners fearful of Microsoft owning their client relationships as a result of purchasing S+S directly from Microsoft
• Partners mature enough in their businesses who realize they have built a strong enough business partnership with their clients that their relationships would not be in jeopardy (whether they sold Microsoft's S+S directly from Microsoft, or from a Microsoft Hosting Partner, allowing them to private-label these services and bill for them directly)
• Hosting Partners

This is such a concern with some partners I've worked with that I'd like to hear your opinions, so please submit your comments.

Erick Simpson
MSP University
www.mspu.us

Live from the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference

I got in to Houston about 2pm on Sunday and rushed over to the HTG All meeting to start my week at the conference. The weather in Houston is incredibly hot and a bit humid – but nowhere near the humidity level in Washington DC a few weeks ago, where I delivered a Keynote presentation at the ICCA Annual Conference.

Yesterday kicked off the 1^st day of the Conference. If you attended WPC in the past 2 years, you will recall that this day was historically focused on the SMB Pre-day event, where SBSC's could get in free, and non-SBSC's could get in for a nominal fee. Well, this is no more, as Microsoft has officially assimilated the pre-day into a 4-day conference, requiring everyone to pay the full conference fee to attend the now new official first day.

Keynotes on the first day (Monday) seemed intentionally vague, I suppose in order not to reveal any special announcements to be delivered during the keynotes delivered today by Allison Watson, Stephen Elop, Andrew Lees and Brad Brooks.

I'm sitting here at the Toyota Center watching Allison Watson open the Keynotes at the Toyota Center. She promises that we'll hear about new changes to the Microsoft Partner Program, Microsoft's Software plus Services initiative, the Launch Momentum for the new Microsoft server products – Server 2008, EBS and SBS, and "debunking the myths about Windows Vista".

Allison next introduced the winners of the Partner Program Awards.

Much of this content is available live at www.digitalwpc.com, and will be made available for viewing afterwards.

I'll blog more later on my impressions of the first "real" day here at WPC…

Erick Simpson
MSP University
www.mspu.us

ARRC Technology completes Extreme Office Makeover Challenge

One of our MSP University members and consulting clients, ARRC Technology (www.arrc.com), one of Inc 5,000's Fastest-Growing Businesses, announced the winners from their Extreme Office Makeover on June 24^th at the Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce Mixer.

Frank, Brian and Alex Rogers from ARRC, Jason Pernell from Cisco, and yours truly.

Monique Rogers, Corporate Marketing Director for ARRC Technology, developed and coordinated the event based upon information and training ARRC received during several consulting sessions delivered by MSP University earlier this year. I was asked by ARRC to participate in the proceedings, and delivered a Keynote presentation to Bakersfield area small business owners on getting the most out of their technology to kick off the event, which included over 40 local area businesses as vendors.

ARRC Technology marketed the Extreme Office Makeover to area businesses beginning in December of 2007, and garnered over 100 applications, enabling their Technology Consultants to schedule appointments and conduct Needs Analyses with prospects. This effort alone uncovered immediate project and service opportunities, as well as building a pipeline of warm sales prospects which may not have surfaced through traditional marketing efforts.

The Grand Prize for the Extreme Office Makeover went to The Wedding Center, and included a one year Managed Technology Services Package from ARRC Technology – 24x7 monitoring, service, support, Server and workstations, antispyware corporate valued at $11,000; Web design and 6 months web hosting from The Marcom Group Valued at $3300; Business System Logo design from The Mize Agency; Office space planning and design, as well as furnishings for the executive office and conference room from Indoff; Landscaping from Gandola Landscaping valued at $1000; Xerox multifunction workcentre 4150S from Intelligent Documents valued at $400; Phone system from Cisco valued at $4000; 4 hours of consultation in areas of Accounting and Taxes from Hocking Denton Palmquist valued at $900… and more.

 

Alex and Monique Rogers from ARRC Technology frame Grand Prize Winners from the Wedding Center

A special prize consisting of a $7,500 check for ARRC-delivered technology services presented by the Bakersfield Breakfast Lions, and runners-up received brand new laptop computers presented by ARRC Technology.

Bakersfield Breakfast Lions frame Monique Rogers and hold up their $7,500 check to Covenant Community Services

The winners of the Extreme Office Makeover were:

• Grand Prize Winner: The Wedding Center
• Bakersfield Breakfast Lion Winner: Covenant Community Services
• 2^nd Place Winner: Pioneer Plumbing
• 3^rd Place Winner: New Life Recovery Center
• 4^th Place Winner: Bakersfield Police Activities League
• 5^th Place Winner: Right to Life

This event enabled ARRC Technology to not only provide a great community service and build goodwill with existing and potential clients, but provided tremendous media exposure and a vehicle through which they were able to enlist the support of other small businesses and vendors such as Cisco and Microsoft, with leads from this event shared among the local small businesses who contributed prizes as sponsors. This is an amazing example of creating a win-win-win for all parties involved.

I've got to share the emotional climax to the evening, with tears flowing as winners were announced. I was touched to see the tremendous positive impact this event had on the needy businesses that were chosen by the panel of judges, which included Bakersfield Mayor Harvey Hall, Debbie Moreno - Bakersfield Chamber President, Keith Brice - Mid-State Development President, and Zane Smith - Boys and Girls Club Executive Director.

ARRC Technology is already accepting applications for the next Extreme Office Makeover, and projects that they will triple the number they received from this event, and early projections top $500,000 in new business potential from this marketing effort alone.

If you'd like to learn more about how to market and deliver a successful Extreme Office Makeover, send an email to info@mspu.us with "Extreme Office Makeover" in the subject line, and we'll be happy to consult with you.

Erick Simpson
MSP University
www.mspu.us

Did Microsoft miss the boat with Vista?

Boy, our good friend Stuart Crawford has opened up a great topic of conversation, and I'm certain it will generate a lot of commentary. In his blog post titled "Is Microsoft really to blame?", Stuart says:

"I have had some interesting conversations with clients that are refusing to look at Vista as an operating system for their new systems, pretty soon they will have no choice as the June 30th date for the taps to be shut off on XP on OEM systems rapidly approaches.  What are you going to do?  Downgrade, well we have had some pretty bad horror stories on the entire downgrade story.  Just today I heard in my office that one of my engineers was having continuous BSOD's(Blue Screen of Death) during the downgrade process.

Who is to blame in the slow adoption of Vista?  Is it the MAC/PC ads and Microsoft's slow or even lack of advertising to combat it?  Is it the partners who have not adopted Vista or even blessed it?  Is the OEM"s who continuously keep offering XP?  Is the ISV partners who still have buggy code on Vista?  Is it the device manufacturers who do not have device drivers?  I think it is a combination of all of the above.  All of this and Vista has been out for 18 months."

Read Stuart's complete post, along with some excellent comments here.

I have some very clear opinions on this topic, and had to add my comments to Stuart's blog as well.

MSP University participated in a recent Microsoft in-the-field training series pilot titled "Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista Better Together!" for Michael Murphy from the Microsoft Local Engagement Team (LET). This was an event that brought together Microsoft area resources, partners, Partner Readiness, East Region Breadth, MSAM, and the Windows Server and Vista BMO.

The pilot's goal was to drive Server sales in the area by educating Small Business-focused Partners on Server family and Windows Vista SP1 messaging by emphasizing solution selling, product differentiation and understanding of the licensing models and offers in the market.

The event series targeted SBSC's, Low Volume VAR's and tPAM-managed Partners.

Our role centered on educating and training the attendees in sales techniques and overcoming objections to close Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista sales.

Although evaluations of the overall event series were excellent (averaging 9+ in all categories), I was most challenged during the overcoming objections modules for Windows Vista, with the most common complaint from attendees at every single event the perception that Microsoft really dropped the ball by including the BitLocker feature only in the Ultimate version of Vista; as you mention, Stuart, and leaving it out of the Business version.

It was the consensus among attendees that including BitLocker in the Business version of Vista would have been a compelling enough reason for their clients to make the decision to migrate, barring any incompatibility issues in the environment.

Another concern raised was the attendees' and their clients' reticence to feel comfortable deploying Vista until SP1, which addresses numerous other issues voiced during our events.

Additionally, it hasn't helped change the "I'll wait until the last possible moment to upgrade" attitude of the attendees' clients when Bill Gates begins commenting on the timeline for the next version of Windows, or Microsoft's complete lack of response to the creative and effective Mac marketing machine, as Erik points out.

As a result of my experience during these pilot events, I have changed my position from believing clients were just resistant to change; as Arlin points out, when encountering resistance to Vista upgrades. As our clients' Trusted Advisor, we did sell and implement Vista refreshes in the right scenarios, but like many of the attendees to the Microsoft event series we helped conduct, there were many client environments (including our own) that we could not fully refresh at the time of Vista launch due to LOB or hardware driver incompatibilities.

Now I fully understand the rationale behind blaming 3rd party vendors for not having their solutions Vista-ready, but folks - in the end, does that argument really hold water? The bottom line is that these are real business issues preventing clients from wholeheartedly getting behind Vista - Trusted Advisor or not. And frankly, we as the Trusted Advisors are the ones to identify incompatibilities and steer clients away from Vista when it would negatively impact their business processes, efficiencies and profitability.

I personally think that Vista is the best operating system Microsoft has come up with for the desktop yet, but this topic contains so many compelling arguments on both sides that standing firmly on either side of the argument is a real challenge.

Let's open this up for discussion – I'd like your comments.

Erick Simpson
MSP University
www.mspu.us

Absolute Best Practices with Erick Simpson and Karl Palachuk at Harry Brelsford's SMBNation Conference

Come out and spend some time with me and my good friend Karl Palachuk on October 3^rd, 2008 in Seattle, WA a day before Harry Brelsford's SMBNation for Karl’s 4^th Annual SMBNation Pre-day Extravaganza (Karl’s title – no comments please).

I guarantee it will be a great event, as we will be focused completely on best practices for operating a successful IT and Managed Services business. Here is the essential data:

Friday, October 3, 2008
Marriott Hotel
2 - 6 PM
2100 Alaskan Way
Seattle, WA 98121

Register Now

Whether you're new to SMB Consulting, or an old hand, you'll learn a lot of great new stuff from these two authors and successful SMB Consultants.

No matter where you are in the process, you'll find valuable best practice tips in this four hour seminar. From managing client relationships to hiring employees, from sales and marketing to running a service board. We'll cover it all.

Have you ever noticed that, in anything you do, there are only a handful of key rules that account for the vast majority of your success? In this seminar, two successful consultanta -- who have each sold millions of dollars in services -- will give you the nuggets you need to move your SMB Consulting practice to the next level.

1. Four Hours of Best Practices with Erick Simpson and Karl Palachuk
2. Click here for more information
3. For information and tips on finding good hotels, and other pre-day events, please visit www.smbpreday.com.
4. Click here to sign up for the new Yahoo Group dedicated to sharing rides and rooms at SMB events. This site is for ICCA, Tech Ed, WPC, and everything else. It's not specific to SMBNation, but that seems like a great event to kick off the resource.
   
   

Special Offer #1:

Every person who registers for this event will receive two FREE Audio Books!

Special Offer #2:

All attendees will receive a special discount on my next book: “The Best IT Service Delivery BOOK EVER! – Break-Fix, Managed Services, Professional Services and Hardware Warranty Services”, which we’ll launch at the event!

Register Now

Erick Simpson
MSP University
www.mspu.us

Congratulations to Stuart Crawford and IT Matters

Our good friend Stuart Crawford, a member of the “Dream Team” from the Great White North and his company IT Matters, once again achieves the unique distinction of being chosen by Microsoft as a Finalist for the Microsoft Partner Worldwide Partner Awards. Here is Stuart’s post:

IT Matters has once again scored on the world wide stage with Microsoft.  For the third year in a row IT Matters has been recognized as a leader in the Canadian networking market within the Microsoft Partner Worldwide Partner Awards, an annual recognition of the best partners across the world.

Annually for the past three years, IT Matters has been recognized in various categories for the work we do with clients on a daily basis.  This year’s finalist submission was based on our undertaking with Patch Energy, a junior Oil and Gas corporation located in Calgary, AB.

The highlights of IT Matters solution were built around Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 and our partners at DELL Canada.  Patch Energy had used a solo computer consultant who was unable to keep up with their day to day requirements or to move the firm to the next level.  With the Patch Energy solution, we replaced their server with a new server solution built on DELL technology and running SBS 2003.  Compliance and government compliance in accordance to C/SOX (Canadian, Sarbanes Oxley, Bill C-198) was also an immediate requirement.  IT Matters developed a solution that met the business needs of Patch Energy and allowed the team within the corporation to develop trust in their IT systems.

Microsoft recognizes a broad spectrum of partner innovation and contribution—from competency excellence to supporting non-profit technology access.  “The Partner of the Year Awards recognize the incredible innovation and value that Microsoft partners are delivering to our customers,” said Allison L. Watson, corporate vice president of the Worldwide Partner Group at Microsoft. “The winners and finalists announced today have helped raise the standard for delivery of customer solutions and support. It is a privilege to recognize their work in designing and deploying exemplary customer solutions built on Microsoft technologies.”

For additional information on the Microsoft Worldwide Partner of the Year awards visit the Microsoft Award Website at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/events/wwpc/default.mspx

Press Contact

Stuart R. Crawford
Vice President, Business Development
403.710.4357
scrawford@itmatters.ca

Congratulations again, Stuart!

Erick Simpson
MSP University
www.mspu.us

MSP Mentor's next Webcast June 25th 2pm EDT

Our good friend Joe Panettieri over at MSPMentor (www.mspmentor.net) is hosting his next Webcast on June 25^th, 2008 at 2pm EDT, and I urge you to tune in and register here.

Joe’s topic is focused on escaping commodity pricing through business automation, and features Autotask CEO Bob Godgart. Here is the essential data:

MSPmentor Live: CEO Exchange
Escape Commodity Pricing Through Business Automation
June 25, 2pm Eastern

As some portions of the managed services market start to commoditize, savvy MSPs are embracing professional services automation (PSA) to coordinate their business engagements, manage multi-partner projects, and drive margins higher.

To learn more, join MSPmentor Editorial Director Joe Panettieri, Autotask CEO Bob Godgart, and key CEOs for this exclusive Webcast. We’ll answer your most pressing questions, and we’ll explore how MSPmentor 100 companies – the world’s most successful managed service providers – are raising their games in a down market.

Reasons to Attend:

• Interact directly with Autotask CEO Bob Godgart, who will share his vision for Managed Services 2.0.
• Hear how Chad Massaker, CEO of Carceron Systems Group, uses Professional Services Automation to coordinate multiple MSP services.
• Learn how Ian James, President of Red Square Systems, has recorded triple-digit annual growth during the economic downturn.
• Ask MSPmentor Editorial Director Joe Panettieri how the MSP industry will converge with software as a service.

You’ll learn how you can:

• Coordinate multiple MSP services into a single, integrated solution that you can scale easily as your customer base grows
• Automate trouble tickets and eliminate manual business processes, freeing up your business to focus on profitable services
• Potentially interact with thousands of Autotask users and leading MSPs through a private, online community
• Snap together multiple MSP platforms and introduce new services, using open application programming interfaces (APIs)

Who Should Attend:

• IT consultants, integrators and VARs seeking recurring revenue
• MSPs seeking to drive revenue higher without adding staff
• Entrepreneurs who are seeking to better understand opportunities in the managed services market

Erick Simpson
MSP University
www.mspu.us

MSP University appointed to Expetec IT Industry Advisory Council

We’re proud to announce MSP University’s appointment to Expetec’s IT Industry Advisory Council. Expetec (www.expetec.com) is ranked as one of the fastest growing franchises with locations in 15 states and Canada. Founded in 1992 in Aberdeen, South Dakota, Expetec began franchising in 1996.

MSP University will leverage its knowledge, experience and resources in assisting IT service providers worldwide increase their efficiencies and net profits through best practices and proprietary techniques in efficient IT business operations, effective sales and marketing processes and profitable service delivery procedures to assist Expetec chart its strategic direction and assist the organization in identifying market trends, and acquire and provide value-added IT products, services and training to its franchise base.

Over the past year, MSP University has conducted live boot camps as well as webinar training covering all aspects of operating a successful IT and Managed Services practice for Expetec’s corporate staff as well as franchisees, and we look forward to continuing to help Expetec guide its franchisees in growing their IT services organizations.

“Expetec Technology Services, the nation’s leading IT franchise company, is pleased to have developed a strong association with MSP University, a recognized authority on Managed Services business transformation for IT service providers. As a franchise organization, Expetec Technology Services constantly strives to provide its franchisees associations with other leaders in the industry and MSP University is certainly one that will benefit the entire system”, said Joan Ganje-Fischer, President of Expetec.

Erick Simpson
MSP University
www.mspu.us