Here's some good news from my good friends! 

(Disclosure: I am an advisory board member for this company)

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In The Graduate, plastic was the future. In our own SMB Nation, our future might be in the clouds - the most popular definition being apps based on a remote server accessed through a local, client-side Web browser. This article is a fair and balanced compare and contrast between the big cloud players so that you're "all in" and all set to capitalize on this era of opportunity.

The burgeoning market's players are already well-known: Microsoft and Google. We will explore their offerings separately and toss in a quick insight from Cisco to round out the SMB vendors who are pivoting and positioning for in the cloud.

Microsoft Shifts!
Oh, if the walls could talk in Redmond. Working with the original Small Business Server (SBS) team, we participated in radical free-thinking in the late 1990s asking bunches of "what if" questions.

Microsoft's early online effort, bCentral, was just coming to market and was arguable a Saas solution ahead of its time. Then Microsoft rebranded bCentral Windows Live in the 2005 time frame. The name encompasses a mostly free Web based stand alone set of tools that includes online storage, file sharing, Web site design, and site hosting capabilities. (Hosting along carried / carries a fee). It set the stage for development of the widely recognized and very familiar Business Productivity Online Suite

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Click HERE for full information. Here is a summary:

Executive Summary
This security update resolves a publicly disclosed vulnerability in Windows Shell. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if the icon of a specially crafted shortcut is displayed. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the local user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.

This security update is rated Critical for all supported editions of Microsoft Windows. For more information, see the subsection, Affected and Non-Affected Software, in this section.

The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting validation of shortcut icon references. For more information about the vulnerability, see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) subsection for the specific vulnerability entry under the next section, Vulnerability Information.

This security update addresses the vulnerability first described in Microsoft Security Advisory 2286198.

Recommendation. The majority of customers have automatic updating enabled and will not need to take any action because this security update will be downloaded and installed automatically. Customers who have not enabled automatic updating need to check for updates and install this update manually. For information about specific configuration options in automatic updating, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 294871.

For administrators and enterprise installations, or end users who want to install this security update manually, Microsoft recommends that customers apply the update immediately using update management software, or by checking for updates using the Microsoft Update service.

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Yes – the legendary author of Windows Secrets books and newsletter publisher has sold his Windows Secrets properties (including a pay-for-by-donation newsletter with over 400,000 circulation) to IT community and media aggregator iNET Interactive. Why do SMB Nation tribe members care? We should very much and I had the opportunity to visit with Brian today in Seattle to get the back channel on this breaking news.

• Brian Livingston was “there” at the start. He created the legendary Secrets brand inside of IDG’s book publishing business in the early 1990s. That’s back when you had to buy the “thick book” at B&N, Borders and the like (before Amazon) to really learn the secrets (like Easter eggs) of the Windows operating system. His early Windows Secrets books are legendary and, ahem, sold very well!
• Keeping it real! Brian is well-known for his independent

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Only in Seattle would a Cloud candidate run for political office!

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Folks - I'll get more details later but this was just shared with me by MSFT. SMS&P VP Birger Steen has just resigned to join Seattle-based hot shot ISV Parallels as its new PRESIDENT!

You may recall we interviewed Birger recently on the Microsoft SMB Economic Study.

Here is what Microsoft just isued and I'll get some comments from Parallels tomorrow.

(full disclosure - both ISVs are part of the SMB Nation)  Parallels is known for its Macintosh virtualization products and its software/cloud distribution framework.

“Our small and mid-market business (SMB) leadership group, and specifically Birger Steen, has played an instrumental role in bridging the gap between the SMBs and technology through their leadership in the past year.  Microsoft remains committed to investing in small and mid-market businesses and our partners who serve them.   The list of products and offerings that we launched last year specifically for the SMBs is a great testament to the priority and focus we have with this customer segment.  I am even more excited with the opportunities that cloud computing can bring to SMBs now and in the near future.  We appreciate all that Birger has done and wish him well.” 

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Our friend of the family and SMB PC cover model, Grace Schroeder, has done it again. You may recall that Grace wrote the “Clown Services” article HERE.

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Welcome to the fast, wild and gonza world of mergers and acquisitions. Sure – you might have images of drug crazed day traders moving in and out of deals at light speed but that is a flawed visual Polaroid.  The reality is that M&A activity is always occurring, often slowly in stealth mode. Tonight selected guests, invited by All Covered, will have a chance to witness this business process first hand at a toni Denver restaurant.

We’ve

from Denver-area SMB Nation tribal members who have commented that All Covered is putting on a full court press to roll-up SBSers and the like into its nationwide service organization. For the lifestyle consultant seeking an exit, this might be it. For the ambitious go-and-grow channel partner, I’d recommend you proceed with caution. Think of the old international diplomatic axiom of “Trust but Verify” strategy

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Did you know…that we have a strong voice conversation occurring at our sister site, Telephonation? We’ve been driving the SMB VoIP/Telephony/UC conversation since 2007 at this site, capitalizing on the voice+data convergence trend in the SMB channel.

• Active Forums! We enjoy robust participation with daily posts.
• Town Hall Meetings. We host a monthly town hall meeting to educate and motivate you!
• Content. Check out our video vault for a range of educational resources.
• Events. Learn more about our SMB VoIP workshops and other relevant events.
• More. There are many more resources at Telephonation – you’ll just have to click HERE and discover for yourself.

Happy SMB Voicing!

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