SMB Nation | SMB IT Professionals
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By Bob Nitrio – Ranvest Associates
I discovered Centurion Technologies and SmartShield when I had to replace two aging, malware-plagued computers at a senior living community clubhouse. Although I had an instant recovery product already, I wasn’t completely satisfied with it. This client was over two hours away and I needed something to make the new systems bulletproof.
Jabra introduces updates to their WIN Partner Program!
As an authorized Jabra WIN partner you receive access to:
By Bob Vogel, B2 Marketing
If you talk to Dan Johnson, president of Denver-based MSP Machine Logic IT, he’ll tell you that Network Detective is his “Swiss Army Knife.”
“We use it on every single new prospective MSP engagement ... we use it for paid Network Assessments … we use it as part of our PCI and HIPAA audits … and we use it as part of our MSP quarterly review process,” he said.
Earlier this week, Ipanema Technologies announced a new Cloud Application Management solution designed to help organizations better control their network resources. In particular, the CAM solution offers deeper insight into how applications, particularly those based in the cloud, are affecting a network, and can allow organizations to better guarantee application uptime.
Barracuda Networks has appointed SolarWinds president and CEO Kevin B. Thompson to a post on its board of directors. Prior to becoming chief executive officer in March 2010, Thompson held multiple leadership roles at SolarWinds. He joined the company as CFO and treasurer in July 2006. In July 2007, he became COO, and in January 2009, he became president.
Converged Technology Group today released and rebranded its next-generation, cloud-based platform, Converged Assist as Assist360o. The platform is designed to provide a significantly more robust suite of efficiency, performance and control-enhancing features.
As I sit here and write this blog, I feel as though I have been here before with iPhone, for some reason. Wait…I actually was in this same spot last year, when Apple introduced its iPhone 5, and its new operating system. At the time, I was using “an about to crap out iPhone 4,” which was on its last legs, and I was thinking of either downloading the new OS or just giving in and getting the 5.
Our friends Jeff Leventhal and Co. at NYC-based Work Market today announced the results of a study on the freelance economy, which is good news for freelancers and self-employed individuals working in the U.S. Based upon data from Work Market’s online marketplace and enterprise management platform, demand for freelancers and wages earned are expected to increase through the end of this year.
Positron Telecommunication Systems today introduced the G-124V, a full featured IP-PBX with integrated, easy to use desktop video conferencing at an MSRP (retail) price less than $2,300. It works with local or remote videophones, PCs, tablets and smart phones. A video conference of up to 12 participants can be set up as easily as a voice conference call.
CompTIA’s second annual Big Data Insights and Opportunities study confirms growing familiarity with the concepts surrounding big data, which has sparked greater levels of interest across the C-suite. A full 78 percent of organizations say they feel more positive about big data as a business initiative this year compared to a year ago.
Last week, we reported on and attended the ChannelPro-SMB event in New Jersey. During the event, which included sessions on Adapting Your Business to the Cloud, Where the Money Is in Mobility, and Winning Sales and Marketing Strategies for MSPs, also featured a hardware trends session that provided attendees with a hands-on look at the latest hardware innovations.
Earlier this week, Vaultlogix announced that they have added a new incentive program for resellers, as well as the extension of their Cash for Clients program. Resellers who sign up to be a partner between now and Oct 31, 2013 will receive 20 GB of free cloud storage, twice the normal amount.
By Danielle Sheer, Vice President and General Counsel, Carbonite Inc.
HIPAA, SSAE 16, ISAE 3402 (formerly SAS70), SOC 1, SOC 2, SOC 3, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, DIACAP and FISMA, ITAR, FIPS 140-2, CSA, and the MPAA... This sounds like the equipment list for man’s mission to Mars?
Guess again. These are just a few of the federal regulations the government has enacted to ensure the privacy, security, and integrity of stored information, in the cloud or otherwise. With the proliferation of these data security standards, it is becoming increasingly important for vendors such as cloud backup providers to be diligent about their compliance with these regulations, both to respond to demand from customers, and because there’s an obvious market advantage in offering solutions that support customer compliance.
With acquisitions currently on the top of minds of most of the channel as of late, it is interesting to note that today, the channel media itself is now the topic of conversation regarding M&A deals.
It was reported this morning on CRN’s Web site that an executive management group, led by UBM Tech (CRN’s parent company) CEO Robert Faletra, has acquired UBM Tech Channel for an undisclosed sum.
ZyXEL Communications and D&H will now be offering the company's complete family of networking products in both Canada and the United States.
D&H will focus on ZyXEL's business-class offerings, including firewalls, switches, and business-class Access Points. With ZyXEL, D&H will offer carrier-grade Ethernet switches that include managed, smart web-managed and unmanaged Fast, Gigabit and 10G Switches. D&H will also distribute ZyXEL's enterprise wireless devices including indoor and outdoor Access Points, WLAN controllers and Wi-Fi Hotspots, as well as ZyXEL's network security products including high-throughput firewall appliances and Unified Threat Management devices.
This morning, Birch Communications announced that it has completed the acquisition of Ernest Communications, which includes the accounts receivable, client base and all physical assets of the organization. This acquisition will allow Birch to provide services in all 50 states, as well as Canada and Puerto Rico.
Here we go again! As I do each week, I am really enjoying bringing our readers a quick round-up of the blog coverage I didn’t manage to get to during the week prior.
In addition, here at SMB Nation, we are already gearing up for our annual fall event to be held Oct. 10-12 in Las Vegas at the Rio! We have designed a brand new Web site specifically for this event, which you must check out today. For additional information on the new Web site, our cool XP Migrations video produced by Bigger Brains, and our fall conference, check out our blog post here. Hurry up, and get your registration in, as we are less than two months away from this event!
Thursday, September 19, 2013 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM PDT
Presented by: Steve Martin, Vice President of Marketing, Sonian and Harry Brelsford, Founder and Chairman, SMB Nation, Inc.
Businesses rely on data more and more - that's not news. Many businesses have suffered considerable losses as a result of not having properly preserved their data - and that doesn't mean backups. A secure, persistent, affordable repository of every email ever sent or received is within the grasp of every business.
Bonus! One Attendee will receive a FREE Jabra Revo Wireless!
MSP firm TechSquad IT announced today that Chris Wiser, the company’s Founder and CEO, will be the subject of a documentary film titled, “The IT Guy,” which will be broadcast on a nationally syndicated cable television channel on Wednesday, September 18, 2013, at 7:30 am EST/6:30 am CST.
We heard from Ted Hulsy, VP of Marketing at eFolder, that the company has acquired Anchor Box, a startup that is based on providing file sync and share software tailored for MSPs, VARs and cloud providers. According to eFolder, the acquisition will position the company as the only channel-focused vendor that provides a complete solution suite for cloud backup, BDR services, and cloud file sync from a single supplier.
Earlier this week, Sangoma Technologies Corporation announced that it has added a new partner to its reseller program. Intrust IT, a Cincinnati-based Microsoft Gold Certified partner and provider of technology services to customers throughout the Midwest, has planned to standardize all of its on-premise deployments of Microsoft Lync with Sangoma’s NetBorder Lync Express solution.
SMB Nation has firmed up its pre-day and conference content for its 11th Annual Fall Conference. Set to kick off with the pre-day programming on Wednesday, Oct. 9, the conference will be held Thursday, Oct. 10-Saturday, Oct. 12 at the Rio Conference Center in Las Vegas.
Yesterday, Broadvox announced that it has joined the non-profit community, The SIP Forum. This group is currently composed of leading IP Communications company members, and the goal of this organization is to advance the adoption of SIP-based IP communications services and products, particularly through interoperability.
Yesterday, we reported the speculation and chatter regarding the possibility of Dave Sobel’s whereabouts at the ChannelPro SMB Forum in New Jersey earlier this week. This morning, we received a response from AVG regarding the Director of Partner Community’s position and status at the company, which confirmed that he is in fact no longer affiliated with AVG.
We heard today from our friend and contributing writer Anurag Agrawal, CEO, Techaisle, regarding his firm’s most recent study results. The survey, which was developed to understand the winning strategies for selling Cloud to SMBs, uncovered 15 best practices and critical differences between the activities and approaches of successful and unsuccessful SMB Cloud computing channel partners.
Today we have announced the Master Certified Migration Expert title based on the overwhelming demand for our Certified Migration Expert (CME) certificate.
By Nancy Hammervik, Senior VP, Industry Relations, CompTIA
Most of us can agree that while holding the key to important data is valuable, ultimately what really counts is what you do with that data. Big Data – defined as the volume, velocity and variety of data that exceeds an organization’s storage or capacity – can be considered both an opportunity and a challenge for IT solution providers.
This morning, Lenovo announced a series of enhancements to their ThinkPad portfolio of devices. These new enhancements are based on user-suggested designs and are built to have longer battery life than previous ThinkPad models.
Yesterday while attending the ChannelPro SMB Forum in New Jersey, I was happy to see many of my channel industry friends and colleagues, and it was even better that we got to gather for some good networking, educational sessions and vendor exhibits. I noticed, however, that one of my industry colleagues that I was expecting to see, AVG’s Director of Partner Community Dave Sobel, was not present.
I was looking forward to meeting up with Dave, since he and I have known each other since back in the day when he was the owner of his MSP firm, Evolve Technologies, and I was the Editor of another channel publication. I figured Dave would be there, especially since he was scheduled to deliver one of the keynote addresses yesterday at the event.
Lenovo today announced at the Intel Developer Forum, two new tower servers, the ThinkServer TS140 and ThinkServer TS440. Armed with the latest Intel Xeon E3 processors and IntelAMT 9.0 for remote manageability, these affordable, whisper-quiet tower servers are designed for performance and scalability, ideal for SMBs and MSPs.
Email is the lifeblood of modern business, and within it, courses the conversations and contracts that constitute intellectual property. By some estimates, as much as 90% of the intellectual property of an enterprise moves, at one time or another, through email. Preserving intellectual property is the proverbial ‘no brainer’ – this information is the culmination of many hours of effort and represents potential competitive advantage.
As it enters its next phase of growth, 8x8, Inc. has appointed Vikram Verma as CEO, effective immediately. Former CEO Bryan Martin will assume the role of CTO and will continue as Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Earlier this week, Rebit, Inc. announced the latest version of their full-system local backup program designed for Windows devices. Rebit6 has been slightly revamped to make the user experience simpler. The company is currently offering free 30-day, single PC license trials for prospective users, and one-click updates for current customers.
Right now, as we speak, I am live and on site at the ChannelPRO SMB Forum event in New Jersey. If you remember, the group hosted its spring event this past April in California, which Harrybbb attended.
Pictured (L to R): Rich Papaioannou of HP, Michael Siggins of ChannelPro, and Ed Mana of Technology on Demand, on the show floor at today's ChannelPro event in New Jersey.
This week marks the 10th anniversary of Technology Wizards and we heard that the group plans to celebrate this achievement at its meeting tomorrow (Sept. 11) at 12 Noon at the Microsoft PacWest office located at 1414 Northrup (in the Pearl district).
Here we go again! As I do each week, I am really enjoying bringing our readers a quick round-up of the blog coverage I didn’t manage to get to during the week prior.
In addition, here at SMB Nation, we are already gearing up for our annual fall event to be held Oct. 10-12 in Las Vegas at the Rio! We have designed a brand new Web site specifically for this event, which you must check out today. For additional information on the new Web site, our cool XP Migrations video produced by Bigger Brains, and our fall conference, check out our blog post here. Hurry up, and get your registration in, as we are less than two months away from this event!
Recently, I hosted a weekly webinar where the topic was about Active Directory. It was a geek walk down memory lane! One of the first books that I wrote, Active Directory Planning and Design, was written in the late 1990s, based on Windows 2000. It was a seminal work introducing Active Directory, network directory services, and even Group Policy Objects (GPOs) to the SMB IT Pro community. These were heady times, and the future was bright.
By Debi Bush, CEO, CMIT Solutions of Denver
Never would I have envisioned using a BlackBerry phone! Years ago I remember seeing an executive for a big regional bank using her BlackBerry phone and was perplexed as to why she liked it so much. She even liked the part of deleting an email on her BB phone while the email would remain on the server in her Outlook. I cringed upon hearing that for the duplication of effort, creating more work and therefore decreased efficiency?
Thursday, September 12, 2013 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM PDT
Presented by: Dave Minns, Senior Systems Engineer and Architect, Storage Guardian and Harry Brelsford, Founder and Chairman, SMB Nation, Inc.
Everybody wants to get disaster recovery right, but planning for a disaster is a complex process. Partners undertaking DR plans for customers often don't know where to start. That's not unusual, but it is a problem. This Webcast, however, offers solutions.
Earlier today, Seagate Technology, PLC announced the addition of Seagate Business Storage in both 8-bay 1U and 4-bay rackmount arrays. These new additions to the company’s portfolio are designed for SMBs to backup both Windows and Mac machines, and can store between 4 and 32 TB of data.
Ingate Systems and ThinkTel announced that Ingate E-SBCs and ThinkTel’s SIP trunking service have successfully completed full interoperability testing.
FireEye earlier this week released Oculus, which is reportedly the industry’s first global, real time, continuous protection platform. The company says that with Oculus, it is delivering what it believes is the world’s strongest defense system to counter today’s targeted cyber attacks.
By Brian Ferguson, Product Marketing Manager, Digium
By now you obviously are aware that “Cloud” is a buzzword that has made its way into every corner of the tech industry, including telephony. Hosted PBX deployments are all the rage. The perception in the market is that everyone is running to vendors as fast as possible and putting their Unified Communications (UC) phone systems in the cloud. So does that mean that the premises-based PBX model is dead? Assuming the demise of the on-site PBX may be a reach.
According to the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Server Tracker, factory revenue in the worldwide server market decreased -6.2% year over year to $11.9 billion in the second quarter of 2013. This was the second consecutive quarter of year-over-year revenue decline, as server market demand continued to soften in most geographic regions. Server unit shipments decreased -1.2% year over year in 2Q13 to 2.0 million units, the third consecutive quarter where year-over-year server shipments have declined.
By Yaniv Masjedi, Vice President of Marketing, Nextiva
You’re an early stage entrepreneur (read: no employees yet), and you want to go up against a big, established company in the same bid for new business. The problem? You’re worried that potential customers may not perceive your company as credible since it is still so small. If this is you, you’re probably now wondering: Do I have a chance?
Yes, you do. Here are four ways to legitimize your company in the eyes of potential customers.
By Bob Vogel, B2 Marketing
If you want to really understand the value of performing regular IT assessments for your clients, try doing an assessment on your own network – you might be really surprised at what you find.
Sean Tindall is the Chief Technical Officer at Bulletproof Infotech in Calgary, and he knows what I’m talking about.
“We follow an internal scheduled security audit for ourselves the same way we do with all of our customers,” he said. “We started doing this regularly after doing a routine security audit on our own network with Network Detective. Our review included an external vulnerability scan which found SNMP enabled on the LAN port of one of our firewalls.”
At first, Sean didn’t believe what he was seeing from Network Detective’s External Vulnerabilities Detail report.
Digium earlier this week said that it acquired VocalCloud, a provider of cloud-based VoIP solutions, in order to create Digium Cloud Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Digium.
Novus LLC, said that it has added IntelePeer as a partner, and will resell its CoreCloud SIP trunking services, which are qualified for Microsoft Lync 2010 and 2013.
Congratulations to Matthew Peteshel of CSG Services on winning the SMB Nation August Sweepstakes!
Matthew will receive a Jabra Revo Wireless!
Do you want to win a Jabra Solemate or Revo Wireless? Participate in this month's Tweetstakes! Tweet using the hashtag #JabraSMBN between now and Sept 30 to enter!
Earlier this week, in true Microsoft fashion, the tech giant announced (on a national holiday here in the U.S.) that it acquired Nokia. This followed another big announcement in the wireless world with the Verizon Verifone deal occurring just a day earlier…so now what’s next? Will Microsoft possibly be interested in acquiring a wireless network yet? Perhaps it could be “the Apple darling” AT&T, which was the first carrier to offer the iPhone when it arrived on the scene in 2007?
Iron Mountain today released a study noting that almost all (or plan to) use magnetic tape cartridges as part of their BDR strategy.
Titled “Perception Versus Reality: The Role of Tape Backup in SMB,” the survey asked more than 400 North American IT professionals in March 2013 to assess the role tape backup. With 91 percent of the survey respondents coming from organizations with fewer than 250 employees, the results offer a unique glimpse into the IT landscape of today’s small and mid-size business. The survey was conducted by Spiceworks, the network for more than 2.5 million IT professionals.
Today at a launch event in New York City, AVG Technologies today announced the first AVG CloudCare service module will be integrated within AVG Managed WorkPlace since AVG acquired the business of LPI Level Platforms in June.
GFI MAX said today that it has made available its remote command line, the first function of the new Remote Background Management feature in its GFI MAX RemoteManagement platform for MSPs. The Remote Background Management feature provides a seamless customer experience by allowing MSPs to remotely complete maintenance on their customers’ networks without interrupting their work.
Cloud application providers are great at making small businesses more productive. Services such as Google Apps are at the forefront of cloud application delivery — providing access to apps from anywhere your customers happen to be. But if your customers are stuck relying on a provider like Google Apps for email security, you may want to ask — what happens when your security vendor is no longer a security vendor? Google’s announcement to end-of-life Postini and migrate customers to Google Apps, for example, leaves many solution providers wondering if it’s time to evaluate an alternative approach.
WD said that it has expanded its WD Red line of SATA hard drives specifically designed for home and small office NAS systems with one- to five-drive bays. WD Red hard drives are now available in a 2.5-inch form factor offering 1 TB and 750 GB capacities and a new 3.5-inch 4 TB capacity. Powered by NASware 2.0 technology, WD Red is compatibility-tested with top NAS system manufacturers and optimized for performance and reduced power consumption.
Tweet using the hashtag #JabraSMBN this month, and we will draw one winner to receive either a Jabra Solemate or Revo Wireless!
Tweets must come in between 9/1/2013 and 9/31/2013 to qualify!
Learn more at our Contests Page!
This morning, Dell announced a series of enhancements to its PartnerDirect program, including the addition of four new software competencies. In addition, the company announced that today would mark the start of partner program homogenization between Dell and its acquired properties, including Quest Software.
The four new software competencies include:
It seems that lately when we hear about big business concerning the CEOs of top companies, it usually refers to something negative and/or about a big payday they received for their efforts. However, with Lenovo, that’s not the case…in fact, it’s quite the opposite. If you want to shift gears, let’s talk about a tech giant that is based on literally sharing its wealth with its employees.
Here we go again! As I do each week, I am really enjoying bringing our readers a quick round-up of the blog coverage I didn’t manage to get to during the week prior.
In addition, here at SMB Nation, we are already gearing up for our annual fall event to be held Oct. 10-12 in Las Vegas at the Rio! We have designed a brand new Web site specifically for this event, which you must check out today. For additional information on the new Web site, our cool XP Migrations video produced by Bigger Brains, and our fall conference, check out our blog post here. Hurry up, and get your registration in, as we are less than two months away from this event!
It started as a first date in February 2011 when Microsoft made a small strategic investment in Nokia. Here is how it ended: Microsoft got married over the weekend to Nokia’s Devices and Services unit for a dowry of $7.2 billion. That price includes $2 billion for patents. On paper, it makes perfect sense. But for every action, there is a reaction.
The maturity of the SMB community is starting to show. In a new series of articles, I detail the current shakeout amongst IT Pros, vendors and other community members that isn’t in any way wrong, it’s just a reality. I’ll explore master MSPs built for scale, lifestyle consultants built for pleasure. Plus I’ll explore the sales agent and contractor community. I’ll even talk about how to “hang on fast” and how you can try to avoid the middle class trap that I’m about to reveal to you.
Though Labor Day has traditionally come to mark the end of the summer season (as I sit here in the SMB Nation office, with a downpour outside, I can believe it), it actually has very deep roots in the history of the American work force.
Earlier this week, Lenovo announced the debut of three new All-in-One desktop models that are designed to be touch-enabled and energy efficient. These models include the ThinkCentre E93z, E73z and M73z.
Lenovo explained that these three models will all feature Intel 4th generation Core processors, Energy Star 5.2 compliance, recycled materials, Solid-State Hard Drives and less packaging. Additional features include:
We recently received news from our contact at Microsoft concerning changes to the SkyDrive Pro cloud storage for business system. There are three main updates that are designed to simplify use and adoption of the SkyDrive system.
First, Microsoft announced that they are upgrading all user accounts from 7GB to 25GB of storage. Office 365 developers, Mark Kashman and Tejas Mehta explained in a blog this week that the overall storage per user would be 25GB of SkyDrive data, plus 25GB of e-mail data, plus 5GB per mailbox you create, plus total available tenant storage.
It’s been quite a week at Microsoft as it relates to personnel changes and announcements. First, Steve Ballmer, the company’s longtime CEO announced last Friday that he plans to retire in the coming year. Now, today, we heard from the tech giant that Channel Chief Jon Roskill (pictured) is stepping down from the position he served in for the last three years.
Today, Logicalis US released a series of four steps for IT Pros who are looking at moving their data center to the Cloud. In addition, the company released a short quiz for IT professionals, called the “Blueprint for IT Transformation,” that places organizations on a six step scale of on-premise to Cloud in readiness. This allows the test taker to see where they are currently, and offers next steps for moving to a more virtual environment.
The four tips for Virtualization, provided by Logicalis today, are:
Who better than Eric Townsend (pictured) to offer observations on the Windows XP migration matter? Widely recognized as the busiest man in the channel, his professional life mirrors that of the George Clooney character who travels 1 million+ miles in the movie “Up in the Air”! Even with his super busy schedule, we were able to corner Townsend earlier this week for a wide-ranging conversation about April 8, 2014 and the Windows XP migration matter.
Yesterday, GFI MAX released news of a new resource pack for MSPs using their platform. The addition is for HIPAA readiness, and is designed to address the new regulations that organizations must follow starting September 23, 2013.
EMC Corporation and VMware announced at this week’s VMworld event that they have joined together on a major investment and are continually focused on rapid advancement of software-defined storage architectures and emerging models for the way applications consume storage in virtualized environments.
It was announced earlier this week that David D’Arcy, Founder and CEO of NYC-based IT solution provider firm Precision IT will step down from the top post at his company. Taking over will be Anthony L. Butler (pictured), the company’s current VP of Sales who will serve as acting CEO, effective immediately.
Earlier today, independenceIT announced that they have integrated their Cloud Workspace Suite with ConnectWise. iIT’s Cloud Workspace Suite is designed specifically for MSPs, VARs and ISVs.
AVG Technologies is now offering MSPs (for a limited time) an RMM swap promo for partners that had previously been using packetTrap, the platform acquired by Dell from Quest Software last year.
The promo, which is available from now through November 2013, offers AVG Managed Workplace RMM platform at no charge to businesses with existing packetTrap RMM licenses.
Sources close to the top have confirmed that Windows 8.1 has released to manufacturing (RTM) and is on the way. The rumor, which is now fact, was leaked last Friday (perhaps to defer attention on the retirement announcement concerning Steve Ballmer). Like many readers, I’ve been running the Windows 8.1 Preview on a few machines for the past few months. I even have my sons and wife playing around with it on the family PC in the TV room. The consensus: We like it!
WD released this week two ultra-compact backup appliances: the WD Arkeia DA1300 and DA2300, which are designed to offer SMBs all-in-one backup and disaster recovery solutions.
Bundled with the WD Arkeia v10.1 software, these new appliances come with an unlimited numbers of file/folder backup agents on any of over 200 distinct platform types. The software also offers optional specialized agents for hot backups of important applications and databases.
Jabra now offers integrated call control with the latest version of Cisco Jabber 9.2 for Windows in both traditional and virtual desktop environments. This unique feature has the potential to enhance the user experience for the more than 200,000 customers that have implemented a Cisco Unified Communications solution.
You heard it here first…Jeff Dryall informed us today that he taken on a new position at VAR Dynamics as Director of Business Development. Dryall, who most recently was with Level Platforms, left a few weeks after the RMM company was acquired by AVG Technologies, and has since been looking for his next best opportunity.
Thursday, August 29, 2013, 10-11am PDT
Presented by: Harry Brelsford, Founder and Chairman, SMB Nation, Inc.
Join us for our quarterly briefing with business decision makers, partners, analysts and others as we survey the “State of the Nation” for 3Q 2013. Topics will include:
Actually, it was a brilliant move on Microsoft’s part, when they announced Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s pending retirement (last week) on a slow news day--a Friday in late August. Better yet–the Ballmer news competed with the Windows 8.1 Release To Manufacturing (RTM) rumor, so it was diluted. It’s right out of the Washington DC political playbook: Release bad news on a Friday in late August!
This morning, VaultLogix announced and integration partnership with LabTech Software that will allow LabTech’s RMM solution to actively monitor Vaultlogix’s Advantage Cloud Backup and Recovery Service.
Here we go again! As I do each week, I am really enjoying bringing our readers a quick round-up of the blog coverage I didn’t manage to get to during the week prior.
In addition, here at SMB Nation, we are already gearing up for our annual fall event to be held Oct. 10-12 in Las Vegas at the Rio! We have designed a brand new Web site specifically for this event, which you must check out today: http://fall.smbnation.com/. For additional information on the new Web site, our cool XP Migrations video produced by Bigger Brains, and our fall conference, check out our blog post here. Hurry up, and get your registration in, as we are less than two months away from this event!
snom technology and Patton Electronics announced today at ITEXPO that they are expanding their existing partnership by offering telephony bundles in North and South America through value-added distributor ABP Technology.
D&H Distributing announced today that it has won Microsoft’s Platinum Level Operational Excellence Award. The company was rewarded for its ability to deliver operational excellence supporting Microsoft technology over the past year.
Earlier today, ChannelPro-SMB announced the finalized session lineup for its September 9-10 show at the Woodbridge Hotel in Iselin, NJ. The organization has just sold out of sponsorships and currently has limited seating available for attendees, to ensure that all have a chance to participate in the conversation.
Even though it’s a Friday in the summer, it seems as though most offices are like ghost towns with relaxed summer schedules, and everyone taking vacation before the “unofficial” end of summer Labor Day holiday. However, this is not the case at Microsoft, where it is business as usual. With that being said. You have to be still sleeping or living in a cave to have not heard by now, that this morning, the tech giant announced that its CEO Steve Ballmer announced his retirement from the top post within the next 12 months.
Just when you thought August was a slow news month, along came Tim Rains’ blog last week, in which he called the day after April 8, 2014, when extended support for Windows XP terminates, as the “endless zero day.” His comments were picked up by several news outlets, including Mary Jo Foley, EyeOnWindows (formerly Windows 8 Update) and Redmond Channel Partner magazine. So I reached out to Rains to get the story behind the stories.
Yesterday, SalesReach Software announced that their application, SalesReach Telecom, has been selected by PSI Network, Inc., to help them achieve their goal of becoming a customer company. PSI network selected SalesReach Software’s app from the Salesforce App Exchange.
Earlier this week, Unified RMM software developer, Naverisk, named Michael Inzerillo as the new Vice President of Sales, US Markets. Inzerillo previously served as Director of Worldwide Sales at LabTech, and is a well-regarded member of the MSP community.
Yodle has released the results from its inaugural Small Business Sentiment Survey – a study that examines American small business owners' perspective on work-life balance, professional and personal worries, and government and institutional support. The study also reveals the rate at which small business owners are adopting modern technology and marketing approaches. The survey, which was conducted in June 2013 through a third party research firm, polled 306 small business owners nationwide across a large variety of industries.
Cloud software provider Zendesk has launched Help Center, a self-service all-in-one knowledge base, community and customer portal designed. The new Help Center enables any company to create a self-service portal that is beautiful and relevant for their customers and is as simple to create and customize as a blog.
We recently spoke with Dell Cloud Client Computing regarding its cloud-based virtual desktop solution, Dell Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) On Demand. The platform includes features from Desktone’s secure multi-tenant VDI platforms delivering session-based desktops, published applications, persistent or non-persistent Windows 7 or XP desktops, RSA secure authentication, among others. Dell has expanded DaaS On Demand to Channel Partners for the first time and is offering a free trial so customers can quickly and easily experience the benefits of delivering secure, fully-featured virtual desktops to users without the infrastructure cost.
By Jesse Hebisen, Centurion Technologies
You work hard to acquire and retain your clients. Every day they rely on you for one thing – keeping their computers and networks working. But we all know that when the malicious email comes with “the link”, THEY WILL CLICK ON IT. The client’s computer is down, productivity is halted and remediation is paramount. Your client is unhappy and you have to switch gears to focus on their problem.
By Bob Vogel, B2 Marketing
I remember back in the days when I was the first Chief Marketing Officer at Autotask, doing some market research into the IT service community, I uncovered the “dirty little secret” that everyone knew, but nobody talked about:
Most IT solution providers were out there preaching the strategic importance of technology to their clients, installing the latest and best hardware and software solutions, but they were still running their own businesses with spreadsheets, whiteboards and handwritten invoices.
Let’s assume you’re an IT professional. A major part of your job is to make sure the technology you adopt and deploy to your workforce enables productivity and does not compromise the integrity of your company’s information. Experience tells you to trust a security vendor for this, but what if your security vendor is no longer a security vendor?
In the case of Postini, all customers of this email security service are now being transitioned into the larger portfolio of Google Apps for Business. The problem is, some of the features customers were used to, along with the features that truly lead the industry in email protection, simply aren’t available within Google Apps.
Earlier this week, Artisan Infrastructure announced that they have added object-based Cloud Storage options to their wholesale IaaS offerings. The main purpose of this new addition is to enable MSPs, VARs and CSPs to build enterprise cloud storage solutions.
Verio Inc., said today that it has launched VerioCatalyst—an online marketplace of applications designed to provide global partners with cloud-based tools and services to meet the needs of their customers. VerioCatalyst brings a new platform for SMBs to browse and purchase a wide selection of scalable IT, marketing, collaboration and mobility applications as well as cost-effective, bundled business services.
OPSWAT today released its market share report, which includes analysis of antivirus, peer-to-peer, backup, and antiphishing application usage worldwide. In addition to market share coverage, the report provides a comprehensive breakdown of the most popular products in their respective category and how often certain product features are enabled.
D&H Distributing said that it is offering two new training events to help VARs attain additional skills and grow their businesses. The first event is a new webcast to be held tomorrow at 2 pm EST through the distributor’s Solutions Lab. Entitled “VAR Best Practices – Building Your Business By Doing What’s Right For Your Customers,” this session is at no-cost for D&H resellers. In addition, the distributor is offering a D&H and Lenovo Server Build Session on Tuesday, October 8, to be held at the Tripp Lite Integrated Solutions Center, 111 West 35th Street, Chicago, IL.
Earlier today, Webroot announced a series of promotions within their organization. Four long-time staff members have moved into executive-level positions due to rapid company growth.
TechSquad IT, is now offering, as part of its technology services platform, Dropbox for Business to its SMB customer base.
By adding Dropbox for Business to its selection of technology services, the Milwaukee-based MSP will now be able to provide its SMB clients with file sharing and collaboration tools that will help streamline and organize their daily business processes. Utilized currently by more than 2 million businesses, Dropbox for Business is known for its ability to automatically back up data so that it is available anywhere at any time from any device. In addition, Dropbox for Business keeps important data safe so that it may be shared securely with team members, as well as giving the ability to access older versions of any type of document, and restoring previously deleted files.
Rebit said today that it has launched its new Partner Portal, a web-based tool where approved partners can provision, manage, and monitor Rebit backup solutions.
Once approved as a partner, the Rebit Partner Portal provides small business customers with a one- stop-shop for performing essential operations to manage Rebit backup more efficiently.
