With 2012 coming to a close just last week, I can say, “Oh, what a year it has been” when it comes to the developments that occurred and the new products that were released in our industry. In case you missed out on any of these developments, or need a little refresher course, note my “playlist” below, which outlines SMB Nation’s Top 10 “Greatest Hits” of 2012, as per our blog posts.
1.) Retirement of Small Business Server: Microsoft has announced the end-of-life for the SBS family on July 5, 2012. This effectively was the last day for future sales for the product as it’s difficult to be an ethical trusted business advisor in SMB technology and recommend a product with an end-of-life announcement.
2.) Windows 8 Was My Idea…: Ok – I lied. Windows 8 wasn’t really my idea, but I’ve been running it in production since May 2012 and have a few lessons from the trenches to share with you. As you likely know, Windows 8 was officially launched on Thursday (October 25th) at Pier 57 in Manhattan.
3.) Windows 8 Team Leader Steven Sinofsky Out at Microsoft: The sudden post-Windows 8 launch resignation of perfectionist Steven Sinofsky from Microsoft (head of the Windows 8 team) brings to the forefront a Pocket MBA argument: Can geeks lead?
4.) Congratulations, Regina Ciardiello!: On the morning of July 11, 2011, SMB Nation's long-time Editor, Regina Ciardiello and her husband welcomed their first child, Henry Edward Jankowski, into the world! He arrived a full three weeks early at 5 lbs., 10 oz. Both the mother and baby are healthy and well.
5.) Team Jeremiah Continues to Fight on: Update: You might remember that we put a call out in July for a bone marrow donor match for Jeremiah, and with a fighting persistence, a 10/10 match donor was found, literally giving Jeremiah the hope of a lifetime. That being said, Jeremiah underwent a bone marrow transplant on November 10; he has been home since November 27, and according to his wife, Brooke, with whom I had the opportunity to speak with this afternoon, via phone, Jeremiah is doing better every day, and continues to work on getting well.
6.) Executive Moves Continue at Intronis with Ted Roller Heading to LogMeIn: Last month Intronis announced that its co-founder Neal Bradbury is taking over the position of VP Channel Development. The position was previously held by Ted Roller, whom all of us at SMB Nation have met up with at various industry trade shows, including our own.
While Intronis did not indicate in the press release where Roller was headed, a news report spotted on MSPMentor.net this morning confirms he will be headed to LogMeIn “for a VP position focused on improving relations and sales with managed services providers (MSPs) and outsourced IT providers…”
7.) SMB Nation Announces Themes, Programming for 2013 Spring Conference: SMB Nation announced in December that its 7th Annual Spring Conference will be held early next year from February 23-25, 2013, at Microsoft’s Campus in Redmond, WA. The theme of this year’s event is “V3,” meaning all courses are designed to help attendees to keep ahead of the game when it comes to the latest shift to virtualization. The emphasis on “V3” is virtual desktop/VDI, virtual server and value tracks.
8.) Live from the Trenches: Hurricane Sandy…A Personal Experience: I remember during that first week after Hurricane Sandy, as I sat in my home office on the second floor of our house in Sayreville, NJ, there was another storm brewing outside. This time it was snow, rain, sleet, more wind, and who knows what else. In the fall of 2012, we just couldn’t seem to catch a break up here in the Northeast when it comes to the weather.
9.) SMB Nation Fall...We've Come a Long Way from Two Credit Cards, One Van and Three Kegs: Day one of SMB Nation’s Fall Conference kicked off bright and early on Oct. 12 at 8 am with Harrybbb’s keynote speech. Despite the early hour, the room was full, and Harry began his discussion taking attendees back to a trip down memory lane, recapping the highlights of the fall conference for the last 10 years.
10.) Dell Completes Acquisition of Quest Software: Dell said in September it completed the acquisition of Quest Software. This is not the first acquisition for the big-box PC manufacturer; the company earlier this year acquired SonicWall, Wyse Technology and AppAssure…perhaps furthering its foray into the SMB channel?
