|
|
GeekSpeak
Over 17,500 Global Readers!
|
November 21, 2008
Issue 2-25 (bi-weekly)
|
|
|
|
|
Dear Harry,
You are receiving this newsletter as a tribal member at SMB Nation.
A big welcome to more MSP Partner members who attended the on-demand MSP Partners virtual trade show! Enjoy the read (SMB Nation is a silver sponsor of the MSP Partners organization).
Keep your chin up! While the financial markets go from mild to wild by the minute, I have taken behavioral steps to keep me focused. First, I have turned off CNN and CNBC on cable TV during work hours. I previously played these stations in the background as “white noise” (I think reader Dave Sobel does the same). Today I play an XM Radio “reggae” station with ye olde one-three beat thumpin’ on my speakers. This is how I roll!
This is the GeekSpeak issue for November 2008. I have a very interesting story about a gateway Joe Schurman developed with Quintum. Long-time reader Robert Springer contributes in the Outlook Web Access (OWA) area. I have some third-party news from Sun, NetSuite and HP. Plus we have a fantastic SBS 2008 setup webinar next week PLUS you can qualify to WIN an iPod device by completing our VoIP in SMB Survey.
cheers…harrybbbb
Harry Brelsford
CEO | SMB Nation, Inc. | Bainbridge Island, WA USA
Read my new blog! SMB Dude
PS – what is TelAssistant? You will find out in December so keep reading!
PPS – Last call for SMB Nation Europe, December 5th, London! |
|
Joey Advances RP Infrastructure: Branch Office connectivity
Joe Schurman, long-time Office Communication Server (OCS) and Response Point (RP) guru, has teamed with Quintum and developed a branch office gateway for OCS and RP. But the details are important here. In chatting with Joey, I understood that the key point was this was a blended scenario connecting the OCS world to the RP world (see figure below). This is a fantastic advancement in the RP ecosystem for two reasons. First, there is an entirely new world of OCS sites that have a reason to now use RP. Second, there are larger RP implementation that might have considered OCS a solution waiting for a reason. The reason for RPers to look at OCS is branch office connectivity.
Joey has branded this solution SmartVoIP and you can learn more HERE and up on Telephonation (look for the full press release at our Telephonation site). So let me know what you think of this solution? And thank you to Joey for this evolutionary leap in the RP world. It’s the start of a new epoch.
Meanwhile, long-time RPer Ed Carnes has broken the news that Microsoft will release RP SP2 in Feb 2009 with RP-to-RP over the Internet connectivity. Here are Ed’s words in his customer-facing Fall 2008 newsletter:
MICROSOFT RESPONSE POINT GETS BETTER AND BETTER AND BETTER – SP2 IS ON THE WAY!
We cannot say enough good things about Response Point – it is one of the best products we have ever seen come from Microsoft! RP makes a small business appear like a big business to its customers and the ability of getting voicemail via email, archiving, reporting and so many other things make RP a MUST HAVE for business that need 50 phones are less.
The SP2 release, slated for FEB 2009, adds the feature we have been waiting for – the ability to take your RP phone HOME from the office, connected it to your internet, and have it appear to STILL be on the office network. If you need to work from home temporarily (waiting for that new refrigerator to be delivered!) or maybe you want your employees to work from home as a rule (remote workers) you can have your phone with you. And the cost? ZERO. It is a FREE upgrade and requires NO NEW HARDWARE. If you haven’t seen RP, come see it in action at our office. Carnes Group deploys Syspine and Aastra VoIP solutions. Call us for a quote and get 5% off the cost of the hardware!
BEST PRACTICE: Gap filler! What Joey has done is something Microsoft cannot, will not or could not do. There are many opportunities in the Microsoft world for filling gaps that Redmond isn’t capable of doing. I learned this many years ago when the founder of the mainframe connection piece (Microsoft SNA Server) sold out to Microsoft Redmond and now sails Puget Sound and play guitar with his days! |
 |
|
|
Springer Speaks Again – OWA!
I always open any e-mail from Robert Springer, a long-time SMB Nation tribal member on the East Coast (Warren, NJ, US) who has attended many of our events and once even ran a personal errand for me to a Radio Shack in New Jersey to purchase a video camera battery charger (I will be forever indebted). So like that famous phrase “When E.F. Hutton speaks, people listen,” I submit for your approval that when Robert Springer speaks, people listen! Robert is seeking help in resolving a Outlook Web Access (OWA) malady. Robert writes:
Question: I have an issue with OWA. You get to the login screen and can put in User & Password. Then you get HTTP 405 error. I have KB823265 which talks about the issues. Also KB832769 about Kerberos authentication. The Server would not do updates so I restarted it. Now it is doing updates. I will see if these fix this. Any ideas?
Update: We have found something. The Exchange-OMA properties ASP.net is set to 2.0.x.x.x and cannot be changed. It is grayed out on the offending system. Working systems have 1.4.x.x.x.x.
Readers! Can you offer insights on this OWA matter? Post up on my blog at SMB Dude so everyone can benefit. As you know – I have branded around Springer Spaniels for years – so Robert and I always enjoy some good natured humor about must love dogs! |
|
|
|
Third-Party-isms! NetSuite, HP and Sun!
So here is something you likely didn’t know about me. While growing up in Alaska, my classmate for 6+ years was Mark Begich, the new US Senator from Alaska. His brother, Nick Begich Jr. is a PhD in what I would call Art Bell. I don’t have time to go into details here but Art has a paranormal-themed radio show in the US titled “Coast to Coast AM.” With this upfront context, welcome to the world of third-party-isms – life beyond Redmond!
In this issue, I want to highlight a new alliance between HP and NetSuite and the new StarOffice 9 from Sun.
HP and NetSuite. This is an especially interesting story for me because I owe the success of SMB Nation to both HP and NetSuite. We only use HP hardware (it has been a long-time supporter of the SMB Nation tribe) and we use the NetSuite ERP system to manage our operations. So seek these two friends team up on a new NetSuite channel partner program is good news indeed. Basically, HP has 15,000 channel partners who will be inducted into the NetSuite world to sell and implement this hosted ERP solution that ROCKS! I met with David Downing, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at NetSuite, last week in San Mateo, to discuss this breaking good news.
See SMB Dude for the full press release about HP and NetSuite.
Sun StarOffice 9. I recently caught up with two busy Sun program managers after I received a press release about Star Office 9. Admittedly, I do not know much about Sun but as we head into the slow holiday news cycle, I thought, what the heck, let’s learn!
Kay Koll (Germany) and Iyer Venkatesan (Santa Clara, CA) shared a couple of top-level highlights on this $39.95 offering (runs on Windows, Mac, Linux, Solaris). There is the complete front-office functionality you would expect with word processing, spreadsheet, charting, browser and e-mail. But would stood out for me was that it has a PDF import function with precise layout. Personally, in the past, to achieve this type of PDF import functionality, I had to use a program called Nuance PDF Professional 5.0 that costs at least 3X the charge for Sun StarOffice 9. I have a review copy of StarOffice 9 that I will install to test this feature and report back to you. This is a very important capability as a publisher. If my findings are positive, heck – you should buy Sun StarOffice 9 for its PDF import capabilities alone!
PS – Sun does have a channel partner program that I will seek to learn more about on my next trip to the Bay Area.
|
|
Enter to win an iPod: complete VoIP SMB Survey
We are conducting a survey on your opinion of VoIP in the SMB space. Questions target you, the SMB consultant, as well as how your customers view VoIP. Most importantly, we have a PRIZE DRAWING to induce you to complete the VoIP SMB survey. One lucky winner will receive an iPod device!
Complete the survey HERE
It is only 12-questions and can be completed in under 3-mins.
|
|
Blended Portfolio! SMB PC Magazine
The new issue (Issue 3-3) is out and ready to read.
Read about:
· The ECONOMY!
· Going Lean and Green!
· SBS 2008 H/W Levels (TECHNICAL)
· RP and VPN (TECHNICAL)
· SMB Nation 2008 Fall Conference Summary
· Defining TS2 and SB2
Let me expand on the lean and green concept. The print media world has lost several players in the past 45 days including PC Magazine, US News and World Report, Christian Science Monitor, Reseller Advocate Magazine (RAM) and even Maxim! At SMB PC, we believe a well-balanced portfolio should include both print and digital. So to achieve that optimal mix, we have right-sized our magazine and have several articles that CONTINUE on our magazine blog site. It’s prudent, responsible, hip and allows us to continue to serve the community as we are able. Thanks for your support and readership. READ ISSUE 3-3 HERE
|
|
|
|
Webinars!
SBS 2008 Setup Webinar, Part II: Client-side
Tuesday, November 25, 8AM PST (GMT-8)
I will interview author Philip Elder (SBS 2008 Blueprint) as we complete a LIVE client-side setup in the SBS 2008 realm. This is a follow-up (Part II) to our very popular SBS 2008 server-side setup on October 30. Learn more and sign-up HERE
Note that this is the final “Eight in 2008″ webinar sponsored by the HP/Microsoft FLP fund. Thanks for your support during the year!
Philip Elder, Alberta Canada
Note immediately after our Tuesday Webinar, we encourage you to attend Amy and Eriq’s tips and tricks Webinar. Details to be released when you attend our event first – make at a SBS day!
Not Just Another 50 Cent Online Backup Service
December 11, 2008, 8AM PST (GMT-8)
Learn how the real VARs, MSPs and trusted advisors create revenue opportunities with remote online backup protection services. Learn how the latest compliance regulations will create long-term relationships and revenue streams for your business. Find out why those cheap backup services create a false sense of security and are not telling the whole story.
David Minns will take you through the best practices to create the data restore sets that will meet each client’s expected recovery time objective – which of course will never be fast enough! Craft backup & restore SLAs that are realistic for both you and your client.
Complete the webinar with the demonstration of a VMWare host-side (the guest OS is not involved) data backup and restore process, with its complete restore to a different domain controller. Bare metal restore strategies will also be demonstrated. Sign up HERE. This is your chance to meet StorageGuard! |
|
|
SMB Nation Europe, London, December 5, 2008
The show must go on! The goal of having a repeat SMB Nation Europe event has been realized. This time, instead of Amsterdam (2005), it’s in LONDON! And instead of two-days, it is one-day to accommodate everyone’s travel and accommodation budgets. It’s the Harry (Brelsford) and Jeff (Middleton) show and it is an INDEPENDENT view of SBS 2008. Harry checks off on the sales and marketing conversation. Jeff heads up the technical conversation.
Learn more HERE
Seating is limited to 200 so sign up NOW! Jeff and I look forward to seeing you December 5th in London!
BEST PRACTICE: This London event will also be our book release party for the Small Business Server 2008 Blueprint book!
|
|
|
|
