Posted by Steve Schwartz on Mon, Apr 26, 2010
We are pleased to announce that implement.com has been invited to present at the 2010 Microsoft Hosting Summit. Our presentation is on Hosted Unified Communications and Unified Messaging, and how to go to market with Hosted Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 (OCS) and Microsoft Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging. Our presentation is part of the invite only portion of the conference for Microsoft's most successful hosting partners.
This is a nice acknowledgment of our thought leadership in the Hosted Unified Communications industry in general, and of our deep expertise with Hosted OCS 2007 specifically.
We are uniquely qualified to deliver this presentation for a couple of reasons:
First, we have been focused on how to deliver hosted Microsoft Exchange and Office Communications Server for as long as these products and markets have existed, Exchange since about 1999, and OCS (with it's first iteration as Live Communications Server) since 2006. In the nascent world of cloud computing, that makes us pioneers.
Second, we actually deliver the service! When we started our hosting operation in 2006, Chinook Hosting, we intentionally started it to deliver Hosted Unified Communications, including Hosted Unified Messaging. We were a little early. However, that early entry allowed us to amass key experience on how to deliver Hosted Unified Communications. It wasn't easy, but it paid off for us when we launched at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2008 the very first Hosted Unified Messaging offering based on Microsoft Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging.
This was truly ahead of it's time, but as cloud computing emerges in 2010, hosted communications services will be one of the key areas of focus for the successful service provider.
implement.com is already acknowledged and continuing to move forward as one of the thought leaders for the Microsoft hosted solutions ecosystem and this presentation is a validation point that makes us think we are on the right track in Hosted Unified Communications.
Posted by Steve Schwartz on Tue, Mar 30, 2010
I have seen numerous times businesses try to compare hosted services to on premise based on a price or cost standpoint. In my viewpoint, the comparison must be done not on a dollar amount in a spreadsheet, but on the value of the service to the business. Whether it is on premise or hosted or in a cloud is more a business model discussion, though with lots of considerations such as security, service levels, and recoverability.
But how do you start to get a handle on the value of the service? I have attempted here to at least outline some of the items you might consider:
- Focus IT Staff on Mission Critical Line of Business Apps
- I have heard repeatedly from customers that their IT staff is overworked and understaffed and they wish they could focus on more mission critical line of business apps instead of things like managing Exchange.
- By outsourcing commodity technology like messaging and collaboration, unified communications, and business applications like CRM, you free up your IT staff, and further, future proof yourself from having to maintain current technology and keep your staff up to speed
- Get access to technology without roadblocks
- It is increasingly common to have a discussion with potential customers about them wanting to deploy a new technology like Unified Communications utilizing Microsoft Office Communications Server, but their IT staff is blocked by too many other projects and don't have the requisite expertise to deploy it quickly and start getting value. In some cases, this is from folks that have already bought the software and cannot leverage the investment.
- Physical Security
- This one is easy, how many small businesses have their Exchange or SharePoint server sitting under a desk, or in a non secure storage closet? Physically securing your server and storage is every bit as important as the standard security from user ids and passwords.
- Datacenter Features
- "The Cage"
- Having a highly efficient and secure "cage" in a data center is the first step in physical security and reliability
- Highly Available and Redundant Power and Network
- UPS and diesel generator backup power with multiple redundant communication links - how many small businesses have that?
- Security
- Multiple levels of physical access security and video surveillance, common in a Data Center, not so much in a typical office building
- Yeah, but I can get all of that by doing co-location myself can't I?...for 100 people?
- Sure you could, and for around $2-3,000 per month you get your cage, power, and broadband, but....
- You would underutilize the cage by an incredible margin - how many servers would you put in the cage? With blade technology you can place many servers in one cage but a typical small business probably only has a dozen servers at most
- For all of that expense for your servers, you are still woefully under utilizing them - to have minimally redundant Exchange platform, even with virtualization, you will need a few physical servers - but probably no Storage Are Network and related benefits - and for how many users? Maybe a 100 or 200? You will have a platform that could easily run 2000 users or more - hey, that's not green!
- End User and Customer Experience
- Easier, Web Based Administration and it can be delegated (IT staff establishes the rules, policies, and plans - then it's automated)
- More effective tools with tasks completed in a more timely manner
- Anywhere access without having to become an expert on firewalls and security
- In this article the Whir does a nice job of analyzing the benefits for SMB's utilizing hosted services:
Finally, this is all summed up by saying it is difficult to quantify costs of on premise vs. hosted, and there are numerous tangents of value that have to be evaluated and how the outcomes of one choice impact the bottom line for the business.
Posted by Steve Schwartz on Thu, Mar 18, 2010
A short note to telecommunications companies about "Cloud" computing services, but first some pertinent questions:
How do you define what services are delivered when you offer "Cloud" computing? Is it limited to hosted servers/OS/Database/Web Services billed by complex metering? Hosted Desktops? Virtual Servers? Cloud is a tough term to use and even define, and I eagerly await its being phased out.
This blog comes from my long and arduous experiences helping telcos deliver cheap and cheerful free PoP3 email... I have been in the ASP/Hosting/SaaS/Cloud business since 1999, and in the process worked with many telcos globally. During that time I have seen only one application service ever garner some success outside of the traditional offerings of broadband and voice services. In this context I gauge "success" as a service that actually generates revenue because customers want to buy it from the telco (i.e. the right target market), in the way the telco sells it (very cheap, or free bundled with broadband), and the way they want to buy it (online and anonymous).
Guess which application? PoP3 email! Mostly delivered to very small businesses or consumers. Transitioning to selling more advanced email and calendaring, let alone "Cloud", to real live SMB's with high expectations for support and customer service is a massive transition. This is not a technology problem.
The latest logical extension to email is Unified Communications and to me, the successful telco that wants to drive towards success in the "Cloud" will focus very narrowly on hosted Unified Communications, especially Hosted OCS (Microsoft Office Communications Server), for the smaller end of the SMB market. The accompanying diagram shows how Microsoft views the future of Unified Communications.
Posted by Jarmo Paukkunen on Fri, Mar 05, 2010
If you work remotely as much as I do, one of your areas of frustration is probably the situation where you are at a customer's location and need Internet access. Many companies provide guest WiFi but most do not. Wired networks may have firewall settings that stymie connection attempts. Thus, demonstrating software solutions is often reduced to PowerPoint slides rather than demonstrating the live system. In my case, a live demonstration of our hosted business applications platform is the most powerful way to show real-life performance and user experience.
Smartphones like the iPhone are great for consuming content but not really suitable for creating content or doing demonstrations. While I use my iPhone to show integration with our unified communications solution it does not work for software demos. Also, the existing 3G networks are too slow for showing any meaningful near real-time applications.
So I was delighted to find that Comcast is providing a 4G networks across the greater Seattle area, based on the WiMax standard. While Comcast sells the service, it is provided by ClearWire Communications in which Comcast has a significant capital investment. Coverage is limited in much of the country, however network rollouts are continuing. Visit http://www.comcast.com/highspeed2go/#/coverage for the current coverage map.
So how does it work? You subscribe to a plan for a minimum of 12 months. As I work principally in Seattle I chose the Metro2Go plan which costs $30/month plus $49 activation fee. National roaming is available at additional cost. The system falls back to 3G when 4G coverage is unavailable while roaming.
Comcast shipped me a USB device which is about the size of a USB thumb drive. Install the communications software, plug in the USB device and you are live. I have run connection speed tests and the typical speed recorded is 10Mb download, 1Mb upload. This is comparable to DSL speeds.
To determine coverage I placed my laptop on the passenger seat of my car and established an audio connection to one of my colleagues using Office Communicator running on our OCS platform. With a wireless headset I was able to maintain a constant phone conversation at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour. I found 2 dead spots on my 9 mile commute, similar to dead spots you find with cell phones.
So far I am absolutely delighted. I have attended several customer sales meetings on their site and so far found only one office where I could not get signal. Phone calls made over the connection are free saving me cell phone minutes. The speed of my laptop is the same or better when compared to being on a WiFi network at the office or at home.
I can imagine that 4G services will be a boon to mobile workers in sales, construction, real estate and many other professions and industries.
True location transparency is here.
Posted by Jarmo Paukkunen on Wed, Feb 17, 2010
This is, word for word, what a customer recently shared with our team.
Stripping away industry hype, what most end-customers are looking for are business solutions.
Most likely that solution is business hosting of applications, communications and other services, and the smaller the company, that solution becomes increasingly more appealing. It is difficult for a small business to invest resources-in terms of headcount and capital-into technology, which paradoxically is essential for the business to prosper.
Often the idea of "outsourcing" is thought of as solely the province of large companies. However, businesses in the US with fewer than 100 employees actually employ almost 40 million people in the United States. These enterprises today have access to business hosted applications and services that are equivalent to the tools the largest companies are using: email, customer relationship management, accounting, project management, collaboration and many others.
Save on Capital Costs
Business hosted solutions are based on a subscription business model that does away with up-front capital outlays, the need for internal IT expertise, and continual upgrades. Customers pay for exactly what they consume each month, particularly useful for businesses having significant seasonal fluctuations in employee or contractor numbers.
Collaborate
Sharing of information between employees as well as external parties is critical. Business-hosted applications like Exchange email, SharePoint and Office Communicator provide the means to share documents, calendars and other collateral. They allow you to hold an impromptu meeting with voice and video while avoiding the cost of conference calls or travel. It's possible, today, to add a complete unified communications (UC) solution that fully integrates business applications and telephone and includes a very competitive calling plan.
Work From Anywhere
Business hosted applications allow for true location transparency, since you can work from anywhere with an Internet connection. Similarly, you can connect with your cell phone or other device. With workforces moving to telecommuting and an increasing number of professionals rarely coming to the office, hosted applications provide the same user experience-regardless of where you are. No need to establish virtual private network (VPN) connections, since all data is encrypted by default.
The bottom line
Finally, small and mid-sized businesses can avail themselves of technology that reduces costs and increases productivity, at less than the cost of the average cell phone bill.
Tell us what you think
How will Unified Communications drive your business? What are your expectations?
Posted by Steve Schwartz on Wed, Dec 09, 2009
As a small-to-midsized business (SMB) innovator, you're increasi
ngly concerned with your company's resource outlay. You may have embraced managed hosting, but your IT staff is still juggling the logistics of real-time communication services like e-mail, SMS, MMS, RSS, IM, social media, web conferencing, CRM, and call management along with applications like CRM and document collaboration portals.
As SMB decision makers evaluate their bottom line, many are discovering that managing IT complexity internally is devouring time, resources and money they can't feasibly spare. Read on to find out why deploying applications internally may be an unnecessary distraction for your business - and why you need a next-generation, business class provider of hosted communications and applications.
Out with the Old
Historically speaking, communications and applications have been mission-critical functions for SMBs. Because of this, it has made sense to keep its management "in the family." Concerns about information security, crisis administration and cost effectiveness prevented many businesses from pursuing managed services for communications and application platforms. Times have changed, though, and many SMB innovators are finding that the right solution can save them money-and accelerate their path to success.
In with the New
Today's buzz word is Cloud Computing but what we are talking about here is Business Hosting. The cloud computing available today is closely aligned with outsourcing custom applications to a hosted provider, and being able to very quickly leverage additional computing capacity for running applications that includes servers (usually virtualized), applications services (hosting the app), database services, and storage. When we talk about business hosting we are referring to the communications and applications mentioned above like email, voice, and instant messaging. These aren't the apps you get from cloud computing vendor, these are available from companies providing business hosting.
If you're caught in the great outsourcing debate and trying to learn how cloud and/or business hosting can provide solutions, we urge you to ask yourself these questions:
- Is the management of internal IT interfering with the pursuit of my core business objectives?
- How old is the technology I'm depending on to run my business? Does the thought of upgrading it make you apprehensive?
- Is my staff regularly distracted by routine communications tasks?
- How much am I paying for individual communications solutions like web-conferencing, e-mail, IM, PBX etc? How much for business applications like CRM?
- How could a fully-integrated, unified communications platform simplify the administration of my company's email, calendar, IM, CRM, blogging and hosting functions?
- Does my staff have the necessary expertise and resources to support our company's growth requirements in the current market?
At implement, we realize that your time, manpower and financial resources are valuable-and limited. That's why we think you'll appreciate our simplified, integrated alternative to piecemeal communications and applications. It's time to refocus your energy. Give us a call today for a personalized, unified communications and business applications consultation-and discover why you can't afford to be in the business of hosting these apps on your own.
Over the next several blogs, we'll be debunking a variety of internal Business Hosting myths, including the following:
- Communications and applications are foundational to our company, and therefore they're just too important to outsource.
- By outsourcing any of my company'scommunications platforms, I'm surrendering control of those functions.
- Money is tight. I just can't afford to outsource communications and applications to a business hosting provider.
- Only large firms outsource their communications and applications. We're not big enough to worry about it.
So, what about you: Do you need Cloud Computing yet, or are you more concerned about leveraging business hosting for Hosted IT and Communication Services? We'd like to hear your thoughts.