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By SuperUser Account on 7/29/2010 9:04 AM
By Ina Fried - REDMOND, Wash.--Aiming to show it is still winning customers against Google, Microsoft on Thursday announced deals to provide hosted e-mail and portal software to three big corporate customers. The software maker said Dow Chemical, Hyatt Hotels, and the University of Georgia are all using the company's hosted e-mail and portal software, known as Microsoft Online. The announcements were timed to come just as Microsoft is set to host its financial analyst meeting here. (I'll be covering the day-long event live, starting around 8 a.m. PT) In an interview, Hyatt CIO Mike Blake said the company, which had been running Lotus Notes, chose Microsoft after considering cloud-based options from Google, Microsoft and IBM's Lotus division. "I would not say that I was a Microsoft zealot," Blake said. "I worked most of my career to find ways not to use Microsoft. I'm a huge Apple fan." However, going with Microsoft allowed the company to not only provide e-mail to its current group of PC-equipped workers but also to 40,000 additional "deskless" workers, such as housekeepers and porters that historically haven't had work e-mail. Although that might have been possible with both Google and Microsoft, Blake said when it came to cost "Microsoft was probably a little more compelling." | By SuperUser Account on 7/20/2010 8:56 AM
By Fool TV July 19, 2010 In poker, when you say you're going all in, it means one of two things: Confidence you have the best hand, or a bluff that feigns that same strength. Last week, Fool.com analyst Eric Bleeker attended Microsoft's Worldwide Developers Conference and said the company picked no-bones about their cloud computing ambitions: They're all in, but can they deliver the goods? Normally, the idea behind cloud computing means getting rid of your data center and letting a third party like Microsoft host you data and applications. However, Microsoft's also pushing to dominate the private cloud model. Private clouds enable companies to keep servers and equipment on premise, but it's more standardized, secure, and they can use Microsoft's cloud platform to develop and host new applications. At the conference, Microsoft made it clear they're serious about dominating the private cloud market. The company introduced both Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) as hardware launch partners, and an eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) representative came on stage to promote the company's extensive use of Microsoft cloud offerings. Also, almost all of Microsoft's business programs like Exchange for email, SharePoint for collaboration, and Office can now be hosted on the web, or have web based tie-ins. Microsoft is pushing tie-ins between the programs to make them work better together. It's an end-to-end solution that exceeds the ambitions of competitors, and through Microsoft's continued focus on its Dynamics line-ups, the competition with Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) and salesforce.com(NYSE: CRM). | By SuperUser Account on 7/17/2010 12:43 PM
By Mary Jo Foley | July 16, 2010, 3:01pm PDT At this week’s Worldwide Partner Conference, Microsoft officials shared with attendees their “official” roadmap for updating the company’s hosted Business Productivity Online (BPOS) suite. Company officials shared which features and capabilities that the company rolled out already as part of the on-premises server complements of the BPOS products will be added to the Microsoft-hosted versions of those offerings. I’ve run a few slides on this blog over the past couple of months, dating back to November 2009, that included much of this same information. But it wasn’t until this week that Microsoft officials acknowledged these details. I’ve heard that customers of the Dedicated (i.e., non-shared/non-multitenant) versions of Microsoft’s BPOS and its point-product parts — Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Communications Online and Live Meeting — already have some of the 2010 feature updates. But those using the “Standard” (multitenant) versions do not. Microsoft didn’t provide specific dates as to when they’d deliver the updates to each of its managed services, but did say the updates would happen in fiscal 2011 (which runs from July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2011). Earlier this year, the Softies said to watch for a “preview” of these BPOS updates before the end of this calendar year, and advised companies to prepare their infrastructure now for these BPOS futures. The roadmap slides the Softies showed at the partner conference this week look just about identical to the ones I ran earlier. In November 2009, Microsoft shared privately information about the coming 2010 features for Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and Communications Online. I ran some of this information, shared with me by sources, in various recent blog posts. According to Microsoft officials this week, here’s what’s coming on the Exchange Online front (from the WPC 2010 slide deck): 
(click on the slide to enlarge)
| By SuperUser Account on 7/5/2010 1:05 PM
By Kevin McLaughlin, CRN - 7:37 PM EDT Wed. Jun. 30, 2010 Guess what? Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) and Google (NSDQ: GOOG) are quarreling again. This time, Google is taking issue with Microsoft's recent portrayal of its support system for Google Docs as not being customer-friendly. On Monday, Barbara Gordon, Microsoft corporate vice president of customer service and support, called out Google for not prominently displaying customer support information to Google Docs customers. "When was the last time you called Google for help recovering a lost Google Doc? Were you even able to find a number? My guess is, no," Gordon said in a Monday blog post. Google fired back Thursday, noting that its support for paying Google Docs customers includes 24/7 phone support and highlighting the advantages of storing data in the cloud. "Generally, Google Docs users don't need help recovering 'lost' documents, as their documents are backed up in the multiple data centers in the cloud. This is safer and more secure than storing data on a single computer," a Google spokesperson said in an e-mail to CRN. In attacking Google, Gordon cited Microsoft's long history of supporting customers by phone and e-mail as well as through online community sites. She also mentioned Microsoft's enterprise support and services offerings, although she didn't explicitly mention the fact that Microsoft channel partners deliver many of these services.
| By SuperUser Account on 6/27/2010 12:05 PM
Leading provider of digital media management shortens Exchange and SharePoint migration times to Microsoft Cloud Services, and takes advantage of simplified cloud management with BPOS-Experts. New York, NY (PRWEB) June 24, 2010 -- Emerging leader in Microsoft cloud migration and management software, BPOS-Experts, today announced that top digital asset management provider XOS Digital selected BPOS Commander for its Exchange and SharePoint content BPOS migration. XOS Digital serves collegiate and professional sports organizations across the US, and, specializes in redefining the consumption of digital sports content with digital media, coaching, and integrated technology solutions and services. Currently serving more than 480 sports partners representing over 900 teams in 8 nationally recognized sports leagues and associations, XOS Digital is co-headquartered in Boston Massachusetts and Orlando Florida. After making the decision to migrate to BPOS (part of Microsoft Online Services), IT Director Chris Moore selected BPOS Commander to facilitate the migration of the companies Exchange and SharePoint content. | By SuperUser Account on 6/27/2010 11:56 AM
By Mary Jo Foley | June 9, 2010, 10:05am PDT Microsoft went public this week at its TechEd conference with more details on “what’s coming soon for BPOS v.Next.” BPOS, Microsoft’s Business Productivity Online Suite, is a bundle of several Microsoft-hosted cloud applications, including Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Office Communications Online, Live Meeting (and, according to one slide I saw this week at the show, Forefront Online Security for Exchange). In a session at this week’s New Orleans conference, Tom Keane, Principal Group Program Manager, outlined the near-term priorities for Microsoft’s alternative to Google Apps. As Microsoft has told customers and partners previously, it will be phasing in various capabilities introduced with its on-premises Exchange 2010, SharePoint 2010 and still-to-be-released Communicator 2010 products into BPOS (both the shared/multitenant Standard edition and the single-user Dedicated one). Microsoft also will be adding in the coming months support for single sign-on with identity federation, a redesigned console user interface and more granular administrator and access controls for BPOS, Keane said. | By SuperUser Account on 6/27/2010 11:45 AM
Posted June 25th, 2010 by Joe Panettieri As Microsoft transitions its channel chief title from Allison Watson to Jon Roskill, the shift provides an inflection point for both Microsoft and the broader IT channel. No doubt, Watson has made cloud computing and SaaS a channel priority during 2010. But Roskill has the opportunity to both clarify and accelerate Microsoft’s SaaS channel strategy — especially as it relates to small VARs and emerging managed services providers. Here are five steps Roskill should take. Microsoft announced the channel chief change on June 24, less than three weeks before the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) is scheduled to start (July 11, Washington D.C.). What SaaS and cloud partner steps can Roskill potentially take? Here are five recommendations: | By SuperUser Account on 6/27/2010 11:40 AM
By Kevin McLaughlin, CRN
6:01 PM EDT Tue. Jun. 22, 2010 Google (NSDQ: GOOG) is storming the Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) fort with knives drawn for the Office cash cow. Microsoft, in response, is stepping up efforts to show companies are getting frustrated with Google Apps and switching to its Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS). Microsoft often says companies that put Google Apps through its paces often find out that it's "more pony than horse" due to reliability and security concerns, hidden operational costs, and issues with document fidelity. Lately, Microsoft has been citing case studies of Google Apps customers that have switched over to BPOS. China Navigation, a shipping management firm with 300 employees with offices throughout Asia, recently ditched Google Apps in favor of BPOS after experiencing "issues with support and reliability," Andrew Kisslo, a senior product manager for Office, said in a Monday blog post.
| By SuperUser Account on 6/26/2010 10:17 PM
Once you're clear on strategic objectives, you can begin to build a sales compensation plan for your BPOS practice. By Ken Thoreson - June 01, 2010 It's a game-changer. As my client base considers moving into cloud applications either in Microsoft CRM or with the Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS), the questions regarding changing business planning, the impact on marketing considerations and differing sales strategies always come up in our discussions. |
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| | | | | Featured Microsoft Partners | | | |
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Integrity Partners, Inc.
Office Location: New York, , United States
Type: Reseller,VAR
Industry Focus: Financial, entertainment, not-for-profit, Professional Services
Integrity Partners, Inc. is a certified Microsoft Partner specializing in Microsoft Dynamics GP. Located in Manhattan, Integrity Partners is known for their vast product knowledge, experience within the Microsoft community and dedication to their clients.
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DynamicPoint
Office Location: Long Beach, California, United States
Type: ISV
Industry Focus:
DynamicPoint is your premier source exclusively for Microsoft Dynamics and SharePoint integration. DynamicPoint specializes in making SharePoint Portals, Business Automation and Affordable Custom Products that integrate with Microsoft Dynamics ERP and CRM solutions a reality.
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Core
Office Location: London, , United Kingdom
Type: Systems Integrator
Industry Focus: Legal, Local Government, Insurance, Finance
Core provide consultancy, development and support for SharePoint, System Center and Microsoft Online Services (BPOS, Office 365 and Azure).We have over 20 years’ experience helping clients across a range of industries improve productivity, efficiency and achieve their business goals.As an established Microsoft partner, we enjoy the highest level of support from Microsoft and have consistently been launch partners for new Microsoft technologies and releases.
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Burntsand
Office Location: Waltham, Massachusetts, United States
Type: Systems Integrator
Industry Focus: Financial Services, Pharma/Biotech/Medical Devices, Healthcare, State/Local Government
Burntsand helps customers with technology strategy and services that address Collaboration and Enterprise Content Management business and process concerns, using solutions that meet real-world needs to reduce risk and accelerate returns.
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Metafile Information Systems
Office Location: Rochester, Minnesota, United States
Type: ISV
Industry Focus: Retail, Manufacturing, Distribution, Government
MetaViewer® Paperless ERP for Dynamics® Go beyond the electronic file cabinet to an integrated paperless ERP solution from MetaViewer®. Today’s business environment has heightened the need for cost-cutting efficiencies and executive visibility into all your financial processes. It has also brought heightened focus to the Accounts Payable function. The root of most of AP's challenges can be traced back to its dependence on paper and the resulting lack of automation and accurate analytics.
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