Each time I chat with a VAR or solutions provider, the topic of Microsoft SharePoint seems to pop into the conversation. Channel players are having great success deploying SharePoint for their customers. It begs the question: Will SharePoint emerge as a managed service as well? I believe so, but what’s your take?
In case you haven’t worked with SharePoint, the software allows users to collaborate on content, easily find documents, etc.
SharePoint deployments are humming along quickly, according to a recent report from Forrester Research covering Office 2007 and Windows Vista Migrations. (All About Microsoft, a blog from Mary Jo Foley, offers more on the Forrester report.)
Companies like SharePointHosting.com, Own Web Now Corp. and AIS Network Corp. have been quick to offer SharePoint as a hosted service — but I don’t have a feel yet for the potential profit margins SharePoint can generate.
Still, it’s a safe bet that more MSPs will pile into the SharePoint market as Microsoft polishes its own Online Services strategy, which the company announced on March 3.
Posted In: MSP | Managed Service Provider | Managed Services | Microsoft | SharePoint | Software as a Service and Hardware as a Service
Tags: Managed Service Provider | Managed Services | Microsoft | Microsoft Online Services | SharePoint | SharePointHosting.com
Interact: Add a Comment | Trackback Link | Permalink
Share: digg | del.icio.us | Technorati | StumbleUpon
Subscribe: RSS Feed
.gif&contenttype=gif "ConnectWise")
We have been wrestling with this question internally as well. It appears some in the market are adding this as a component of hosted Exchange offerings. We are still not sure what the revenue potential truly is for this as a service vs. the cost of support. The jury is still out.
Brian: The jury may still be out in terms of ROI, but the overall vote from the channel seems to be “go with SharePoint.” I know quite a few managed service providers and VARs that speak highly of their SharePoint businesses.
While I have a healthy skepticism about other MSFT channel pushes (Vista, etc.), SharePoint seems to be a winner for partners.
Please let us know what you ultimately decide. I’m sure our readers would like to hear about your experiences, both pro and con. Thanks.