The writing has been on the wall for several weeks. MSPmentor told Microsoft partners in March that managed service providers needed to master — or at least explore — hosted versions of Microsoft Exchange Server, Dynamics CRM and SharePoint. Now, Ingram Micro’s Seismic team is hoping to accelerate MSP moves to those hosted applications. Here’s the scoop.
Specifically, Ingram Micro Seismic has expanded its software as a service (SaaS) lineup to include those three Microsoft applications. With Seismic, VARs and MSPs can rebrand everything about these services and mark up prices based on what the market will bear, according to an Ingram spokeswoman.
Ingram’s expanded lineup now includes:
- Windows SharePoint 3.0 (available now)
- Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and 2003 (available now)
- Seismic Hosted Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0, (debuting in May).
The services include daily backups. Seismic partners will receive a 99.9 percent uptime guarantee on shared servers and 100-percent uptime guarantee on dedicated servers, according to Ingram.
The Bigger Picture
In recent weeks, Microsoft has made a series of hosted software announcements, and MSPs have been working overtime to sort out their Microsoft SaaS strategies.
Microsoft announced its Online Services push on March 3. At the same time, some MSPs are starting to buy up hosted Microsoft application providers. The most recent such deal involved mindSHIFT acquiring Collaboration Online.
Other MSPs — such as Azaleos — are moving up the food chain by introducing security services for hosted Microsoft applications.
Still, not all VARs and integrators have the financial pockets or technical expertise required to build out network operation centers capable of hosting Microsoft applications. Also, some MSPs are concerned about potentially competing with Microsoft in the SaaS market.
Enter Ingram Micro and Seismic. Assuming the new Ingram services work as advertised, they could offer MSPs low cost, easy access into the hosted Microsoft applications market.
The Microsoft offerings join Ingram’s growing portfolio of Seismic services, including Hosted RMM, Print Monitoring and Management, Online Backup and Restore, E-mail and Web Defense, Network Operations Center (NOC), Hosted Professional Services Automation (PSA), Remote Support, Threat Manager, Log Manager, and Help Desk services. The hosted solutions can be purchased together or separately, acccording to Ingram.
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Is Ingram looking for beta testers or have the beta tests already occurred?
IMHO: Exchange = commodity but a good low-risk way to test the hosted applications market. SharePoint requires some explaining to customers re: the product’s value. Dynamics CRM is the most natural sell in terms of fulfilling a specific customer request (”we need CRM”) without competing with masses of Microsoft partners.
FJK: I will forward your question onto Ingram. In the meantime, I believe it’s safe to say the first two services (Exchange, SharePoint) are already ready for production deployment.
Hosting partners like ITonCommand http://www.itoncommand.com have been hosting Microsoft applications for years. ITonCommand not only hosts, but includes the licensing for Microsoft Office in their standard package. Then, based on business need, they will host all other Microsoft applications and most other 3rd party (non-Microsoft) applications. The standard package includes Exchange, daily back-ups, end-to-end security, disaster recovery, and even 24/7/365 support. The data and applications are delivered through a hosted Windows desktop using terminal services. So unlike traditional SaaS models, the interface is user intuitive, as it’s just like the Windows desktop most computer users are already familiar with. And ITonCommand is not just an application hosting provider–they host the entire network. The hosted desktop comes complete with shared corporate file structure, “my documents,” even a start button.