Whether you’re new to hardware as a service (HaaS) or a true HaaS veteran, keep an eye on the emerging NetBook market. NetBooks are low-cost sub-notebooks from companies like Dell, Asus and Sylvania. They typically cost $275 to $400 or so, and run Windows or Linux.
But eventually, I think NetBooks will be free within HaaS agreements. Here’s why.
During the OSCON (Open Source Conference) in July, Canonical Marketing Manager Gerry Carr told me he expected some broadband providers to potentially introduce NetBooks for free as part of service contracts. NetBooks, Carr said, could eventually become like cell phones: You’d get them for free from your service provider.
Canonical, by the way, is the company behind Ubuntu — the fastest-growing version of Linux. And Ubuntu is a very popular pre-installed option on many NetBooks (check our sister site, Works With U, for continuing Ubuntu coverage).
Now, let’s connect the dots between Linux, NetBooks, Dell and HaaS.
Dell Dials Vodafone
Within a few weeks, Dell’s Inspiron Mini 9 NetBook will be resold in Europe by Vodafone with built-in HSPA mobile broadband, reports NewsFactors Business. The Dell NetBook will be sold in Vodafone stores and online, as well as directly from Dell, the report stated.
Admittedly, NetBooks are mostly for consumers and they are not complete laptop or desktop replacements. However, NetBooks could help small businesses to realize the business value of HaaS.
If Vodafone and other service providers offer NetBooks for free as part of their ongoing broadband service contracts, some business owners may begin to explore similar HaaS approaches for their PCs and desktops.
Is that a stretch or am I onto something here?
Posted In: MSP Mentor
Tags: Canonical | Dell Mini 9 | HaaS | Hardware as a Service | NetBook | Ubuntu Linux | Vodaphone
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Joe,
I am not even sure where to begin with my comments. For years I have been saying this concept is coming. When we won 3rd place at the ASP consortium back in 2000, our example of the model that resellers would need to look at was the Cell phone industry.
I have a book coming out in November titled “How to HaaS” It takes the everyday VAR/Reseller into a realm where Hardware Branding goes down, margins go up and service becomes the key ingredient for delivering a Hardware solution. Notice I said “Hardware Solution” not an “MSP solution”. Without Hardware Delivery there is nothing to service and partnering with your competitor, just seems crazy.
Imagine clients not worried about how much they spend on a Hardware Solution but more on what your Service Response time to fix issues will be. Sell a bundled payment…..
I hear this all the time –“Clients are not stupid they can just multiply the payment and figure out I am too high.” Answer – “How much are you paying for the cell phone you have?” Do you really know, sure you can e-bay anything these days but you really don’t know for sure because THEY BUNDLED EVERYTHING TOGETHER!!!! In fact they created a lot of perceived value that may not cost them anything.
OK – You hit my hot button Joe. I should use my blog as the Soap Box. I am very passionate about this model, hence MSP On Demand. I truly believe that resellers can deliver and compete with any those guys mentioned in this article by using conventional methods. MSP On Demand was the first to offer “HaaS in Box” and I am now starting to see other players get in. Leasing companies are so frazzled with what to do next, it is unbelievable. If you get into this model, you need to make sure you have someone that can work the relationship with funders in order to deliver a seamless HaaS product.
Ramsey, you are so right. I have an excellent program (a couple actually) that are compatible with HAAS needs including one that just allows for the filling out of a one page schedule for subsequent needs after the first buy (lease) is established. It’s a pretty sweet setup and I’d love to talk with you about it. Even if you are happy with who you use, I’d love to get some insights from the provider POV.
Stu
Stu, Ramsey: I know you’re both way ahead of the curve on HaaS. The Vodafone efforts aren’t “revolutionary.” But I think that’s the point. Hopefully, these consumer NetBooks will help to educate the market so that you (and other industry experts) can spend less time evangelizing HaaS, and less time explaining the business model — and far more time having customers sign on the dotted line.
STU just e-mail me rdellinger@mspondemand.com
I completely agree with what is being said above. It may start with these NetBooks, but it’s coming to the entire IT environment very quickly. The cost of silicon can be driven to very close to zero, and companies will take advantage of this as the focus on developing recurring revenue services. It products will no longer be purchased.
Mike Cooch
http://www.everonit.com
http://www.smbitpros.com
Mike: You are correct about falling silicon costs. But there’s also the “falling” cost of software. Many NetBooks come with Linux (typically Ubuntu Linux), OpenOffice and Google Apps.
I realize many businesses will want to push forward with MSFT applications. But for those that are willing to try alternatives, the NetBook model with open source is pretty darn compelling, and will further reduce IT prices.
Agreed. I think Untangle is a perfect example of this. We aren’t using them yet, but their model is a home run for service providers and customers.
Mike
http://www.smbitpros.com
http://www.everonit.com
I think netbooks will become devices like the iPhone. You will buy it, the OS will be locked down, you will have an app store and you will use it just like the iPhone. (Besides the phone calls)
I think this will be great! It will allow for more security (I will be out of a job though) people will not just be able to install software willy nilly.
I can’t wait till the day when using a PC and or a laptop is as easy as using any other device like a clock or a dvd player.
I can not believe you think vendor lock in is great. The ability to use the things that you own is fantastic. I understand that part of the point of this post is that in the future you tend not to own things, they become part of a contract.
However, there are plenty of things that could improve cell phone functionality, and some of those customizations or features are disallowed.
If technology is truly going to move forward, it needs to be what the user wants, not the corporation selling it. Otherwise we will be paying 80 bucks a month in the future for an appliance that only has access to email and Facebook. What a step backwards in my opinion.
One wonders how free software providers would react to software lock down on top of their products. It may completely remove certain players from the market and push others forward. I couldn’t imagine the FSF playing nicely with that concept at all.
Matt: Google Android is built on open source but will have a back-end App Store… The worlds of open and closed-source will continue to blend.
GPLv3 is an indication of how the FSF feels about it, with the special tivoization clause or whatever they call it. It will be a perpetual arms race of finding new ways to lock things down, and then revise things to free them again.
Sadly, the only way to reliably get what you want is to spend the big bucks. As it is, you’re paying hundreds of dollars for a phone that is locked down, with expensive monthly contracts that are tied to the phone.
When people spend a lot of effort trying to “jailbreak” products, it is clear that customers are not satisfied. Ultimately, ask the RIAA how much of a pain it is to fight your own customers when you only offer products that people feel are unfair.
I’m not advocating piracy or jailbreaking, I only point to their existence as evidence that lock in is temporarily good for businesses, but ultimately bad for all parties involved.
A $100 netbook with Ubuntu and no lock in will end up gaining enough market share that it won’t matter how free a HaaS netbook is, the contract will make it less valuable.
The provider that provides a better, cheaper service for those products will become the next Google / Microsoft industry giant.
The best way to do business is to give your customers a good deal, that’s what makes a free market so practical.
Dustin: The world needs to take baby steps. In 1995, when Windows 95 was the rage, no PC vendors were willing to break ranks from Microsoft. In 2007, when Vista launched, Dell and others found the courage to break ranks and introduce some Ubuntu Linux systems.
The world isn’t perfect. Apple is so darn innovative but so closed. But there is one great thing about the current computing options: Freedom of choice. Linux. Apple. Microsoft. Soon, Google Android. And the list goes on.
You may not like closed systems. And I understand why. But at least we are seeing competition in the market. A decade ago, that wasn’t true.
Thanks for the thoughts, I agree wholeheartedly. Competition is the key, now if we can just get some more competition in the ISP market we’ll be set!
Baby steps is a good assessment, we just need to make sure those steps are in the right direction.
While I think HaaS or even SaaS seems to work well, the contract is really the key in how valuable it is. Look at Google, they offer their products and services for free (ad supported) that for the most part seem to do what users want, with no penalty for walking away when you’re finished with the service.
If HaaS turns into phone contracts, with limitations left and right, high prices and fees for everything imaginable, then it is a terrible system. Users can get stuck in these situations if all the providers take these baby steps in the wrong direction.