So the inevitable is happening. At last, Google seems to be coming around to Microsoft’s software plus services strategy. The news that Google is opening up Google Apps for resellers is the first step in this direction. Pure SaaS sold directl…

I agree with you in your analysis of Microsoft strategy and deployment options.

I just wanted to be clear that there really is no room for MOS if you are in the MSP business or hope to be in the future. If you go down the road of using Microsoft SaaS offering or even Azure, for that matter, you are firmly rooting yourself in a legacy business model (reselling). (Now, I’m not saying the VAR business is a bad thing. I know some guys that retired off of buying kit and software for $1.00 and moving it to someone for a $1.15.)

So with that established, I see self contained software providers as having a rather limited market. Limited, at least, in proportion to the full scope of the chanel. Microsoft knows this too.

Here is where you hit the nail on the head: “given that Microsoft is giving these options, MSPs who would like to have control of their infrastructure can host everything in their own data center and offer managed services to their customers.”

Thank you. Now let’s open Pandora’s box a bit and ask what percentage of real or aspiring MSP’s have the data center foot print and infrastructure necessary to achieve the level of scale necessary to equal or better the cost of doing business at one of Microsoft, Salesforce, Amazon or Google?

Herein lies what we feel is going to be the real battle ground in the next 5 years.

Also if Microsoft delivers on what they have announced with Azure then there is going to be a lot of potential for MSPs or VARs to add value and provide custom solution to their SMB customers even if everything lives in the Microsoft Cloud.

BTW, I tend to use VAR and MSP somewhat interchangeably because I think most VARs are trying to become MSPs as opposed to pure resellers who just resell without much value add.

Sekar

-jp

That is, a VAR is called a VAR because they move product and pick up a fee for their effort.

An MSP doesn’t add value by doing product integration, mixing and matching clouds and hybrids or whatever. They add value by providing MANAGEMENT services.

This begs the ultimate question: How does an MSP integrate a hosted service offering from the likes of Microsoft into it’s value proposition – i.e., the single SLA for all of the customers systems, software and devices. If Microsoft is providing the back end management, where does the MSP fit? Can the MSP layer in it’s flavour of choice remote monitoring package to regain control over the service SLA when being run from Microsoft’s facilities? Moreover, can the MSP or the customer decide where their data will ultimately reside? Or is this another ‘trust the cloud’ pitch? These are the questions that need answering.

I remain a vehement proponent of the MSP carving it’s own path and not getting sucked in to a dangerous game whereby Microsoft (or others for that matter) contracts begin to creep into the customer’s overall IT support and management. You can’t go wrong when you maintain control over your own destiny. So long as Microsoft does not discontinue SPLA or standard licensinc models, there is *no* reason a real MSP should succomb to becoming a reseller.

If I were a bulldog journalist (ahem, Joe), I would call Microsoft out any claims that they are signing up scores of real MSP’s to this program.

Vars, naturally. *Real* MSPs? I’d be surprised.

Solutions providers have walked that fine line with Oracle and others for years. Time to do the same with Microsoft — though I’m sure some readers strongly disagree with me…