When I wrote about the wait-and-see attitude managed Exchange provider Azaleos was taking to the cloud back in December 2009, I got a lot of feedback from MSPs on both sides of the argument. I recently caught up with Azaleos VP of Marketing and Product Management Scott Gode, and he says that while the company’s not giving up on on-premises messaging by a long shot, they’ve seen a rise in demand for their managed hybrid Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) services. Here’s why services providers should care.
Azaleos: Keeping the Cloud In Perspective
Posted December 11th, 2009 by Matthew Weinberger
To listen to some of the cloud computing vendors tell it, all data has to be delivered remotely from a data center and on-premise installations are evaporating. So when I find out that Azaleos, which provides managed Microsoft Exchange services (among others), isn’t betting the company on a cloud strategy, it gives me pause. Here’s the scoop.
MSPs Prepare for VMworld 2009
Posted August 13th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
Managed services and virtualization. The two have been converging for several years. But even I’m surprised by all of the MSP-oriented activity that will likely occur at VMworld 2009 (Aug. 31-Sept. 3, San Francisco). Here are some initial thoughts.
Need Managed Services Revenue? Dial An Attorney
Posted May 13th, 2009 by John Moore
Law firms, over the years, have been somewhat reluctant to shell out for technology. I seem to remember Wang VS machines — once a staple for law firm billing and document chores — holding out in legal a bit longer than other industry sectors. The same cautious view has applied to services. But adversity is proving the mother of adoption. Law firms perhaps hit harder by the current downturn than previous recessions now look to outsourcing to trim costs. This has created an opening for MSPs and cloud-based offerings in the legal market.
Small Business M&A Activity Slows
Posted April 29th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
I keep hearing from managed service providers who are scouring the market for potential acquisitions. But that MSP trend appears to be the exception to the rule. The number of small businesses that were purchased/sold in Q1 fell by 36 percent compared to Q1 2008, and small business valuations are falling. Can MSPs really buck those macroeconomic trends?
Azaleos Expands to Managed SharePoint Services
Posted April 23rd, 2009 by John Moore
Azaleos made its name managing Microsoft Exchange environments. Now, the managed service provider is taking a similar path with Microsoft SharePoint. Here are the details.
Economy Beater: Azaleos Bundles Hardware With Managed Exchange Services
Posted February 4th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
Azaleos Corp., a managed service provider that specializes in Microsoft Exchange, has introduced an “Al-In-One” financing option that wraps hardware, managed services, deployment and migration services into a single monthly subscription. The financing effort — which essentially includes hardware as a service (HaaS) aims to accelerate customer buying decisions amid the recession.
Kaseya Employees Dial the iPhone 3G
Posted July 24th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Still skeptical about Apple’s iPhone for business users? I’m not. And neither is Kaseya, the managed services platform provider. After extensive testing, Kaseya’s IT department has added the iPhone to its list of supported smart phones.
Azaleos Bolsters Managed Services for iPhone 3G
Posted July 10th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
The iPhone 3G goes on sale July 11, but Azaleos — a top managed service provider focused on Exchange Server — is already promoting a strategy for the new Apple device. Smart move. I wonder: Why aren’t more MSPs copying the Azaleos iPhone strategy?
Half of All Exchange Server Deployments Will Involve SaaS Within Five Years
Posted May 20th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
If you’re a Microsoft partner that’s skeptical about software as a service (SaaS), consider this: Half of all Exchange email inboxes will involve hosted systems within five years, notes Mary Jo Foley’s All About Microsoft blog. I’ve been alerting readers in recent weeks about Microsoft’s SaaS strategy for Exchange, Dynamics CRM and SharePoint. Ultimately, Microsoft will need to compete and cooperate with managed service providers (MSPs) that host those applications. Here’s how some Microsoft partners intend to cope with the software giant’s SaaS moves.
Managed Microsoft SharePoint Services Continue to Proliferate
Posted April 30th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Anecdotal evidence suggests that managed service providers are pushing deeper into the Microsoft applications market. Most of the Microsoft-centric initiatives seem to involve hosted Exchange Server, Dynamics CRM and /or SharePoint applications.
MSP Combines Security With Exchange Server
Posted April 10th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
How can a managed service provider differentiate itself from Microsoft’s own hosted Exchange Server offering? Azaleos, an MSP in Seattle, has found one potential answer. The company has launched security services to safeguard its Exchange email customers. Here’s some background.
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