MSPmentor

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. Read More >

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? Read More >

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.

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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.

The latest example involves Azaleos Corp. — a well-known MSP focused on Exchange Server — launching a managed SharePoint Server 2007 service called OneStop ViewPoint. The Azaleos strategy also involves a hybrid on-premise/off-premise MSP model, where some equipment is deployed at customer sites and other software runs remotely.

Here’s what aspiring MSPs can learn from the Azaleos strategy.

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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. Read More >