MSPmentor

All Covered has added a cloud server solution to its suite of outsourced IT services for SMBs throughout the U.S. The cloud servers are designed to host business applications like hosted SQL Server, hosted Exchange Server and hosted SharePoint. Here’s more info on the latest All Covered solution, courtesy of All Covered CIO Tim Crawford.

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During Ingram Micro Cloud Summit last week, a few MSPs pulled me aside to ask a key question: Is Intermedia, the hosted Exchange specialist, still committed to managed services providers (MSPs) and channel partners? The question popped up because Oak Hill Capital Partners, an investment firm, acquired Intermedia in May 2011. The change in control has some MSPs wondering how Intermedia will evolve. Here’s the answer.

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Apptix , an MSPmentor 100 company, continues to pitch a familiar story with regular quarterly updates. The high-level pitch goes something like this: Apptix, a hosted Exchange specialist, began to refine and refocus its business when CEO Dave Ehrhardt arrived in 2008. At the time, Apptix was a hodgepodge of acquired brands and platforms. Today, Apptix seems to be keenly focused on key vertical markets that need hosted unified communications solutions. Here’s why.

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In the distribution market, rivals Ingram Micro and Synnex are preparing some cloud channel partner updates for VARs and managed services providers. The latest moves will likely surface at two separate conferences the week of April 10 in Boston (Synnex Varnex) and Chicago (Ingram Micro VTN). So what’s on tap? I expected plenty of updates from Ingram Micro VP of Managed Services and Cloud Computing Renee Bergeron (pictured) and Synnex Senior VP Robert Stegner. Here’s a preview.

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Microsoft Office 365, a forthcoming cloud platform, remains in beta. But my phone is ringing off the hook with questions about Office 365, and the potential implications for MSPs, VARs and cloud service providers (CSPs). In response, here’s an Office 365 FAQ designed for channel partners. The FAQ will ultimately live on TalkinCloud, MSPmentor’s sister site. We’ll make updates and provide more perspectives as readers share more views with us…. and as Office 365 nears its official launch.

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Multiple sources say Microsoft has circled July 1 as a potential launch date for Office 365, the forthcoming successor to Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS). The potential target date would allow Microsoft to heavily promote Office 365 at the annual Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC, July 10-15, Los Angeles). No doubt, Microsoft is betting its cloud strategy on Office 365 and its sister cloud site, Windows Azure. But will MSPs warm up to Office 365 when it arrives?

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I moderated a cloud computing panel at the Intermedia Partner Summit yesterday in New York. But here’s the interesting part: For the most part, the panelists referred to themselves as managed services providers. Not cloud integrators. Not cloud service providers. But established, growing MSPs. Here’s why.

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For the second time in roughly 12 months, Intermedia is pitching hosted unified communications and hosted PBX services at its annual partner summit. But this time around Intermedia has adjusted its strategy quite a bit. Here’s the update, including perspectives from Chief Marketing Officer Manlio Carrelli (pictured).

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Intermedia, a hosted Exchange specialist that works closely with VARs and MSPs, kicked off its annual partner conference this morning by sharing several business milestones. CEO Serguei Sofinski (pictured) told roughly 100 attendees that Intermedia now hosts more than 100,000 Exchange 2010 mailboxes. Plus, Intermedia’s channel has pushed beyond 6,500 partners. For MSPs sorting out hosted Exchange and hosted PBX opportunities, here are four highlights from Sofinski’s keynote.

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Roughly 80 to 120 managed services providers (MSPs) are set to attend the Intermedia Partner Summit on Tuesday in New York. Most of those MSPs promote Intermedia’s hosted Exchange to end customers. But where are those MSPs heading next? I’ll be digging for answers during the conference — and posing the five following questions to attendees and Intermedia.

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Intermedia claims to be the world’s largest independent Microsoft Exchange hosting service provider — so it’s no wonder that they’re looking to streamline self-service management for their SMB customers. The new release of the Intermedia HostPilot Control panel for gives their hosted services customers the ability to change their own passwords, enable call forwarding, and get SMS service status updates. Here’s the scoop.

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When Microsoft announced plans to re-brand its SaaS platform from BPOS to Office 365, I took a day or so to digest the news. No doubt, Microsoft has made some solid SaaS and cloud computing moves in the past year. But I believe this week’s rebranding efforts reveal that Microsoft’s cloud initiatives are experiencing considerable turbulence. Here’s why.

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Rackspace Hosting says their hosted email services has  hit a major milestone with the signing of their 2 millionth paid business user. It’s a major sign of growth in hosted services. Here’s the scoop.

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Alabama-based TekLinks may have started its existence as a traditional VAR, but they’ve built out their managed services business to the point where the company was ranked No. 29 on the 2010 MSPmentor 100. Here’s how TekLinks says they rode the cloud to MSP success.

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When it comes to the cloud, “hybrid” usually means a combination of on premise and software as a service. But now BlueTie has launched a so-called hybrid messaging solution that integrates their home-grown platform with hosted Microsoft Exchange 2010. Here’s the scoop.

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Google quietly launched an update for their Microsoft Exchange migration tool. The feature list may look anemic, but a few new Google Apps Migration for Microsoft Exchange features can go a long way. Here are some details.

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During this week’s HostingCon conference I noticed a rather interesting trend: A healthy number of hosting firms, telcos and ISPs seem to be turning to a specific partner — Parallels — to launch and manage new SaaS applications, everything from Hosted Exchange to Hosted SharePoint. Even Microsoft’s cloud computing team has embraced Parallels. And now, there’s chatter about major distributors giving Parallels a close look for their long-term cloud strategies. Here’s some perspective and some potential implications for managed services providers.

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BlueTie has a similar pitch as other hosted email providers: reduce IT infrastructure costs, provide webmail, and improve efficiency with collaboration tools. But BlueTie says that their real differentiation is in the channel. The company claims margins of 50% or more plus free unlimited basic mailboxes for BlueTie partners. Here’s the scoop.

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When HostingCon starts July 19 in Austin, Texas, I’ll be a first-time attendee. But even before HostingCon starts, I’m hearing buzz from managed services providers (MSPs) and managed hosting providers. Here are seven MSP-oriented trends that I expect to surface at the conference.

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Hosted email specialist Intermedia says it has experienced explosive growth in its Exchange 2010 customer base — and a spokesperson says that these numbers represent proof that Intermedia is leading Exchange’s charge against Google Apps. Here’s the scoop.

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Microsoft Hosting Summit 2010 opens this week in Bellevue, Washington, at a critical time. The Redmond, Wash.-based software titan is trying to rally web hosts even as Microsoft continues to promote its own BPOS (Business Productivity Online Suite) SaaS platform to resellers. Here’s a preview.

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Datacastle and FiberCloud are partnering to promote cloud backup, recovery and data protection offerings. The move leverage’s Datacastle’s RED business resiliency solution and FiberCloud’s data center services. Here are more details.

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In recent months, I’ve blogged quite a bit about MSPs moving up the stack from from managed infrastructure to managed applications. In fact, I’ve advocated an increased applications focus. But a recent move by NaviSite, Inc. has me rethinking the managed applications market. Here’s why.

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