Microsoft is slashing some SaaS prices by 33 percent, confirming a scoop from TheVARGuy.com earlier today. Sources close to Microsoft say this is the start of a SaaS price war with Google Apps, with VARs and MSPs potentially getting squeezed. But Microsoft is reminding reporters that more than 7,000 partners are building SaaS practices around Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS), Exchange Online and SharePoint Online, among other offerings. Here’s the updated report from The VAR Guy.
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Confirmed: Microsoft Cuts SaaS Prices 33 Percent
Posted November 2nd, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
Microsoft Preparing SaaS Price Cuts?
Posted November 2nd, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
Two sources tell our sister site, The VAR Guy, that Microsoft plans to make SaaS (software as a service) price cuts amid a cloud war with Google Apps. Check out The VAR Guy’s blog for a look at potential implications for VARs and managed service providers.
Microsoft’s Cloud: Windows Azure Explained
Posted July 17th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
Most managed service providers and VARs are still getting familiar with Windows Azure, Microsoft’s cloud-based operating system. How does Windows Azure work? And what’s the potential value of Windows Azure to managed service providers and their customers? The following video attempts to offer some answers.
Microsoft: Waking Up to Managed Services?
Posted June 12th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
Another sleeping giant is waking up to the managed services opportunity. Microsoft has launched a managed services landing page on its partner web site, and is beginning to connect the dots between managed services, software as a service (SaaS) and the Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS).
Microsoft’s BPOS: Partner Opportunities Ahead
Posted April 29th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
When it comes to understanding Microsoft’s SaaS (software as a service) strategy, there are only four letters managed service providers need to know: BPOS, short for Business Productivity Online Suite. Most of Microsoft’s major SaaS applications fit under the BPOS umbrella, and the software giant has started evangelizing BPOS opportunities to MSPs. Now, the big question: Is BPOS a real opportunity for channel partners?
SaaS: Service Providers Predict Google Will Beat Microsoft
Posted January 30th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
Five years from now, Google — rather than Microsoft — will dominate the software as a service (SaaS) market, according to 48 percent of managed service providers who participated in MSPmentor’s reader poll for the week ended January 30, 2009. Here’s a closer look at the poll stats — and a surprising snub involving Oracle.
Will Managed Service Providers Back Microsoft Exchange Online, SharePoint Online?
Posted November 17th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Microsoft says Exchange Online and SharePoint Online are now ready for deployment, with 100 new partners and managed service providers signing up to offer the hosted systems ever week.
Why Do Managed Service Providers Keep Looking Back?
Posted October 27th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Why do so many managed service provides spend so much time looking in the rear view mirror? That question popped into my head while moderating a session at the N-able Partner Summit last week.
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