Not every MSP can leverage the Google Apps Marketplace, and not every solutions provider has cloud applications ready to go. Enter AppsOnCommand, a new white label solution that lets you host any application and deliver it as software as a service (SaaS).
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AppsOnCommand: Windows Apps Meet SaaS
Posted March 10th, 2010 by Matthew Weinberger
Microsoft Quietly Researches Hosting Market
Posted February 23rd, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
Microsoft is quietly conducting some informal SaaS and hosting research at the Parallels Summit in Miami. The cloud-centric conference has attracted several hundred service providers and VARs focused on recurring revenue opportunities. Clearly, Microsoft is working hard to connect more closely with summit attendees — many of whom are checking out the Google Apps reseller program. Here’s some perspective.
Microsoft Windows Azure Cloud Arrives
Posted February 1st, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
Windows Azure, Microsoft’s cloud for independent software vendors and partners, officially debuts with a paid pricing model today. Matt Weinberger offers some timely Azure perspectives over on The VAR Guy. But I’d like to weigh in with a few perspectives for managed services providers — particularly thoughts on Azure vs. Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite. Here they are.
CommVault Launches Cloud Connector for Backups
Posted February 1st, 2010 by Matthew Weinberger
Stop me if you’ve heard this one: A backup and archive software vendor announces that their trademark solution is getting an upgrade to integrate seamlessly with a who’s-who of cloud storage providers. This latest example involves CommVault, and their Simpana 8 software joining the hybrid backup solutions club. Here are the specifics.
Confirmed: Microsoft Cuts SaaS Prices 33 Percent
Posted November 2nd, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
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.
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.
HTG Peer Groups: 220 MSPs Set to Chat
Posted October 27th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
Roughly 220 managed service providers and VARs are set to converge in Orlando, Fla., at the HTG Peer Group meetings. Cloud computing will be a central theme for the meeting. But there will also be a big focus on so-called “legacy plans.” Here’s what to expect at the HTG gathering, and the clues it may offer about the MSP industry’s evolution.
Preview: Five Trends at ConnectWise Partner Summit
Posted October 26th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
The ConnectWise Partner Summit kicks off Nov. 4 in Orlando, Fla. Roughly 900 managed service providers — including HTG Peer Group members — are expected to converge on the event. Here are five trends we’ll be tracking at the conference.
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’s SaaS Strategy In 450 Words or Less
Posted July 16th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
During the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2009 (WPC09), multiple briefings and interviews gave me a clearer — though certainly not perfect — view of the software giant’s SaaS (software as a service) and cloud strategies. Plus, I began to see the implications for VARs and managed service providers. Here are some thoughts.
Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference: 4 Names to Know
Posted July 10th, 2009 by The VAR Guy
As The VAR Guy heads to this year’s Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in New Orleans, he looks forward to quizzing four key Microsoft executives about the company’s cloud, software as a service (SaaS), small business and netbook/OEM strategies. Take a look, and submit your own questions to The VAR Guy (if you have them) for Microsoft.
Microsoft’s Windows Azure Cloud: Dark for a Day
Posted March 17th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
Windows Azure — Microsoft’s cloud platform — went dark for nearly 24 hours last weekend. Let’s keep the darkness in perspective: Azure is not a production network yet; it’s merely a test cloud environment that Microsoft is still optimizing. But 22 hours of darkness doesn’t inspire peace of mind in cloud systems. And I’m starting to think that Amazon.com — backed by loads of open source applications — is the cloud to beat.
Salesforce.com Enters Web Hosting Business
Posted November 3rd, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Competition in the Web hosting market continues to rise. The latest example involves Salesforce.com, which has unveiled a new service — called Force.com Sites — that allows customers to run their Web sites in the Salesforce.com cloud. The move comes only a few days after Microsoft launched its Azure cloud services.
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