MSPmentor

The City of Los Angeles has finalized its decision to migrate its 30,000 city employees from their existing GroupWise e-mail system to Google Apps, according to the official Google Enterprise blog. Yes, we’ve previously covered the deal, But there’s still plenty for MSPs to learn from this deployment. One example: City of Los Angeles CTO Randi Levin says the project will cut the municipality’s electricity bills by nearly $750,000 over five years. Here’s an update.

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As we’ve mentioned in recent days, a flood of new managed services software will hit the market in December 2009 and January 2010. But I didn’t have a ManageEngine upgrade on my radar. Until now. Here’s why.

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Consider two of the biggest questions facing MSPs: First, how will managed services and SaaS (software as a service) converge with one another? Second, what role will MSPs play in that convergence? Take a look at ZOHO Corp. and you might begin to find some key trends and answers. Here’s why.

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If you could provide Microsoft Office as a managed subscription service, would you do it? Before you answer, check out a new development from AllenPort Co. Apparently, the New Jersey-based company is working closely with Microsoft to connect the dots between Microsoft Office, Software as a Service (SaaS) and managed services.

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Quick, name a company in the managed services market that successfully competes against Google Apps, Salesforce.com and Microsoft — all at the same time. Before you answer, consider this name: AdventNet — which owns Zoho (SaaS applications) and ManageEngine (managed services software). Take a closer look, and you’ll discover Zoho and ManageEngine are cross-leveraging their technologies. Here’s how.

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When we covered the new Google Apps Reseller program a few weeks ago, plenty of managed service providers stood up and took notice. Now, I invite you to learn about the company that’s well positioned to compete with Google in the Software as a Service (SaaS)  market. You’ll find the scoop over here, on TheVARguy.com.

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Microsoft is preparing an “application streaming” initiative, in an effort to more effectively position Microsoft Office against Google Apps, according to ComputerWorld. Anyone who thinks this is nothing more than a commodity software war needs to think again.

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A few weeks ago I noted that Salesforce.com plans to make a major announcement on April 14. I wasn’t sure what the news was, but there are growing indications that it includes Salesforce.com gaining closer hooks to Google Apps. If true, this could be a defining moment for the software as a service industry.

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At first glance, Google Apps’ biggest potential competitor in the online application world is Microsoft.

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It’s a classic Microsoft tactic: Arrive late to a party and then attempt to steal the show. The has company announced the next chapter of its Software as a Service (SaaS) effort. If you offer managed services, it’s time to listen up. I spent some time analyzing the Microsoft initiative and I see some clear opportunities–and challenges–ahead for managed service providers. Here’s a rundown of the 10 things MSPs need to know about Microsoft’s SaaS strategy.

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