Maybe you're not entirely sure what Software as a Service is. Sure, you read
a lot about it (even here), and maybe you hear people talking about it. You
see that Salesforce.com seems to be cleaning up revenue-wise with it. Perhaps
your customers have even puzzled you by inquiring as to what your SaaS option
is. So you're left trying to figure out what SaaS really is, much less what
your strategy for it should be.
Then along comes Microsoft, as only Microsoft can, changing the vocabulary
altogether. It's not SaaS that Microsoft is pushing, after all; it's S+S, or
Software Plus Services. Great -- another buzzword to learn and explain, another
strategy to develop.
Well, if all you know about SaaS is that it sounds like a word your mother
would have used when you talked back to her as a kid, take heart. RCP
is here to help. And not only are we talking SaaS in our September
issue, we're also clarifying exactly what
Microsoft means by S+S -- and how partners can benefit from it.
Executive Editor Anne Stuart has the lowdown on Microsoft's vision for a hosted-technology
model, and if this little passage doesn't hook you to click
the link, you might as well close up shop now:
"While Microsoft officials talked nonstop about how the transition
to SaaS would revolutionize its business, the company's overall approach was
heavy on vision, light on details. Until Denver. Microsoft's leaders used
the fourth annual Worldwide Partner Conference to share, for the first time,
some specifics about what they call 'Software Plus Services' (or S+S). The
first came in the form of a warning: Climb aboard the Good Ship S+S -- or
risk being left behind on the dock."
Unless you're quite happy on the dock -- and we suspect that you wouldn't be
for long -- you'll want to dig in to our September feature.
What's your SaaS strategy? Do you have one? Are you developing one, and how?
What's your take on S+S? Answer any, all or none of those questions at [email protected].
And, on a completely different note but while we have your attention (hopefully),
we're also hoping to hear from partners who are involved in infrastructure optimization.
Send comments on that to [email protected],
too.
Posted by Lee Pender on 09/06/2007 at 1:21 PM0 comments
OK, so it's not the greatest play on words of all time, but we were trying
to go for something other than a "turns on Silverlight" phrase (which
Keith Ward already stole), which kind of makes us think of a lousy old Neil
Diamond song.
Anyway, Microsoft released
Silverlight this week.
Posted by Lee Pender on 09/06/2007 at 1:21 PM0 comments
And that's
a
big "no" from a big standards organization for Microsoft's Office
Open XML document format.
Posted by Lee Pender on 09/04/2007 at 1:21 PM0 comments
With apologies to our friends outside the U.S. who were probably working yesterday,
we're still recovering from a long holiday weekend here and all the work we
missed on Monday. So, get ready for some quick hits today. (Yes, that means
you get a break from RCPU's usual ponderings, but we'll be back to ponder tomorrow.)
Also, we'll have a Friday edition this week, so be on the lookout for that.
In the meantime, as the grill cools and the kids whine about going back to
school, have a gander at Keith
Ward's excellent story on why, exactly, Windows Server 2008 is delayed again.
And, remember, always feel free to comment on any entry you see here at [email protected].
And enjoy those Labor Day leftovers, if there are any.
Posted by Lee Pender on 09/04/2007 at 1:21 PM0 comments
If
this
stuff works, it could spell doom for the makers of Skittles and Mountain
Dew.
Posted by Lee Pender on 08/29/2007 at 1:21 PM0 comments
You know
all
those predictions about how Linux was going to dominate the server market
on the way to crushing Windows altogether? Forget about them.
Windows
is still the king, and it's actually taking territory from Linux in the
open source operating system's backyard: the server market.
Posted by Lee Pender on 08/29/2007 at 1:21 PM0 comments
We hear the phrase all the time -- "SMB," or small and medium-sized
businesses. Partners, vendors and analysts all say that the new pot of revenue
gold lies at the end of the SMB rainbow, now that bigger companies have just
about all the technology they can stand, thank you very much. But SMB is not
a homogenous category of enterprises. Indeed, some Bs are considerably more
M than S, and vice versa.
With that stratification in mind, channel heavyweight CDW recently completed
a study on how small businesses grow to be medium-sized (meaning, for the purposes
of this study, shops of 100 employees or more), and how much focus they put
on IT in the growth process. The study provides some insight into small-business
survival skills, given that only half of all startup businesses survive their
first four years. The survey results could also prove to be instructive for
partners setting their vessels out into the ocean of SMBs.
You can see the full study here
if you fill out a short request form (pretty much name and e-mail). It's worth
a look, as it reveals a few trends partners might like to mention when they
call on clients and a few strategies channel players can use to close deals.
First off, CDW found that in successful startups -- in a cross-section of industries,
not just in technology -- IT is a big deal for business owners. Of the companies
surveyed that went from startups to more than 100 employees, 74 percent of owners
said that they were "totally involved in IT decisions"; 42 percent
of them said that they handled IT themselves, with no dedicated IT department
-- although those that did have a dedicated IT person or department were likely
to grow more quickly than those that didn't. Fully 65 percent of business owners
agreed or strongly agreed that their IT strategies were critical in their companies
growing beyond 100 employees.
A hearty 22 percent of bosses went as far as to identify themselves as "total
geeks"...and saw their companies grow, for the most part, faster than those
whose owners were less interested in IT.
"One of the most compelling findings is that IT literacy is a strong factor
[for growth]," Lauren McCadney, senior segment manager for small business
at CDW, tells RCPU. "We asked people to self-identify. Those folks who
self-identify as IT geeks or power users, their businesses really were growing
much better."
But even the geeks need help. A hefty 65 percent of owners said that they employed
some type of consultant or outside IT help, signaling demand for consultants
and other channel players. But what do small-business owners want from channel
partners?
Well, the biggest regrets among MB (as opposed to SMB) owners surveyed were
that they didn't take advantage of the technologies they did acquire (21 percent
said this) or that they didn't integrate technology strategically into their
business plans soon enough (18 percent). So, McCadney says, partners should
hit business owners with plans for strategic IT investment early and often --
and emphasize that technology can make or break a small business; it's not just
a fun set of toys.
"I would say number one, if they're working directly with business owners,
is get that business owner to slow down and realize that it's not a matter of,
'Can we afford to do this?' It's, 'Can we afford not to?'" McCadney says.
And partners shouldn't leave customers hanging once a system is installed;
they should guide them through the sometimes painful process of getting it to
work and helping employees become accustomed to it.
"You need to have a healthy appreciation for technology," McCadney
says. "There is huge opportunity to actually work with the customer to
make sure that they fully know how to take advantage of what they have."
The bottom line from the survey: The more a small business is into IT, the
better its chances are for quick growth. And that's good news for partners who
know how to get that message across.
What are some of your SMB sales strategies? If you're a small-business owner
yourself, how important has an IT strategy been for you? Talk to me at [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on 08/29/2007 at 1:21 PM0 comments
For those of you who are into this sort of thing, apparently Microsoft's Office
Open XML standard, which seems to fluctuate somewhere between "American
Idol"-level popularity and Michael Vick-level unpopularity, is moving back
toward the "American Idol" side of the metaphor
with
the ISO standards organization. (By the way, your editor has never actually
watched "American Idol," but he understands that it has quite a following.)
Posted by Lee Pender on 08/28/2007 at 1:21 PM0 comments
In a line that sounds as though somebody spoke it during a Congressional testimony
after a two-minute whispering session with a lawyer, Skype now contends that
Microsoft patches were a
"catalyst"
for and not a "root cause of" its
recent
outage. Oh, that's much clearer now, thanks. What's next, a non-denial denial?
Posted by Lee Pender on 08/23/2007 at 1:21 PM0 comments
Hey, it's August, and as we've said recently in this space, there's not a heck
of a lot going on. Since many of you are probably on vacation anyway, and not
even reading this, we're going to let the good folks who've taken the time to
write in do our work for us.
We'll commence with a couple of comments about Office 2007, which is now under
slightly (very slightly) more
competitive pressure from Google. Office lovers, turn away -- you might
not like what you're about to read, but we're just running what we've received.
If you like Office 2007 (and we're quite sure that many of you do), let us know.
Gordon starts us off with a mini-rant not unlike what we've heard from other
readers:
"Office 2007 needs a button to MAKE IT THE SAME as 2003. I have voice
control macros that work with Office 2xxx and, for no apparent benefit, Microsoft
moved everything and broke all my macros."
Well, Gordon, we know how you feel. Office 2007 has fairly well baffled us
too, in the opportunities we've had to use it thus far. Maybe we're all just
too resistant to change...or maybe Microsoft outsmarted itself -- and its users
-- this time with its "ribbon" interface.
Still, despite its unfamiliar look, Office 2007 is capable of some seriously
cool stuff for business users, especially tie-ins to back-end systems that Office
2003 couldn't really handle as well. It's kind of like getting a great new electronic
device and finding that the only instructions on how to use it are in Japanese,
though.
For his part, Kevin sends a friendly e-mail to say that Office isn't so dominant
where he is:
"All of our workstations are running OpenOffice.org. No major issues
at all -- we are very pleased. We have a handful of MS Office workstations
for the rare macro-filled document that OO.org can't handle, but with each
point release it becomes much more rare that we need any MS Office workstations
at all. (Novell seems to be helping most on this -- especially with Calc [Excel]
macros. The Novell OO.org edition is being tested here now -- interface and
functionality are even better, and it falls under our existing support contract.
It really is good!)
"Besides standard desktop users, though, even our Microsoft ERP database
developers have come to love it. What was hidden in Office and required an
API kit ($$$) and/or multiple calls to Microsoft for integration solutions
(ERP to Office) in the past is now completely free and open. Our programmers
can SEE everything they need to get the job done. What took two months in
the past now takes two days (not kidding)! For our hardcore, MS-loving developers
to love the solution, OpenOffice.org/StarOffice must be doing something right.
"Successful run here for years now without MS Office -- we aren't
going back. With what we've saved in license and subscription fees alone,
management wouldn't let us go back even if we wanted to!"
OK, so maybe those back-end tie-in capabilities in Office 2007 aren't such
a big deal after all, if Kevin is right (and we have no reason to think that
he isn't) about the ease of integrating ERP with OpenOffice.org. Still, we suspect
that Office 2007 will eventually reign as king of the productivity suites despite
its somewhat wonky interface. We tend to be creatures of habit, after all --
and if Microsoft has its way (and it usually does), Office 2007 will eventually
become a habit. Not that we're disparaging OpenOffice.org, mind you -- it sounds
like an intriguing alternative.
Moving on to Citrix's purchase of XenSource and Microsoft's
possible role as spoiler, John is ready to sit back and be entertained:
"That would be a great contest if MS put in a bid and then IBM got
in on the action. I can see it now: MS vs. IBM II: The Virtual Showdown.
"In the end, I would also see Citrix being more of a Microsoft target
than an open source virtualizer. But remember: Citrix was started by a group
of ex-Redmondites who worked on NT 4.0 terminal services, so I don't think
they would like being under the Redmond umbrella again."
Good point, John. But that is one big, wealthy umbrella.
Thanks to all who took the time to write, and, as for the rest of you, please
keep sending your thoughts about whatever to [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on 08/23/2007 at 1:21 PM0 comments