News & Views for Australian SBSCs

Guest post # 4 from Hilton - Aussie SBSC PAL

rupcroft — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 08:37:48 GMT

Well, with the announcement at CES 2009 that Windows 7 is available now for TechNet and MSDN subscribers (and those of us on the Windows 7 Beta program) and will soon be available for all other people via download from the Microsoft website (well, the first 2.5 million people who try and download it), as well as the announcement of Windows Live Essentials which contains Windows Live Messenger, Windows Live Mail and Windows Live Photo Gallery (which were all standard features previously available in Windows XP and also Windows Vista, but no longer in Windows 7), it seems that Microsoft is on target for a "later this year" release of Windows 7 to replace its poorly received Windows Vista operating system that escaped captivity in late 2006.

Did I say Windows 7 or Windows Vista R2? :)

I can say that this far, I've been impressed with Windows 7 – it feels significantly faster than Vista SP1 on the same hardware (sure, that's not really all that hard), the interface is much improved over Vista's rather good interface, UAC prompts have been toned down a little (which was never really an issue for "regular" computer users anyway), and the new Superbar that replaces the old Taskbar is a major improvement. The new "Jump Lists" also work rather well.

Apple's desktop market share has climbed steadily since November 2006 from around 5% (from memory) to where it is now – a record for Apple at a smidge under 10%. Let's all hope that, for Microsoft's sake (and ours as Microsoft's partners), Windows 7 can bring people back to the Microsoft platform.

Google Android has been ported to Netbooks by a couple of guys at VentureBeat. They used the Android Open Source code and a bit of nouse and came up with a working result. Google and the Open Handset Alliance will need to work together to come up with future devices, but this could be very interesting for those of us who use, sell and support mobile solutions.

Microsoft has some work ahead of them!

http://hiltont.blogspot.com/

Regards,

Hilton

Are you a sales administrator or a sales professional?

rupcroft — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 08:48:37 GMT

Great post from Bruce Rasmussen of Carpe Diem & the Microsoft solutions sales course fame around how to sell in difficult economic times.

Check it out here: http://carpe-diem.typepad.com/ms_partners/2008/10/selling-in-diff.html

Or as many partners that I've spoken to in the last couple of weeks say: "what difficult times?". I'm heartened by the consistently positive approach that so many SBSCs bring to their business & the knowledge that they're still being run off their feet with orders & roll-outs is testament to the fact that they're business people first & technology folks second.

A snippet from Bruce's article:

"It seems to me in "tough economic times" that businesses will be having even more problems - and hence if we come up with "problem solving opportunities" in fact there should be MORE business for us to do during a downturn."

Great blog to sign-up to as Bruce literally wrote the book on how to sell IT to SMBs.

Robbie

Get a professionally written company solution for the Solution Profile Tool

rupcroft — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 11:55:53 GMT

To celebrate the launch of the new Microsoft Partner Solution Marketplace, we’re giving your business the chance to shine by helping you create a professionally written company solution profile that you can upload to the Solution Profiler Tool, and even use in your other marketing efforts.

Microsoft will cover half the cost (your out-of-pocket-expense is $80 plus GST) and give you the chance to work with a leading online copywriter who’s helped hundreds of Australian small and medium-sized businesses better connect to their audience and increase sales. This offer is open to all qualified Small Business Specialists, within the Microsoft Partner Program, who have a head-office in Australia.

Order your profile today (offer is limited and ends December 30 2008).

Robbie

PS - this offer is based in part on the feedback we received at the Partner Conference around the challenges with using the tool. So know that your feedback is important & acted upon as much as we can.

The SBS/EBS Solutions Pathway - what's it all about?

rupcroft — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 10:00:52 GMT

Lots of discussion at the moment around the recently announced "Solutions Pathway" & so I thought I'd steal Eric Ligman's post to summarise - see below.

Basically, Solutions Pathway is our new upgrade process for all things SBS & EBS & so please take a couple of mins to read through the below & familiarise yourself with the program.

I appreciate that there may be questions around this & so please let me know if you have any concerns.

Cheers,

Robbie

For those customers with Software Assurance on their SBS 2003 Servers, they already get all of the benefits of the SBS 2003 R2 offering and now have rights to the SBS 2008 solutions moving forward, in addition to all of the Software Assurance benefits. But what about, "Where did the Transition Pack go with SBS 2008?" or other questions about moving into and through the SBS and EBS product families?

Some of you may have heard about a new item called, "Solutions Pathway," which helps provide ways to manoeuvre into and between the SBS & EBS products. To help you better understand what Solutions Pathway is and how it works, we are providing this (rather long) FAQ set for you, which will also be posted to the Microsoft Partner Portal soon as well.

Q. What is Solutions Pathway?

A. Microsoft recognizes the need to provide small and medium business (SMB) customers, and the partners serving these customers, with an easy way to migrate their technology products as their business needs change—whether that entails a move to Windows Essential Server Solutions family of products or movement within the Windows Essential Server Solutions family of products or out of the family to its individual components. With that in mind, Microsoft is introducing Solutions Pathway, which will enable the partners help their customers to upgrade to a new product or solution quite easily from the one that the customers are currently using.

Solutions Pathway offers a tiered discount that will be applicable to various mobility scenarios, i.e. into, within, and out of Windows Essential Server Solutions family of products, and will replace previously offered products, such as Version Upgrade (VUP), Product Upgrade Pack (PUP) and Transition Pack (TP), to achieve the same outcomes. Partners, on behalf of their customers, will be able to make the purchase easily from the Solutions Pathway website on Microsoft.com.

Small Business Specialists and Networking Infrastructure Solutions partners can receive an additional 10% discount. Access to Solutions Pathway for these partners is available here.

For more information on becoming a Small Business specialist, click here. To learn more about joining the Networking Infrastructure Solutions competency, click here.

Q. What are the eligibility requirements to participate in Solutions Pathway?

A. The only requirement to be eligible to participate in Solutions Pathway is that the customer has the perpetual license to any one of the qualifying products, as detailed below, that the customer is using and now wants to move out of. Licenses acquired under any subscription-based Microsoft Volume Licensing program (e.g., Open Value Subscription), do not qualify customers to make Solutions Pathway purchases.

The table below captures the allowed mobility scenarios. The entry points to Solutions Pathway are the products listed in first column:

Click image for full size

Note:

a. The individual components relevant to Windows Small Business Server (SBS) 2008 and Windows Essential Business Server (EBS) 2008 are as below:

Click image for full size

b. Detailed information on these Limited Duration Programs is available here.

Q. In which regions will Solutions Pathway be offered?

A. Solutions Pathway will be available worldwide.

Q. How does Solutions Pathway work?

A. An example scenario will clarify how the Solutions Pathway concept will work.
Let’s say a customer has Windows SBS 2008 Standard. Whatever channel the customer buys it from, the partner (on behalf of customer) can go to the Solutions Pathway online store and choose the mobility path, whether it is an upgrade from the Standard to the Premium edition within the same product or from Windows SBS 2008 to Windows EBS 2008, or from Windows SBS 2008 to standalone products.

On the Solutions Pathway online store, the partner will be asked to input the information about the current product, and the most important piece of that information is the 5x5 product key (xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx). In this example, the partner will enter the Windows SBS 2008 Standard product key. The back-end infrastructure of Solutions Pathway will recognize the product key and then display the available options based on the fact that customer has Windows SBS 2008 Standard.
The partner can then choose the path she wants to take and buy the corresponding server and CALs. At the time of billing, the partner will be given a discount over the total price of the purchase and will be billed that amount—plus taxes, VAT (Value Added Tax, if applicable), and shipping and handling.

With this, the transaction will be complete and the products (server and CALs) will be shipped to the given address.

Q. Are licenses acquired through Solutions Pathway OEM, Full Package Product (aka Retail box), or Volume licenses?

A. Licenses purchased through Solutions Pathway are Full Package Product (aka Retail box) licenses.

Q. What is the discount offered to Partners in Solutions Pathway? Where can I find my pricing on these items as a Partner?

A. The discount level offered depends on the mobility scenario, i.e.

Into Windows Essential Server Solutions 2008 Family
Within Windows Essential Server Solutions 2008 Family
Out of Windows Essential Server Solutions 2008 Family

Below is an illustration of all possible mobility paths available in Solutions Pathway:

Click image for full size

Solutions Pathway offers a tiered discount. There are 2 different discount levels in each tier – one discount for Small Business Specialists (SBSC) and Networking Infrastructure Solutions (NI) partners, another for all other partners and customers. More information on Solutions Pathway for partners can be found here.

Click image for full size

Discounts applied to Windows SBS 2008 prices listed here and Windows EBS 2008 prices listed here.

Q. You mention customers can order this directly from Microsoft.com—doesn’t this mean that Microsoft is now competing with me as a partner?

A. No. Microsoft has always tried to make its technology products as accessible as possible. Partners are an extremely important part of our ecosystem, especially in the small and medium business (SMB) segment. Because of this, partners receive an additional 10% discount on Solutions Pathway pricing and since SMB customers tend to rely on partners for their IT purchases, Solutions Pathway offers the partners with an opportunity to generate additional revenue.

Q. Will these upgrades and credit programs offered through Solutions Pathway be available in LicenseWise or Gear Up tools for putting quotes together for my clients?

A. No, these will not be available anywhere else except for Solutions Pathway.

Q. Where on the Microsoft Partner Portal can I learn more about Solutions Pathway and how it works with ordering steps?

A. Partner-specific information on Solutions Pathway is available here, and general overview is also available here. We are also making available a step-by-step guide that covers the purchase process through Solutions Pathway from start to finish, which can be found here. (Step-by-Step document coming soon, before Nov. 24^th, but I wanted to post the link here for you so you can access it as soon as it goes up)

Q. Can I order the upgrades that are offered in Solutions Pathway through my Distributor?

A. No, right now the upgrades offered through Solutions Pathway cannot be ordered through distributors; however, the next version of Solutions Pathway, scheduled for release on 05/01/2009, will have an interface for the distributors and the partners will then be able to order through the distributors.

Q. Can I order the upgrades that are offered in Solutions Pathway in advance to have in stock for my clients?

A. No, the upgrades offered through Solutions pathway cannot be stocked in advance as the only way to participate in Solutions Pathway is to have the 5x5 product key of an existing eligible product.

Q. Are the upgrades that are offered in Solutions Pathway also available through the Open License programs?

A. No, these will not be available anywhere but Solutions Pathway.

Q. When is Solutions Pathway available and which mobility paths will be offered?

A. Solutions Pathway will launch on 11/12/08 with one scenario activated: moving into the Windows Essential Server Solutions family. Within and Out of Windows Essential Server Solutions family transitions can only be made after 180 days of purchase of the product that is being used to gain entry to Solutions Pathway. Thus the scenarios: moving within and out of the Windows Essential Server Solutions family will be activated starting 05/01/2009.

Q. When is version 2 of Solutions Pathway scheduled for release and what new features can we expect?

A. Version 2 of Solutions Pathway is scheduled for release on 05/01/2009. Among the features that are part of this release are:

Adding interface for distributors to participate in Solutions Pathway
Offer Windows Server 2008, which ships as part of Windows SBS 2008 Premium and Windows EBS 2008 Premium, downgrade to Windows Server 2003 R2

Please note that this list is directional only and is subject to change.

Q. How will upgrading from the previous Windows SBS versions such as Windows SBS 2000 and Windows SBS 2003 R2 work?

A. All customers who have Windows SBS 2000, Windows SBS 2003 or Windows SBS 2003 R2 will be eligible to purchase Windows SBS 2008 software and CALs through Solutions Pathway at an attractive discount.

Q. Will customers be able to upgrade from Windows SBS 2008 to Windows EBS 2008 easily? What will the cost be?

A. Customers can upgrade from Windows SBS 2008 to Windows EBS 2008. So, all customers who have Windows SBS 2008 will be eligible to purchase Windows EBS 2008 software and CALs through Solutions Pathway at an attractive discount.

Q. What are the “Exchange Server 2007 Software and CAL Credit” and “Windows Server 2008 Standard CAL Credit” promotions being offered in the Solutions Pathway program?

A. In conjunction with Solutions Pathway, Microsoft is launching two offers for a limited duration of time:

Exchange Server 2007 Software and CAL Credit: Through this offer, any customer that has a perpetual license to Exchange Server 2007 Standard software and has acquired corresponding Exchange Server 2007 CALs will be given a discount when licensing Windows EBS 2008 Standard or Premium software and Windows EBS 2008 CAL Suite or Windows EBS 2008 CAL Suite for Premium users or devices through Solutions Pathway.

Windows Server 2008 Standard CAL Credit: Through this offer, any customer that has a perpetual license to Windows Server 2008 Standard software and has acquired corresponding Windows Server 2008 CALs will be given a discount when licensing Windows EBS 2008 CAL Suite through Solutions Pathway.

The intent of these two offers is to preserve the investments that customers have made in Exchange Server 2007 Standard software and CALs, as well as Windows Server 2008 Standard CALs as these are included in Windows EBS 2008 software and CAL.

Please note that these are limited-duration programs, and more information can be found in the Solutions Pathway terms and conditions.

Q. Will there be an upgrade path from Windows Server 2008 Standard to Windows SBS 2008?

A. No. Microsoft believes that customers with Windows Server 2008 Standard can purchase Windows SBS 2008 and use that Windows Server 2008 Standard in the Windows SBS 2008 domain. This way, customers can enjoy their continued investment in Windows Server 2008 Standard.

Q. When the customer passes the 75-user limit for Windows SBS 2008, what is the next step?

A. There is a choice: move up the customer to Windows EBS 2008 or to the standalone servers that make up Windows SBS 2008 solution. Both scenarios are supported through Solutions Pathway.

Q. When he customer passes the 300-user limit for Windows EBS 2008, what is the next step?

A. Partners can take advantage of Solutions Pathway and move the customer to the standalone servers that make up Windows EBS 2008 solution.

Q. Is there a mobility path to CORE CAL?

A. No. There are no mobility paths to Core CAL through Solutions Pathway.

Q. Will it be possible to step up from S Windows BS 2003 + Software Assurance to E Windows BS 2008 (since Windows SBS 2008 doesn't include an ISA Server)?

A. Yes, Microsoft is working to create a step-up SKU to Windows EBS 2008 for customers who have Software Assurance on Windows SBS 2003 R2 and want to move to Windows EBS 2008. Details will be available shortly.

Q. Can I add Software Assurance to the Solutions Pathway purchase?

A. Yes, licenses purchased through Solutions Pathway are Full Package Product (aka Retail box) licenses which Software Assurance can be added to within 90 days of Solutions Pathway purchase. See the Microsoft Volume Licensing Product List for details.

Q. How long does it take to receive the media/keys after purchase?

A. It takes 2-3 weeks for shipment to be delivered at the address provided.

Q. What if I experience a problem with my order in Solutions Pathway, who should I contact?

A. At Microsoft, we value our partners and customers and want to ensure a high quality purchase experience. Should you experience a problem with your order, contact your region below:

North America: solutionspathway@one.microsoft.upgrade.com
Latin America: http://support.microsoft.com/gp/contactusen/?ln=es-la
Europe, Middle East and Africa: direct-mar@msdirectservices.com
Asia Pacific: porders@microsoft.com or wwpo@microsoft.com (for Taiwan only)

Q. How are taxes and VAT treated in Solutions Pathway?

A. Customers are required to pay the taxes and VAT (if applicable).

Q. Do customers have to pay shipping and handling charges for their purchases through Solutions Pathway?

A. Yes, customers are required to pay shipping and handling charges.

Q. If I can’t find the 5 x 5 product key (xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx) that I used to install my software, where can I get it?

A. You can contact Microsoft support centers for additional assistance or request a media replacement:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=mscom

Q. Where can I find the Solutions Pathway website?

A. Customers and partners will have different entry websites to redeem their corresponding discounts. Customers can start here and partners here.

Q. Where can I find an end-to-end Solutions Pathway purchase process?

A. A detailed Solutions Pathway process document is available here to provide you with additional information and easy step-by-step guide to your product upgrade. (Step-by-Step document coming soon, before Nov. 24^th, but I wanted to post the link here for you so you can access it as soon as it goes up)

I hope this helps answer many of the questions you have had about Solutions Pathway, what it is, how it works, etc. If there are others we have missed, well, you know where to find me to let us know. :-)

Thank you and have a wonderful day,

Eric Ligman
Global Partner Experience Lead
Microsoft Worldwide Partner Group
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights

Microsoft SMB Community Blog : Solutions Pathway - SBS and EBS upgrades - FAQ For Partners

Quick reminder - Wayne & Robbie in Melbourne tonight

rupcroft — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:23:32 GMT

Just a quick reminder that The Wayne & I will be in Melbourne tonight for a combined SBS user group session & demonstration on WESS.

Joining us will be HP, Citrix & Kaseya & so come along to get the latest information & ask all those hard questions (of Wayne, not of me...).

Details:

5pm - 9pm
Microsoft offices
Level 5, 4 Freshwater Place
Southbank
Free & no registration needed, just turn up
Food & drink provided

Great opportunity to sign-up for the Melbourne SMB IT Pro groups if you haven't already.

Cheers & hope to see you there,

Robbie

Guest post #3 from Hilton - Aussie SBSC PAL

rupcroft — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:15:22 GMT

Guest post from the Aussie SBSC PAL - Hilton Travis.

See post 1 here and 2 here.

Enjoy.

Well, it is now official – WESS has been launched with both SBS 2008 and WEBS 2008 having their official launch day, complete with 9 hours of US-based webcasts and an online virtual tradeshow on the 12^th November. There was a Robbie and The Wayne show held for Australian audiences on Wednesday 12^th November as well. MAPS shipments have been received by most Registered Members across Australian and the SBSC Kits that ship to all SBSCs are well on their way. So, we’ve all had time to look at the RC code (thanks to a good effort by Robbie and the MS Australia “Breadth” team) and now have the final code in our sweaty hands. And those of us who attended the Tech Ed WESS Pre-Day session should be in the process of receiving our retail copies of SBS 2008 Premium Edition. Yes, Robbie promised us a Standard Edition and delivered a Premium Edition in its place – an unexpected bonus and worthy of a thanks email to Robbie, I’d say.

There’s been some movement over in Perth – the Perth SMB IT Pro Group has been formed and is getting off the ground with Jason Jordan from PCGuru and Matt Lansdown from Accord as the initial group leaders with the assistance of Erle Metcalfe and Adam Garnault. To join the Perth mailing list and show support for this group, please go here. In addition to the news about the Perth group, there’s a “Robbie and The Wayne” show that’s touring user groups around the country in November – have a read of The Wayne’s post for more information.

There are still a few places available in the SBS 2008 and EBS 2008 Hands On Labs that are in various Excom training centers around the country. If you’re hoping to bring yourself more up to date with these new products, $399ex tax for 2 days of training on these new products shouldn’t go astray. Have a read of Robbie’s blog for more information on these HOLs.

Now, to summarise a few of the threads that have been much discussed in both Australian and International lists of late, SBS 2008 CALs are available as single CALs, as well as in 5- and 20-pack SKUs. If you remember, SBS 2003 CALs were only available in 5- and 20-pack SKUs, and this single CAL SKU is one of the things Microsoft has introduced to help offset the significantly increased price of SBS 2008. I’ve blogged some more information about SBS 2008 CALs here. Also, as was widely announced, the SBS 2003 Open Business and Open Value Licensing products were removed from sale once SBS 2008 OB/OV Licensing went live. As some SBSCs may not be aware, SBS 2003 R2 OEM and OEM CALs (and Full Packaged Product) is still available for sale and Software Assurance is still available for these products – this SA was originally going to be stopped as at 31 October, 2008, but as per Eric Ligman’s blog, this has been extended until 31 December, 2008. I blogged about these SBS 2003 SA SKUs here.

As a final point for this month, has anyone seen Microsoft SharedView? Me neither – I just stumbled across this today! It could be a useful tool, but it could also become a bit of a security risk. I’m yet to have a look further into this tool, however as it may be of use to others, I’ll make mention of it here. J

Hilton

Hear from the experts about how to weather the storm

rupcroft — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:13:03 GMT

Very timely event from our Financing team aimed at helping partners understand & prepare for the coming economic downturn.

To assist you in determining what it means for your business and your customers, Microsoft Financing, has assembled a panel of experts to discuss;

The economic climate,
Impacts on the IT market, and
How to leverage Microsoft,

Panelists will include Robert Gottleibsen, Jean Marc Annonier from IDC & Microsoft Australia MD, Tracey Fellows.

Event Details and Registration

Date: Tuesday 25^th November

Time: 7.30am Registration

8.00am Session Commences

9.45am Concludes

Location: Hilton Hotel, 488 George Street, Sydney

To Register you attendance please visit: Microsoft Financing Economy Event Registration Website

Unfortunately I'll be in Brisbane however really think there's value in stopping to assess the current situation & then discuss your approach.

Cheers & hope you can make it,

Robbie

Robert Gottliebsen
Robert Gottliebsen has spent more than 30 years writing and commentating about business and investment in Australia. He has served as a regular columnist for the Australian Financial Review and founded BRW in 1981. Gottliebsen has also been host of the Business Daily TV show on Sky News as well as playing a role as National Business Commentator for The Australian. Today, he specialises in communicating business ideas and comments through The Australian, a nightly TV show, the Internet and regular radio broadcasts.

Jean Marc Annonier – Research Manager, IDC

Jean-Marc Annonier is an expert at combining rigorous micro and macroeconomic study methodologies with his in-depth knowledge of the Australian ICT market. His specialty at IDC is the segmentation of all ICT markets per business size, vertical industry and region. Jean Marc is author of the recently released IDC paper “The Economic Recession in Australia - What does it mean for the ICT Industry?".

Tracey Fellows - Managing Director, Microsoft
Tracey Fellows is responsible for meeting the needs of Microsoft’s customers, which include governments, businesses and consumers, as well as the 14,000 partners and independent software vendors who produce leading edge technology solutions for Australian businesses based on Microsoft’s platform.

Is your business in the know?

rupcroft — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 10:45:07 GMT

Heads-up from our SMB team about our continuing customer profiling activities.

I really feel these activities will result in more business for all & so am keen to hear your feedback / questions.

Cheers,

Robbie

Recently, we told you about our program to profile our customers so we can tailor our communications to our customer’s business needs and deliver regular, relevant updates from Microsoft and our partners.

We know that by marketing more effectively to our customers, we will achieve a much better response and, in turn, drive a higher volume and quality of sales leads to our Partners.

We are currently deploying via email the first of our tailored customer communications. Called Psst… , we have strived to deliver information, offers and tips that we believe are relevant to our SMB customers.

In the future we will be giving you a partner ready version of this communication so you can also send this targeted communication on to your valued SMB customers.

Link to the website here.

Download a copy of the eDM here.

Get 15% off Office & Windows Server

rupcroft — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 10:01:00 GMT

Quick heads-up on our latest customer offer: get 15% off selected Microsoft Office & Windows Server products - offer ending December 31st, 2008.

Following on from our "Economy" campaign, this is a great way to help customers save money as they start to tighten their belts.

Details here: https://partner.microsoft.com/australia/40086487

Cheers & lemme know if you have any questions,

Robbie

SBS user group tour with Wayne Small

rupcroft — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 09:15:25 GMT

As part of our continuing channel readiness efforts please see below details of our upcoming SBS user group tour (unfortunately the Sydney meeting has been & gone - next one on Tuesday, Dec 9th).

Entry is free & details on the good work that these groups do can be found here: www.sbsgroups.com.au I'm really happy to be working so closely with the SBS partner community in Australia as it means that we're reaching the people who are most passionate about the product, and through them, the small business customers.

As Wayne says on his blog, we'll also be joined in most cities by HP, Citrix & Kaseya, thus showcasing just a few of the hardware, software & services vendors who are support the launch of SBS 2008 & EBS 2008.

Food & refreshments will be provided & all meetings will start at 5pm & run through to around 8.30 - 9pm, depending on how many questions Wayne has to answer about SBS & EBS. :-)

Cheers & we hope to see you there,

Robbie

City	Date	Location
Sydney	Tuesday, Nov 11th	Microsoft offices, North Ryde
Perth	Monday, Nov 17th	Microsoft offices - in the QV1 conference facility Level 2, 250 St Georges Terrace, Perth
Melbourne	Wednesday, Nov 19th	Microsoft offices Level 5, 4 Freshwater Place, Southbank
Adelaide	Monday, Nov 24th	Ingram Micro offices 208 Greenhill Rd, Eastwood
Brisbane	Tuesday, Nov 25th	Microsoft offices Level 9, Waterfront Place, 1 Eagle Street, Brisbane

SBS & EBS trials now available for download

rupcroft — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 06:22:51 GMT

With the worldwide launch now behind us, I'm pleased to announce the availability of the official trial versions for both SBS 2008 & EBS 2008.

These 60-day trials can be extended three times if your customer requires a longer evaluation period. It can then be upgraded to a fully licensed version.

Note - the DVD version for Australia will be orderable soon - stay tuned for details.

Cheers,

Robbie

Official WW launch of SBS & EBS 2008

rupcroft — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 03:26:12 GMT

I'm very pleased to announce that Microsoft overnight has officially launched the long awaited Small Business Server 2008 & Essential Business Server 2008. These have been on the drawing board for over 3 years now & so I for one can't wait to put all the planning & waiting behind us & now focus on getting the solutions into market.

Watch Steve Ballmer & a host of executives talk about what these solutions will mean for SMB customers & partners at www.thedreamserver.com.

Register for the free virtual tradeshow & watch videos of various partners & 3rd-party vendors talk about how SBS & EBS will help them grow their business.

Start testing & trialing the software shipping in this month's Action Pack.

I'm also posting ready to go presentations, brochures, whitepapers & other relevant documents to the sky-drive & so check it out to download the collateral you need.

Lots more to come & so stay tuned & happy launching,

Robbie

Live webcast to celebrate the launch of the new Windows Essential Server solutions range

rupcroft — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 12:25:15 GMT

Join our webcast and see our new SMB Server products that can take your business forward. The Wayne & I will do some live demos & answer as many of your questions as we can.

Wednesday November 12th
11am - 12pm
Register for the webcast

Here is your opportunity to experience the new Windows Small Business Server 2008 and Windows Essential Business Server 2008 – integrated server solutions designed and priced for small and midsize businesses. Take a look inside the solutions that will redefine the way your SMB customers deploy and migrate, manage, connect and secure their networks.

Before you start selling, get trained up on what is possible with this technology by joining Microsoft’s live one hour webcast on the 12th November with a Q & A chat with our panel of experts. You’ll hear from our Australian SMB Server Team on the new solutions that will redefine the SMB server landscape.

Cheers & hope to see you there,

Robbie

PS - it will be recorded & available for download if you can't make it.

Windows Small Business Server 2008

Could your small business customers benefit from an all-in-one server solution? If they’re running fewer than 75 PCs, then addressing their needs could be easier than you think. Microsoft Small Business Server 2008 runs multiple technologies, which are integrated and configured specifically for small business needs. Here’s what you’re customers can expect:

Access to e-mail contacts, calendar and files from anywhere
Increased reliability of hardware and software
Internal Web sites for rich collaboration
Lower costs through easier installation and management
Better protection with automatic backups and file restoration

Windows Essential Business Server 2008

Imagine the difference an integrated multi-server solution could make to your customers business. If your customers are lacking this essential technology, then their bottom line could be suffering, and that affects yours. Windows Essential Business Server 2008 is part of the Windows Essential Server Solutions family, and is specifically for mid-sized businesses. Here’s how it can work for your customers:

Secure remote access to e-mail, files, and applications
Streamlined administration console for all included technologies
Preconfigured platform to Microsoft Best Practices
Simple, wizard-based setup of key workloads
Centralised, easy-to-use license management tools

With this essential business software, you’ll be able to offer your customers technology solutions that meet the top priorities of decision makers within small and mid-sized businesses. So what are you waiting for? Build new and ongoing revenue streams and advise your customers on the solution that’s right for their business.

Don’t miss it – register to watch the webcast here

Don’t stop with the webcast. Expand your knowledge even further and get further training here for Small Business Server 2008 and here for Essential Business Server 2008

Microsoft in the cloud - "Windows Azure"

rupcroft — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 02:40:02 GMT

Lots of notes & noise swirling around today after the Professional Developers Conference announcement of Windows Azure, Microsoft's platform for cloud computing and software + services.

As you can imagine the wraps on this were kept tighter than a very tight thing & so I haven't really had a lot of time to think about what it means specifically for SBSC partners. Anything that helps customers & partners be more productive has to be a good thing but as always, time will tell.

Anyway, much smarter people than me are all over this & so to catch some of the coverage, check out:

The official Microsoft web site
The press release
Ray Ozzie's keynote - on demand video
Mary Jo Foley's guide for the perplexed

Cheers & let the conversations begin,

Robbie

Selling to the public sector

rupcroft — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 14:58:11 GMT

Good announcement from Prime Minister Rudd on Friday about the Government's plans for helping small businesses cope with the credit crisis.

A snippet from the Sydney Morning Herald's MySmallBusiness blog:

Addressing a business summit in Brisbane today, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd unveiled a package of measures including individual tax management plans, $4 million for advisory centres and guarantees of on-time payments for businesses that deal with government departments.

For those of you selling into Government, the Microsoft Australia public sector website has a bunch of resources including case-studies, templates & our overall positioning, all designed to help partners more effectively offer solutions for this space.

Cheers & lemme know if you have any questions,

Robbie