Growth by Acquisition as a Strategy: Promise & Pitfalls
SMB Nation BusinessSpeak Newsletter
Over 18,000 Global Readers and Growing! June 24th, 2010 - Issue 5-12 BusinessSpeak

Greetings SMB Nation tribal members!

I can now say with all honesty that summer has arrived in the USA. There are sure signs. My English Springer Spaniel, Astro, is napping outside and catching birds. You will recall, Astro is the mascot for the SMB Nation tribe and is one of the storylines in my books. Another sure sign is that it’s time for US Nationals! I’m in Bend Oregon all week to support my son, 11-year old Harry Jr., at his second USA Cycling championship event. Yesterday he moved up 21-places for a Top 25 finish in the road race in the Junior D category.

You gotta love a sport where your kid gets drug tested!


You can follow our racing efforts HERE.

I also use the US Nationals week for my annual "THINK WEEK" where I look forward to the future. I’ll post up a "THINK WEEK" blog in the next several days. But I can tell you this. In the near future you might be surprised, startled and excited by major changes coming to SMB Nation! You might not even recognize us.

In this early summer BusinessSpeak issue, we’re delighted to BREAK the news of the new Intel small business server. It’s called the Hybrid Cloud and there is a pilot program where you can sign-up. Jeffrey Leventhal (original OnForce founder) is back with his new Workmarket start-up and we offer up a guide to enjoying Microsoft WPC. And alas – more BeerFests!


Happy reading….harrybbbb
Harry Brelsford | CEO | SMB Nation, Inc. | www.smbnation.com

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PS – Join my monthly radio show, ComputerOutlook, where I am John Iasiuolo’s guest host on the 4th Thursday of the month (June 24 at 4:00pm PDT at www.computeroutlook.com). This show has >1 million listeners and our guest this month is Grace Schroeder, CEO of Idea2, with her "Pivot To The Cloud" paradigm. Listen in tomorrow afternoon!!!!

PPS – wanna live and work on uber-hip Bainbridge Island? DM me for details on our job openings in sales and web.

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Pocket MBA
SMB Nation Fall Conference 2010
PARTNER SPOTLIGHT

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You’ll want to act fast, because these promotions won’t be around much longer.

Intel puts the "I" back in SMB innovation with new cloud hybrid server...

astro posted on June 23, 2010 19:43

Intel Hybrid Cloud There is a tired old management saw that the letter "I" doesn’t exist in the word "team." But it certainly does exist in the word Intel and as you shall read shortly, it stands for INNOVATION. First, let me provide the proper context. Economists agree that chip makers and storage companies tend to enter recessions early and recover early. Call it an advance indicator of things to come. Fortunately, this is good news today as Intel is now exceeding investor expectations. But this blog is about a new Intel pilot program that will, trust me, exceed your expectations.

So what’s the news? Intel is announcing a server solution for small business called Intel Hybrid Cloud. Intel essentially invested in R&D and product development during the great recession and is now reaping the benefits of its foresight and wisdom. The SMB IT spend has turned positive and Intel is now there to harvest with its Hybrid Cloud Server. It has the following messaging pillars:
  • The ease of use, flexibility, and pay-as-you-go cost structure of the cloud
  • The peace of mind of having your data on-premise, managed by an MSP
Think of this as a "best of breed" that merges the old school server world (my background) with the obvious cloud paradigm shift. It’s channel friendly and not sold directly to customers. If this excites you, read on.

STOP! Promise me you will read to the end and watch the three (3) videos associated with this news. Promise? Okay – read on!

Just the facts
Intel’s Hybrid Cloud is a server solution developed by Intel that enables an MSP to turn on, turn off, and remotely manage multiple virtual appliances, including popular Microsoft server applications and other server apps for small businesses. It runs on a headless server without a keyboard or mouse that is managed from another PC such as a remote laptop. Initially, Intel Hybrid Cloud will be available on special SKUs of Lenovo’s ThinkServer TS200v as part of a pilot program Intel is kicking off in July.
Lenovo’s TS200v is the ideal server for Hybrid Cloud because in addition to solid reliability and energy efficiency, it has Intel® Active Management Technology which enables powerful remote management for the MSP. The Hybrid Cloud Server will be available in a couple of configurations, depending on the performance needs of the small business, and these will come pre-installed with the Hybrid Cloud software stack which offers:
  • A simple user interface for choosing which appliances to run on the box, and for managing the server remotely.
  • The Intel Hybrid Cloud Catalog, a list of pre-configured virtual appliances, including Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS) 2003 and 2008, and Windows 2008. (I do not have confirmation of how this server will support a next release of SBS.) Other pre-installed appliances include firewall, backup, disaster recovery, and IP PBX.
  • Support for applications from well-known SMB Nation ISV friends including Level Platforms (LPI) for client monitoring/management and Vembu for data storage. If you’re a Level partner, think of this as the ideal Onsite Manager appliance – one box for everything!
Why should you care?
Intel’s Hybrid Cloud Server is turning IT acquisition on its head, offering a subscription model and a catalog. The subscription model is unique in our space in that you can “subscribe” the entire server solution for a monthly fee. That makes this blended on-site/cloud server solution an operating expense, not a capital expense. Furthermore – you can subscribe to third-party productivity applications being used on this server and pay only a recurring subscription fee. In many cases, this could mean you use an application to burst up for a discrete project and then “return” the application and lower your operating expenses. The small business only pays for the months in which they use an appliance.
The other concept that is exciting is the catalog. While not quite an iStore yet, the catalog is a marketplace to shop for applications you’d like to download and deploy in a virtual machine scenario. Today there are eight ISVs, included those listed in the last “facts” section; tomorrow Intel intends to enlist many more ISVs to sell applications via the catalog.

The future is here
Personally I find new techie stuff exciting and I truly engaged in reviewing Intel’s new Hybrid Cloud Server at its Folsom technology innovation center on a recent visit. You may recall a year ago (June 2009) when I shared with you my positive experience with Lotus Foundations that uses some similar approaches as Intel’s Hybrid Cloud Server (SSD storage, headless design, downloadable apps and virtualization). In this case, you get access to SBS as well.
Timing? The future isn’t completely here yet. This blog is simply announcing to you the details of Intel’s Hybrid Cloud Server. Consider this a first tweet. Starting with the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) and moving forward, Intel is engaging with selected partners in a pilot program as they carefully scale the infrastructure to support this solution for a future broad market release. You’ll simply need to keep reading my blog to keep up with that.

How can you learn more?
  • My three videos.
  • Intel’s Hybrid Cloud Server product website HERE
  • Go to Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) July 11-15, 2010 (Washington, DC). Intel will be hosting private demos at a nearby suite for selected partners as well as an invitation-only Tuesday night reception on July 13th (I will be there for sure)
  • Sign up for the pilot program. Visit www.intel.com/go/hybridcloud to register to participate in the pilot program as a channel partner. (This is also the way to get on the invite list for WPC meetings.) Tell ‘em Harrybbb sent ya!

Using Automation to Sell, Implement, Manage and Bill... Better!

Bob Godgart, Autotask Corporation

You wear many hats, and so does Autotask Corporation. That’s because our software helps you manage every aspect of your IT solutions business using a single, reliable, hosted application so you can:

• Sell more solutions, with better margins
• Implement everything on-time and on-budget, with no surprises
• Better service and manage your clients
• Capture every billable hour, automatically organized at the right rates

Our secret? Automation.

Your business operates through the collective execution of hundreds of discrete tasks – sending marketing messages, generating quotes, entering time, recording service notes, scheduling resources, sourcing products, invoicing customers and more.

With automated data capture, built-in wizards and a powerful workflow-automation engine, Autotask takes over and streamlines the time-consuming, mundane tasks that sap your valuable time. The net result is that you:

• Reduce errors
• Make more money
• Manage people and projects more efficiently
• Improve customer satisfaction

IT Service Providers do lots of fun stuff with our software.

That is, if you think running a business is fun! With Autotask IT business management software you can:

• Capture more billable time (an average of 15-25% right out of the gate!)
• Boost customer satisfaction and retention
• Seamlessly share tickets with any subcontractor or partner
• Slash waste, eliminate redundancy and end confusion

Best of all, Autotask can significantly increase your profits – without adding staff – and ROI is almost immediate.

Product-centric VARs have fun, too.

VARStreet by Autotask automates the complete quote-to-invoice cycle for IT products, and with real-time pricing and availability from 18 major distributors and rich content, you can:

• Generate professional quotes in half the time
• Instantly convert client approvals into sales orders
• Source products with best price and availability
• Make more money on every sale

Yes, you CAN afford it.

Odds are your cell phone bill is higher than what you’ll pay for Autotask or VARStreet, but unlike your cell phone, Autotask and VARStreet will pay for themselves – every month!

Find out why more than 30,000 VARS and IT service companies are hooked on software from Autotask. Request your demo today at www.autotask.com.

Harryb’s Underground Guide To WPC!

Wanna join me for a little bit of “Fear And Loathing In DC" for WPC? Then READ ON. If going gonzo isn’t your style – stick to the traditional script found HERE at the Microsoft Partner Network site. God bless you and please attend the sessions of your choosing.

If I still have your eyeballs, here is what I suggest you do at WPC. This is the Harryb “Wheel of Fun!"

  • Watch the FIFA World Cup Final. This is a case of the Microsoft Mountain coming to Mohammed. I was party to extensive internal Microsoft Redmond conversations whereby it (Microsoft) moved events to NOT conflict with the FIFA World Cup final on the afternoon of Sunday July 11th.
  • Pre-Day SMB Nation BeerFest, 8PM, Sunday July 11th . We’ve teamed with CallTower for a pre-day BeerFest right after the FIFA World Cup Soccer final game (and after the opening reception in the expo hall). It’s at the nearby District Chophouse and Brewery and SEATING IS LIMITED to 25 attendees. Please ONLY attend if you have an interest in VOICE / VoIP / UC and you sell into customer sites with 20+ seats. Sign up HERE
  • If The Shoe Doesn’t Fit. Let’s face it. For the average SMB Nation tribal member, WPC is EXPENSIVE and not completely relevant with its enterprise-bent. But there are ways to attend on the cheap, including starting an accredited magazine and getting a press pass. Short of that, consider the following, ranked cheapest to cheap:
    • Party all night, sleep all day. I’ve actually done this. Do not attend a single lecture during day light hours and do your business in the dark – goth-style. There is truth to humor. I’ve seen folks lurk around WPC for nights in lobbies and bars (imagine SMB lobbyists) proving once again that most business gets done after hours. Worth the air fare to DC and staying in a roach motel!
    • Party Pass. Connect with a full-fledged attendee and score a spouses’ party pass. In this day and age, it doesn’t matter what gender you are or whether you are married. This gets you into the best official parties and past security.
    • Exhibitionist! Purchase the tradeshow hall only pass, to mingle with vendors.
    • Day Trader. More than one SMB Nation tribal member has indicated they intend to spot buy their attendee pass. My suggestion? Buy a day pass for Thursday if you live in the USA as it’s the USA subsidiary “day" with specific content that applies to YOU!
    • WPC on $5 per day. I hereby and forthwith issue the following dare: attend WPC on $5 per day. If you play your politics right, there is absolutely no reason you should have to purchase food or drink. There are enough toni and lavish Washington DC parties for you to crash, to maintain a buzz and a 2,500 calorie balanced diet.
    • Passes Galore – learn about all passes including hands-on labs, etc. HERE
  • Photoshoot With Harrybbb. I’ll be in my Domke photo vest with my Nikon camera. “I Spy" me and I’ll take your photo for possible inclusion in our SMB PC magazine.
  • Blog and Tweet. Use the #WPC10 hashtag, to participate in the community conversation(s).
  • Attend In your Pajamas with online, anytime. You can also attend the Digital WPC event at http://digitalwpc.com/ for a reduced fee, compared to on-site attendance. I’m not suggesting you attend nekkid - - please!
  • BEHAVE! (NOT!) I’ll actually have to behave this time as my family is attending with me. The wife and kids want to tour Washington DC for several days. So go out and have fun for me at night – I’ll join you for coffee in the AM!

PacketTrap MSP by Quest Software

PacketTrap MSP software is the most robust, yet affordable remote network monitoring and management software solution on the market. PacketTrap’s software allows the MSP to save time by being able to manage servers, desktops, laptops, routers, hubs, switches and traffic from one view across your customer’s largest networks. PacketTrap MSP is an integrated monitoring, troubleshooting and remediation platform that enables VARs and system integrators to offer reliable and secure managed network monitoring services to numerous small and medium sized businesses. To download the free 21 day trial, go to http://www.packettrap.com/download/index.aspx

Scalable to thousands of devices, PacketTrap MSP is a comprehensive solution that allows MSP’s to centrally manage their customers networks to specifically identify and remediate traffic and performance challenges. To learn more about what the MSP solution can do, attend a weekly webinar. To register for the webinar, go to http://www.packettrap.com/network/demonstration.aspx. The solution includes over 50 diagnostic tools consolidated into a single interface.

Points of Interest:

  • No Legacy Technology
  • Flexible Deployment Options
  • Performance Baseline
  • ProActive Alerts
  • Website Surfing Analysis
  • Go-live Monitoring
  • Patch Management
  • Robust & Automated Reporting
  • Simple and Straight Forward Branding
  • Autotask and ConnectWise Integration
  • Network Mapping
  • Behind-the-screen remote troubleshooting
  • SNMP Trap Manager
  • Custom Scripting

In addition, our MSP Acceleration program can help the MSP move from break-fix to Managed Services. This process does not take months to implement but is robust enough to get the MSP to where they want to be. PacketTrap’s MSP Acceleration Process can take the pain & complexity out of transitioning. To register for a webinar go to http://www.packettrap.com/network/demonstration.aspx. Quest’s Network Management Division brings a unique industry perspective as well as the tools & resources required to help our Partners build, price, market and even sell managed services. For more information, go to www.PacketTrap.com or email sales@packettrap.com

PacketTrap MSP

MORE BEERFESTS!

What a great business model – getting paid to party! But seriously – man and woman cannot live on-line alone.

  • Washington DC. District ChopHouse & Brewery on July 11th. 8:00pm-10:00pm. Limited to 25 people. Please only attend if you sell Voice/VoIP/UC into customer sites that include >20 seats. The registration link is: http://www.clicktoattend.com/?id=149471
  • San Antonio Texas. August 8th, Sunday, an “unofficial pre-day" to the CompTIA Breakaway event. E-mail gschroeder@idea2.com for details.

Yellow Pages Pissed Off!

Opps! Look at Yellow Page’s reply to our original blog post

Yellow Pages

And here is the original blog post that pissed Yellow Pages off with video!

Cold calling - ditch the yellow pages; hello cloud!

astro posted on June 20, 2010 13:35

Early last week I had the chance to spend some quality time with Karl Palachuk at KP Enterprises in his hometown of Sacremento, CA. We discussed a wide range of issues impacting the SMB channel but by far our most interesting conversation with Karl's discovery of an old telephpone book (yellow pages) in his office and how legacy that truly felt. His salesman did the filming and understands that it's cloud, not cold calling that will lead to great success. Watch the video HERE!

First Look at Work Market

I recently had the honor and privilege of learning about Jeffrey Leventhal’s latest endeavor, Work Market. I present to you part one and part two of my story.

Part One: Funded!

Time to get back to work!

astro posted on June 15, 2010 16:50

My exclusive interview with Jeffrey Leventhal. Part I of II.
Must be nice, a top-shelf guy like Jeffrey Leventhal (Onforce founder), creating jobs for our SMB Nation tribe. It’s time for the working man to go back to work – the recession is, in my opinion, over!
Leventhal’s new endeavor, Work Market, has been funded with a first round injection of $6M from top-tier VCs including Union Square Ventures (with Fred Wilson joining Jeff’s board) and Spark Capital. If you’re judged by the company you keep, I’d like to get a pass to cut the rope line for this gathering! On the surface, Work Market appears to repeat the business model that Leventhal successfully exited from (2007 when he sold OnForce for a significant sum). Right now the monies raised by Work Market are being used to develop its site, infrastructure and hire program and project staff. The beta launch date is set for November 2010 with five beta customers anticipated. "We want the right mix of clients in our beta test period. Right now we have four ranging from a $13B company to a "two-man" IT shop." Leventhal shared.
The site will be "live" in early 2011 with February as the target date. Leventhal intimated that he hopes to invite 25 companies to participate in the "live launch" and a few months later, 2Q 2011, the site will be completely live and open for business. Current plans call for its services, connecting customers needing labor with workers seeking work, to be offered only in the USA.
My conversation continued at a higher, almost theoretical level. Leventhal proffered that everything done in Web 1.0 will have to be "done again" which I guess means "done and done" when it comes to reinventing and revamping the ancient labor markets of supply and demand. "Monster and others deliver 500+search results for you but you really can’t tell who’s AWESOME and who’s not. The transparency of the Internet allows you to filter and qualify." Leventhal said. "Do you want someone who is ready to interview or ready to work?"
Work Market intends to manage the entire labor market workflow and do it in a new way – a paradigm shift similar to the way streaming video is causing neighborhood video stores to close. ‘enough said!
I will post up Part II of my interview with Jeffrey Leventhal late this week after I meet with him at his Long Island home. Stay tuned for the video from that!
More information on Work Market can be found here.

Part Two: Hiring!

As promised, here is part two of my article chronicling Jeffrey Leventhal’s return to business with his new labor market start-up, Work Market. As you will witness in the video below, he has fire in his eyes and is rapidly staffing up for a 2011 public launch of his online job market. He has already hired a handful of talent individuals and is seeking to hire another 10+ employees in the coming weeks. You can find out about these job openings at www.WorkMarket.com – perhaps you’d like to consider lending your talents to his firm! He also speaks towards his beta clients.

Jeff Leventhal & Harry B


Watch the video HERE

We will report much more over the next few months on this matter, so keep reading!

The MBA for the "rest of us!"

I am thrilled to announce that we’ve teamed with Aspen University to create the accredited SMB Nation Pocket MBA certification. This is a graduate-level curriculum for the SMB Nation tribe that offers a bona fide educational opportunity and pathway to earning a real MBA. Here is my story. For the past couple of years, we have massively debated within the four walls at SMB Nation to offer a "starter kit" for new people to enter the wild and whacky world of SMB technology consulting – a basic career changer kit. We also thought of providing an advanced "starter kit" for our existing SMB Nation tribal members. But during the product research phase, we discovered a few things about us and you.

  • Does the world need another starter kit? Starting with the burgeoning field of "business coaches" and ending with Robin Robin’s technology marketing toolkit, we concluded that the world doesn’t need another "How to Be a SMB Consultant toolkit", and we want to honor that sentiment.
  • Our academic DNA! My professional background includes 12+ years as an evening adjunct instructor at some mighty fine academic institutions. Someday when I exit technology – say within the next ten years – I hope to return full-time to the academic community. But for today – providing the accredited Pocket MBA to our community with Aspen University, meets my need to help better the lives of others! By-the-way, I can happily report to you that I have joined Aspen University as the Dean of the School of Technology. I perform this role from my Bainbridge Island home base in addition to acting as CEO at SMB Nation. Yes – I’m trying to invent 25-hour days and 32-day months to fit it all in!
  • You’re not a newbie! With the introduction of the Pocket MBA, we feel we’ve right-sized our academic offering to align with your experience level. As you will read shortly, you’re not a newbie! Rather, you need to reinvent yourself in a cloud-based computing world. And that’s where our Pocket MBA has maturity matching and mission fit for you, the SMB Nation tribal member!
  • Life Learners. When you made a decision to be a technical professional, hopefully you were fully aware of how the game is played? It is incumbent and in your best interests that you are constantly learning both the technical and business- side of your craft. Our SMB Nation Spring and Fall events offer the in-person educational experience plus "Hallway 101" networking. The accredited Pocket MBA is a 16-week online educational experience.
  • Room for both? Hey – the "kit sellers" are my friends, and I don’t mean to suggest that the Pocket MBA is better than the starter kits; it’s just different. In reality – you probably want to consider multiple educational resources. All of these opportunities are not mutually exclusive.

Want to learn more about our accredited Pocket MBA? Look under the Education menu at SMB Nation’s site (www.smbnation.com).

SMB Nation Pocket MBA

SAVE THE DATE for the 8th Annual SMB Nation Fall Conference 2010

Las Vegas!

October 22nd-24th, 2010

SMB Nation Fall 2010 Conference

Q1 2010 SMB PC Magazine is HERE! Download NOW!

You can download here:
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SMB PC Q1 2010
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