SMB Nation Blog

At the start of its BlackBerry World event this week in Orlando, FL, BlackBerry introduced its new Q5 smartphone that is part of the new BlackBerry 10 family. The BlackBerry Q5 smartphone features a QWERTY keyboard with discrete keys in a new design that aims to provide a fast, effortless experience for users on the go.

As part of my political exploration and participation in the Microsoft “Voices for Innovation” (VFI) political trade association and its closely related PAC, I’m invited to the best free lunches on the block. Seriously – VFI works with the PAC to bring in super speakers to Microsoft Redmond. This is my third such lunch event and the featured speaker this time was Sidney Rittenberg.

Microsoft today released news that they are running a 48-hour “Refer-a-Colleague” program for the upcoming WPC event in Houston, TX. Under this program, current registered attendees are eligible to receive a $100.00 refund for referring a new attendee to the event. In addition, anyone who is referenced will have $100.00 taken off of the final conference price.  

VaultLogix is now offering a free trial of its business-class MobilePlus service, which provides backup, recovery and data protection for mobile workers’ Windows and Mac laptops and desktops.

ManageEngine said today that it has added change auditing and mailbox access monitoring to Exchange Reporter Plus, its Exchange server reporting software. Now, Exchange Reporter Plus can report and alert on critical Exchange events that carry security or compliance implications. In turn, organizations can use Exchange Reporter Plus to implement or enhance an email security and compliance program that easily demonstrates regulatory compliance and prevents data leaks.

Sophos today announced the availability of Sophos UTM Connected, the latest version of its UTM solution. This release introduces expanded UTM managed endpoint protection with unique Web in Endpoint functionality, broader wireless coverage for large scale wireless deployments and higher performance networking.

This past weekend, I tuned into 60 Minutes, as I do most Sunday evenings, to wind down, and I came across an interview that one of their correspondents did with a former U.S. Marine who is now an SMB. The clip, titled, “Succeeding as Civilians,” featured a veteran, who had been injured during combat, and got his start as a small business owner through a program designed to help disabled and wounded veterans literally get back on their feet and get into business.

It made me think, while watching this 60 Minutes clip, on how I have recently spoken to many IT members in our community who are former military. One such conversation I had recently was with Joseph Bettencourt, Founder and CEO of Portland Computerworks. While Bettencourt was thankfully, not wounded during his military tour, he took the experience he picked up during his time at tech school in the U.S. Air Force, for Computer Information Systems. He told me that he was one of four chosen out of more than 300 students for a special assignment working at a Computer Forensics Laboratory near the NSA. By the time Bettencourt finished his military experience, he picked up various Computer Certifications from the Department of Defense Computer Training Institute as well as computer training at the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA.

(Pictured at right): Joseph Bettencourt, Founder and CEO, Portland Computerworks

Ooma said today that its small business phone system, Ooma Office, is now available for purchase at Staples stores nationwide and at Ooma.com. According to the company, Oooma Office is the first product developed by Ooma to address the needs of small businesses. Ooma Office delivers the advanced features and service quality that come with a big business phone service at a price point that is more affordable than other solutions.  

You and I have chosen a “geek life,” and we must live with the consequences. That means the SMB landscape changes very fast and can surprise even ardent analysts, much less day-to-day practitioners. Almost in a stealth mode, Dell has acquired several capable SMB players as it works to build a comprehensive solutions portfolio. 

Here we go again! As I do each week, I am really enjoying bringing our readers a quick round-up of the blog coverage I didn’t manage to get to during the week prior. It has been a bit of taking a breather here for us, since we wrapped up our Spring Conference and SMB 150 Awards Gala just over a week ago. But the quiet before the storm won’t last long…before you know it, we will be gearing up for our annual fall event to be held Oct. 10-12 in Las Vegas at the Rio!

Earlier this month, Small Biz Thoughts announced that Rayanne Buchianico, Owner of ABC Solutions, LLC, will be presenting a session during the IT Business Reboot 2013 Online Conference, taking place 9:00 am – 4:00 pm PDT, June 25-27, 2013. Buchianico, a two-time SMB 150 Award winner and recipient of the SMB Nation 2012 Jim Locke Memorial Community Award, is set to present the session: Demystifying Quickbooks for MSPs.

This morning, snom Technology announced that cloud-based VoIP services provider, Telinta, Inc., has developed an auto-provisioning system for the company’s 7xx and 8xx series of business phones. This type of provisioning is designed to streamline the process of adding a large number of snom phones to a network, particularly in a call center setting.

Desktone said today that it has extended its cloud-hosted desktop platform with a new on-premises, cloud-managed virtual desktop solution. The new offering resides at the customer site and is managed remotely by a Cloud Provider, giving enterprises and SMBs the flexibility to choose the cloud model that best suits their business: public, private, or hybrid. 

Jeff Leventhal, CEO of Work Market, reached out to us today to let us know about the company’s most recent round of funding. This time it’s a $10 million Series Scale financing. The round was led by new investor SoftBank Capital with participation from existing investors Union Square Ventures and Spark Capital. Jordan Levy, General Partner with SoftBank Capital NY, will join the Work Market Board of Directors as an observer.

Digium has announced the general availability of the Digium Phone App Engine and Phone API Information Center for its IP phones. The Digium IP phones include an applications engine that uses a free and open API.  The JavaScript API allows developers to easily create custom phone apps that extend the power of Asterisk, an open source IP telephony software, and Switchvox, Digium’s Unified Communications solution, to the Digium IP phones.  These applications go far beyond simple XML pages and integrate custom business processes directly on the phone display.

ShoreTel confirmed this morning that Peter Blackmore, the company’s president and CEO, has informed the company of his intention to retire as soon as a successor is announced.

Earlier this week, independenceIT announced that they have added new channel partners to their recently launched iIT University program. Among these is Atlantic, Tomorrow’s Office, which has reported positive customer response so far.

Yesterday, the Autotask Corporation announced the results of a February 2013 survey concerning the state of technology business growth. In particular, the study, which was conducted by Decision Tree Labs, showed that technology providers are experiencing a high drop in the number of billable hours each month, mainly due to inefficient business process.

Shortly after returning from the SMB 150 awards and the SMB Nation Spring Conference in Redmond, WA, prominent and long-time SMB community member Alan Shrater passed away quietly at his home on Wednesday afternoon, May 8th.

(At right): Alan Shrater at Microsoft Redmond this past weekend.

Technology author Karl Palachuk encourages Managed Service Providers to reboot their business for the current economy – and his guest keynote speaker Creative Strategist John Armato challenges the IT community to think INSIDE the box to do it. With that being said, Palachuk has invited Armato to address the community during his SMB Onlinie Conference that will run 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM Pacific on June 25-27, 2013.

ShoreTel earlier this week announced a business-grade docking station that transforms iPhones and iPads into desk phones when paired with ShoreTel Mobility, fusing the convenience of mobile devices with the power of a business communications system.

D&H Distributing reported today that is has experienced more than 8% growth for the 2013 Fiscal Year (ending April 30, 2013), fueled by sales of mobility products.  This figure is more than three times the organic growth rate achieved by IT distribution in general over the past year.  Tablet sales at D&H have tripled year-over-year, driven by strong showings from Android models in the seven- and 10-inch formats.  This year’s overall growth figure adds to D&H’s tally of more than 380 consecutive profitable quarters.

For those of you who didn’t make it to the SMB Nation Spring Conference, we discussed how embracing the cloud could compare to “eating your broccoli:” You know it’s good for you, and you will, at some point, have to try it out.

Earlier this week, Sprint announced the launch of their new CloudCompute solution, which integrates the company’s Global MPLS into CSC’s virtualized cloud computing offering. Increased business agility was the driving force behind the development of the CloudCompute solution, which is currently available to US-based Sprint customers.

Employer Flexible, a Houston, TX-based IT solutions and HR recruitment services provider recently announced that they have acquired Channel Dynamix, an integrated technology solutions company with a focus in business analytics. With this acquisition, Channel Dynamix will begin to operate in the greater Texas area as EmpactIT, an Employer Flexible company.