Well said/written. On Jan 24, 2008 4:20 PM, Marc Maiffret <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I figured we would have more emails like this by now but I guess Google Apps > and Windows Live are walking instead of running. > > The reality is that a lot of people who depend on Microsoft and small > business consulting are going to slowly see a drop in the requirements (time > you can bill for) in consulting and maintaining SMB organizations. That is > the one thing that Microsoft does not tell all of its die hard MVP's about > as it relates to its Microsoft Live initiatives. > > In order for Microsoft Live to be successful it means creating a web > business infrastructure that an average joe business guy can use himself, > self maintaining system etc... It cannot be said any more clearly than for > Microsoft Live business services to be successful they must make the need > for companies like g2support to be extremely minimal. I know that sounds > harsh but if you talk with the business folks at Microsoft Live, look at > their product strategy and how they measure success, it simply is this way. > > If Microsoft is successful then the idea of selling, setting up, and > supporting a company with SBS or Exchange and whatever else is going to be a > thing of the past. Obviously there will still be network maintenance and > what not but even things like backup will soon be nicely rolled into > Microsoft and Google online services therefore not requiring companies like > yours to do it for people. Again I am not trying to be harsh but realistic > about what is coming, or at least what Microsoft and Google would like to > have. > > See at the end of the day when your consulting at a place like a small > mortgage company the reality is that that mortgage company does not want to > have to bother with you or any of the other hassles of technology. They just > want to deal with mortgages as that is how they make money. So if they can > get a hassle free (as MS and Google market it) solution that is also cheaper > than what you are charging them then they are all for it. And Microsoft and > Google obviously look at it as new revenue streams and while some people > might think "but they wouldn't put me out of business I've been a loyal bla > bla bla" ... well it's just business and the current idea of both the small > mortgage company and Microsoft/Google is that companies like yours do not > need to be part of the equation as it is cheaper for the mortgage company > and new money for Microsoft/Google. > > Change is coming, and a lot of it, and if I was a company that has been > capitalizing off of SMB IT management of Windows environments I would start > thinking about the future, the changing landscape, and new ways to generate > revenue. Again I don't think it is going to happen tomorrow so I am not > shouting fire or trying to sound scary. But it is coming and you should > definitely be forward thinking about it as Oliver is doing here. > > Of course the rate at which this change comes will depend on the technology > progress that Google and Microsoft make. Right now Google Apps is pretty > weak and simply an email system with not much else. Microsoft's offering has > a bit more bells and whistles but that is just because they are giving you a > hosted SharePoint system on top of email and they tailored some of the > SharePoint functionality to give the appearance of their solution having > more meat than it really does. > > Now of course one man's downside is another man's upside.... there is a lot > of money to be made in this new world that is on its way if you adapt > yourself. At the end of the day people will pay you to help make them more > money or streamline their business, which helps make them more money. And as > I said there are a lot of things lacking with Microsoft Live and Google Apps > and the right minded people could capitalize a lot on those lacking features > and functions. Such as helping that mortgage company have better integration > between their Microsoft Live service and salesforce.com or whatever else > comes to mind. > > I know that this does not answer your original question but that is because > I think you are asking the wrong question[s]. In business if you are not a > company that can affect change then you should strive to embrace it. I have > seen more companies fail because of lack of fluidity than anything else. > While you can get some short term mileage out of learning how to sell people > on SBS, even though the market is moving towards Google Apps and Microsoft > Live, you will suffer in the long run. So get the team together for a brain > storming session, and get the google alerts going for Google Apps and > Windows Live to start learning about what others are doing to capitalize and > adapt. > > -Marc Maiffret > www.marcmaiffret.com > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Oliver Marshall [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2008 12:03 PM > To: NT System Admin Issues > Subject: [OT] Gmail in the workplace > > Hi chaps, > > We are seeing a rise in the number of clients (current and/or possibles) > that are looking at using gmail as their main busy email provision. Now, > we mainly deal with web companies, and one thing we have noticed is that > '2.0' companies just aren't swayed by the usual feature set of SBS 2003. > Typically a lot of the sales parabola is met by a round of 'we don't > really work that way' etc. For the most part, the only thing that really > picks up ears is when we start discussing ownership of data, and being > able to manage that data when faced with an increasing amount of > freelancers. > > With the increase of the 'starbucks' approach to business, and an ever > increasing number of freelancers, small non-traditional businesses seem > to really struggle with the concept of non-web-centric information > stores like and SBS 2003 server, linked to something affordable like an > adsl line; take in to account the cost of CALs, support, maintenance etc > they tend to stick with the free-web based services that they have > 'grown' up with. > > Really, I thought I would ask people here, particularly those focusing > on the Sme market (note the big S small ME), what you feel about this, > how you counter peoples believe in gmail as a business tool, whether you > even counter it at all...etc. > > Olly > > > ~ Upgrade to Next Generation Antispam/Antivirus with Ninja! ~ > ~ <http://www.sunbelt-software.com/SunbeltMessagingNinja.cfm> ~ > > > ~ Upgrade to Next Generation Antispam/Antivirus with Ninja! ~ > ~ <http://www.sunbelt-software.com/SunbeltMessagingNinja.cfm> ~ >
-- ME2 ~ Upgrade to Next Generation Antispam/Antivirus with Ninja! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbelt-software.com/SunbeltMessagingNinja.cfm> ~
