Marc, Thanks for the very clear email, just what I was hoping for, and I'm glad that the questions I was asking don't sound crazy to some :)
Olly -----Original Message----- From: Marc Maiffret [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: 24 January 2008 21:20 To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: RE: [OT] Gmail in the workplace 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> ~ ~ Upgrade to Next Generation Antispam/Antivirus with Ninja! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbelt-software.com/SunbeltMessagingNinja.cfm> ~
