I have been dealing with network security for my whole career, both in the small business space, and at the Enterprise level.  Security remains a challenging and ever-changing arena.  Today, I want to discuss how a Managed Services Provider should approach the task of securing their clients’ networks. Here are my main points to considerRead more >>

The Ingram Micro Cloud has acquired twelve supplementary vendor contracts in the last nine months, and fielded over twenty five additional cloud solutions in the same period. So it comes as no surprise that they will be trumpeting their latest relationship with the successful Kaseya, Symantec  and Trend Micro at their 2011 Fall Venture TechRead more >>

When I attend IT conferences I often play a sort of game to understand who I am talking to. It is not about understanding if someone is important or not, it is just because I want to understand how their business is doing and see if they have come up with something different or special.Read more >>

When considering a Cloud strategy, it can be hard to get started.  But you want to get started as fast as you can, to be ahead of the adoption curve. Here are some ideas on how to put together your initial cloud offering. Start by putting together a bundle for a company with 5 users.Read more >>

It’s been 10 years since HP bought Compaq Computer, and since then HP has been a juggernaut in the computer industry.  When IBM got out of the PC business by selling off that division to Lenovo in 2004, it seemed like HP would be unstoppable. I had been a Compaq dealer since 1989, and whenRead more >>

I was listening to a presentation at SMB Nation.  The event has been great and a lot of good content is coming out of it. Many of the presentations, similar to other conferences the last 3 years, are about cloud computing.  So I was listening to a speaker, and I will not identify them asRead more >>

I arrived yesterday at SMB Nation to attend a few of the pre-day events.  In the afternoon Microsoft gave a 3 hour presentation on Office 365, SharePoint Online, Live Office and the whole gamut of Microsoft Cloud Solutions. I have attended many sessions on these solutions at other events, had the late night rants withRead more >>

One of my customers called me the other day.  We have quoted them a major server upgrade.  They have specific requirements that mean that they need onsite equipment.  He called up because he was worried about HP, he was concerned that maybe they wouldn’t be around to support him in five years.  There were twoRead more >>

There’s a lot of hype out there about the cloud.  Everywhere you go, it’s “cloud this” and “cloud that”.  Services that we used to refer to as hosted or ASP or SaaS are now Cloud Apps or Cloud Services.  Our peers are feeling a lot of pressure to embrace the cloud, and aren’t sure whatRead more >>

Office 365 is Microsoft’s flagship cloud offering, providing online versions of Exchange, Sharepoint, Lync, and Office Pro Plus, for a reasonable monthly fee per user. Is this really something new?  Hosted Exchange has been available through Microsoft partners for years.  What’s different about Office 365, and is it something you should be recommending to your clients?Read more >>