Jan/Feb 2011 Issue of SMB PC Magazine

Jan/Feb 2011:Issue 5-3 11-02-03 4:15 PM Page 1




Jan/Feb 2011 | Issue 5-3

PUBLISHED BYSMB Nation, Inc.

Bainbridge Island, Washington

Harry Brelsford, Publisher

MANAGING EDITORRegina P. Ciardiello

ART DIRECTORAl Alarakhia

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSLeo Bletnitsky, Scott Bowefield, Robert Cohen, Andrew Edney,

James Foxall, Cliff Galiher, John Iasiuolo, Matt Makowicz, Frank Raimondi, Nassem Saab

BUSINESS STAFFHarry Brelsford, CEO

Chris Bangs,Business Development Manager

Matt Makowicz,Business Development Manager

Sue Unger, Office Manager

Jennifer Hallmark,Senior Manager

Scott Beveridge,Developer and Webmaster

Harvey Forman,Accountant

Tiara Lark,Marketing Production Coordinator

Marianne Poulos, Tele-buddy

TELEPHONATION.COMChris Bangs, Business Development

SMB Nation, Inc.12715 Miller Road NE, Suite 202

Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 USATel: 206-201-2943Fax: 360-824-6042

E-mail: [email protected]

© Copyright 2011 SMB Nation Inc.All Rights Reserved

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SMBPartnerCommunityEDITORIAL

By Harry Brelsford, CEO

Check out our blog at www.smbnation.com

A Rising Tide…This issue is significant in many ways. We are covering two new topics we’ve

previously ignored: Healthcare IT and Green IT. Both areas are HOT (no pun intended forthe green crowd) and warrant the extensive coverage we are providing. Leo Bletnitskyexpertly defines the vertical opportunities in Healthcare IT. Why is he qualified to write thispiece? Because it’s his consulting practice niche in Las Vegas, NV – a retirement mecca!Further north on the left coast, we have Portland, OR-based Frank Raimondi sharing GreenIT survey results from his trade association, NASBA (The Association of ChannelResellers). Very cool stuff on two HOT topics!

Note that – in our attempts to deliver better content and media – both articles’ authorsare interviewed in a video-based blog entry at www.smbnation.tv. Click over and meet Leoand Frank!

Meet Regina! Speaking of better content, I am delighted to

announce that Regina Ciardiello joins SMBNation as managing editor! No stranger to theSMB VAR channel, Regina previously worked atEdgell Communications as Editor of VerticalSystems Reseller, also known as VSR. While atVSR, Regina was responsible for the publication’sday-to-day operations, as well as editorial for itsWeb site and accompanying e-newsletters, VARCentral and Real-Life Solutions. She also hostedan online monthly talk show via Zenith Infotech’sMSPtv network known as VSR Channel Live.

Regina has 14 years of experience in thepublishing industry. She previously served as Special Projects Editor of The Journal ofCommerce, a weekly news magazine covering the trade and transportation industry. Priorto that, Regina was Senior Editor of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News, a monthlytrade publication geared toward the commercial maritime industry.

Regina holds a B.A. degree in English and an M.A. degree in Strategic Communicationand Leadership, both from Seton Hall University. She also holds a Certificate in Journalismfrom NYU’s School of Continuing Education & Professional Studies. Regina resides inCaldwell, N.J.

Moving forward – Regina’s words will grace these pages!

Meet Sue Unger Here’s the good news. Before the labor

market tightens further – we were able to outbidthe free market and obtain the services of SueUnger as our new office manager. Already withus for nearly two months, I can share with youthat Sue is focused, detailed-oriented, efficientand has the memory of an owner.

BTW – Sue was referred to us by theBainbridge Island Chamber of Commerce —proving our membership is incredibly valuable.So our “Pocket MBA” advice is to follow ourlead, and join your local chamber.

This and That! Visit SMB Nation for updates: We have several new webinars over the next month – take a look at www.smbnation.com. MVP Nation is March 3-4, Seattle.SMB Voice is March 13-15, Las Vegas.We are a media sponsor for the 19-city LPI tour!

Cheers…harrybbbHarry Brelsford, CEO, SMB Nation

Regina shown as a passenger on a Harley-Davidson Deuce motorcycle driven by her

boyfriend, Michael Jankowski.

Sue with her prize-winning Arabian horse!




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COVER STORY

here are two schools of thought that I hear discussedregularly at conferences and within consulting publications.Some say in this day and age it is important to specialize in

a vertical market in order to add the most value and charge apremium. Others recommend diversification to prevent industry’sproblems from negatively affecting your business.

I have come to the conclusion that both are right —depending upon the VAR’s background and capabilities. I havebeen involved with the IT consulting business for more than 15years and during the first 10 (1995-2005), I ran a general SMBVAR in the San Francisco Bay Area. My clients comprised everyindustry, with a few extra in the biotech space. As we picked upa few more biotech clients, I realized that I really liked to workwith those organizations and therefore started focusing more onthem. Because of the biotech focus, we grew significantly andhad very steady recurring revenue (before Managed Serviceswas a real offering). We learned that biotech was a large (butclose-knit) industry and the clients and their competitors reallyworked to help us land new customers.

In 2005 I sold my California client base to a competitor andrelocated to Las Vegas to become a “one-man shop” once again.What a shock, I had to do my own accounting as I did in 1995!Since there was no significant biotech industry in the Las Vegasarea, I went back to being a general SMB VAR, with the additionof Managed Services. Not too long into this, I landed a medicaloffice as a client. Seeing the similarities this end user had withbiotech, I decided to jump into Healthcare IT with both feet.

Same Technologies, Different VerticalsHealthcare IT is really no different than what you do every

day for your existing clients with a few differences. Doctor’soffices need their Internet connection to work, their network tobe secure, their server to run, to be backed up, and virus- andspyware-free PCs. What makes them different is that they arealso governed by HIPAA and PCI regulations and many haverevenue that continues to decrease each year.

T

by Leo Bletnitsky, President, LBA Networking, Inc.

Is Healthcare IT the Right Path for You?

Members of the “The Greatest Opportunity – Health Care IT in2010/2011” panel at SMB Nation Fall 2010 present a popular session to

the audience. Pictured (L to R) are Keith Parker, Project Coordinator,Health Insights; and Leo Bletnitsky President, LBA Networking, Inc.

EMR Implementation: One Drug Rep’s Crash Course

Electronic medical records (EMR) systems can almost universally improve practice efficiency, communication, accountability andprofitability; every EMR sales presentation offers solutions to improve a practice’s patient flow, billing procedures, coding, etc. In thepharmaceutical sales cycle, this is akin to demonstrating how a drug will reduce office administration time by reducing insurance call-backs orsave patients money with lower co-pays. In pharmaceuticals, these features are important, but in the end, it is a drug’s efficacy that drives aphysician’s decision to prescribe.

For the IT sales professional, while the procedural and financial enhancements to medical practices are the primary drivers to adoption of aparticular vendor’s product, it is all too easy to forget that improving patient health is the ultimate goal of every physician practice, medical groupor hospital, whether for-profit or not-for-profit. Understanding how the implementation of EMR can lead to measurable improvements in patients’health and overall clinical outcomes may provide the edge that will close more sales.

Patient Registries: In the simplest terms, a patient registry is a list of patients and associated relevant clinical information that can alerthealthcare providers when services are due. Registries can be used by healthcare providers to monitor chronic health conditions, track and schedulepreventative care services and provide population-level reports documenting progress toward specific internal or external benchmarks. Examplesof chronic conditions that are particularly suited to optimized management via registries are diabetes, heart disease, HIV and cancer. Many EMRsystems have registry functionality built-in, while some systems require installation of a compatible registry program. An example of a free open-source registry program can be found at www.cdems.com .

Quality Improvement Initiatives: Various regulatory agencies, insurers and health care advocacy groups establish guidelines andcertification parameters for quality healthcare delivery. For measures addressing patient outcomes, a set of measurement criteria and benchmarksare created that demonstrate a health care entity’s satisfactory progress toward defined standards of care. Population level registry data is extremelykey to the process of assessing a clinic’s progress towards goals. Equally important is the ability of the system to independently generate actionalerts for patients not meeting established criteria or to allow “data mining” to identify patients in need of clinical interventions such as nurse callsor medication changes. Visit www.ncqa.org for more on quality improvement in health care.

Pay for Performance: All is not lost for the IT rep seeking to link financial returns to patient outcomes to close the sale; numerousorganizations including the Federal Government, States, and private insurers now provide remuneration for healthcare organizations that meetquality criteria in many areas of chronic disease and preventative wellness.

As a pharmaceutical sales rep for the last 10 years, Scott Bowefield has spent thousands of hours in physicians’ offices, working with office staff,medical staff and physicians. He has observed the implementation of EMR in medical practices ranging from individual providers with two employeesand a couple of exam rooms to group practices with a dozen or more providers and numerous support and medical staff spread over multiple locations.

by Scott Bowefield




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I had the honor of first talking with Bob Laclede about sixmonths ago when he was VP, Business Development for Ingram Microand was in charge of their Health Care IT (HIT) practice. A fewmonths later, my partner Bill Brandt and I knew that we needed to getBob Laclede to work with us on developing the Trusted BusinessAdvisor HIT Program to market. We invited him to join us and heagreed to run the program.

Capitalizing on our 31 years experience in developing andimplementing IT channel programs, and Bob’s 35 years of beinginvolved with government and health care sales, we set out to create theencyclopedia for the HIT area: where the real opportunities inhealthcare are for the channel and what the government stimulusprograms are all about.

When Harry (Brelsford, CEO, SMB Nation) asked me to write anarticle on HIT, my immediate instinct was to interview my friend andbusiness associate, Bob Laclede.

Robert Cohen: Bob, let’s get right down to business. Where are the realopportunities for VARs in the healthcare industry?

Bob Laclede: If you look at end user segments, healthcare as an enduser segment is growing quickly. They have a huge need, and they havethe financial resources. They are being pushed to use technology betterso that they can improve the patient experience. The healthcarecommunity must reduce costs while increasing patient care andhealthcare quality – and that all points to technology solutions. I amamazed at the advanced technology utilized in patient diagnostics andtreatment, but appalled at the lack of technology being utilized in basichealthcare administration. This is an industry that needs what thechannel has delivers.

RC: Where is the money for VARs and MSPs?

BL: They need to look at the small business opportunities. Currentemerging opportunities are with the administration side of the doctors’offices. They need technology solutions that will make it easier for theirstaff and their customers. We all think that technology is somethingeveryone uses. Truth is that there are lots of doctors that do not evenhave business email, electronic databases, etc. This is stuff that weknow as an industry and can easily deliver to them.

RC: What about Healthcare IT applications?

BL: There are four basic types of application areas:1. Practice management (the basic patient scheduling, billing and

revenue cycle application).2. Electronic health care files (replacing those thousands of manila

folders with databases of patient history, images and previousdoctor/patient treatments).

3. Practice focused solutions based on the specialty that the doctor istrained in (i.e. General practice, OB/GYN, Cardiology,Ophthalmology, etc.).

4. Exchange of patients’ files to other doctors, specialists, hospitals,insurance carriers plus Government Reporting requirements.

Finally – even outside of the healthcare applications, a VAR can bringtremendous value to the physician office by just supporting their ITinfrastructure, networking and managed print services.

Article continues at our BLOG atwww.smbnation.com

On The Record with Robert Cohen and Bob Laclede, VP Healthcare Programs, ChannelLineby Robert M. Cohen, CEO, ChannelLine

There is good news, and there are reasons that I feel that theHealthcare vertical is a profitable business to get into. Firstly,there are the ARRA funds for EMR/EHR* ($44k to $64k pereligible provider). There is the aspect that if revenue decreases,costs must go down as well and efficiency must go up to stay inbusiness — and then there is the fact that the Healthcare verticalis not going away, but instead getting more technology focused.The fact is that there are more solutions coming online every daythat address various Healthcare IT needs and can add additionalrevenue and services for the physicians and the VARs/MSPswho service them. Physician practices revenues are decreasingbecause of reduced reimbursement from insurance companiesand Medicare, and unless Healthcare Reform is repealed oramended significantly, revenues will decrease even more overthe next couple of years.

Where are the Opportunities?So what does this mean for today’s SMB VARs and MSPs?

Well, firstly, there are unlimited opportunities for assistingdoctors and practice managers with reducing costs andimproving their efficiency through the proper use of technology;Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and Practice Management(PM) software are the first place to start.

The buzz around EMR or EHR (Electronic Health Records) issignificant because of the $19 billion in stimulus money that wasmade available for its implementation in the ObamaAdministration’s 2009 Stimulus Bill, otherwise known as ARRA(The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act). The provisionstates that an eligible Medicare Provider receives $44,000, and aneligible Medicaid Provider receives $64,000 if they implement acertified EMR and demonstrate that they are using it meaningfully.

For example, a five-doctor primary card practice that sees Medicarepatients will receive $220,000 paid over 5 years. The first checks of$18,000 for each provider that implements a system (and uses itmeaningfully) by January are expected to roll out this April or May.

Currently, a very large percentage of practices are notrunning EMR systems and are looking to the experts to helpthem decide what to buy, and more importantly, how to moveforward. As the VAR or MSP, we are the trusted advisors thatneed to help our clients make smart decisions about technology.The EMR buying decision is no different, except that in a medicalpractice, the system they go with will determine their financialsuccess as well as your continued relationship with them.

It’s all about the ApproachSome of my peers are taking the consultative approach and

assisting their medical practice clients with evaluating variousvendors and choosing the one the practice likes the best. I thinkthat approach may work for some, but in the long run, it couldpotentially damage the VAR’s/MSP’s business and relationshipwith the practice.

Many of the top EMR vendors have a mostly direct salesmodel, which of course cuts out channel opportunities. Oncethese vendors make the sale, the VAR/MSP may find that almostall needed technology is being supplied by the vendor, andtraining and implementation is also handled this way. In the end,what’s left is keeping the Internet up and cleaningvirus/spyware infections. In other words, we’re back to thebreak/fix days with less responsibility.

However, I have taken matters into my own hands, whichmeans choosing a high-level EMR vendor that is channel-friendly and to become an expert in the implementation and



support of that system. In both the long and short run, ourapproach is a Win-Win for both my company and our clients.Not only do we get to keep our great relationships, but we getthe sales income from the EMR Software, Microsoft Licenses,Servers, PCs, scanners, implementation and support. Our clientsreceive better/faster service and better pricing than what thedirect vendors would be charging them. If, for some reason, thepractice chooses another vendor, then it’s up to you try tomaintain the relationship the best that you can. I have a numberof practices running seven different EMR systems that wesupport still, but are limited in what we can do on their serversand to support their users.

Ok, So How Do I Get Started?To get started in the Healthcare vertical you need to have a

reference practice. If you already have medical practice clients,and they are happy with your services, then, theoretically, this iseasy. But remember you will still need to increase yourknowledge of medical terminology and other non IT issues suchas meaningful use requirements and insurance billing. Choose avendor and learn their system, and make sure they have goodtechnical and sales training available for their partners.

However, if you don’t have any experience with Healthcareit’s a bit more difficult as the first question a practice will ask is“Who else (medical practice-wise) do you work with?” and“Who else is running your system?” Land your first client, andthen let them help you choose an EMR vendor to partner withfrom the channel-friendly ones that you find.

Cloudy Skies AheadSince the Cloud is the newest catch phrase that even the

least technical person has heard about, many practices will askabout whether a cloud EMR is the way to go. There are threeconsiderations when choosing premises vs. cloud solutions forEMR: cost, performance and cost again. • Cost is always an issue when selling medical solutions. Many

practices don’t have the cash reserves to pay tens ofthousands of dollars for a solution, and believe it or not, theycan’t qualify for a loan or lease either. A Cloud solution willbe less expensive to implement because of not having topurchase servers and new PCs. But in the long run, becausethe practice will never own the solutions, it ends up beingmore expensive. It’s a pay now or later decision.

• Performance is critical for a practice, if the EMR slows themdown, they can see fewer patients. I once had a tech support“flunky” from an EMR we were supporting at the time saythat the unannounced change to the system was “not a bigdeal, as it would cost the doctor an only an extra 60 to 90seconds per patient” The doctor heard that statement andneedless to say, he was not happy! That would have beenanother 45 minutes to over an hour per day of time lostbecause of an EMR’s since this medical practitioner wouldsee 45 patients per day on average.

• Specialties that are image and paper intensive should steerclear of Cloud solutions since large images downloaded overeven a really fast Internet Connection verses a Gigabit LANis no contest. Even a difference of 5 seconds per image

Getting Started with Healthcare IT Software PlatformsWhile it is true that today’s VARs and MSPs should begin looking into EHR and Practice

Management if they want to break into Healthcare IT, the move is more than just about pushing boxes.It goes far beyond just walking into a medical practice and “selling hardware or pushing product.” Ifyou ask anyone who is currently involved with the healthcare vertical, whether it is a vendor, medicalprofessional end user, distributor or analyst, they will tell you that you have to be on top of your gameif you want to break into this vertical. I once attended a vendor partner conference where the speakertold attendees that “the healthcare vertical is not an industry in which you can just knock on someone’sdoor and expect to overhaul their entire IT department. If you don’t know what you are talking about, then just forget about it.”

Of course this is even more crucial since the Obama Administration’s decision to sign into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Actof 2009 (ARRA) to not only stimulate the economy, but also to transform the healthcare system in an effort to improve quality, safety and efficiencyof care. Furthermore, to help facilitate this vision, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, (HITECH) establishedprograms under Medicare and Medicaid to provide incentive payments for the “meaningful use” of certified EHR technology. The Medicare (up to$44,000 per provider) and Medicaid (up to $63,750 per provider) EHR incentive programs will provide incentive payments to eligible professionalsand eligible hospitals as they adopt, implement, and demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR technology.

Luckily for VARs and MSPs who are looking to partner with trusted Independent Software Vendors (ISVs), there is certainly no shortage. TwoISVs that have traditionally specialized in this market are gloStream, based in Troy, MI, and Triohm Medical Systems in Whippany, NJ. Bothcompanies are currently poised to assist VARs/MSPs who want to create and build a healthcare IT practice. In fact, both are currently working toexpand and enhance their current partner programs, due in part to the upcoming EHR regulations.

The goal of Triohm’s enhanced Certified Partner Program is to of course provide VARs and MSPs with the training, tools, education andresources they will need to provide EHR and Practice Management software platforms that are robust, yet familiar and easy-to-use for today’s busymedical professionals. By partnering with Triohm Medical Systems, VARs and MSPs will receive key benefits of Triohm’s Certified PartnerProgram, which include: EMS and EMR software and discounts on future software sales, monthly demonstration presentations, “done for you” Website and marketing materials, in-person sales, marketing and technical training provided on a quarterly basis, invitation to the company’s CertifiedPartner Summit, dedicated business development managers and access to product/sales presentations and training videos.

“The Triohm Certified Partner Program is extremely exciting to us here at Triohm. We work with MSPs and give them a true ‘plug and playvertical’. We have brought true MSP staff onboard to run this program – so we know the market – and can really support the needs of the ManagedService Provider,” said Chris Wiser, Vice President of Business Development, Triohm Medical Systems.

With both its gloEMR and gloPM solutions available to VARs and MSPs looking to break into the healthcare space, gloStream also launchedlast March its gloDNA detailed needs analysis product. Built on 5 stages, gloDNA is the ISV’s exclusive step-by-step process, which gatherssubjective and objective information to help create the ideal EMR or PM solution for medical practices. This roadmap process allows VARs/MSPsto help medical professionals successfully take their practices to an electronic platform at continued successful and meaningful use. MikeSappington, CEO, gloStream, said that this platform, as well as the others offered by the company, is “100 purpose-built for their success.” He addsthat gloStream also focuses on helping these VARs/MSPs to be able to serve their end users by working with an ISV who will always support andempower them. “We know that our partners want to build a healthcare IT practice that will allow them to be unlimited in their scope to servemultiple types of practices in this space,” Sappington said.

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reviewed is too much in the aggregate. If they are not imageintensive then a Cloud solution can be the way to go.

Recurring Revenue=Enhanced IncomeThe last thing that I want to cover on this topic is ancillary

recurring revenue. Any time we can enhance the income of ourclient it is a good thing that results in some income tricklingdown to us.

I’m already involved with two solutions that add valueand create a recurring revenue stream. The first is in-officemedication dispensing which can add $24,000 to $250,000 ormore of additional practice income and a nice commission tothe VAR. The second is an automated appointment remindersystem that can free up the practices staff so they canaccomplish more productive and revenue-generating tasks.

In addition, I see a major new offering that both thedoctor and the VAR can partner on to enhance patient care.There are numerous new connected medical devices such asweight scales, blood pressure cuffs, glucose meters andmedication dispensing devices. These products are lookingfor a channel and improve a physician’s ability to monitor apatient’s progress. They usually have a small reoccurringcharge for the data aggregation Web site, which may meanreoccurring revenue for the channel. Additionally theseproducts can allow many older adults to stay in their homeslonger instead of losing their independence and going toexpensive assisted living facilities. I am currently working todevelop a product offering that is specific for the connectedmedical home.

The current stimulus is on a five-year track, but theindustry’s life cycle is much longer than that. If every eligiblemedical practice were to pull the trigger on an EMR purchasenow, it would take 10 years to complete all the projects with thenumber of currently available qualified trainers and installers.Over the next five to seven years, most practices will move to anEMR. However, since many of the 300-plus products on themarket are not the most reliable, but have good sales people,over the next 3-10 years there will be a lot of activity of practicesdumping poor systems for better ones, or discontinued systemsfor viable ones.

In a nut shell, health care is not going away, and we can play an important role in reducing costs and improvinghealthcare outcomes for the nation while building ourcompanies.

Leo Bletnitsky is President of LBA Networking, Inc. dba Las VegasMed IT. He has been in the IT Consulting Industry for more than 15 years. Leo can be reached at (702) 553-3200 x101, or [email protected]. You can also visit Leo’s Blog athttp://www.MovetoEMR.com.

Don’t Miss Out: Level Platforms’ Managed Workplace 2011 Road Show is coming to a U.S. City near you this February!

For more information, and to register, go to:www.levelplatforms.com/roadshow


GUESTSPEAK


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ost small business owners would agree that their customerand vendor relationships are vital to their success. Higherclient expectations and economic demands are causing

firms of all sizes to re-evaluate how technology can help themstrengthen these relationships and grow their businesses.

A well-chosen Customer Relationship Management (CRM)system is often key to managing these relationships, as well ashelping an organization become more efficient and increaseproductivity. In fact, although CRM systems used to be reserved forenterprise organizations, it is now considered a critical componentto the success of every organization — no matter its size.

With more than 300 CRM systems to choose from, how do youselect the right one? More important, how do you ensure that yourCRM solution will become a vital asset to your company and notjust another expensive application to manage?

While every company has different needs, an integrated CRMsolution is the answer for most organizations. Integrated CRM goesbeyond simple contact management and becomes a centralinformation hub that saves time and money, increases cash flow andimproves business relationships. Integrated CRM systemssynchronize data with the software applications that you use everyday, including Outlook, QuickBooks and Microsoft Office.

When a CRM solution is designed to be fully integrated withboth Outlook and QuickBooks, it ties in with email and everydepartment within a company, from sales to operations to finance.No one needs a case study to tell them that it can be time-consumingand frustrating to search for a particular email or document. Whena CRM system integrates with Outlook and also has documentmanagement capabilities, the contact record becomes the only placeto look for client-related emails, documents and notes. Likewise,when a CRM system properly integrates with QuickBooks, itprovides everyone in the organization visibility to the data theyneed without giving them access to the books.

An integrated CRM will benefit your team by allowing them to:• Quickly respond to client questions or concerns regarding order

status, purchase order history, payment information, invoicebalances and more.

• Work more efficiently by not having to switch back and forthbetween applications. Contact information, employee calendars,important emails, important documents, order history, paymenthistory, and the sales pipeline will all be centralized in one database.

• Quickly identify up-sell opportunities after reviewing the orderhistory of each account.

• Assure accuracy by automating the pipeline to invoice creation.With a click of a button, quotes can be converted into sales ordersand sales orders into invoices, ensuring no details are missed.

• Eliminate double entry. It shouldn’t matter if information isupdated in Outlook, QuickBooks or a CRM application; contactinformation, calendar entries, sales orders and invoices shouldonly need to be entered once.

• Improve information accuracy by ensuring that contactinformation is always up-to-date. This way, invoices andpurchase orders will always be mailed to the correct address.

• Use the company calendar to schedule appointments and assureavailability. All calendar entries should be up-to-date and

synchronized with individual Outlook calendars. Although the New Year will be filled with many competing

priorities, automating the way you do business should not beoverlooked. CRM can provide any firm with a competitiveadvantage and improved customer satisfaction – two things that areparticularly important to grow your business. Now is a better timethan ever to consider the many ways your organization wouldbenefit by implementing an integrated CRM solution.

Naseem Saab, President & Founder of ResultsSoftware and DPS Consulting, LLC, is arecognized pioneer in the CRM industry and officeautomation technologies. In 1986, he developedand launched Results CRM as an integratedbusiness solution that helps businesses centralizetheir data, streamline their operations and improvetheir business relationships. Saab is a nationalspeaker and published author on CRM topics,

including business growth strategies, office automation, virtual offices,boosting sales and gaining a competitive advantage. He can be reached [email protected], or 800-713-7013.

M

Integrated CRM – A Critical Factor to your Company’s Success

by Naseem Saab, President and Founder, Results Software



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o you have probably heard about Windows Home Server.It’s that software from Microsoft, which was released in2007 and was based on Windows 2003 and is used to back

up your computers, share your digital content, provides remoteaccess and more. It was originally designed with the home inmind, but has also been used inhome-based and small businesses.

In early 2010, Microsoftannounced the beta release of thenext version of Windows HomeServer – code name Vail. Vail isbuilt on Windows 2008 R2, is 64-bit only and promised to be agreat improvement on WHS V1.Microsoft originally planned onVail RTM’ing late in 2010 and anofficial launch at CES in January2011. However, the productlaunch was pushed back, (whichoften occurs when somethingnew is being introduced into theopen market) and is currently setto happen by the time this articleis published in February. I hadoriginally planned to provide anoverview of the product, butinstead, in the interim, I’ll offeran update, or rather a “state ofthe union” on the WindowsHome Server.

A Bit of HistoryIn November 2010, Microsoft

announced that it was removing the Drive Extender technologyfrom Vail. Drive Extender, or DE, was the storage technologythat enabled users to utilize internal and external hard drives foradditional storage on your home server. In addition, users couldenable Folder Duplication for specific shared. Maintaining twocopies of a shared folder on separate hard drives helped protectagainst the failure of a single hard drive. It was also one of theoriginal pillars that made WHS what it was.

At first, the community was unsure how to respond. As weall know, change, whether negative or positive, is always achallenge, especially when those involved are used to doingthings a certain way. However, Microsoft felt that it was up to“OEM partners to implement storage management andprotection using standard RAID solutions.”

In addition, on Dec. 1, HP decided to bow out of theWindows Home Server hardware market as well. HP wasMicrosoft’s launch partner for WHS in 2007, and since then thecompany has released various MediaSmart servers and even abusiness DataVault server, mainly within the U.S. market.

What Does the Future Hold?Even though HP has exited the Windows Home Server

market, there is no reason for everyone to act as though it’s“all doom and gloom” for the SMB VAR market. Well it’s notall doom and gloom. Yes, DE is gone, and yes, a lot of peoplemay not use Vail now. But let’s not forget that it will still backup your computers for you on a nightly basis, and allow you

to easily and quickly restoreanything from an individual file toa complete computer with only afew simple clicks of the mouse.For me, that capability is worth iton its own.

So with DE having beenremoved, what is Microsoftproviding in its place? There is anew Move Folder Wizard, whichmakes it easy for you to move datafrom one drive to another. Asdrives are added to the HomeServer, your health alerts willnotify you that a new drive hasbeen added. From here, you can beautomatically format andconfigure the new drive. Thisdeals with some of the concernfrom the community that normalusers wouldn’t know how to addand format drives because DEused to do it all for them.

So if your drive becomes full,you can just add a new drive andthen use the new Move FolderWizard to move data to that newdrive as you see fit, freeing up space

on the original drive. To further extend WHS 2011 storage capabilities, Microsoft

are working with a number of partners who are planning tooffer integrated solutions, so watch this space as nothing hasbeen announced at the time of writing.

What about the other features of Windows Home Server?As mentioned earlier, the backup and restore capabilities arethere, as is the remote access feature, and an enhanced mediastreaming capability for those of us who like to stream mediaboth around the house and outside of the house.

So before you make a judgement about Vail and its future,why not download the new beta and give it a try? You may justfind you like it.

Andrew Edney has been a Windows Home Server MVP since January 2008 and has his own technology Web site atusingwindowshomeserver.com. Edney has also written a number ofbooks on various technology subjects including Windows HomeServer and Windows 7. He is currently working on a Windows SmallBusiness Server 2011 Essentials book with Charlie Russell andSharon Crawford.

S

Windows Home Server 2011 – The State of the Union

GEEKSPEAKby Andrew Edney


t seemed like a pretty drastic move for someone so dependenton his phone system but, in March 2010, Paul Faircloth, ownerof Mosquito Creek Outdoors, had finally had enough — he

was going to get rid of his leased phone system. With a network of two large storefront locations, and a

robust telephone and Internet sales group, Faircloth had beenrelying on this type phone set-up for more than five years, andhe was through with it. With employees needing to roam thefloor, away from their desk phones, yet still needing access tocalls and voicemail, and with customer sales and support heavilydependent on a reliable voice solution, Mosquito Creek was at acritical crossroads.

“The reliability was pretty poor,” said Faircloth. “Thesystem would go down for days at a time, sometimes evenweeks. The phone service company would send someone out tofix the programming issue, but almost immediately somethingelse would go wrong.”

Faircloth said that the company lost an average of $20,000 aday when the phone system was down, including irreparabledamage to customer relations and reputation, which are priceless.

While Mosquito Creek certainly was dependent on voiceservices for both in-store communications, sales and customerservice, Faircloth estimates that they were only using 10 to 15percent of the phone system’s features, which didn’t match upwith what they were spending. “The system was so complicated,we couldn’t figure it out and neither could the service provider,”commented Faircloth. “We were spending around $865 a monthjust on the service retainer, and every time someone came out,that number went even higher. The bottom line was that it wasn’treliable or cost-effective.”

When the lease with the phone services company was up,Mosquito Creek had the option to purchase the equipment.Faircloth was reluctant to do so explaining, “No one here couldkeep the system working, so why would we want to buy it?”

After an extensive review, Mosquito Creek chose BrightHouse Networks to help them with their data services. Shortlyafter, their account manager contacted Whaleback Systems,experts in managed voice over IP services, to discuss how theycould jointly solve Mosquito Creek’s problem.

“The Whaleback managed service, complete with Polycomphones, sounded like a great choice for us, and it has workedflawlessly for our business,” said Faircloth. “The only thing wewish we had done differently is to select a six button phone. Butour, Doug Bussa, our Whaleback Solutions engineer, was able towork his programming magic and make everything work great.”

Mosquito Creek currently uses a small slice of the robust

feature set offered by Whaleback Systems, including voicemessaging and the standard mobility offerings. Whaleback’ssolution, however, was to configure the system using standardfeatures like shared extensions, call diversion and voicemail withPolycom IP550 and IP650 phones. This flexible system allows thesales staff to answer calls at one location, put the caller on hold togather the information needed for customer service, and pick thephone up with at a different location. What really makes adifference, according to Faircloth, is Whaleback’s key technicaldifferentiator.

“The sweetest feature of the Whaleback solution is that itruns on our fiber network,” Faircloth said. He added that thecompany fully leverages their ability to route the main numberacross multiple locations and the mobility of the solution. Theemployees are able to route calls to multiple groups with theflexibility to answer customer calls from any station — this is akey productivity enhancer for retailers.

In the future, as Mosquito Creek continues to grow, Fairclothforesees the company taking advantage of the road warriorcapability, which will truly allow employees working the floorand on the road to stay connected to the office and customers atall times.

“Our business is tough enough, and we certainly have nodesire to be in the phone service business. We leave themanagement and monitoring to the experts at Whaleback’sManaged Service Center for all our day-to-day needs,”concluded Faircloth. “Unlike our previous solution, BrightHouse and Whaleback Systems delivered a telephony solutionthat is reliable, comes with great service, and costs less. Whatcould be better?”

“We knew Whaleback would help Paul (Faircloth) get out ofthe phone maintenance business and back to what makes himmoney,” said Paula Gray, account executive, Bright HouseEnterprise Services.


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CASE STUDY

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MSP Helps Outdoor RetailerSave $20,000 a Day viaManaged VoIP Solution



BUSINESSSPEAKby Matt Makowicz, Business Development Manager, SMB Nation

usiness growth is both a nebulous task and a commonambition among all business owners and managers. Inthe SMB IT community there are common challenges and

predictable steps to achieve growth. Also common andpredictable are the obstacles, challenges, and warning signs ingrowing a business to be over 1 million dollars in sales. Thisis the Million Dollar Hurdle. It is the aim of this article, inwhole and with each part, to illustrate how to overcome theMillion Dollar Hurdle and achieve the ultimate coveted goalof nearly every business owner – scalable and predictablebusiness growth.

This article is the second of a seven-part series with eacharticle focusing upon an aspect of the Million Dollar Hurdle. Theconcepts included in this multi-part article are:

1. Defining the Million Dollar Hurdle2. “Hitting the Wall”3. “Sizing up the Challenges”4. “Letting Go”5. “Breaking Through Barriers”6. “Process Driven Success”7. “The Next Hurdle”

Long distance runners call it “Hitting the wall.” It is a termused to describe an invisible barrier that gets in the way withlittle or no warning. Businesses approaching the Million DollarHurdle experience a similar “wall.” The major difference is,however, that the obstacle is not typically as obvious to thebusiness owner. The first sign that the business needs help iswhen “balls start to drop.” At first, the “balls” being dropped arenot significant and carry few consequences. Over time, however,commitments to staff, vendors, and customers are missed.

Sooner rather than later, new problems begin to arise. Insome cases these new issues stem from missed commitments. Acompany that approaches the Million Dollar Hurdle also oftenexperiences its first HR-related issue. Cash flow issues start tobecome more significant as well. At this stage, a business ownersuddenly realizes that there are numerous “hats” being worn –certainly more than a year ago! The forced focus on these newissues typically translates in a drop in sales and a plateau inrevenue. A business owner begins to question his staff, questionhis business, and question everything.

A good friend of mine was running a growing IT businessand returned from a business trip to learn that his staff had not

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Million Dollar Hurdle Part 2 – Hitting the Wall

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backed up a customer’s data, which subsequently experienced adata loss. Even worse, his staff had authorized more than $8,000in services to a data recovery company. My friend’s companywas in the transition of the Million Dollar Hurdle. After fieldinga substantial dressing down from the customer, he called his staffinto the conference room and in an expletive riddled rage, toldhis staff that he could have burned money on his recent trip andit would have been more profitable than employing them.Clearly, my friend had hit the wall on his quest to overcome theMillion Dollar Hurdle.

His staff had not acted in a way he had hoped or expected.All of the company’s new issues and problems had beenbuilding until this point. The good news is that my friendrecognized this “wall.” He subsequently took steps to putsystems in place, communicate more effectively and openlywith his staff, and the following year, crossed the MillionDollar Hurdle.

Scientists have learned that if a frog is placed in a pot ofscalding hot water, it will immediately jump out of the pot.Interestingly enough, however, if the same frog is put in a potof cold water, and that water is slowly heated, the frog willremain and boil to death. What’s going on with yourbusiness? Is the water being brought to a boil? Are theresituations that are acceptable today that would not have beena year ago? Two years ago? What are the consequences if theseissues are not addressed?

Hitting the wall is about identifying problems. It is about

taking stock. Questioning everything is not necessarily a badthing if it leads to healthy conversations (either internally or witha business coach/advisor). You, as the owner, are the only non-replaceable employee. And until such time as you can exit thebusiness as a self sustaining enterprise, you cannot be afraid tomake difficult decisions like replacing staff, changing spendinghabits or business practices, or investing in tools, technology, ortraining to improve the company’s operational efficiency.

There is a time when a business will be at a crossroads.Continue to make easy choices, and eventually, those sameissues will force difficult decisions to be made. Use thecrossroads before the Million Dollar Hurdle as an opportunity tomake the difficult decisions. Doing so will pave the way foreasier management of the business and allow for the MillionDollar Hurdle to be overcome!

Next Issue: Part 3 - “Sizing Up The Challenges”

Matt Makowicz has more than 17 years of salesexperience and grew his IT business to well over$1 million in sales before transitioning out to bea consultant to the industry. As an author ofthree books and founder of Ambition Mission,Inc., Matt has dedicated himself to helpingbusinesses reach their potential. He currentlyworks with SMB Nation in sales and businessdevelopment.


SMB Community Photos

CES 2011

Sponsor VisitSpam Soap – January 2011

SMB Nation Holiday Party 2010 – Bainbridge Island


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Qwest Community Holiday PartySeattle – December 2010

SMB Nation BeerFestPortland, ORJanuary 2011

Matt Makowicz Harry Brelsford Sue Unger

Tiara Lark Chris Bangs Jennifer HallmarkScott Beveridge Marianne Poulos

Chris Bangs, Leonard Dimiceli, Rob Leon Qwest SMB Channel Community

Mitzi Maldonado, Steph Holt

Shauna Brauchler

Karl Palachuk presents at Portland TechnologyWizard’s January 2011 meeting.

Harry and Matt at CES!

Intel home Server was a hit at CES!

SMB Nation BeerFest Seattle, WA – January 2011



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TECHNOLOGY WATCH

Lenovo’s New SMB ThinkPad Pair Delivers Curves with Style

Lenovo showed off a pair of newlaptops that are expected (according tothe company) to elevate SMB computingwith high-level design, cutting-edgetechnologies and extra features to gobeyond business computing.

The company’s new ThinkPad EdgeE220s and E420s laptops was part of its CESproduct showcase located in the VenetianHotel’s AquaKnox restaurant. Lenovoencouraged attendees to stop by during the show to view this laptoppair, both of which come equipped with small details that make a bigdifference, mainly their infinity screens, a matte finish that’s soft tothe touch and real metal accents projecting a cosmopolitan image.

Tigerpaw Software “Fast Tracks” VAR Best Practices, Education

Keeping in sync with its competitors, Tigerpaw Softwarelaunched its Fast Track program, designed to help VARs andMSPs quickly implement the company’s software programwithin their respective businesses. Fast Track is based onindustry best practices that are tailored to an organization’sunique and specific needs.

According to Tigerpaw, Fast Track is a cooperative, hands-on project jointly managed by the software company’sProfessional Services team and the provider’s team.Additionally, IT consulting firm The Taylor Business Group willbe providing additional resources to the Fast Track program.

Triohm Medical Systems Responds to StimulusEHR with Enhanced Channel Program

Triohm Medical Systems, a provider of EMR and PracticeManagement Software now offers an enhanced and expandedChannel Partner Program, specifically geared toward VARsand MSPs who are looking to expand their reach towardHealthcare IT.

The Triohm Certified Partner Program is built with theunique needs of today’s VARs and MSPs in mind. Thecompany is looking to build out its current program withstrong IT partners that are dedicated to the HealthCare ITmarketplace. In turn, Triohm is dedicated to providing itsPartners with the very best training possible, helping themgenerate leads and providing them with the tools they need todevelop successful Healthcare IT Practices and provide realvalue for their end clients.

Better Idea Group, CSI Join to Form E&J SolutionsErnest Cook, Principal of Better Idea Group told SMB

Nation that his San Jose, CA-based software services firm hasmerged with Customized Solutions Inc. (CSI) of Ohio. The twocompanies have joined forces to form a new corporation — E&JSolutions Inc. The company will continue to operate under theBetter Idea Group brand with locations at its Granite Bay, CAheadquarters coupled with a larger office in Cleveland OH.

J. Lynne Lombardi joins Ernest Cook from CSI of Ohio.Lombardi, who has 24 years of experience with Intuit, Sage andRadiant products, brings a wealth of knowledge to theorganization. Cook will continue as the company’s President;Lombardi will serve as VP of Sales and Marketing while runningthe Cleveland office.

Cisco’s Connect and Secure Solutions Help VARs Boost Profits

Cisco launched in January a trio of networking, security andstorage products to its “Connect” and “Secure” small businessportfolios. Designed specifically with SMB VARs and MSPs inmind, the products will help end users quickly, easily and moresecurely connect employees and devices with the content theyneed, wherever they need it. The product trio includes Cisco’sSeries Smart Switches, RV220W network security firewall andNSS300 Series Smart Storage product line.

The company also announced that its Cisco Capital divisionis currently offering competitive financing for small businesscustomers so they can obtain the technology they need to staycompetitive and profitable.

gloStream, D&H Join to Help VARs Capture Healthcare Stimulus Ops

gloStream, maker of gloEMR, gloPM and gloSuite –the only electronic medical record and practicemanagement software with Microsoft Office built right in– and D&H Distributing, have entered into a strategicpartnership. Together, both companies will help teachD&H resellers how to build thriving Healthcare ITPractices so they have the capability to service andsupport the local doctors in their communities searchingfor electronic medical record solutions.

Autotask Names New CEO, VP of Strategy andMarket Development

In December, Autotaskannounced the appointment ofMark Cattini, a new CEO to replacefounder Bob Godgart. Godgart willserve as Chairman and in a newrole of Chief visionary Officer.Godgart hands over to Cattini abusiness that he founded and grewto approximately 200 employeesand nearly 40,000 users in 43countries around the world. In hisnew role as Chief Visionary Officer,Godgart will work more closelywith other industry leaders,strategic partners and withAutotask customers to help shapethe future of Autotask.

After much speculation and social media chatter,Autotask also confirmed (shortly after Cattini's appointment)that Lenovo’s Jay McBain joined the East Greenbush, N.Y.-based PSA as VP of Strategy and Market Development.McBain, who made a name for himself during his 16+ years atIBM and Lenovo, most recently as the company’s director ofSmall and Medium Business, is currently working to build outAutotask’s vertical and specialty market opportunities forpartners and customers.

Jay McBain joinedAutotask in December as VP of Strategy and

Development.



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by Frank Raimondi, Executive Director, NASBA (The Association of Channel Resellers)

PERCEPTIONS

Why Green? Why Now? And How?ustomers are interested in buying them, (as long as theydon’t cost any more). The federal government is requiringit through executive orders (95% of all system purchases

must meet it). Higher education and an increasing number ofcorporations and businesses are mandating it. What could it be?Quite simply, it’s green and energy-efficient computing.Unfortunately for many channel partners, that’s where thesimplicity ends.

Why Green, and Why Now?In this “how-to” type article, we will be defining green IT, as wellas discussing the basics of what you need to know, and evenmore importantly – why. We’ll cover Energy Star, EPEAT andother standards and which are most important to know and getinvolved with. Finally, we’ll discuss the value proposition ofsaving money and resources, and how you can help yourcustomers do both.

If you’re not already selling energy-efficient andenvironmentally friendly computers and servers, you will besoon. We’ll discuss some of the essentials you need to know now,the basics in regulations and standards, and what you can do next.

Let’s start with the state of the channel today. In a recentresearch study that NASBA (www.nasba.com) conducted, it foundthat only 23% of VARs surveyed are confident in their abilities tosell green technologies effectively and/or are considered experts.Interestingly, just more than 50% of the participants said theycould talk the talk, but not walk the walk — meaning most peoplehave barely started, or not started at all in the process of learninghow to build/sell/support green initiatives with their customers.You are probably in this majority as well.

Other key findings the survey reported were:• The biggest green-building challenge: lack of demand,

followed by inability to justify added cost.• Future research needs expected to be met at: consultants,

social networks, NASBA/Associations.• 62.5% have heard of EPEAT, but admit they don’t know much.• 60% of survey respondents said they didn’t know the

difference between EPEAT and Energy Star.Obviously, there are several things that need to change and

knowledge that needs to be shared. If you look at some recentdata from SMBs, the trends are “to buy more energy-efficient

computers. In the federal government and some enterprises, it’smandated. So what’s a VAR to do?

Well, first, you have to learn the basics.

Regulations and RequirementsAcross the globe, there are various green government

programs, but the two most important ones to know are EnergyStar and EPEAT. If you are selling into the Federal Government,you’re probably already familiar with both of these. There is anExecutive Order (#13423) that requires federal agencies topurchase Energy Star systems when EPEAT isn’t available, andEPEAT, when they are available (today for client computers andmonitors). This Executive Order has made it easier for agenciesto be green without having to do too much research and work tofigure it out. This ease of being green is catching on with localand state governments, higher education groups, andincreasingly businesses from large enterprises to SMBs.

Energy Star (www.energystar.gov): Earning the Energy Starmeans products meet strict energy efficiency guidelines set bythe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Desktop, integrateddesktop, and notebook (laptop) computers, workstations, small-scale servers, and thin clients are all eligible to earn the EnergyStar, and those that do are now more efficient than ever.

The EPA has strengthened the requirements forcomputers earning the Energy Star in Version 5.0. ForDesktop/integrated desktop and notebook computers,products must meet stringent TEC (total energy consumption)requirements for estimated annual energy consumption.Small-scale servers and thin clients must meet energy useguidelines in “off” and “idle’ modes of operation and thinclients supporting sleep functions must also meetrequirements in this mode. These requirements ensure energysavings when computers are being used and performing arange of tasks, as well as when they are turned off or into alow power mode. Energy Star-qualified computers must alsohave efficient internal or external power supplies.

Power management is important for saving energy,especially since computers are often in use more hours per daythan they used to be. ENERGY Star power management featuresplace computers (CPU, hard drive, etc.) into a low-power “sleepmode” after a designated period of inactivity. Simply hitting akey on the keyboard or moving the mouse awakens thecomputer in a matter of seconds.

C

We’re the opposite of Green

We do the minimum

We have learned how to talkGreen, but have only started

We walk the walk and talkthe talk related to Green

We’re considered expertsin the area and promote

it consistently

1.6%

20.3%

54.7%

20.3%

3.1%

ResponsePercent

How would you describe your company’s activity in “Green IT” or presenting yourself as “Green Aware”?

We typically leave ourcomputers on at nightsand on weekends

We typically turn ourcomputers off every night

We will activate powermanagement settings on thenew computers, but did not do so on the old computers

$144

$40

$352

$88

$24

$216

If you pay$.11/kWh

If you pay$.18/kWh

How Your Computersare Used

Estimated Lifetime (4yrs)Savings per Desktop Computer



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PERCEPTIONS

It’s one thing to sell green, but when your customers areasking if it’s going to take more green (meaning dollars) to buygreen, how do you respond? Beyond the “goodness” factor, thereare real savings. According to the EPA, depending on typical use,an individual Energy Star system can save up to $352 inelectricity costs over a four- year lifespan.

EPEAT (www.epeat.net): So once you’ve got the basic energyusage taken care of through Energy Star, now we need to considerother green factors such as sustainability, chemical usage,recycling and take back, etc. That’s where EPEAT comes in.

EPEAT is the definitive global registry for greenerelectronics, covering the most products from the broadest rangeof manufacturers. Only EPEAT combines comprehensive,objective criteria for design, production, energy and materialsuse and recycling with ongoing independent verification ofmanufacturer claims after registration. With more than 3,200products from 45 manufacturers registered in 41 countries,EPEAT has rapidly become the most comprehensive greenelectronics registry in existence.

Products registered in EPEAT must meet 23 requiredenvironmental performance criteria. They are then rated Gold,Silver or Bronze based on the percentage of 28 optional criteriathey meet. Products are registered by country so you can seetheir registration details for wherever you buy products. EPEAToperates an ongoing verification program to assure the accuracyof the registry.

Though today EPEAT only covers desktop and notebook

computers and monitors, the standards for printers and TVswill roll out later this year; a server standard should be availablein 2012.

Article continues at our BLOG atwww.smbnation.com

Gimmicks Not Welcome Here: Symform – Truly a Green Company

It seems that so many companies claim to be “green,” andwill jump on the bandwagon just because it is cool or chic to doso. However, at Symform, a Seattle-based provider of onlinebackup and disaster recovery, this is not the case. The companysimply states: “we aren’t into tricks or gimmicks, and wecertainly don’t like ‘greenwashing’.”

Built on its mission of thinking a little different than most,Symform decided that instead of building and maintaining hugedata centers, it would aggregate the unused capacity sitting idleat businesses around the world to create a virtual data center.The systems that comprise the Symform Cooperative StorageCloud are going to be there, turned on and running, regardless ofif they are currently operating or not. Symform has essentiallytaken one of the tenets of environmental stewardship – reuse –and built its business around it. What’s more is that Symformdoesn’t require any new equipment to be purchased, or anyadditional electricity to be consumed in order to providecomplete off-site disaster protection.

Leif Espelund, Symform’s Marketing Programs Manager, isnot only someone who practices green at work, but in his personallife as well. A self-proclaimed environmentalist, Espelund saysthat being able to ride his bicycle to work each day to Symform’sSeattle offices is definitely a plus. He added that another sellingpoint for him was that since Symform is just green by nature, thecompany’s values and goals therefore matched that is of his own.“As a company, collectively, we are green by nature,” Espelundsaid. “Everything that goes into our cloud is something that wasalready there and already established. For instance, our datacenter is virtual, and was built on computers and an infrastructurethat was already in place and connected.”

Espelund also addressed a question of which I have knownto plague many VARs and consumers as well: How to dispose ofPCs that are no longer in use? This is something that is alwaysdiscussed as a safety issue from both an environmental andsecurity standpoint. However, according to Espelund, VARsshouldn’t be afraid of either, as long as proper channels are met.

“When you talk about environmental impact, you do theleast harm by reusing equipment that’s already been put intoplace,” he said. “If someone is going to go out and buy a newcomputer, then that of course is a bigger environmental impactthan getting a used computer.” When it comes to data security,running a system restore, provided that it’s being performed bya trusted source, should take care of that.”



BUSINESSSPEAK 2.0by James Foxall, President, Tigerpaw Software

he world of a technology provider is an ever-evolvingsoup of acronyms, technology, products, and businessmethodologies. Whether it’s adding new services such as

backup and disaster recovery, or completely changing yourbusiness model from break-fix to managed services, stayingcurrent may seem impossible. Today, a lot of discussion centerson “owning the customer.” This typically means owning all ofthe end points on a network, such as displacing copycompanies by offering managed print services. With so manychoices, it can be difficult to know which bandwagon to jumpon — you have to balance your time and money as you investin technologies that will add value to your existing businessand generate a profit.

As an IT company, one area that you should considerdevoting your attention to is voice. It used to be that VARsprovided data hardware and services, and telecoms providedtelephone systems. The division was distinct and everyone knewtheir role. That line is quickly blurring.

Telephone systems were once closed, proprietary systems,and manufactures were often absolute in their territorialpositioning; you had to buy from the guy in your area, and noone else would sell to you. This created a customer base thatwas locked into buying expensive hardware from a singlevendor. Big margins were common. Now, technology such as

SIP and the proliferation of relatively inexpensive bandwidthhave made telephone systems endpoints on a network, anddata guys “get” the network. This marriage of voice and datais called convergence, and it’s really catching on. In fact, it’sthe theme and focus of my company’s upcoming userconference, which carries the title “Convergence: BetterTogether”; it’s that important.

Make no mistake — the smart telecoms are looking to getinto the data game, and there are many vendors willing to helpthem make the transition. Many old-school telecoms face variouschallenges as they attempt to move to data, however. First, manyof the more established telecoms got started in the 1970s when“Ma Bell” was broken up, and their leaders are looking for exitstrategies, not new business models. Managing networks and allthat goes with it is considerably different from managing phonesystems, so an investment in new people or outside NOCservices can be a barrier; in general, it’s easier for a data personto get into voice than the other way around. While this can posea substantial challenge, many telecoms have huge customer bases– often numbering in the thousands! Think about that for asecond. What penetration could you make with a new product orservice if you had, say 2,000 existing customers to talk to? Thetelecoms that make the transition have a pre-loaded database ofhot leads and can quickly become a threat to IT shops.

TVoice and Data: Much Better Together

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However, data people have technology on their side. It usedto be difficult for VARs to get into selling phone systems, and thetip-and-ring technology that dominated the telecom world washard for many data people to grasp. The technology has changedradically, however, and many manufacturers have moved to IPswitching systems. Data people get IP. With the proliferation ofcloud-based voice systems, the barriers to entry for even thesmallest IT shop to get into voice are breaking down. And whileit seems that the margins on IT hardware have had a go at Alice’spotion and consequentially shrink smaller and smaller, voicesystems can provide comparatively high margins.

If you have traditionally been a data person, and you’relooking to get into voice (and if it’s not obvious by now, I thinkyou should be pursuing this option), start by looking at thedemographic you serve. Are you currently servicing largeclients? Small clients? Are you in a specific vertical such as healthcare? What kind of start-up costs can you afford (if any), andwhat time commitment are you willing to make to learn newtechnology? You need the answers to these questions as youapproach potential voice partners. Different manufacturers offerdifferent solutions, all with different price points, features, andtechnology. The right partner for you is the one that not onlyprovides solid solutions for your target market, but also providesyou with the training and support you need to be successfulselling their voice systems.

So, who is going to win? Is it the data person that “gets”networks and already has a strong relationship selling IT

services to their customers, or is it the voice VAR that has a hugecustomer base and often more employees? The answer is neither– and both. The successful solution provider of the future isn’t adata company that adds voice, or a telecom that adds data. Theconverged company – the real winner in all of this, is not just thesum of the two, but something unique in and of itself.

Whether you’re a voice VAR looking to get into data, or adata VAR looking to get into voice, you have some work to do -- and there is no easy path. You’ll hear more and more talk about“100% coverage” as vendors woo you into layering theirproducts and services over yours. If you still think of telephonesystems as proprietary systems outside the network, it’s time torethink that view. In the end, your customers want one bill to payand one “throat to choke.” By combining voice and data, youtruly have a chance to own the network. If the voice system is onthe network, and you own the network — you own the customer.That’s 100% coverage!

James Foxall, president of Tigerpaw Software,Inc., has been involved in commercial softwaredevelopment for more than 20 years and wasinstrumental in the development and creation ofTigerpaw’s award-winning product: Tigerpaw11. In his current role, Foxall provides the visionand management to keep Tigerpaw focused onits customers and properly serving its markets.

BUSINESSSPEAK 2.0



MVPby Cliff Galiher, Small Business Consultant, Third Tier

mall Business Server. This venerable Microsoft product is well-known among small business technology experts. Throughout its15-year history, it has adapted to meet the challenges of the small

business, has been updated regularly to accommodate newtechnologies and best practices, and has become the cornerstone formany small businesses.

Some Interesting Commonalities2011 will see a refresh of SBS, but it also brings us something new;

a modification in SBS that poses the potential to be as game-changingas SBS itself. Small Business Server is no longer a single product, buthas become a brand with three distinct products.

It would be easy to assume that with a shared name comes a sharedplatform, with similar features and functionality. However, this iscertainly not the case. The Small Business Server brand represents ashared purpose of servicing the small business market, but as businesseshave evolved and their needs diverged in an ever-increasingmarketplace, so too do these products represent the vastly differentneeds of small businesses. Making the choice on which product best fitsmeans understanding the core focus of each product. So which is rightfor you? Small Business Server 2011 Essentials? Small Business 2011Standard? Does that premium add-on provide enough “value-add?Understanding these products, their similarities, and their differenceswill be important in making future plans and purchases.

First, while each product has a specific focus to help fulfill a nichein the small business space, at their core they do have some things incommon. They are all built on Windows Server 2008 R2. With a fewlicensing restrictions, you receive all of the functionality of theWindows Server platform. All of the common features are there for filesharing, printer sharing, a DNS server, and IIS for hosting some webcontent. Some of the less used features are there as well, such as NPSwhich has a solid RADIUS server for rolling out a more secure Wi-Finetwork, and RRAS, which can be used for controlling remote access.

Beyond the core of Windows Server, each product adds its uniquesuperset of features to distinguish itself from the rest.

What About SBS-E?Small Business Server 2011 Essentials (SBS-E) is the new kid on

the block. An entirely new product, despite its name, this server isbuilt for the small business that is on the verge of outgrowing“workgroup” status. It installs itself as a domain controller, providingstrong central management of users, passwords and policies on thenetwork. Taking a page from the Windows Home Server playbook, itoffers a client PC backup engine to help the small business protectessential data. It has a dashboard to help monitor the health of theserver, the network and a plethora of wizards to help the day-to-dayoffice manager maintain the system. Its primary purpose is to offer aneasy server for the business, small footprint, easy to manage, andotherwise stay-out-of-the-way installation. And, of course, SBScontinues its presence on SBS-E. Formerly called RWW, the latestincarnation of Remote Web Access (RWA) offers a unique web-basedsolution for accessing client PC desktops, shared files stored on theserver, and even streaming media via Silverlight.

For those familiar with previous versions of SBS, what is missingis as notable as what is new. Gone are the components that requireextra administration such as Exchange and SharePoint. As many“first-server” businesses will still have ad-hoc solutions in place, these“missing” pieces strategically place this server to be an idealcomplement to more informal solutions such as Google Apps orhosted Exchange for email solutions. Similarly, a company canleverage their existing collaboration solutions, including hostedSharepoint, Google Apps, or any of the offerings from IBM, Cisco andothers. The lightweight nature of SBS-E makes it particularly adeptand nimble to meeting new small business models where previousSBS editions were an ill fit.

Like all versions of SBS, SBS-E does have some limitations. Firstand foremost, it is limited to 25 users and 25computers. As a solution targeting the smallerside of “small business” this usually won’t be anissue. If you are looking for a higher user count,you may want to investigate other products,such as SBS Standard or even stand-aloneWindows Server deployments, depending onfeatures. Also, like previous versions of SBS,“enterprise” features have been intentionallydisabled. SBS does not support multiple-domainforests, it must be the root of the domain, doesnot support trusts or federation, and must holdall FSMO roles. If all of that is Greek, don’tworry; these are all features intended for largebusinesses. Not even mid-sized businesses willuse those features often, if ever. The smallbusiness, properly installed and managed, willnever even know they aren’t there.

Small Business Server 2011 StandardSmall Business Server 2011 Standard is the

next edition of the traditional SBS product line.There won’t be many surprises for long-timeSBS aficionados, but there are some refreshingchanges and updates. Of course, first there is the

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SBS Standard and Essentials – Which is Right for You?

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JOHN’S OUTLOOKby John Iasiuolo

ith a varied background in the business world, as wellas a successful career in the entertainment industry, Ihave always been committed to hard work and

striving for nothing less than my personal best. To understand alittle about my life’s journey, I was born and raised in StatenIsland, NY, and moved to New Jersey for the better part of myadult life. I later moved to Las Vegas and have been here for 20-plus years. My career was built around education, businessknowledge and the “School of Hard Knocks.”

For years, my data collection system consisted of indexcards and notebooks, not the wonderful world of computers.Unfortunately, the “techie thing” came to me later in life, notthrough business, but from my family friends. I realized thenthat computers were here to stay, and I’d better do somethingabout educating myself. I was known for always breaking newground in my business pursuits and for never walking awayfrom a challenge. This time the challenge was me. I wanted toapply all my energy to break into the digital age and understandthe “Digital Lifestyle.”

I needed to know more than computer "how-to’s," and thetechie talk. Most of all, I needed to understand it all in plainEnglish. Incorporating my own style and my businessbackground, I integrated my hard-working business ethics withmy unique and entertaining approach to provide solutions to themysteries of the “Cyber World” to a listening audience!

For this reason, I started the Computer Outlook Talk Show inDecember 2002, and it has been growing ever since. Today, theComputer Outlook Talk Show has established itself as one of thecountry’s fastest-growing Internet computer talk showsfeaturing “What’s New…What’s Best…What’s Next” in thecomputer and IT industry.

Several years ago, I recognized a need for computereducation targeting both home and business users; a programwith zero techno-babble, yet with enough content to satisfy boththe novice and advanced user. I was very fortunate in the earlystages to have wonderful co-hosts join me. Their extensivebackground in the computer industry allowed me the opportunityto invite a different industry guest to each show. With theirworking knowledge and my desire to learn, we’ve been able to askthe questions that computer users want answered.

Following up on this early concept, I focused my attentionto detail and commitment to the listening audience. My goal wasto format a show based on themes that repeated monthly withexciting and up-to-date industry news. After successfullyformatting the theme shows, I took it to the next level for ouraudience by inviting a guest co-host carefully chosen for theirexpertise in the topic being presented.

At the start of 2010, we also saw the need to bring to theconsumer market a knowledge base of business practice andtherefore the formatting of the themes changed to incorporatethe SMB Nation as well the Asset Management Association anda Microsoft show.

Today, our program broadcasts on the Internet Tuesdays,Wednesdays and Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. (PST). We havealso added another program, Java with John, on Sundays from

10 a.m. to 11 a.m. (PST). The show can be accessed throughwww.computeroutlook.com and is simultaneously streamedover the Internet by Tech Outlook Central Internet Network attechoutlookcentral.com. Please visit our audio archives andlisten to broadcasts you might have missed; they are archived onthe site for about one year.

In addition, Computer Outlook airs Computer Tips twicedaily during the 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. (both PST) drive times.Podcasts of both live programs are available fromwww.computeroutlook.com and leading podcast portals forconvenient download and anytime, anywhere listening. We arealso available on Facebook and Twitter.

So here I am now turning another chapter on my life’s journey.This has also inspired me to “pay it forward” for all of the goodfortune that I have experienced both professionally and personallythrough the Computer Outlook Talk Show. In the process of gainingconfidence and expertise in the computer industry, I discoveredthere is a part of the population who are not able to afford and/oraccess a PC. For that reason, I established the Outlook Foundation(www.outlookfoundation.org), which is the pursuit of that dream.The mission is simple: “to repurpose computers and give them tochildren and military families in need.”

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The Computer Outlook Talk Show: A Personal Journey


VENDOR PROFILE

usinesses looking to improve network security are oftenoverwhelmed by the many choices available, includingsoftware solutions versus the new generation of security

appliances. As most businesses are focused on daily operations andthe need to make financial targets in a tough economy, networksecurity is also understood to be important. But realistically,investment in security expense is minimized wherever possible.

In practice, this often means that security administrators mayinstall a cheap and serviceable firewall as a network gateway andthen use endpoint security as another line of defense at the desktop.Using this minimalistic version of a defense-in-depth strategy meansthat all too often many malware streams may still get through.

Addressing the Malware Defense DilemmaNorman is offering a new, innovative solution to address this

malware defense dilemma. Anchored by the Norman Security Suiteendpoint product line, Norman has been pioneering newtechnologies over the past several years. Most notable is the advancedSandBox technology in the company’s anti-malware scanningtechnology. SandBox detects new malware at a high rate, makingNorman’s scanning engine popular in many third-party products.

Now, Norman offers Network Protection, available as either anappliance or software. Detailed information can be found onNorman’s Web site at www.norman.com including registration fora trial version, detailed product overview sheets and a full manual.

We reviewed the hardware appliance solution, installed on aDell box, which included a quick-install guide. When we booted upthe appliance, we quickly saw a Norman splash screen, followed bya simple network configuration process. After the quick initial setup,the appliance rebooted, giving the user web browser access to themanagement console, which seemed smooth and stable.

The user is asked to choose specific protection scanning levelsettings for each network protocol and other options include URLblocking settings, configuration of the messages to display to usersconnection to malicious websites, and control of logging and emailalert messaging. Email and SNMP options send alerts withoutrequiring monitoring of the interface. The level of data, as well aswhere and how it is sent, can therefore be configured easily.

The Norman appliance may be placed at the gateway orbetween network segments. Two interfaces pass all data through,scanning the traffic streams in real time, blocking anythingmalicious. For this test, we put the machine between two subnets.The traffic between the subnets seemed completely unaffected byinserting the device. Upon looking at the management GUI, wecould see throughput levels of the traffic being monitored andsubsequent malware we attempted to pass through the device onvarious protocols was blocked immediately. The interface gave usall the information we were looking for about network traffic, thesystem hardware, and malware blocked, all organized clearly andenhanced by visual tables and graphs.

Smooth, Quick ConnectivityEven when we put the device under heavy traffic loads, there

was virtually no slowdown, with malicious files continuinglyblocked, as opposed to behavior we observe on traditional proxy based appliances, which require the full object to make a risk decision before passing it on to the destination

system. The MinimalLatency SessionShadowing technologyNorman boasted gaveus even smoother andquicker connectivitythan we expected.

One of the mostinteresting features ofthe appliance is theSandBox detection.When malicious filesare run through theSandBox, detailedbehavior of the file isreported as it executedsafely inside theNorman’s simulatedproactive “emulated” environment. The report includes information about changes themalware would have made to the target file system and registry, aswell as network behavior and other information.

Norman Network Protection’s selling point is simple,affordable superior malware protection. NNP simply blocksmalware passing through core protocols with minimal networkaffects and administrative overhead. The plug-and-play abilitiesand ease of integration makes it flexible enough to be installed atany location in any network layout. As a bonus this product keepsthe overheads low, barely impacting traffic flow. The addition of theproactive Sandbox with the traditional technology scanning addsan extra layer of defense against new and unknown threats.

NNP can be placed anywhere within a network and could bean important part of a network security strategy from the SMB tolarger, more complex networks. In the SMB scenario, NNP willprotect the whole business network from outside threats. In morecomplex networks, Norman Network Protection can also secureemail services, web servers and the FTP server.

As we have noted, many businesses with limited budgetsplace their most robust antimalware defense at the client level,with some kind of Endpoint Protection solution. Normanbelieves that NNP can significantly improve antimalwareprotection in this scenario, and has independent lab testingresults to prove it.

Protecting Threats—From All OutletsIn 2010 testing with NSS Labs, Inc., Norman announced that

NNP improved network security up to 38 percent when used inconjunction with a range of leading endpoint protection solutions.The appliance is picking up malware threats the Endpoint softwaredoesn’t see. The point is that most security experts feel that onelayer of security just isn’t enough anymore. With a layer of defenseat the gateway and another layer at the endpoint, users have ahigher chance of defeating even the toughest malware threats.

We agree that a multi-layered approach such as offered by theNorman Network Protection appliance and a standard industryendpoint solution offer a superior defense-in-depth strategy forthe SMB and can provide a strong additional layer of protection

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Norman NetworkProtection is offered as anappliance or as software.

How to Avoid the MalwareDefense Dilemma


name. That “standard” tacked on the end is a result of the SBS namebecoming a brand instead of a product, but will be important whenseeking support. As the differences between SBS Standard and SBSEssentials are fairly significant, what fixes problems on one server canbe completely meaningless advice on another. Get used to the newproduct name; it will save you hassle down the road.

SBS Standard takes Windows Server 2008 R2 and makes it adomain controller so like SBS-E, it becomes the core of a moremanageable network. It then builds in Exchange 2010 SP1 andSharePoint Foundation 2010 to offer a complete email andcollaboration solution out of the box. Next is the SBS Dashboarddesigned to help monitor the server’s health and provide quick and(usually) logical access to myriad of management tasks. And finally,each task is usually managed by a wizard specifically written for SBSthat hides the more complex details, making the process of managinga server with this many components look deceptively simple. SBSStandard also includes an updated RWA interface, a shared faxsolution similar to previous versions of SBS, an integrated patchmanagement solution via Microsoft WSUS, and basic reporting to helpkeep track of the whole thing.

Like its SBS Essentials counterpart, SBS Standard, too, has itslimitations. It has the same enterprise domain features stripped outand has the same enterprise restrictions that were listed for SBS-E. Italso has a limit on users or computers; although instead of 25, it is 75for SBS Standard. In addition, a common limitation that some largerbusinesses run into is in trying to deploy a Remote Desktop (formerlyTerminal Services) server solution. The SBS Standard server cannothost remote desktop applications and should never have standardusers logging directly into the server. If RD roles are needed, a secondserver and licenses will need to be added to the network.

SBS Premium Add-OnFinally, the third product in the SBS 2011 line-up is the Small

Business Server 2011 Premium Add-on. The Premium Add-on takes acopy of Windows Server 2008 R2, bundles a copy of SQL Server 2008R2 for Small Business, and makes it available for the SBS customer thatneeds some extra functionality. Since the copy of Windows Server 2008R2 is not customized, this allows it to act as a Remote Desktop

application server or it can act as a redundant domain controller. Itcould be dropped in a DMZ on the network and host external websitecontent or extranet data. The Premium Add-on adds significantflexibility to both SBS-E and SBS Standard.

As with all SBS products, there are a few restrictions. First, theWindows Server install *must* be a part of the SBS network. There won’tbe any splitting the product off and running a second business from it.Similarly, the SQL Server for Small Business also has licensing restrictionsthat require it exist on the SBS network. Neither restriction is a deal-breaker and, for those who play by the rules, won’t ever be noticed.

Of note, gone is the “Premium Edition” of previous SBS versions.The SBS Premium Add-on helps fill the void left by the SBS 2008Premium Edition, but adds more flexibility. As an Add-on purchase, itcan be purchased as a business grows instead of forcing a user to makethe decision up front. This also allows it to be purchased as an add-onfor SBS Standard, but also is an add-on for SBS-E. While the latter maynot be a common scenario, there are certainly environments such as asmall manufacturing plant, where SBS-E is the better fit, but they needa second server for RD or a LOB SQL app. SBS-E coupled with aPremium Add-on provides a comprehensive solution in these cases.

In summary, 2011 represents both an evolutionary step for theSBS product line and a revolutionary one at the same time. AsMicrosoft repositions its products to better serve emerging trends, theSBS product line now has offerings in both the familiar and theexceedingly new. While it will take some time to see how adoptionpans out, it is good to see that small businesses now have greaterchoice in finding a product tailor fitted to suit their needs.

Nestled in the north Rockies, Cliff Galiher has passedup big city life to help small businesses in westernMontana via his company, Third Tier. Since then, hehas carved out a reputation for helping the localbusiness community and non-profit sector staycompetitive in today’s more connected world, usingtechnology while working within the smaller budgetthat these local organizations have.

MVP


against network threats which endpoint products alone may miss.Keep in mind that we tested NNP between subnets. Typically

malware appliances focus on stopping threats only at the gateway,but increasingly threats are being introduced by internal mobiledevices, such as laptop PCs and USB devices connected innocentlyto LAN segments.

VENDOR PROFILE

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Pricing and OptionsSMB NNP R-210 Appliance w/next business dayreplacement service 1 year: $2,995SMB NNP R-210 Appliance Annual Renewal: $1,797

NNP Options available: • 4-Year ProSupport for IT and Next Business Day

On-Site Service• 5-Year ProSupport for IT and Next Business Day

On-Site Service• Bypass Server Adapter – Copper• Bypass Server Adapter – Fiber

For more information about Norman security solutions andthe new NNP 4.0 security appliance, please go towww.norman.comThe Norman appliance may be placed at the gateway

or between network segments.

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Documents

Jan/Feb 2011 Issue of SMB PC Magazine