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  • The SBS Diva spots why your workstations (and sometimes your SBS servers) are spiking at 100% CPU this month after the patches (yes, it is the Update services)

    Updated 08:07am 12th January - the blog title used to suggest this was a server issue - Susan pointed out that this is a client / workstation issue much more I had to blog this one - if you are seeing CPU spiking when patches are being installed, go look at http://msmvps.com/blogs/bradley/archive/2007/01/10/on-patch-tuesday-if-you-are-seeing-a-spike-in-cpu.aspx ttfn David

  • Back from holiday, whats been hot in 2006

    A few people commented on my "on holiday" messenger tag line and said they felt better once things were "fair" and I was back in the office. Well I am back - and having done the inital cull, I am down to just 474 outstanding mails that need some form of attention. What did people spend time talking to me about in 2006: CRM - what it is, how to sell it, how to get training on it and why should customers care Windows SharePoint Services - to date the highest hit link on the blog site. How to configure, load, install, use, customise and then finally upgrade to v3 Licensing - This wss a strange one - historically, many small business partners have sold OEM or FPP only, but the discussion about what license when has really heated up with several partners now proving out the model that Open Value (and OV Subscription) are very useful sales tools as they help build a long term relationship with the customer, potentially reduce the up front cost of the solution and ensure your customer is always up to date on licenses...
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  • installing sbs and other documents you should always have a recap of

    None of this is necessarily new information, but since many of the questions I get asked about on the blog site relate to documentation, here are my links to save from Microsoft on SBS. When people ask me "How do I ...." and then anything from install WSS v3 without frying the box to install SBS to in an existing domain. For starters I ask people to look at this link here for all the important docs. http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/sbs/2003/default.mspx Sometimes the search only throws up R2 versions of docs and I think the SP1 versions are still good, especially for the setup, installation and migration scenarios: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/sbs/2003/plan/gsg/chptr3c.mspx Have you ever had a backup fail, or achvesync or one of a miriad of other errors and wanted somewhere to look that was specific to SBS, then this link is for you http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/6/1/561c9fd7-0e27-4525-94ec-4d2d38f61aa3/TSHT_SBS.htm . It covers: Troubleshooting Server Setup Troubleshooting...

  • Exchange 2007 - what is in it and why David got it wrong in Bristol

    Exchange 2007 - what a product :-) I was guilty of underselling it at the Bristol SBS Partner Group. I said some of the features people wanted were only in the Enterprise Edition, but I was wrong, they are in the Standard Edition, but require the Enterprise License (which is a top up on the standard License). Obviously SBS 2003 can work with Exchange 2007, but only on a seperate server as SBS 2003 is 32-bit only and production Exchange 2007 is 64-bit only. The enterprise CAL is only a few dollars on top of the Standard CAL, so if you want the features, definately something to look for. So, what is the difference between the two version? http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/evaluation/editions.mspx Exchange Server 2007 Edition Offerings Feature Standard Edition Enterprise Edition Storage Group Support 5 storage groups 50 storage groups Database Support 5 databases 50 databases Database Storage Limit No software storage limit; storage limit is hardware dependent No software storage limit; storage limit is hardware...

  • Office Live beta in the UK and how it works & competes with SBS 2003

    I have been behind on my blogging (have you noticed)? I was at the Bristol SBS group Christmas dinner (did I say thanks yet to Richard and Mark?) and we got to discussing Office Live. So first off, as to what Live is, why not go and have a look at Eileen Browns blog on it and then lets get down to the discussion points. They were: Who really wants this type of solution? Does Live compete with SBS? Can I make money out of Live If someone has Live, can I sell them SBS too? If someone has Live, can I "upgrade" them from this to SBS? So lets answer these is order: Who really wants this type of solution? Well, there are loads of small businesses out there that want a web site, some more professional e-mail addresses than simply "[email protected]" (don't try mailing this address, if it exists, then they won't like it, but more likely it will not). Office Live will give them a website of http://www.somecompany.com e-mail addresses that at "@somecompany.com" and a simple way to build the site - for...

  • Great group leaders and Richard Evans, Tom Crosbie and Susanne Dansey moving on

    I love the small business community. Some days I hate it too. This year we have seen great strides forward, but the fear by me has always been how many people are driving it. Don't get me wrong - I think the community is amazing and more than capable at driving things forward for itself, but some pigs are more equal (driving) than others. This year there have been some stand-out heros, who have consistently provided feedback to Microsoft as to what more we should be doing to help. That is what I see easily. They also lead their groups, build the local community and put business opportunities in front of people around them. Three of those people have moved from group leaders to being back into community at large - and I am not sure that this has been recognised - both in terms of their efforts to the community and also the help they have given Microsoft. The three people are Tom, Richard and Susanne. They all did great things with their groups - taking them to new heights (other group leaders do this, but have...
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  • Is Microsoft Driving Innovation Or Playing Catch-Up With Rivals?

    I saw this over at the Wall Street Jounral ( http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB116490323676636989-HnHPKLzkyy9xKy2wnokbd2bc_bE_20071130.html ) and it made me think. Can I point to Innovation from Microsoft in the small business arena? I'd be happy on your thoughts, but her are some areas I think MS is innovating: SBS - an amazing package of great technologies, not just the "enterprise" version at a lower price, but some thought put in to make the wizards workable for small businesses, with defaults that won't scale to 5,000 users, but will work just fine for 100 Publisher to enable small businesses to participate in marketing and image management without having to learn a package as complex as Pagemager or Quark Express - something I used to earn great money training people to use Office 2007 - making great presentation of documents accessable without a marketing degree Vista - Getting the balance right between onus on the user vs the system for security I have some more in mind, but what do you think?

  • Who is Captain Campaign and how to sell more?

    Time and again the number one question I get outside the technical arena is people want leads from Microsoft - "go and advertise for me and hand me the leads so I can do business with these customers." I know this sounds pointed, and it is meant to, I have had partners be even more direct with me as to what they think Microsoft should do for them to make them acquiring customers easier! Now we do do advertising, but we don't "hand" the leads to you. We take customers to the "find a partner tool" on bCentral and ask them to find a partner. If the find you, click on the link for you, but the web site does not entice them to call, there is nothing we can do about it as Microsoft - (have you asked some prospective customers to look at your website to see if it is a plus or a minus?). So what can we do to help, well, besides our campaigns, we can help you run mini-campaigns that align to what we do ourselves, but you get to customise it to your needs. To find out how this works, how to do it and who captain campaign...

  • How to manage Shadow Copies (Previous Versions of files) in Windows Vista and SBS 2003

    At the Kent partner group I was asked if shadow copies applied to all volumes or just the main system volume. To find out the answer I typed "vssadmin list shadowstorage" and the result was: C:\Windows\system32>vssadmin list shadowstorage vssadmin 1.1 - Volume Shadow Copy Service administrative command-line tool (C) Copyright 2001-2005 Microsoft Corp. Shadow Copy Storage association For volume: (C:)\\?\Volume{f2dea953-2674-11db-b0e9-806e6f6e6963}\ Shadow Copy Storage volume: (C:)\\?\Volume{f2dea953-2674-11db-b0e9-806e6f6e6963}\ Used Shadow Copy Storage space: 5.622 GB Allocated Shadow Copy Storage space: 5.874 GB Maximum Shadow Copy Storage space: 6.05 GB Shadow Copy Storage association For volume: (E:)\\?\Volume{f2dea955-2674-11db-b0e9-806e6f6e6963}\ Shadow Copy Storage volume: (E:)\\?\Volume{f2dea955-2674-11db-b0e9-806e6f6e6963}\ Used Shadow Copy Storage space: 33.453 MB Allocated Shadow Copy Storage space: 300 MB Maximum Shadow Copy Storage space: 961.343 MB This tells me how much storage is used on each...

  • Vista and Office 2007 for Small Business (responding to more comments) - and the EVO Tour and more learnings (updated with links)

    Well, the EVO Tour is underway, with some initial bad feedback, we have taken that on board and now the feedback is MUCH better from all partners, including SBSC members, so the inital concerns appear have been answered - which is well done to the team for such a quick turnaround. When I answered the previous complaints " here ", I wanted to respond more fully to Martin's comments, so I will do that here. This is what Martin said that I will respond to now: "because this customer has temps that may or may not work on these platforms[David: Vista machines], the changes in UI between XP and Vista are significant that this solution[David: Using Vista on some machine] will not work. They believe (and so do I knowing the workforce) they are going to have to upgrade all of their Computers all 35 Desktops. On top of this, they are then going to have to ensure that all of the other LOB Apps run, and then train all users on the diverencies. That will cost the IT budget for the next 12 months so just isn't going to happen...

  • Important Sneak Peak – UK Small Business Symposium coming

    I can't reveal all the details, although I am sure others will, however we are working on special event for SBSC members. This event design incorporates your feedback and suggestions as to what you want to hear about, share as a community as well as information Microsoft needs to share with you. Expect useful information, the opportunity to network with your peers, Microsoft and partners and the ability to socialise too J The timeframe for this event is February 2007, in Reading, Manchester (or Leeds) and Edinburgh, although more sessions will happen in the afternoon in Reading due to availability of speakers and rooms. The ROUGH agenda looks like this Morning: UK Exec who actually cares about Small Business (such as Natalie Ayres - Director of SMS&P*) talking about: What's the view from the top? Why does everything you've heard matter? What's the opportunity for partners? Aileen Hannah – responsible for SBSC programme in the UK, talking about: Highlights & lowlights of the program so far Latest resources...

  • iQubed on Vista vs Linux - and not from Microsoft, but a partner who has sold both Microsoft and Linux Solutions

    I like Vijay - he never lets me get away with cutting corners and has an honest perspective on many things. His personal review of what Exchange, Vista and Office will bring to the world is refreshing because he can say he has been there!! Vista vs Linux October 13, 2006 on 6:51 pm | In Linux , Vista | As Vista nears the business launch date of November 2006 the articles doing a comparison are appearing thick and fast. Firstly, let me say I’m an advocate of Open Source and what it has brought to the world. It’s given us some great solutions and powers the heart of the internet as we know it and companies like Google have built their business on it. That’s not a bad achievement! However, Microsoft has a formidable offering to both consumers and businesses alike. This offering is only getting stronger through EVO (Exchange Server 2007, Vista and Office 2007) and issues such as the WGA debacle and delays in Vista aren’t going to make the impact of these new technologies any less dramatic. Source: iQubed Blog » Vista...

  • Small Business News : Small firms 'overlooking' networking benefits

    From bCentral : Small firms 'overlooking' networking benefits Thu, 12 Oct 2006 16:21:12 GMT Many of Britain's small businesses could be losing out to competitors because they are not making enough of networking opportunities. Many of Britain's small businesses could be losing out to competitors because they are not making enough of networking opportunities. The latest research report from Lloyds TSB Business and the SERTeam at the Open University found that two fifths of small firms do not believe that networking can boost their businesses' chance of growth and success. It also shows that one in ten small firms say they do not devote any time to networking, while 42 per cent admit they only get involved a few times a year. Lloyds TSB believes that those businesses that do become adept at networking are likely to gain significant benefits. It reveals how almost three quarters of firms have won new customers over the past year as a direct result of marketing, while two fifths have found new suppliers. more at Small...
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  • Vista and security - are Microsoft doing the right thing?

    This is something I have thought long and hard about and as such I have to caveat things by saying this is my opinion and that I am no more informed than any other member of the public or IT community. Having said that, I have done my time as a Windows Developer and even once worked on emulation systems such as Wine. These protections will be coming to all OSs - so Vista, Longhorn, SBS - all of them! I really think this is some of the worst mud slinging I have seen in a long time and much is wrong! So what have I seen in the Press. McAfee and Symantec have complained that they want the ability to ignore the APIs in Vista and bash at the Kernel directly for security services. However, Kernel code has to be signed for the integrity of the system. Microsoft will not stick to the rules above and will gain advantage by using unknown APIs That the security prompts and center can not be turned off That Microsoft is right to make these changes and want to increase the integrity of the system As someone who once worked...

  • UK SMB Girl - RIP SBSC Premium Programme - what happened and what do you think

    Susanne is a little gem sometimes and today is no different - she has posted an interesting review of the SBSC programme and it's changes . The programme largely revolves around partners who sell SBS, although it is aimed at any who services small businesses (just in case you somehow have not heard of it). We are making changes this year, which included the removal of the Premium part of the badge. SBSC compares very favourably to the Certified Partner Programme in so much as you don't have to give Microsoft £1,000 or have to have 2 people certified in the same subject area. Membership to SBSC does not cost money, but does require an MCP in one of two areas and the passing of a simple sales and marketing exam. If you are already a SBSC member your opinion as to what else should be on the list of requirements will be key to shaping the implementation for next year. Benefits of SBSC membership: Microsoft notices you over the other 25,000+ registered partners in the UK Access to the private managed...
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  • Microsoft Small Business Specialists Community Managed Newsgroups

    This is so important I just had to blog on it. As a SBSC member you now have access to a superb support organisation to answer your questions. No longer do you have to rely on me being there for you (as I have not been for the last couple of weeks). To get there, go to Microsoft Small Business Specialists Community Managed Newsgroups and go through the sign-in process. You can ask questions on any Microsoft Technology and someone from the community or Microsoft will be able to help, and often in a very speedy way. Give it a try - you will be amazed and it might just save your bacon one night in front of a server. ttfn David

  • So your profile info is on MS Partner site and partner finder, so now you MUST update your solution profiles to be found - here is why and how it takes 10 mins

    You are all hopefully aware of the need to update your profile information and the web site url in it so that when one of the small businesses follows up on one of our campaigns and clicks on the find a partner link (UK) they can find information about you that makes them want to buy from you. Well, we are now talking about solutions to our customers and this is where you can now create and update your solution profile so that you can have several solutions profiled on the site. Each solution can have a completely separate description and URL, so no longer does everything have to be generic. This means that if a customer is looking for a sharing solution, they find out about by searching the solution finder tool, click on it, read more, then click the url that is not generic, so they actually call you and buy something from you. How do you do all this, here is the profile that took me a good 5-10 minutes to put together - I suggest you spend a bit more time on yours, but it will be worth it as we move to the new...

  • Getting IE to search UKSBSGUY.com, companyweb or any other site you happen to like

    I like using IE 7 - I use the tabs all the time, I like the integrated search, I use the Live Toolbar too. Then I discovered that I could add new search times into the IE7 and I thought this was amazing. I have included the web site that builds custom searches and also two search config downloads - one that enables searching of UKSBSGUY.com and one that searches http://Companyweb - assuming you have search enabled as per this entry . (For completeness I also include SBSBPI and UKSBSG search clauses too) So, how to build your own search options for the nice little box in IE7 - go to IE 7 Search Builder page and follow the instructions (which is basically doing a search on whatever page you prefer with the text TEST and then past the URL. The searches can be found at the download page on UKSBSGuy.com. ttfn David

  • Great R2 Spoof Advert based on DaVinci Code - good humour

    Microsoft often pokes fun at itself, but due to one of our competitors taking it a little too seriously some years back, these rarely come out to play in public. Well, have a look at this one . It was posted by Jules in the UKSBSG forum and I also got private messages from a few people saying that we should use this in the UK. ttfn David

  • Nottingham, England, 7th September - be there to learn so much more - Small Business Partner Ignite Tour

    Click the map above to see the Local.Live.Com technology at work - you can get driving instructions to the venue, see the area by birds' eye view, map view etc. We will be there (I will be for sure) explaining, showing via live demos, talk about how to sell and make money while enabling your customers to get more from their systems, get truly mobile (using XP, Office, SBS, Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) and Windows mobile solutions), more productive and easier to manage. If you want more details, go to http://www.microsoft.com/uk/partner/training/ignite/default.aspx?id=Nottingham ttfn David - see you there

  • SBS 2003 R2 delay and what people are saying baout it - especially Vlad

    Sometimes you have to shout about when you think things are right while others are putting it down. SBS 2003 R2 - I have had sooooooo many conversations over the last 9 months about why this feature is in or out. I ended up being very blunt, saying, this is the 2nd release of SBS 2003, it has a bunch of new features ala Windows Server 2003 R2, yes, it might not have everything in we wanted, but the "Green Check" and SQL 2005 are significant enough that NEW customers and existing customers should look at it. Now, here we are, having just releases SBS 2003 R2 and we are pulling it back in due to bugs, before it has reached the shelves for most people. I was expecting flak, but instead I see comments like this at Vlad's site saying thanks for us actually being bold enough to fix the problem. It is also worth going to his site to see the video!!! This is why I love the Small Biz community - we can be honest with each other. At the Small Biz Blog we were able to say that there is a quality issue and we...

  • Find all the Microsoft MVP and employee blogs around SBS 2003

    I just found this tool that lists all the MS & MVP blogs that relate to SBS - they can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/communities/blogs/PortalResults.mspx?ResultPage=1&Charset=iso-8859-1&BlogPart=Blog&BlogCategory=f9e5172a-da57-4efb-ac8d-3eebbfeecf1f or via the OPML File . ttfn David

  • Too technical to successfully sell or market you and your business and your capabilities - think again!

    I often find it interesting when talking to many small business partners about their business. These people are often very credible and capable technically, but struggle when it comes to "running a business" especially on some aspects of "marketing". I have been wondering how to offer credible assistance to partners that see themselves in this space, as often described by the book E-Myth Revisited - Why most small businesses don't work and what to do about it - people go in to business for a multitude of reasons, often to make money out of their skills (technical in the case of small businesses) - not to run a business. While on my hunt for information around this area I came across another of Susanne's wonderful blog entries on marketing . She once again articulated that everything you do leaves your customer with an impression of you - so best ensure that every employee (from you down) knows what impression you want to leave. The next thing is to understand some basic tools of being...

  • David Overton moving to a solution / revenue based role (it means I need to help partners sell)

    Many people ask me what I do and sometimes they are amazed with the answer "I help Microsoft Partners build solutions that deliver value to their small business partners – for free". This is a great job and part of it is to engage with as many partners as possible to improve the quality and knowledge around the solutions that can be built upon Microsoft technology. This year my role has a slightly different focus, but the way I achieve it will have many similarities. It has becoming important for me to ensure that partners are not just technically capable, but also selling solutions, sometimes even offering their customers alternative licensing options to suit their business needs. Some may see this as me selling out in some way, but while I love technology, if it is not applied correctly and you and I can't make money out of it, then there is a limit to the business value of the technology. I will still be blogging, posting on both business and technical ideas, but also be discussing how to...

  • Understand what the community can do for you–See Susanne, Mark and Tom from the WW Partner Conf

    They were great – they came from the UK and they told the world how to get the benefits of the community – still don't understand it, try reading these: Vladfire Episode 2: SBS Show — True Hollywood Story Vladfire Episode 3: Jump into the community & SBSC with Susanne Dansey Ttfn David
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