David Overton's Blog : Business

Must attend UK event - filling up fast - Wembley 7th October - Microsoft Partner Network

David Overton — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 07:45:00 GMT

[updated with correct URL]

I saw this and thought I should pass it on.

Microsoft Partner Network 2009 will explore strategies that enable you to continue to meet customers' needs and exploit new opportunities. Designed for Partner executives and sales leads, this event follows on from the Worldwide Partner Conference in July and provides more details of our UK execution plans.
Join us for:
- Insights from Microsoft executives as they share the Microsoft vision and strategies together with business growth opportunities and product innovation

- A range of Partner-to-Partner online and offline networking opportunities, plus strategic and practical guidance on how to collaborate successfully with other Microsoft Partners

- Market insights and guidance on developing customer opportunities

- Useful resources to help you sell, market and deploy Microsoft technology, particularly when you find yourself in competitive technology situations

- A glimpse into future industry trends and innovation, with exciting demonstrations

- An introduction to the UK award winners from the Worldwide Partner Conference 2009.

To register your place at this essential event, click the button below and enter invitation code 22BAF4 . You can also register by phone: call 0870 166 6670.

Check the Microsoft Partner Network 2009 website for more details about the event over the coming weeks. You can also sign up to our RSS service, or follow us on Twitter.
We look forward to seeing you at Wembley Stadium on 7 October.
Kind regards,
Scott Dodds
General Manager
Small, Medium Enterprises & Partners Group - Microsoft UK

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: Microsoft,Partners,MPN,MSPP,Event

Can't find the WSS (Windows SharePoint Services) sales and marketing toolkit for SBS 2003 - here it was

David Overton — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:18:58 GMT

I've had someone ask me about the WSS toolkit that was referenced at How to Sell, Deploy, and Build Business with Microsoft Windows Sharepoint Services 3.0 and SBS 2003 R2. The download location has moved to http://www.partnersalesresources.com/Pages/sbskit.aspx#.

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: Windows SharePoint Services, WSS v3, SBS, SBS 2003 R2, Microsoft, Partners

Microsoft wants to know what you want for the UK SBS 2008 Launch? Time to stop saying you want it better and time to start saying what you actually want and would use!!

David Overton — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 18:38:26 GMT

One thing I have never been accused of is holding back my opinion and on the Yahoo Groups recently there has been some discussions around what Microsoft has done for partners. As part of the discussion this blog post from Sonal, the UK Product Manager for SBS 2008 and EBS 2008, came up with a question around what do partners want to see in a UK launch. I thought people who read this blog might like to pop over to Sonal's blog and give a voice to their wants. I've seen suggestions from free beer, which was a Joke I was later told, to license pricing, features and benefits, how to up-sell/cross-sell.

The problem with the later items is that they are simply personal to the business doing the selling - why have an upsell to mobile devices if your business can't facilitate it?

What do you want to see at the UK SBS 2008 Launch?

In May 2006 we had a server event for guys (and gals) who sell server - specifically Small Business Server. We split the event into two - the morning event was for those who were new to selling SBS and the afternoon track was for those who already have a great deal of experience in selling SBS. Both sessions went down a storm where we covered off all sorts from market analytics to Windows Mobile with SBS. With the learnings from that event and feedback from YOU, we're hoping to do it again - but better.
So, while James tries to uncover how you want your content delivered, I'm keen to understand what exactly it is that you need from us. And it may seem obvious to you. But tell me anyway. As we plan the UK launch event for around the September/October timeframe, it would be really helpful to hear from you on what you need from us - either at the potential launch event, or before that via webcasts.
<snipped - contact details on Sonal's blog>

SBS stuff and then some... : What do you want to see at the UK SBS 2008 Launch?

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, SBS 2008, SBS, Small Business, Small Business Server 2008, Marketing, Community, SBSC, Partners

Proof that SBSC partners can grow from 1-man businesses into Microsoft Certified Partners – and still be good for small business – congrats Richard Tubb

David Overton — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 08:07:00 GMT

I remember the name Richard Tubb being mentioned a few times over the last 2 year and remember him on some of the Live Meetings I delivered and then he launched his blog. One thing that was apparent from his questions, contacts and especially his blog is that this is a man that “got it”. Now there are a few others that I believe live and breathe this attitude and to name some and miss others would be bad, so I wont name any (if you want to know if your on my “I love you man” list, drop me an e-mail, but I’ve probably told you or made time for you, which is a good hint), but one thing about living your life by certain principles is that you still have to live your life. By got it, I mean:

is solution, not product oriented
Is value sensitive, not price sensitive
Believes in the value of the community
Is prepared to stand up and be counted for his opinion – which is his, not others
Will tell you when he things you are talking… erm… rubbish!!
Believes in good processes (eg service plans, documentation etc)

If you look at his blog, you will see the above, so it is nice to see the business grow and achieve an amazing milestone. Richard is still a great SBSC partner, but now he is ALSO a Microsoft Certified Partner. Well done -

TubbBlog: Netlink IT achieves Microsoft Certified Partner Status

I'm chuffed to announce that Netlink IT achieved Microsoft Certified Partner Status this past month gone.

After striving to reach the level this Certification demanded for quite some time, the achievement of reaching the goal-post almost got lost in the business that taking on new staff, moving into a new office and re-organising the business brought on!
It was March 2006 that Netlink IT became a Microsoft Small Business Specialist Partner - and two years on I think that the SBSC certification, and in particular the benefits of working with the community that surrounds the "blue badge" from that certification, have significantly helped me to grow the company to the stage it's at now.
I'm hoping that Microsoft Certified Partner Status helps me grow the business further still.

I’m always happy to shout about great partners, so if you have something to shout about, let me know and either myself and / or Microsoft will shout too.

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Partner, Certified Partner, SBSC, Community, SBS 2003, Small Business, Business

Want to legally download Microsoft Software (Vista, Office, Works, Maths and Expression) - go to the www.MicrosoftStore.co.uk (UK & Germany for now)

David Overton — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 20:04:00 GMT

I would have put money on this not happening this year, but finally there is a legal place for people to download full copies of Microsoft products.

Go to http://www.MicrosoftStore.co.uk and you can buy software and download it there and then. At the moment this is limited to the UK and Germany, but I would personally expect it to go broader like all Microsoft ventures! I suspect the list of products will also expand.

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Windows Vista, Office 2007, Works 9, Expression, Buy, Download, Shop

Where will your customers be looking for solutions – will they stick to on premise, or will they move towards a S+S or SaaS solution not from you?

David Overton — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:02:00 GMT

I know the table above is really, really simple, but I wanted to start the ball rolling – I have been thinking about this for ages!! Let me explain the diagram. The horizontal axis signifies how much of a solution is hosted. An example of this might be Office Live or Hotmail, where almost all of the solution is hosted. We then have the “on premise” or on-site IT going vertically. For most people, this is solutions like SBS 2003. A typical S+S solution might be MS CRM Online which has online components, but also enables you to go off-web and use Outlook or one of the mobile clients when on the road.

While many thought on-line would be the next best thing even the king of on-line, Google, have recently admitted that it would not always be the answer in the posting they made on April 1st. Steve Clayton did the leg work and checked this was not form of April fool too!!

Even the NY Times is talking about it, which to me says it really is going mainstream - http://www.nytimes.com/idg/IDG_002570DE00740E180025742400363509.html.

Ok, so that is the picture out the way, now lets talk about the question. Which question you ask… well, this one:

Will any of your customers be running in the “S+S or hosted” marketplace in 5+ years time?

Now while that is a good question, I expect most of you will say … some, definitely not all, but some. How many customers can you afford to lose to a S+S provider?

Now this leads to an even bigger question ….

What will you have done to ensure they are still your customers, as opposed to someone who is skilled in S+S?

Personally I find this question much more concerning as many people can’t articulate any plans they have to capture these customers!! So what do I suggest …

If you are a services partner I recommend you start to look at SaaS services like Office Live that are slowly moving towards S+S or S+S services like CRM online and start to plan how you could add value to them and make money in the future.

If you are an ISV, then now is the time to start to look at services like the Sync Framework - http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/sync/default.aspx and the blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/sync/.

You should have most of the other tools already, although if not then other keywords to do some reading on are Hosting, SPLA licensing, Application Virtualisation and Citrix.

If you want to know more, let me know

David

Technorati Tags: S+S, Saas, Software as a Service, Software plus Service, Live, Online, SBS 2003, Small Business, Business, Community, SBSC

I know I shouldn’t, but the EU is beginning to make me wonder what they are playing at .. is it personal and how is it better for the people in the EU?

David Overton — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:43:57 GMT

It is strange that I have come to accept that we live and work in a global economy quicker, it appears to me, than the EU. I accept that we can’t be the best at everything in the EU and we have to work out what our value is to others – true for every business.

However, the EU seems to have an anti-non-EU feel to it. It also seems to want to create competition, even when no-one wants to compete – just to stimulate the industries, rather than because “punters are asking for alternatives”. This week I’ve seen two things that I wanted to share that raise concerns in my mind. Oh, in case you weren’t sure – this is a personal rant – nothing to do with anyone else but my own opinion!

First was the Intel vs AMD piece which talks about requiring Intel to raise prices to avoid being nabbed for anti-competitive practices - disco-tech | Discovery Institute's Technology Blog: EU vs. Intel :

Since Intel can't possibly know what AMD's cost of production is, we either have to accept collusion or accept that Intel will attempt to avoid further legal trouble by setting its prices in a safe zone, which is likely to be well above its costs. These are some of the reasons antitrust law doesn't protect less efficient firms, since to do so would saddle consumers with higher prices.
Competition law as practiced by the EU provides far more scope than our own antitrust jurisprudence for enforcers to intervene in the market in search of perfection. Yet Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes’ds summation of her own philosophy is consistent with our approach,

My own philosophy on this is fairly simple. First, it is competition, and not competitors, that is to be protected. Second, ultimately the aim is to avoid consumers harm.

Trouble is, the EU is trying to make Europe more competitive without making it more efficient

Then from InternetNews Realtime IT News – EU Parliament Member Wants to Ban Microsoft Bids I see that the competition has seen the EU as a way to attack Microsoft, rather than competing in a more traditional way.

Microsoft's ball and chain
One analyst said that even though Microsoft has been trying to put its past behind it ever since last summer's ruling, the shear tenacity of its opponents pretty much guarantees that the company will be dragging around this ball and chain for sometime to come.
"Microsoft has shown itself to be vulnerable, so people can get to them politically," said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at researcher Enderle Group. The irony in this case, he said, is that the apparent intent is to continue to punish the company for behaviors that the EC agrees Microsoft has already stopped and, in fact, paid the two highest fines in EU history to settle.
"That's like delaying the punishment until after the person is no longer behaving badly," Enderle added. Still, be prepared for more of the same he cautioned. "This appears to be a successful way to attack the company, so I think we're going to be stuck with [these kinds of attacks]," Enderle added.

What I don’t see at the moment is evidence that the consumer and not the competition is being protected in Europe.

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: Personal, European Union, European Community, EU, anti-trust, rant, Intel, Microsoft

ISVs can learn about Microsoft’s strategy and products and how they fit into selling solutions – come to the events in TVP and Manchester on the 10th and 24th April

David Overton — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 07:01:31 GMT

One of the biggest criticisms of Microsoft by our ISV partners is that they don’t know where we are going… well this even should help solve that – see you there perhaps:

Introduction

09.30 - 10.00           Registration & coffee
10.00 – 10.15          Welcome & Introduction

Deliver Innovative Solutions

10.15 – 10.45          Microsoft strategy direction
10.45 – 11.30          Microsoft technology roadmap
11.30 – 11.50          Coffee break

Increase your opportunities

11.50 – 12.15          Marketing & sales initiatives

Close more sales

12.15 – 12.30          Services & licensing for sales acceleration

Support your Customers

12.30 – 12.45          Technical support resources
12.45 – 13.00          Wrap up with Q&A
13.00 – 14.00          Lunch & networking

10^th Apr, Chicago 1, TVP
Registration url: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032373283&Culture=en-GB

24^th Apr, The Lowry, Manchester
Registration url: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032373286&Culture=en-GB

Enjoy the event!

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: ISV, Microsoft, Strategy, Roadmap, event

Understand Microsoft adCenter from the new Blogs & Forums that include the UK!!!

David Overton — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 00:53:54 GMT

I spoke to Mel a few months back about how he can engage with the communities out there and he explained about the great facilities that he was helping with to enable people to understand more about advertising and the Microsoft solutions. He also pointed out to me the importance of getting the right ad in the right place and said that we are twice as good at that versus the competition (but then he is biased).

Today the details of new blogs and information was released and finally you can ask all those "nasty" and "searching" questions that you always wanted to know the answers too.

New Microsoft adCenter Blogs & Forums Are Live!

Very excited to say our new site for the adCenter Blogs & Forums is now live at www.adCenterCommunity.com

There you’ll find all the latest news, views, tips, tricks and best practices and forms including:
adCenter Advertiser Blog
adCenter Analytics Blog
adCenter Api Blog

Let me know how you get on ... I hope to switch to this as soon as it becomes available.

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: Advertising, AdCenter, Blog, Microsoft, Analytics, Community

Manchester SBS Group (Kick Off Meeting) - 27th March 2008 - be there to see how it all starts again - with Chris Parkes, Ceri Thomas and me

David Overton — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 08:04:00 GMT

Ceri Thomas is planning a new group in Manchester and Chris Parkes will be there to host things with him for the 1st meeting. I will also be there slightly later in the evening. Below is the mail sent out by Danny Ovens to SBSC members in the area, but all are welcome.

Dear Partner
New: Manchester SBS Groups (Kick Off Meeting)

What is the purpose of the SBS User Group....?
SBS User Groups are partner meetings, run by partner, for partners. They are an independent forum that enable partners to meet one another, share best practice, learn how to better engage with IT Vendors and also hear directly from Microsoft about our products and strategies.
· Partner to partner networking – how can collaborating, learning what successes others have had, sharing problems and concerns or working as a group help your business
· Connect with Vendors – The group can invite Microsoft and others to attend and present to your agenda...be heard!
· Plugged in to Manchester Northwest activities – We’re increasing our engagement with partners in the Northwest through events and communities and we’ll keep the forum updated with relevant news
· Ability to shape the agenda of the User group in future – What works for you...? Influence the agenda to reflect your needs.
The first meeting is being held in Manchester on the 27^th March and if you’d like to register your attendance please do so through the voting buttons above.
[to vote from this blog entry, click here: Yes, I'd like to attend I would like to attend but can't make this date I would not like to attend thanks]

Date & Time:
Thursday 27^th March, 18:30-21:00

Agenda:
18:30 Welcome, introductions.
19:00 Microsoft Update
19:45 Partner Roundtable – Issues, concerns & successes
20:45 AOB – Agree Next meeting agenda
21:00 Close
Venue:
One Central Park, Manchester M40 5WW
Host Partner
Your host partner for the evening will be Ceri Thomas (168tech.co.uk) from 168tech and he will be supported by Chris Parkes, Microsoft Technology Adoption & Solutions Specialist and Dave Overton the Microsoft SBS Guy.
Please feel free to forward this invitation to others you think might be interested.
Look forward to hearing from you....
Regards
Danny
Danny Ovens | Regional Partner Engagement Manager

Hope to see you there

David

Technorati Tags: SBSC, community, partners, small business, Manchester

More ways to engage with customers using the Microsoft advertising campaigns

David Overton — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 21:00:00 GMT

[updated 4th March]

Many people congratulated Microsoft after the Mr Busy campaigns allowed partners to drive their customers back to them using a MS campaign. Well, this is now being repeated for a number of campaigns. Today I found the click and go site to get them all (http://www.campaigns.arvato-services.com/). You can get 200 post cards or 1,000 e-mails for free and then a low price for additional cards/ e-mails if required. The campaigns covered include:

Business Productivity
Customer Acquisition and Retention
Security and Reliability
Small Business PC
Mr Busy

This method of engaging is not new to the Small Business team and others have covered this before (eg Susanne here), but it is worth re-highlighting this now as some of the campaigns have been renewed, so go back and visit the site!!

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Marketing, Campaigns, Business Productivity, Customer Acquisition and Retention, Security and Reliability, Small Business PC, Mr Busy, Partner, SME, Small Business Server 2008, Mid-Market

Microsoft Online Services - beta in US, international .. not for a while yet, but you get to see where Microsoft is going!

David Overton — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 21:01:00 GMT

What is it?

I know Vlad is not going to like this, but even he will admit that this has been on the cards for a while. Software plus services is coming to town in a bigger and bigger way. At the moment there is a limited beta in the US and (just like Google), it has the beta tag on it.

So what have we seen today, well we have seen Microsoft stand up and be counted in it's commitment to the software-plus-services strategy. We have seen existing "on premise" solutions of Exchange and SharePoint be offered as a S+S (software-plus-services) alternative for those customers who don't wish to run these themselves. There is no "must switch" or "dropping" of the existing, very successful products, just more options for people.

As a customer you would consider whether you get better value running these in-house yourself, or with a partner delivering them for you in-house, or completely outsources to another partner or Microsoft.

As a partner you have to consider how you deliver in all worlds. While today you probably add value to "on premise" solutions you need to understand how and if you add value should your customer opt for the new services. If you want to deliver theses types of services yourself, look at SPLA agreements and the information at The Microsoft Service Provider License Agreement (SPLA). If you want to build solutions on top of those announced today then look at http://www.microsoft.com/online/partner/learn-more.mspx.

Either way you can learn more at http://www.microsoft.com/online/default.mspx.

Other's reactions

As you can imagine, there have been a few prople covering this, from bloggers to journalists. Below are just some of the items I've seen so far:

Press

Microsoft to Expand Microsoft Online Services for Businesses of All Sizes (press release)

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Enterprise-Apps/Microsoft-Expands-its-Online-Services/

Microsoft moves further into the cloud.. cautiously

http://www.ebizq.net/blogs/saasweek/2008/03/microsoft_expands_ondemand_ser/

Blogs

Microsoft to Expand Microsoft Online Services for Businesses of All Sizes

Hosted Services - here we come

OK, that should be enough for today .. expect more from Mix!!

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: Software plus Service, SaaS, Microsoft Online, Microsoft, Hosted, Exchange, SharePoint, beta, if you only read one post today

Microsoft Office Live Small Business v2 - have you got it already?

David Overton — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 23:29:39 GMT

This happened a couple of weeks ago, but it is always worth sharing the improvements in Office Live. Not only do we have this going on, but we also have the beta of Workspaces progressing. Remember, your customers could benefit from Office Live and if you don't offer it, someone else might just offer them Office Live or something else, blocking you out from that customer as they grow in size.

Microsoft Office Live Small Business is the award-winning, easy-to-use suite of Web-based software and services designed to help small businesses affordably take, promote and manage their businesses online.
Used by nearly 600,000 customers worldwide, Office Live Small Business is available in the US, UK, France, Germany and Japan. The service also provides an excellent environment within which partners can build industry-specific solutions.
Office Live Small Business is now available with :

Full Firefox 2.0 support for PC & Mac
Easy-to-use Website Designer tool or use html/3rd party design tools
Outlook Connector for offline synching of email, calendar, contacts & tasks
Mobile access to email, calendar and contacts from Windows-Powered SmartPhones or PocketPCs
Solutions Packager for Web designers

FREE when you sign up :

Domain name *
500MB fully hosted Website
Up to 100 email accounts
Contact Manager
Document Manager
Project Manager
Workspace

* (.co.uk free for the first 2 years or .com, org, net, .eu free for the first year)
Additional affordable features :

E-mail marketing beta
Search marketing
More storage, users and tools

Simple Windows Live ID signup process. No need to validate with a credit card any more !
What are you waiting for ? Read more details and signup now at : smallbusiness.officelive.com

See what you can do with it.

David

Technorati Tags: Small Business, Office Live, Office Live Small Business, Web site, domain, e-mail, workspaces, document manager

Announcing the Retirement of the Partner TDT and Release of New Product Demos Resource

David Overton — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 17:53:37 GMT

Chris Parkes sent a mail round internally telling us about MORE resources & demos etc available to partners. Chris has written about it on his blog (discovered this after I wrote this - here, there may be some comments on his worth reading, so double check!!)

The Demo Showcase has been extended to include Deep Dive/Product virtual environments *which are available to all partners* Only Demo Showcase remains as the Gold/Cert benefit moving forwards...
The following are now available for immediate download:
2007 Microsoft Office System

47 Hands-on Labs

25 demonstrations

Microsoft Forefront and System Center Demonstration Toolkit

Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager

Microsoft System Center Operations Manager

Intelligent Application Gateway

Microsoft Forefront Security for Exchange Server

Forefront Client Security

Microsoft Business Intelligence Demo (Data warehousing, reporting and analysis, performance management)

Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007

Microsoft Office 2007

Microsoft SQL Server 2005

Download location is here:
https://partner.microsoft.com/global/salesmarketingsection/smsalesdemos/sdproductdemos

As for the difference between the two, the web site says:

"This collection of Microsoft software product demonstrations is designed to complement the business-scenario-based Demo Showcase sales tool. These demos illustrate product-specific features and functionality in detail, while the Demo Showcase tool helps illustrate how a full range of integrated Microsoft software platform solutions work together in business scenarios. Use the links in the table to download or order the product demos you need."

However I was able to access the demo content online at https://partner.microsoft.com/global/salesmarketingsection/smsalesdemos/sddemoshowcase - perhaps as I am a SBSC partner!!

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: Demo Showcase, Technical Demonstration Toolkit, TDT, Demos, Partner, Microsoft

Time to Nominate your solutions for the Awards at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference!

David Overton — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 23:45:15 GMT

You may remember people who have one awards at the Worldwide Partner Conference before - is it your time now? I saw Steve Morrow (my boss) has put some great information on the UK ISV blog and while he is thinkking about it from a purely ISV point of view, you could apply under any of the categories.

Time to Nominate your Applications for the Awards at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference!

Time to submit your entry for the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference Awards program! This is a great way to get some free PR. As a finalist or winner you’ll receive promotions that identify your company as part of an elite class of Microsoft partners. Logos will also be displayed in Microsoft Solution Finder.
The nomination process is open NOW and closes on 4th April 2008.
Finalists for the 2008 awards will be announced on June 9, 2008. Winners will be announced and recognized at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in Houston, July 7-10, 2008. Go to Award Submission Tool
For a full list of the award categories can be found here.

UK ISV Blog : Time to Nominate your Applications for the Awards at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference!

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: WWPC, WPC, Worldwide Partner Conference, Microsoft, Awards, ISV, Developer

Microsoft and Yahoo merger with Google cartoons

David Overton — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 16:33:48 GMT

I saw these and laughed lots:

Pavel Constantin, Romania

Daryl Cagle, MSNBC.com

Enjoy :-)

Please do not copy the images as they are (c) the artists and I have paid a royalty to share them. If you like them, please point people to this post

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Yahoo, Google

Official Google Blog on Microsoft and Yahoo and David Overton's thoughts on it

David Overton — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 23:19:00 GMT

This is a personal rant. If you want to read on, please do so, if not, thanks for getting this far.

Oh I love how people wave flags "for the greater good" when they really mean "for my own good". Today I saw something that just made me have to comment. Unless you have been in a bunker, you should be aware that Microsoft have made a bid for Yahoo. Google, who obviously care greatly about Yahoo decided to have a pop at it:

Yahoo! and the future of the Internet
The openness of the Internet is what made Google -- and Yahoo! -- possible. A good idea that users find useful spreads quickly. Businesses can be created around the idea. Users benefit from constant innovation. It's what makes the Internet such an exciting place.
So Microsoft's hostile bid for Yahoo! raises troubling questions. This is about more than simply a financial transaction, one company taking over another. It's about preserving the underlying principles of the Internet: openness and innovation.
Could Microsoft now attempt to exert the same sort of inappropriate and illegal influence over the Internet that it did with the PC? While the Internet rewards competitive innovation, Microsoft has frequently sought to establish proprietary monopolies -- and then leverage its dominance into new, adjacent markets.
Could the acquisition of Yahoo! allow Microsoft -- despite its legacy of serious legal and regulatory offenses -- to extend unfair practices from browsers and operating systems to the Internet? In addition, Microsoft plus Yahoo! equals an overwhelming share of instant messaging and web email accounts. And between them, the two companies operate the two most heavily trafficked portals on the Internet. Could a combination of the two take advantage of a PC software monopoly to unfairly limit the ability of consumers to freely access competitors' email, IM, and web-based services? Policymakers around the world need to ask these questions -- and consumers deserve satisfying answers.
This hostile bid was announced on Friday, so there is plenty of time for these questions to be thoroughly addressed. We take Internet openness, choice and innovation seriously. They are the core of our culture. We believe that the interests of Internet users come first -- and should come first -- as the merits of this proposed acquisition are examined and alternatives explored.

Now this post just makes me smile. Lets look at a few things (and yes, these are my thoughts, no way representing Microsoft, Yahoo or anyone elses):

Google loves Openness... so their GPL based products, are available to others...? Oh no sir, web services do not require releasing of code and while they don't pay for the OS (Linux) that they use, they do greatly enhance it to their needs, but the code stays as shut as propriety code.
OK, how about monopolies - Google complains that Microsoft might seek to dominate the Internet ... unlike Google who just want to make it nice, but they do dominate internet search and have expressed a desire to do so with mail, online applications, advertising, social networking and more
How about Googles belief in your information being theirs... Well, you don't need to buy a book as Google will scan it and publish it on the internet, without you having to worry about it, or be paid for it. Nice!! Or the fact that if you install their desktop search, Google have a right to all the information on your files. Gmail - yes, they read all your e-mail... to enable them to better serve you, their toolbar... they know everywhere you browse.. and so on
How about the bid being a "hostile bid" ... well, how many times has MS asked about a merger with Yahoo... lots, has Microsoft ever "forcibly taken over Yahoo", buying up all their shares? Nope. So it is unlikely this will be more hostile than any of the previous conversations. It is true that Yahoo has a great vision and market position .. yes. Could a merger be great for both organisations? Yes
How about innovation... well, MS's IM, web, portal businesses that Google acknowledges seem somehow to be excluded from the Google view of the world and they think that only things invented or copied by they are worthwhile. After all, while maps.msn.com is not the most favourite place, who put free mapping on the web 1st from these 3 organisation? Not Google I think you will find. What about Satellite photos for maps... Microsoft again.

So, having got a few things off my chest about the blog post from Google, what do I think? I think Google feels threatened by the proposition. They will still be the number one in advertising post a merger, but the properties and options for a Yahsoft/Microhoo type company would give extra weight to their competition. I also think that as was stated in the blog, there is time for people to take stock, consider the options and for an agreement (or not) to happen. Rather than competitors bleating, we should let the employees of the two companies and the regulatory authorities work out what the next step should be. Of course, I should have just as much right as Google to express my opinion!

Now others have had their say too:

Yahoo mulls Google tie-up- source (Reuters)

Microsoft! needs! Yahoo! developers! developers! developers!

Microsoft’s Yahoo play- Some love it; some hate it

Microsoft to buy Yahoo

Robert Scoble thinks Microsoft’s bid to buy Yahoo is the first “interesting”

Permanent Link to Microsoft + Yahoo = Big Mess-

Why The Yahoo-Microsoft Deal Will Be a Disaster

Yahoo bid 'should get approval'

Is Buying Yahoo Microsoft's Big SaaS Plan-

In case you were living under a rock

The only good thing about Microsoft buying Yahoo is the Microsoft Partner benefit

Yahoo not closing door on additional offers

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: Microsoft,Yahoo,Google,Personal,Rant

2008 Pre-Launch event with Bill Gates - Scott Dodds and why Partners are important

David Overton — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 16:43:05 GMT

Technorati Tags: Events, Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008, Visual Studio 2008, Launch, Scott Dodds

I will try to publish information from each presenter as I noted it from the audience and then my scribbled notes. I can't guarantee 100% accuracy, but the virtual even should show more of this information and the Partner Portal will have the presentations on them in a weeks time.

So... here goes:

Microsoft rarely does a launch even for it's partners 2 months before the "big event". It is normally the night before. Scott re-iterated that partners are "extremely important" to Microsoft as they are the feet on the ground talking to customers. If partners have not seen / heard all the messages, technology, plans then how can they participate and recommend to customers? It is also worth noting that we do not have a "Bill Gates" for the customer events - his insight was reserved for our partners!

Scott kicked off the day by suggesting that there were 4 areas we were concentrating on (more on these in coming posts):

Secure Trusted Platform
Virtualisation
Next Generation Web
Business Intelligence

As far as participation goes - there are many ways a partner can participate as highlighted in another blog post, however it will include the new social network community work the UK Partner Team have put together where you can form your own communities as a partner. Scott showed the new roadmap information and forums / blogs / status information available.

Scott also pointed out (scarily) that the BBC had access to the event as they were following Bill's last year. Sure enough three small business partners were caught and asked to comment!!

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: Events, Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008, Visual Studio 2008, Launch, Scott Dodds

What Bill Gates said he will be working on once he stops his full time role - from 2008 Partner Pre-launch event

David Overton — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 22:53:23 GMT

I had the pleasure of attending this event today. The last item was Q&A with Bill Gates and there were a number of questions that you will be able to watch and listen too in the future. However, the one that I thought was most interesting was this one:

"What will Bill be doing in his part time capacity with Microsoft and what will the Bill and Melinda Foundation focus on?"

His reply was roughly (I made a few scribbled notes, so I hopefully have the gist, if not the words):

Ray Ozzie and Craig Mundie will take care of the "one Microsoft and R&D function"

Bill will focus on 3 areas:

Search - still have lots to deliver from the various teams - we have just started to see the beginning of this - in both internet and enterprise areas

Office - Bill has always had a keen interest in this area and it will continue. Things to be included are Modelling and declarative rules

Natural User Interfaces - more voice, touch, gesture and general non-keyboard interaction with technology

For the foundation:

Healthcare systems - including disease management in poorer countries

Malaria vaccine

Use of mobile phones in disconnected regions to share skills, diagnosis and information

Micro finance transactions to facilitate these operations

Metrics to enable measure of success and targeting

Would like to think that within 10 years had a big impact - reduce big diseases in poorer countries by having a vaccine / treatment for around 1/2 of the illnesses (could not say which ones as investing in many areas, but hoped for it to include Malaria)

That was it - much more to follow (about the rest of the event)

David

Technorati Tags: Bill Gates, 2008 Launch, Partners, Gates Foundation

Do you have a good story to tell about you, your customer and the use of Microsoft technology? If so, get your name up in lights (well, the web) and get Microsoft to tell everyone about it

David Overton — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 22:45:34 GMT

Microsoft is currently looking for Small Business case studies about how customers use Microsoft products. These case studies include the name of the partner used to install the solution and so are a great way of generating completely free publicity. Case studies are mainly targeted at a customer audience and will be used on our customer website's, in newsletters, in collateral and sometimes in the press.

If you would like to nominate any of your customers please go to www.articulatemarketing.com/partner.html and fill in the short form with their details. After you have submitted their details no further work is required from you as we will contact the customer directly for a short interview. Both yourselves and the customer will then be able to review any case studies before they are used.

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Small Business, Case Studies

Simple Office / Excel information to share with customers

David Overton — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 23:49:23 GMT

This is a fab tool - for example, the page has:

Inside Microsoft Office Excel 2007
Stop the Press -Microsoft Office Excel 2007 - making working with numbers easier than ever!

Where minutes are kept and hours are wasted
Well-planned and organised meetings can be very useful. However, not all meetings leave attendees feeling like their time has been well spent!

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: Excel, Tips

Saw this last year - how right they were "In memoriam: the ISV" - Oracle announces purchase of BEA and Sun announces purchase of MySQL

David Overton — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 00:08:23 GMT

So here we are on the day (or a day later) that Sun (JAVA) decides to buy MySQL, finally putting a blow against Oracle who had self selected Linux (personal opinion was Oracle saw the deal having the same money, just less for the OS, so more for them) and BEA gets welded to the Oracle Fusion integration story.

Consolidation is indeed the way forward... unless the European Union think that there is too few companies in which case companies will have to give away some corporate asset in order to not be too successful. The article is worth a read.. will everything eventually be owned by Microsoft, Google, Oracle or Symantec ?

YEAR END - In memoriam: the ISV

By James Niccolai and Chris Kanaracus, IDG News Service, 12/12/07
The world of business software continued its inexorable march toward Total Consolidation in 2007. If IBM was off the mark in 1943 when it (supposedly) predicted a world with only five computers, it might have better luck today with a similar prediction about the software industry.
The trend has been under way for years, but the past 12 months saw many of the remaining big names in business software absorbed into other companies, including Hyperion, Business Objects, Cognos, Opsware and webMethods. They join PeopleSoft, Siebel, JD Edwards and JBoss from the recent past. Outside of security companies, it is now difficult to name even a half dozen well-known, best-of-breed vendors that are holding their own.

YEAR END - In memoriam: the ISV - Network World

Working in the ISV "space" I can tell you that new ventures are coming along just fine and growing well. Yes, some bigger fish gobble some of the smaller fish, but many still swim freely in the sea, making money and changing the world.

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: ISV,Business

Video for Bill's last day

David Overton — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 22:54:07 GMT

I've seen this mentioned in so many places that I had to share:

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: Bill Gates, CES, last day

Samba developers can now see the Windows Protocols, make their products more interoperable with Microsoft Windows and see where Patents are to then choose to avoid or license

David Overton — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 17:10:36 GMT

I have never been known to sugar coat my opinion and one that has been forming recently is that much of the EU work on opening the Windows Media player is undesired by the consumers or the industry. This is my opinion, but I've seen no evidence to the contra. However, the licensing of protocols, while I don't wholly agree with the pricing structure, I see it as a good thing. This is a classic example of a de-facto standard working how it should. Today yet another organisation licensed the protocols, this time for the Samba community (with restrictions on redistribution and patent awareness) and this should deliver the reality of "interoperability, not standards" that I personally feel is the true desire of the world.

Update: Microsoft to hand over Windows secrets to Samba team | InfoWorld | News | 2007-12-20 | By Robert McMillan, IDG News Service

Developers of open-source Samba software will find their work a little easier thanks to an agreement with Microsoft, signed Thursday, that will give them access to previously secret data on how the Windows operating system works.
<snipped>
The deal was signed with a nonprofit group called the Protocol Freedom Information Foundation, (PFIF) which negotiated on behalf of the Samba team because Samba is not represented by a corporate entity. PFIF will pay a one-time fee of €10,000 and, in return, will be able to allow open-source developers, including the Samba team, to access the documents.
Developers will have to sign nondisclosure agreements and will not be allowed to redistribute Microsoft's documentation, but they will be able to write open-source software that implements the Windows protocols. The deal will also clarify which patents Microsoft believes are related to this technology, making it easier for open-source developers to avoid patent violations.

The article is quite negative in tone, ignoring that the licensing process was available before the EU stepped in and giving the glory to the EU, when I believe it is the free-market that made this move happen. Either way, the lack of standards that are used (yes, they do exist) in this technology arena means that people would rather work with existing solutions rather than build new ones. Having said that, Samba has some serious security weaknesses that using the MS protocols could well resolve!

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: Samba, MCPP, Microsoft Communications Protocol Program, WSPP, Work Group Server Protocol Program, Open Standards, Microsoft

Service Availability and what it mean, or have a consumer broadband line and get consumer availability (10 hours downtime)

David Overton — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 18:13:48 GMT

The UKSBSGUY.com server is on my home broadband connection and this means it does not get business availability. Last night I had another 10 hours downtime and 8 hours earlier in the month. This all sounds bad, but here is where you need to understand SLAs and what availability statistics mean.

If I have a 24x7 contract and I want high availability then this is how much downtime I can have through the year:

Availability	365 days	31 days	1 day
99%	3.65 days	7.44 hours	14.4 minutes
99.9%	8.76 hours	44.64 minutes	1.44 minutes
99.99%	52.56 minutes	4.46 minutes	0.14 minutes
99.999%	5.26 minutes	0.45 minutes	0.01 minutes

From this you can see that I am somewhere between 99% and 99.9%. If I assume 24 hours downtime this year then I am at about 99.7%, which on a consumer service is pretty amazing. Now, if someone offers you a service rebate then you need to consider the service period. For example, if someone offers 99.9% every day and you have a whole days outage, that is 1 day in 365 that they have failed, so any rebate might be very small. Also bear in mind that if the service hours reduces (eg 9-5) then the amount of down time that is in spec reduces, but the service could be available or closed outside the service hours.

Hopefully this helps point to what you need to know when offering or signing up to SLAs:

Over what period is the availability measured (remember it is possible to offer 99.99% from 9-5 and then 0% outside this, so beware)
What is the recourse that is offered if a SLA is missed and how does it fit in the bit picture
What is the cost / impact of taking an SLA
How do they manage with existing customers
What are the exceptions (eg telling you 2 weeks in advance that the service will be down for 8 hours might exclude that service from SLA measures)

that is it. Obviously there are a couple of SLA and managed services kings out there such as Karl - http://smallbizthoughts.blogspot.com/2007/09/final-thoughts-managed-services-in.html and the two PALs in the UK (Vijay and Gareth)

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: Service Availability, SLAs

David Overton's Blog : Business

Must attend UK event - filling up fast - Wembley 7th October - Microsoft Partner Network

Can't find the WSS (Windows SharePoint Services) sales and marketing toolkit for SBS 2003 - here it was

Microsoft wants to know what you want for the UK SBS 2008 Launch? Time to stop saying you want it better and time to start saying what you actually want and would use!!

What do you want to see at the UK SBS 2008 Launch?

Proof that SBSC partners can grow from 1-man businesses into Microsoft Certified Partners – and still be good for small business – congrats Richard Tubb

Want to legally download Microsoft Software (Vista, Office, Works, Maths and Expression) - go to the www.MicrosoftStore.co.uk (UK & Germany for now)

Where will your customers be looking for solutions – will they stick to on premise, or will they move towards a S+S or SaaS solution not from you?

Will any of your customers be running in the “S+S or hosted” marketplace in 5+ years time?

What will you have done to ensure they are still your customers, as opposed to someone who is skilled in S+S?

I know I shouldn’t, but the EU is beginning to make me wonder what they are playing at .. is it personal and how is it better for the people in the EU?

ISVs can learn about Microsoft’s strategy and products and how they fit into selling solutions – come to the events in TVP and Manchester on the 10th and 24th April

Understand Microsoft adCenter from the new Blogs & Forums that include the UK!!!

New Microsoft adCenter Blogs & Forums Are Live!

Manchester SBS Group (Kick Off Meeting) - 27th March 2008 - be there to see how it all starts again - with Chris Parkes, Ceri Thomas and me

More ways to engage with customers using the Microsoft advertising campaigns

Microsoft Online Services - beta in US, international .. not for a while yet, but you get to see where Microsoft is going!

What is it?

Other's reactions

Microsoft Office Live Small Business v2 - have you got it already?

Announcing the Retirement of the Partner TDT and Release of New Product Demos Resource

Time to Nominate your solutions for the Awards at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference!

Time to Nominate your Applications for the Awards at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference!

Microsoft and Yahoo merger with Google cartoons

Official Google Blog on Microsoft and Yahoo and David Overton's thoughts on it

Yahoo! and the future of the Internet

2008 Pre-Launch event with Bill Gates - Scott Dodds and why Partners are important

What Bill Gates said he will be working on once he stops his full time role - from 2008 Partner Pre-launch event

Do you have a good story to tell about you, your customer and the use of Microsoft technology? If so, get your name up in lights (well, the web) and get Microsoft to tell everyone about it

Simple Office / Excel information to share with customers

Saw this last year - how right they were "In memoriam: the ISV" - Oracle announces purchase of BEA and Sun announces purchase of MySQL

YEAR END - In memoriam: the ISV

Video for Bill's last day

Samba developers can now see the Windows Protocols, make their products more interoperable with Microsoft Windows and see where Patents are to then choose to avoid or license

Service Availability and what it mean, or have a consumer broadband line and get consumer availability (10 hours downtime)