Keep Your Customers Close, and Keep a Closer Eye on Microsoft

For years, Microsoft has been encouraging hosting providers to offer hosted MS Exchange solutions. For almost as long, Microsoft has offered their own hosted Exchange solution that has been marketed to the same market space—albeit half-heartedly when compared to the other services. Hosting companies did not care too much because the Microsoft solution was relatively expensive, was not aggressively advertised, and offered little in the way of additional services or features that would justify such a premium.  All in all, hosting companies delivered better value and a better overall experience.

The hosting companies might be forgiven if they were to think that Microsoft “competing” in this way was actually a benefit to them—providing a reliable straw-man comparison that seemed to prove the value of their own offerings relative to Microsoft itself. Microsoft soon duplicated this strategy with a hosted SharePoint service as well and has recently added the Unified Communications service.  Again—the competition was half-hearted and expensive.

Rise of the Straw Man

Four recent stories grabbed our attention and we could not help but link them up.

• The first was a story on Cnet regarding Microsoft’s recent decision to lower the prices on their Hosted Exchange Service along with the hosted versions of SharePoint and Office Communications Server.
• The second was an article at Information Week regarding the Microsoft release of Exchange 2010 and—unlike all previous versions of Exchange—the new release was allegedly built from the ground up as an online service with multi-tenancy (that, incidentally, has been a strength of SmarterMail since its inception—we are flattered).
• The third article was found back on Cnet and highlighted “One of the largest Data Centers in the World” (Microsoft) and how they had modularized it to be able to add 2000 servers in less than a day.
• The forth is an article that we wrote for this very blog on understanding new terms related to Microsoft’s Service Provider Licensing Agreement (SPLA). In this article we explored the meanings and nuances of confusing changes to the terms that impact how much service providers pay for the underlying technology that runs Microsoft-based servers for hosting and related companies—especially email. These changes appear to be geared toward increasing prices for smaller service providers that compete directly against Microsoft Online Services.

Let’s see…a re-jiggered online service-based architecture, a new lower price for Microsoft Online Services, an aggressive and modular expansion plan for major Microsoft datacenters, and the increasing of SPLA licensing costs for Microsoft “partners”—with a specific focus on email and communication.

One wonders whether the original Microsoft Online Services were indeed a straw man or a scarecrow?  Perhaps the thousands of Microsoft customers using Exchange and related technology to provide services their customers were a risk-free proof of concept as Microsoft bided its time—leading the rest of us on down the Yellow Brick Road.  Well, there is no Emerald City and the Wicked Witch is in the details.

Bottom Line

Microsoft is now offering hosted Exchanges services with a price point and feature set that are very competitive with existing partner structures while building a vast infrastructure and raising the costs to those same existing partners .

Perhaps we should consider that the Scarecrow had a brain all along as we witness what appears to be an intensive cross-coordination between four disparate Microsoft divisions for corporate competitive advantage.  Microsoft has long given its assurances to hosting providers that this sort of thing did not and would not take place. This scarecrow appears to have a darker side indeed.

But perhaps it is all just a coincidence…

Where to turn?

Sure, Microsoft wants your customers—but so does Google. Their only difference is in the approach. Microsoft wants to own your customers outright. Google wants to access your customers and then sell them to someone else…and then sell them again at their earliest opportunity (ad infinitum).

SmarterTools recently presented at the cPanel annual conference in Houston regarding the SmarterMail integration with their new Windows control panel product: Enkompass. In that presentation we touched on Google contextual indexing and advertising by showing an example of a test email we sent to verify our automated systems that aptly demonstrated how Google uses your own marketing pieces against you. You can view a PDF of that Presentation here (see slide #4).

SmarterTools is preparing a revised version of this presentation for Partners and Hosting Companies to  demonstrate how they can compete—and win—against Microsoft, Google, and the rest of the behemoths. It is possible to offer profitable and effective email as a service without making a deal with the devil…or the Scarecrow.

Important Disclaimer: SmarterTools is an independent software vendor (ISV) not directly associated with Microsoft Corporation and we do not pretend to have inside knowledge of Microsoft’s intent or objectives. We have conducted our own additional research and inquiries into this topic. As such, this post reflects our opinions, understanding, and experience on the subject.

Microsoft, Exchange, Azure, Office Live, and Sharepoint are trademarks of Microsoft Corporations (MSFT).  Cnet is a trademark of CBS Interactive. Information Week is a trademark of United Business Media LLC (UBS). Google is a trademark of Google (GOOG). All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners and content owners are responsible for their respective material.

Understanding the Service Provider License Agreement (SPLA) program and Microsoft licensing in general has  always been a bit challenging. Recently SmarterTools has been getting questions from customers and associates regarding new terminology introduced to them by their SPLA representatives called “Outsourced” and “non-Outsourced” during SPLA audits. These new terms are being called “replacements” by some for previously applicable terminology “authenticated” and “anonymous”—but we view them not as replacements, rather as entirely new terms designed for a specific purpose. The problem is that there are no clearly understood definitions of these terms—even among the resellers and reps. This has started a minor flurry of forum and blog topics trying to figure this all out. This is REALLY important to hosting companies because the so-called Outsourced licensing of core Microsoft technology in SPLA is many times more expensive.

On first blush, the introduction of the new terminology appears to be intended to clear up misconceptions and potential abuse of the SPLA program. But because there has been no advance notice, there is a nebulous communication plan associated with the language change that appears to be a bit arbitrary, and the fact that individual SPLA resellers are passing on this information in the finest oral tradition of pre-literate Kalahari Bushmen (lots of clicking and grunting) the effort to make things more clear has only added uncertainty and the fear of unknown costs.

Some hosting companies have long-term contracts with customers and—for now at least—they do not understand what their costs are. Not good.

Closing the Loophole

SPLA was designed specifically to provide a cost-effective method of providing services. This seems obvious. Shared Web hosts, email servers, database servers, and others could license Windows Server—with multi-tenancy—at greatly reduced rates to provide Web sites, email (including SmarterMail), database space, and more to smaller customers effectively. Further, this pricing is month-to-month. Everybody wins.

Why would Microsoft do this? Simple—it brought millions of Web sites, email users, and the rest onto the Microsoft platform cost effectively. As those customers grew and needed their own servers and software, those customers would graduate to full, independently-licensed products. This worked well so long as the market consisted largely of shared environments, service-based applications, and unmanaged dedicated server shells that customers would load up themselves.

This created a loophole. The fully-managed dedicated and VPS server market has exploded—meaning that larger businesses are not just leasing a server shell. Hosting companies are providing them with a box that is fully loaded with all the software that their company needs in one package. Let’s use a mail server as an example. The hosting company provides the box, Windows Server 2008, SmarterMail 6.x, and maybe a few other things. So—is this truly a service or just another way for a company to purchase what they need?

Customers have been flocking to this model for flexibility and—specifically because hosting providers get the super-low SPLA rates—real cost savings. Well, it appears that Microsoft has recognized this and is attempting to close the loophole. They say that this is an example of “Outsourced” email since the customer might otherwise have had to install it in their own office, has total control of the server and what goes on it, and is the sole entity being served. It is a single-tenant dedicated system for which Microsoft would like to be paid at their going rate.

Based upon some of the forum posts that I have read there are some SPLA resellers out there saying things like “if it is a mail server it is Outsourced” and we think that this is not likely the intent. If it is, that does not make any sense. Shared email environments are most definitely a service. Reading Microsoft’s text you can make the argument that an independent, one-tenant mail server is not and might qualify under their definition of an “Outsourced” application.

Again—we think that the most likely and logical differentiator is single-user/single-tenancy so that hosting companies and/or customers do not use the SPLA program to avoid paying the higher licensing fees for dedicated environments. Think of it like your car. You can pay cash for the car (fully owned), you can finance the car (ownership over time), or you can lease a car (pay as you go)—but you still pay the full title and registration fees on that car. All these methods are simply different ways to “own” the vehicle and it is entirely for your use. We read Microsoft’s intent as that “non-Outsourced” SPLA is for when you are riding the bus.

We are not saying that this is what Microsoft should do, only that this is likely what they are doing.

Microsoft has published a Volume Licensing Brief dated July, 2009, that we believe supports our interpretation.  But it is hard to accurately nail down their definition.  This document provides the following definition:

Outsourcing is an application or service which a Service Provider manages on behalf of its customer. For purposes of this definition, the managed application or service is:

• Used by its customer’s employees, contractors, agents, or vendors, and
• Not the Service Provider’s intellectual property

Not exactly clear and unambiguous.  Interestingly enough, this also applies to Microsoft applications—including hosted MS Exchange servers. But there are several very important distinctions in the scenarios described, including the following notes:

Non-outsourcing applies if:
The Service Provider is providing an application or service that is the IP of the Service Provider (the Service Provider is an ISV).

Outsourcing applies if:
The Service Provider is providing managed hosting for Microsoft applications (Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft SQL Server® database software, etc.) or third-party applications (Oracle, Siebel, etc.), which are not the IP of the Service Provider to their customer's internal users. [emphasis added]

Non-outsourcing if:
The Service Provider is providing an application or service only to external users of the customer.

The first scenario suggests that providing SaaS makes you an ISV and therefore Shared mail can be run as non-outsourced.  The second suggests that dedicated hosted applications of all types are outsourced.  The third suggests that companies like The Planet, Rackspace, and 1&1 that provide reseller platforms to other hosting companies qualify as non-outsourced.  Clever wording indeed.

Challenges

We think that Microsoft will face some challenges in making this newly-defined restriction stick because the marketplace now has several years of accepted practice and rampant adoption of managed hosting.  A new enforcement action will also be hard to justify when the video advertising the SPLA program on the Microsoft Website features several companies that are potentially in violation of this new, untested definition—including Rackspace who openly discusses managed hosting in their segment. (see the video by clicking the link in the lower right hand side of this Microsoft page)

Attempting to use a heavier and seemingly arbitrary hand in this area now might be a rallying-call for insurrection amongst the masses.

Creative Destruction or Just Plain Destruction?

Microsoft has done things like this is the past.  With the launch of Windows Server 2008 they introduced pricing that was untenable in the market-space.  Microsoft soon retraced their steps on that one.  Perhaps there will be another outcry that causes Microsoft to reconsider again.  Microsoft continually maintains that each operating unit is a separate and distinct business with its own profit center and separate goals and objectives from the others.  Ostensibly this is to reassure us all that we can make vendor deals with the SPLA team or the Service Provider Network without worrying about undue influences and cross-purposes from other Microsoft divisions that might be better described as competitors.  But this second attempt at what appears to be price pressure aimed at weakening segments of the hosting industry begs the question: Is this part of a larger effort to tenderize the market for other Microsoft initiatives such as Azure and Office Live or are they simply reaching for more cash in a fumbling, ham-fisted way?

How Now for Cloud?

Now—what is Microsoft going to do when this issue comes up in Cloud Computing structures? These are flexible and—most importantly—elastic environments. In effect, a customer may be using a full server in a “dedicated-like” way one moment, a small piece of that server the next, and then not at all the following day. We totally understand closing loopholes and needing to get paid properly on a licensing model. But given the state of the economy, the heavy competition for market-share, and the advent of developing Cloud technology this may be precisely the wrong time for Microsoft to turn this particular screw.  And if we are right and Cloud computing has the potential to devalue the brand of Operating Systems (OS) in general, will not this kick in the shorts to hosting providers encourage them to lean toward alternatives as the more adventurous of us build Cloud environments for Web and application hosting?  Who will choose Windows Server 2008 with HyperV as a virtualization solution in an effort to build an efficient Utility data center when the makers of the products are looking for new and creative ways to dig into your wallet and steal customers?  What SaaS provider will code to a more expensive solution from a provider with business-trust issues when the end user will not “know”—and likely not care—what OS the application is running on?

We think that this change is ill-considered and ill-timed and we think that the hosting community is not shy about expressing themselves with their voices and their technology decisions.

SmarterTools is Engaged

SmarterTools has literally thousands of customers and millions of users worldwide that could be impacted by this Microsoft effort.  We have reached out to our contacts in the industry and will update this post with additional information as we can.

Additional reading:

Related Parallels forum thread, Microsoft’s SPLA program info, related SmarterTools forum thread, related cPanel Blog post.

Important Disclaimer: SmarterTools is an independent software vendor (ISV) not directly associated with Microsoft Corporation and we do not pretend to have inside knowledge of Microsoft’s intent. But our team has significant experience in the hosting industry and SPLA in the past. Further, hosting companies use SmarterMail, SmarterTrack, and SmarterStats to deliver collaborative email, customer service, and Website analytics to literally millions of their customers every day. We have also done additional research and inquiries into this topic. As such, this post reflects our opinions, understanding, and experience on the subject.

Microsoft, Exchange, Azure, office Live, and Sharepoint are tradmarks of Microsoft Corporations (MSFT).  Rackspace is a trademark of Rackspace US Inc.  The Planet is a trademark of The Planet. 1&1 is a trademark of 1&1 Internet Inc.  All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

One of the benefits of working at SmarterTools is that I get to ALPHA and BETA test the new features and functions of our products as they are being developed. Sometimes these new features are so cool that it is hard for me to keep quiet about them until they have been officially announced. The optional Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync add-on for SmarterMail 6.x is one of those times.

Is It ActiveSync or Exchange ActiveSync?

It is important that we understand that we are talking about Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync (as opposed to ActiveSync for Windows). The similarity in naming has caused a little confusion.

As WindowsforDevices.com explains, ActiveSync for Windows was “designed to trade information between a Windows CE or Windows Mobile device and a desktop computer. This product only works via a serial cable, USB, Bluetooth, or other local connection.” This is the old-school, wired syncing that we all did with our first and second generation PDAs and has nothing to do with what we are talking about here. 

Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync was launched in 2003 and has been greatly updated and enhanced over the years. It utilizes true push technology to synchronize emails, folders, calendars, contacts, and tasks over-the-air between a server and a mobile device. This is the technology now available as an optional add-on with SmarterMail 6.x.

SmarterMail Synchronization Then and Now

Last year’s major release of SmarterMail 5.x built upon our previous standard wired and Outlook synchronization technologies to include over-the-air synchronization for most mobile devices using SyncML protocols. As a result, the ability to sync mobile devices with SmarterMail was pretty good--my Blackberry synced in near real-time.

But we recognized that there were still mobile devices that were not supported by these methods (such as certain Nokia smartphones) and that some key collaboration tools were synced on some phones but not on others (for example, iPhone calendars). SmarterTools is committed to improving and expanding our products’ capabilities, and when we decided to improve SmarterMail’s mobile synchronization features, ActiveSync fit the bill.

Preliminary testing showed that Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync’s proprietary technology is, in a few words, blazingly fast. Indeed, this is the core advantage of ActiveSync’s patented approach as a series of methods for streamlining and accelerating the synchronization of email and collaboration information in two directions with mobile devices.

Core Advantages of SmarterMail with Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync

Some key advantages ActiveSync holds over other synchronization methods include:

• Low impact on battery life. Because other synchronization methods are less efficient in how they handle data, some sync types use a lot more radio transmission time. Actual transmission is the most power-intensive thing a cell phone or mobile device does and it dramatically eats away at battery life. Cutting seconds off of over-the-air data transmission can add hours of uptime in between charging your mobile devices.
• True two-way syncing. Changes made in SmarterMail’s Webmail interface or associated email clients like Microsoft Outlook are quickly pushed to the mobile device and changes made on the mobile device are updated on the mail server just as quickly. No additional actions are necessary.
• Speed, speed, speed. Microsoft was smart to get patents on their ActiveSync methods. During SmarterTools’ detailed evaluation of the technology, it was my job to read through all of the patent descriptions for the several technologies covered. Their proprietary changes make real improvements and are quite clever. Sometimes the small things make all of the difference.
• More devices and more syncing. As I write this, SmarterMail is one of the few mail products licensed to include and resell Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync. However, there are many device and firmware manufacturers that have embraced this technology, including Apple, Motorola, Nokia, Palm, Sony Ericsson, and Symbian, and it is already available on hundreds of different smartphone models.

SmarterMail with ActiveSync: It Works

I have had the opportunity to test the new Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync add-on with my Apple iPhone 3Gs.  The set up was easy—just a few clicks on the iPhone and a query to our internal SmarterMail 6.x server and my contacts, calendars, email, and folders were fully synced. The whole process took a little over a minute to complete and made hundreds of contacts and a month’s worth of email and calendar information accessible from my iPhone. (By the way, you can set the iPhone and ActiveSync to grab data from the last few days, weeks, months, or more.)

I tested the two-way sync extensively, accepted calendar items, created new calendar items, edited contacts, and sent email. The synching and updating of data was seamless in both the Webmail interface and on the iPhone. The screens refreshed in seconds—sometimes before I even had the chance to click the stopwatch. It was amazing.

With the ability to sync my iPhone with SmarterMail via Exchange ActiveSync, I’m no longer tied to my computer. I can work from anywhere and am only seconds away from accessing my emails, invites, and other data. I have truly become a mobile worker.

A Few Final Words about SmarterMail and Synchronization

The existing on-board synching tools included with SmarterMail will be more than sufficient for many users. However, power users and demanding customers (a list that now includes me) will quickly become addicted to the speed and additional functionality of SmarterMail 6.x with ActiveSync. Hosting providers and ISPs will likely find that users are willing to pay a premium for email service that includes the ActiveSync add-on. When coupled with the enhanced archiving and mailing list features coming in version 6.x, small to medium-sized businesses will find that SmarterMail is a solid, cost-effective alternative to Microsoft Exchange.

 

Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation [MSFT]. Blackberry is a trademark of Research in Motion Ltd. [RIMM]. iPhone is a trademark of Apple Inc. [AAPL]. All other images, logos, and product names mentioned in this post are the trademarks and/or copyrights of their respective owners. Other publicly traded companies mentioned in this post include Motorola Inc. [MOT], Palm Inc. [PALM], and Nokia [NOK].

Since the SmarterMail 6.x BETA announcement, we have received a lot of interest regarding the coming ability  to include Commtouch Anti-Spam as a premium spam protection add-on to SmarterMail. After all, SmarterMail currently achieves up to 97% spam protection out-of-the-box. Where do you go from there?

The answer lies in the prevalence of spam and the constantly evolving threat that spammers represent. Recent statistics suggest that 90.4% of all email traffic (by count) is spam—a staggering number to be sure. In most businesses, achieving 97% performance might be seen as a big success—and actually, it is.

Email has become a mission-critical application that directly impacts productivity and—at the same time—is a very personal, almost intimate, method of communication. If a user receives 20 real or “wanted” messages per day, his mailbox is being hit with about 180 spam messages per day. Blocking 97% of spam means that you are stopping 174.6 of the “unwanted” emails. Unfortunately, what the user sees is a mailbox with 20 “good” messages and 5 to 6 “bad” ones. In the eyes of that end user (or, more to the point, your CEO), more than 20% of the received mail is spam.

So, for every 1% improvement in total spam prevention, the end user will actually perceive that improvement to be near 7%. This can make all the difference to busy executives and demanding hosting customers. If companies like SmarterTools and Commtouch can work together to keep at least 99.5% of spam out of inboxes—which our testing suggests can be achieved—that extra 2 to 3% of spam caught will result in the perception that spam protection is approaching five nines.

SmarterMail 5.x already incorporates more than a dozen antispam measures, including:

• SpamAssassin
• Greylisting
• Sender Policy Framework (SPF)
• DomainKeys
• Custom Headers
• Bayesian Filtering
• Reverse Domain Name Server (DNS)
• Real-Time Blacklist (RBL)
• Blacklist/Whitelist
• SMTP Blocking
• Per-user Spam Weighting

The new SmarterMail 6.x—now in full BETA test—builds upon this solid base with a new proprietary pattern-matching engine based upon SpamAssassin technology, enhancements to greylisting, DKIM, and more. These improvements will undoubtedly increase SmarterMail’s already impressive performance, but SmarterTools decided that we could do more to help users keep spam out of their inboxes.

Choosing a Spam Protection Partner

Late last year, we set out to evaluate the possible addition of new and/or third-party technology to allow for even better spam protection for our customers.  We had some basic criteria:

• The proposed technology had to show real, measurable improvements that delivered value
• The licensing model had to be flexible and able to accommodate our existing licensing model for SmarterMail
• The technology should be complimentary—meaning that spam solutions that duplicated or mirrored one or several of our existing antispam measures should be avoided

SmarterTools evaluated more than a half dozen technologies before deciding on Commtouch. Many were solid enough, but had antispam measures very similar to the sets that were currently in SmarterMail out-of-the-box. Others relied too much on visitor scoring, which can be unreliable, spotty, and at times conflicted (sometimes one man’s spam is another man’s valuable news).

Why We Chose Commtouch

Commtouch uses a world-wide network of detection devices to identify spam threats in real time based upon their internal analytics. This method of distributed collection, sometimes referred to as sniffing, allows the Commtouch technology to identify spam with a very high degree of certainty when spam outbreaks are in the earliest stages. Commtouch then processes these messages to quickly distinguish spam from newsletters, feeds, and “wanted” advertisements. For customers that  purchase the Commtouch add-on, SmarterMail is alerted to the specific spam threat in real time. In many cases, the Commtouch spam identification is learned and scored before the first spam message has even been read by an user. This type of remote sniffing technology seemed to be the best fit.

Commtouch did a good job of matching their licensing and terms to fit our customer base and product levels. They are also a publicly traded company (NASDAQ: CTCH) with a solid history and reputation. They have a proven model, reliable metrics, and a history of being able to manage the loads of both large hosting companies and small to medium sized businesses (SMBs). In a nutshell, Commtouch:

• Is a good technology fit
• Has a good reputation
• Offers a proven protection model
• Worked with SmarterTools to develop a flexible licensing model

Now in BETA

Want to try the Commtouch premium spam protection and Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync add-ons for 30 days?  Then sign up for the free BETA test of SmarterMail 6.x today.  The trial add-ons  can be activated from within the software during the BETA period. For more information about SmarterTools’ BETA program, please refer to the BETA Release FAQs.

As TechRepublic writer Chad Perrin once noted in an article about email security tips:

“There’s a lot of information out there about securing your email. Much of it is advanced and doesn’t apply to the typical end user… When one can find end-user email security tips, they’re usually specific to a single mail client or mail user agent...”

His article goes on to outline some basic security tips that apply to all email users, but fails to remind people of the top rules of email security and protection.

We’ve outlined the top five rules of email security below. While many of these rules may seem like common knowledge, they create the basis for which all other email security and protection measures are built.

1. Email is not free.

Services such as Gmail deliver email to some people as a service without charging them a fee. But that does not mean that the service is free. Google harvests information about users and interests--even about the people who receive email from these services--and uses that information to sell advertising. If you conduct business through email this can be especially disconcerting because the Gmail End User License Agreement required to access their "free" services grants permission to Google to market to you and others. They will use the information in the emails to specifically target ads related to the content. The cost of "free" email is likely your information and list of recipients.

2. Spam can be beat (mostly).

Although not perfect, modern email applications and premium spam filters can achieve high levels of spam protection--often exceeding 99%. Remember two important things in this regard: spammers are a moving target, continually adjusting their  techniques;  the order of spam protections can be as important as the types of spam protections you implement.

3. Email lives forever.

It should be common knowledge by now, but it is worth repeating. Email lives forever and even the most thoroughly deleted and purged email thread should be assumed to have a copy or log existing somewhere that a clever IT professional can find a way to access.

4. Abuse detection is vital.

If you are running your own mail server, you should find one with various abuse detections on board. This includes features such as intrusion detection, throttling, connection blocking, harvest attack protection, and malicious script filtering, among others. It is also beneficial if the mail sever has an internal events/action/notification system in place to keep administrators informed in real-time.

5. Don't forget viruses.

We place a lot of emphasis on spam protection. This is understandable because spam is arguably the biggest problem related to email and therefore virus attacks just do not get the media attention that they used to.  But do not neglect on-board virus protection. Spammers want your money and information--virus creators just want to hurt you and your systems. It is the Web-world difference between a grifter and a sociopath.

Parallels organized another successful Summit with a near record number of attendees. SmarterTools exhibited at the Parallels Summit 2009 and had the opportunity to meet many Summit participants.

Hosted Services (SaaS) and More

Most of the attendees were interested about the upcoming release of SmarterTrack 4.x, SmarterTools Hosted Services, and our new Hosted Affiliate program.

New features planned for SmarterTrack 4.x include an integrated survey system, multi-lingual support, a tabbed Portal, agent to agent chat, support for multiple brands, and more. To get a sneak peak at SmarterTrack 4.x, participate in the SmarterTrack 4.x BETA test.

Earlier this year, SmarterTools unveiled plans to offer select products as a hosted service (SaaS), with Hosted SmarterTrack being the first such service. In preparation for the launch of Hosted SmarterTrack, SmarterTools enhanced its infrastructure to include a Tier 3 data center. Limited spaces are available for the Hosted SmarterTrack BETA. For more information, visit the Free Hosted Trial page.

With the addition of hosted services (SaaS) to SmarterTools’ offerings, a new partner program for Hosted Affiliates was created. This partner option provides companies with the opportunity to earn recurring revenue while adding up to $750 in value to their current shared, dedicated, and VPS offerings. For more information on how your company can maximize its earnings with SmarterTools Hosted Services, visit the Promoting Hosted Services page.

Plesk and SmarterMail Partnership Announced

Many Summit participants were also excited to hear that SmarterTools and Parallels have joined forces to provide Parallels Plesk Panel for Windows customers with free access to SmarterMail Lite, a specially-developed version of the SmarterMail mail server that provides unlimited email accounts and domains at no additional cost when used in conjunction with upcoming versions of the Parallels Plesk Panel for Windows. See the SmarterMail Lite and Plesk Panel Flyer for more details.

Hosting Success Presentation Attracts a Crowd

On the final day of the Summit, Jeff Hardy, vice president of business operation for SmarterTools, gave a presentation to a packed audience called “A Roadmap for Hosting Success in Challenging Times: SmarterTools and Parallels (PDF).” Jeff discussed finding value and maintaining price in hosting environments; the new Plesk 9.0 initiative with SmarterMail to increase value and lower email costs for hosting companies; bundling software and services to increase customer acquisitions without increasing costs; using business intelligence to develop efficiencies and drive success; and more.

Additional material detailing the use of customer service and sales departments to create effective business intelligence can be found in the presentation “Customer Service and its Discontents: How to Turn an Overhead Expense into the Most Powerful Tool in Your Business Arsenal (PDF).”

And the Winner of the SmarterTools Scooter Giveaway is…

At the end of his presentation, Jeff announced the winner of the SmarterTools Scooter Giveaway. We heard that our friend Takeshi Eto from Discount ASP was only one number away from winning (as was ZipServers) and that Liam Eagle at The WHIR blogged about the presentation and scooter giveaway.

In the end though, it was Andy Ridinger of Mural Consulting who was selected in a random drawing as the winner of the SmarterTools Scooter Giveaway. Congratulations again, Andy! We hope you enjoy your new scooter.

The Parallels Summit is Over.

Time to Plan for WebhostingDay.

All in all, the Summit was a great success. Thanks again to Parallels for hosting another great event. We’re looking forward to returning next year. In the meantime, the SmarterTools team is preparing for WebhostingDay in Germany March 18-20. If you are also planning on attending this event, please let us know.

Parallels Plesk 9 Launch Party: View from miX in Las Vegas

Soaring high into the sky atop THEhotel at Mandalay Bay, miX has one of the most outstanding views of the Strip.

SmarterTools recently completed its transition to a new data center in the Phoenix area. The addition of the Tier 3 data  center was integral for the upcoming launch of our hosted services (such as our Hosted SmarterTrack customer service software) and will help us support increased demand for our software.

It was a logical step for our company, but not one that was taken lightly. We realize that many of our customers use our software and services for mission-critical tasks, so the security of their information and the availability of our software and services are paramount.

 

8 Tips for Choosing a Data Center Solution

Choosing the best data center to house our servers and associated infrastructure wasn’t a snap decision. We researched several data center solutions, finally settling on ours after numerous on-site visits and discussions with the data center staff regarding the features and benefits of their colocation services. Based on our experience, we can offer the following tips for choosing a reliable data center:

Make sure a potential data center site is fully redundant

At a minimum, you should look for primary backup solutions for all critical components—power, fire suppression, HVAC, etc.—as well as secondary backup solutions in case a primary backup fails. For example, our data center power feed is fed by conditioned UPS electricity, with redundant feeds from two independent substations and multiple on-premise backup generators. In addition, there are 27,000 gallons of reserve diesel fuel on site. Our data center cooling systems also feature welded, bidirectional piping for redundancy and maintenance, and an additional 32,000 gallon backup water storage facility is located on site.

Make sure a potential data center has abundant and affordable telecommunications infrastructure

Our data center provides network neutral access to major telecommunications carriers and Internet backbones, meaning that we benefit from direct access to local, national, international, wireline, wireless, private, public, research, dark fiber, and other networks. As a result, our data center ensures 99.999% uptime and our customers benefit from reliable access to their data.

Benefit from guaranteed reliability and uptime with service-level agreements (SLAs)

SLAs are an important tool for maintaining quality of service because they can guarantee power service, temperature stability, and network uptime. Since most data centers offer SLAs as part of their contracts, it’s worthwhile to ask for and evaluate the terms of the SLA. According to Nemertes Research, SLAs are critical to data center services, and IT executives cite SLAs as the third-most important criterion in selecting a service provider for data center outsourcing. Our SLA guarantees five nines reliability.

Evaluate the safety and security features of a potential data center

Building security is extremely important, so you’ll want to look for a data center that offers quality security systems and/or guards on duty 24/7. Our data center utilizes advanced security technologies such as digital video, electronic access control, fingerprint recognition, and retinal scans.

Minimize the risk of natural and man-made threats by researching the locations under consideration for your data center

Our new data center operates in an area that is widely acknowledged to be free of natural disasters or “mega city” political risks, greatly reducing the risk of disruption due to natural or man-made disasters. For those looking for a data center solution in the United States, the Federal Emergency Management Agency lists natural disasters by state and by year dating back to 1953.

Make sure a potential data center has plans in place for growth

Because it’s unlikely that your business will stay the same size it is today, asking about the scalability of a potential data center is a good idea. You don’t want to find out six months from now that the data center mounted your server in its last rack space. Our data center is dedicated to meeting our comprehensive, long-term business needs and provides flexible and expandable data center space as needed.

Pay attention to data center business risks

Remember that data centers are real estate. Based upon square footage, a data center may be some of the most expensive real estate in the world, but all of the same rules apply. Have options in place to extend your lease at a fixed, predictable cost. You do not want to have to choose between substantial rent increases and expensive migrations at the end of the year. Also, make sure that you have an escape clause with defined costs in case the data center fails to meet your needs in the future due to unforeseen circumstances. Finally, watch the insurance requirements: Make sure that you know what the liabilities of the data center are and what falls squarely on you, and update your insurance policies accordingly.

Talk to the data center staff

If you’re struggling to choose between two data centers, talking to the staff may help you select the winner. Ultimately, your satisfaction depends not only on the building and its technology but also on the quality, culture, and experience of the people operating the facility.

The Choice is Clear

The best data center facilities provide flexibility in terms of scalability, connectivity and monitoring options; fail-safe security; a redundant, quality infrastructure with 99.999% reliability; and knowledgeable technical, monitoring, and support staff dedicated to meeting customer requirements from installation to ongoing operations. Whether you’re looking for a data center solution for colocation or disaster recovery, the choice will be easy if a potential data center successfully meets these requirements.

If you found these tips for choosing a data center solution useful, consider subscribing to the SmarterTools Blog so you’ll never miss a post. For more information about SmarterTools’ industry-leading network, check out the Data Center and Infrastructure page.

Last week, SmarterTools had the opportunity to present at PubCon, a technology conference hosted by Webmaster World.  I represented SmarterTools in a panel discussion on Cloud Computing--specifically to give our perspective as an independent software vender who is looking at writing software applications for the Cloud to be delivered as a service (SaaS).  For all the hyperbola and sales pitches, this is the essence of Web 2.0.

This concept has special importance for SmarterTools.  We have been developing hosted applications since we were founded in 2003 and more than 15 million end users access our software through hosting providers for their email/collaboration and Web site statistics every day.  In addition, we are building the infrastructure and preparing our SmarterTrack customer service software application for purchase and delivery over the Web as a service.  Is Cloud something for us to consider?

Cloud Computing Options and Alternatives

We looked at all of the major Cloud Computing initiatives coming online: Microsoft Azure, Amazon  Web Services, and Google Cloud Computing Service in addition to lesser-known initiatives by hosting providers such as Rackspace.  We heard all of their ideas, visited their Web sites, and attended their Webinars.  Then we dug deeper.  For the presentation we identified 12 basic arguments used by those who are advocates of the Cloud Computing model.  Then we spent time trying to determine which were real potential benefits of Cloud Computing in the near term, which were possible benefits going forward, and which were all hype.  The result was a 15-20 minute Power Point presentation for our part of the panel, followed by Q & A.

Presenting the Cloud

The presentation is called Seeing Through the Fog - The Current State of Cloud Computing from an Independent Development Perspective (PDF format) and I enjoyed sharing the stage with Mike Culver from the Amazon Web Services division.  My presentation covered all 12 points, but for the remainder of this post I will focus on what I think is an important misconception regarding Cloud Computing as it is constructed today.

The Biggest Misconception in Cloud Computing

In my view, the industry is fostering a misconception in the minds of the IT consumers who will ultimately be the customers of this potentially valuable service.  This Cloudy issue is the perception that hosting Web sites and applications "in the Cloud" means that those sites and apps are not tied to a structure--that they are free and loose in the nebulous Internet, unencumbered by restrictions of space and geography.  Even the term "Cloud"  reinforces this perception. 

While this may be true on a machine-to-machine level, it is not true from a broader perspective--meaning that it is important for us to remember that even Cloud Computing (as it is defined and constructed today) is tied to specific data centers operated by the Cloud vender.  An application may "appear" on any single or number of servers in a data center, but they are on a server--just not necessarily the same server(s).  In this way it is only a small step forward from conventional hosting environments (though rapid scalability--up and down--and reduced start-up costs are significant advantages).  The technology is moving to where applications and Web sites will potentially exist in/on multiple data centers in geographically disparate locations, but there will still be a finite number of locations.  This important concept changes the way we will think about true scalability, stability, performance, and security as Cloud Computing develops and gains adoption.

Cloud of Clouds

Make no mistake, Cloud Computing is a revolutionary concept that will--more than most other advances--bring us to Internet ubiquity where space and bandwidth are delivered like municipal water service or electricity.  But we are still a long way from there.  Remember that, in the early days of electricity, local utilities and even individual neighborhoods had vastly different ideas about how electricity should be delivered: different amperage, wattage, etc.  This is a pretty good analogy for where Cloud Computing is today.  Each Cloud under development is unique and incompatible.  Applications and sites will need to be developed for a specific Cloud platform (an important cost-basis to consider).  But this will change in the long term.  As I said in Seeing Through the Fog:

"Just as the OS is being subverted by the advent of browser-based/Web-based applications, independent Cloud platforms will be subverted by the need for cross-cloud compatibility. Efficiency will demand it if Cloud computing is to ultimately succeed. Therefore there will eventually be a ‘Cloud of Clouds’ delivering computing capacity seamlessly and transparently."

It took many years for the various competing ideas on electricity to be ironed out into one standard and for appliances and other uses to adapt to that standard (those who did not adapt perished).  Now, power companies share power and generating capacity without regard for geography or distance.  As I type this post, the electricity consumed by my computer may have been generated by my local Arizona utility (SRP), or it may just as well be excess electricity from Nevada, Washington, or any other utility on the grid--but it is still delivered to me by SRP.

One of the problems with most contemporary Cloud Computing providers is that they still see the creation of Cloud networks as a way to "lock in" customers for other products and services--not as the viable multi-billion user access model that it might more naturally be.  Amazon gets some credit in this regard because their "device-based" approach makes it a bit less complicated to migrate out of their Cloud into a more conventional hosting environment.  However, Cloud to Cloud migrations are still very complex or not available at all.  But I digress.

Conclusion

Cloud Computing holds a lot of promise and we believe that it is likely to be a major influence on hosting and application development.  SmarterTools is preparing all of our products for potential Cloud compatibility in the future because we have confidence that the incumbent issues will be satisfactorily resolved as this new technology matures.

Jeffrey J. Hardy

 

All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.  Microsoft Azure [MFST], Google [GOOG], Amazon [AMZN], Rackspace Hosting Inc. [RAX].

I just received a text message on my cell phone.  No big deal, right?  We each get perhaps a dozen or more text messages every day from family and friends about everything from one-line jokes to dinner plans.  But this text message is special because it was sent to me by the SmarterTrack customer service software installation we use internally to manage our Technical Support team.

I decided to blog about this today because whenever I talk about this unique feature--even with some of our most loyal and educated customers--the person I am talking to often responds with surprise and says, "It does that?  That's cool!"

It is cool--really cool, in fact.  Both our SmarterMail Windows mail server and SmarterTrack customer  service software have the events and notification system built right in.  This means that users, administrators, and managers can set all kinds of triggering events and the software will perform tasks, send notifications, or (in the case of SmarterMail) launch a command line executable.

Text Messages, Email, Reminders, and...SmarterNotify?

The notification can be via email and/or text message.  SmarterMail has the Reminders pop-up that works with it as well.  And--coming soon--the SmarterTools development team is ALPHA-testing a new (no additional charge) add-on to all of our products called SmarterNotify (you heard it here first!).  SmarterNotify will be a lightweight desktop application that can be pointed at all SmarterTools products to function as an alert system--even when the browser is closed and you are not actively using the product.  It will let you know when an email or ticket comes in or if one of your other alerts is being triggered.

The text message I just received is a Notification I set up called "Ticket Count" and it sends me a text message when the master queue in our customer service department--or for any individual agent for that matter--backs up beyond our Service Level Agreement (SLA) policy.  My text message alert just informed me how many support tickets are waiting to be assigned. 

Since I am writing this on a Sunday I am not concerned, but I know what the work load of our service team is going to be when they hit the door tomorrow morning--all without firing up my PC or spoiling the family Bar-B-Q.  I also know that there are no critical or emergency support tickets waiting--I have alerts set up for those too so I can enjoy what remains of my weekend without a nagging voice in the back of my head (a distracted Jeff equals burnt steaks).  I have additional alerts set up in case a ticket is sent from certain SmarterTools partners because we have a few important cooperative development projects going on (really good stuff--I'll tell you as soon as I can).  In a nut shell, the Events system means productivity and peace of mind--both are management brain candy.

Take Action, Now!

In the case of SmarterTrack, I can create an event so that if Agent Joe is falling behind, his tickets are automatically re-balanced to  the rest of his team.  An action can be created to automatically escalate any ticket with certain keywords to an internal specialist.  We can even let the Partnership and Sales team "know" about a support ticket from a particular customer while letting the support team handle it in the normal fashion.  There is really no limit and these Events/Notifications/Actions can be set up on the fly in the Web interface.  Turn one on, turn one off, create a new one--all through the browser with no coding, control panel, or third-party application involved.

Business-side managers like me will love this in SmarterTrack.  IT and Systems-side guys will love the same thing in SmarterMail because of the automated attack prevention and throttling (etc.) that can be achieved.  I know that using these features internally has made SmarterTools a lot more efficient as an organization, prevented issues form getting out of hand, made our customers happy, and saved us money.  Different types and levels of Events/Notifications/Actions are available for managers, administrators, and even individual users.

This blog post has only scratched the surface.  You can read more about the Events system and all of its features at both the SmarterTrack Events page and the SmarterMail Events page.

In the time it took me to write this post I received another message telling me that a specific email I have been waiting for has just arrived...you are going to love this thing!

Be well,

Jeff Hardy

I hope that you all saw our press release last week: http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080911/20080911005193.html?.v=1

Yes, SmarterMail, SmarterTrack, and SmarterStats all look good and function well in Google's new Chrome browser.  Over the last year we took the time and investment to create the "STInterfaceFramework."  Basically, this means that all of our products are designed from the ground up with a common, solid Web design that is cross browser compatible and allows for common skinning to save time and money for our customers.  Another added benefit is that, since the foundation is streamlined and efficient, new browsers and other technologies are adapted and integrated with relative ease.  We do not have to reinvent the wheel when advances are rolled out.

We conducted tests with the new BETA version of Google's Chrome browser and everything works as it should and looks right.  A few tweaks here and there in the next minor release and we will be all set--arguably before Chrome is truly ready for market itself.

As our CEO said in the press release:

“We imagine a technological future not dominated by one or two controlling mega-technology companies. Web 2.0 (and later) is all about empowerment and choice. We see a world where consumers will be able to open virtually any browser on any computer in the world to access SmarterMail, and push email and collaboration to their Apple iPhone, BlackBerry, or other mobile device—and we think this is a good thing.”

Testing Google Chrome

I am running Chrome now as my primary browser and it is fast and has a good assortment of features--really not bad for a brand-spanking-new product still in BETA.  Pop-ups work great and the importing of favorites and common sites is very fast.  The address/search bar works very well indeed.  I also like how enterable fields are rendered and emphasized with a default butterscotch-colored trim--not perfect but it is very intuitive.

Google's Dark Side

There has been a lot of stress regarding the EULA and ownership/redistribution of information displayed and/or entered inside the interface.  Others have done a very good job of talking about this, so I will trust that the other bloggers and reporters will communicate market demand well enough so that I can pass on it for now (see the MarketWatch piece).  I have also noticed that the installation of Chrome seems to have fiddled with my java settings a little.  This has made me unable to post to my personal Google Blogger (Blogspot) account through IE--but it works very well in Chrome.  Hmmmm....

Reflections on Chrome

I do see some compatibility issues with some of my favorite sites, but I suspect that the Google development team is hard at work, pounding caffeine energy drinks to bring all of this into compliance.  Probably my favorite attribute of Chrome is the "cleanliness" of the interface--buttons and features are tucked away so that the Web site being viewed gets the limelight without distractions.  Time will tell if Google--with their predilection for ads and a monetize-every-link-possible philosophy--will be able to resist the temptation to crowd it up with wiz-bang colors and mouse-over annoyances.

All in all, it appears to be a solid effort that will likely shake up the FireFox's and IE's of the world in a  good way.  But I have to say that they might want to re-think the "Simon-esque" Chrome Logo.

Until next time,

Jeff

What a ride!  And what a great way to launch the official SmarterTools blog.

SmarterTools arrived in full force at HostingCon 2008.  When we attended last year, one of the most frequent requests from customers, partners, and friends was to be able to meet a few of our lead developers who had been with us since the beginning.  Mission accomplished--Grady Werner and Bryon Grosz helped man our booth this year with six other SmarterTools staffers.  Everyone was glad to see them.

We had literally dozens of our Authorized Resellers and Bundle Partners come by and we signed up several more.  Everyone seemed really excited about the new version releases.  We had a lot going on with a Major version of SmarterStats 4.x coming out just days prior to the event and with SmarterMail 5.5 (adding BlackBerry support among other things) and SmarterTrack 3.5 (adding WhosOn and more) coming out at the same time.

The list of Partners and Friends is so long that I hesitate to try and list them.  I would hate to leave anyone out accidentally, but we saw:

• Jess and Carlos from AppliedI
• Bob, Chandi, Derek, and Rene' from CrystalTech
• Alex and William from ActiveHost
• Lou, Brian, Rob, Derek, and many more from HostMySite
• Takeshi and Mark from DiscountASP
• Feodor from DotNetPanel
• J.T. from ViUX
• The entire Parallels crew
• Many, many more...

Tim Uzzanti, the SmarterTools CEO, hosted one of the meeting sessions title "Customer Support and Its Discontents."  He did a great job and we received a lot of positive feedback.  We will likely be presenting this topic again at other events throughout the year.  So if you missed it, you will probably have another chance to hear it and we will keep you informed.

As you can see, our booth was right up front--taking one of the three premier positions in the exhibit hall.  It turned out great (if I do say so myself) and we are very proud of the whole SmarterTools team that participated.  We gave away SmarterTools t-shirts and did product demos, but it seems that the most popular part of our booth was the free cans of Brawndo energy drink that we gave away. 

Big "thanks" go out to our promotional partner Redux Beverages--the makers of Brawndo--who shipped us all of those cans just so we could give them away.  For those of you "out-of-the-know,"  Brawndo stems from the movie "Idiocracy" from 2006--a futuristic dark comedy in which the previously fictitious drink plays a major part.  Seeing the movie makes tasting the drink all the more sweet!

The show was a big success for all.  Thanks to the good folks at Interjuncture for putting it all together.  iNet Interactive has purchased the show and will be producing it next year--we wish them continued success.

Until next time,
Jeff