Kicking and Screaming I am Bloggin

That’s right, even though you hemmed and hawed it is still not too late. Seems Harry did battle with the calendar and lost, so you win. The deadline for early bird registrations has been extended until end of day 9/8/2008

Don’t let it slip by again! Here is the BROCHURE

Here is the link to REGISTER before it is really too late.

Just a quick note from our friend Jeff, I am sure he knows he is in all our thoughts this Labor Day.

Hi Gang,

This will no doubt sound odd, but we decided to remain in New Orleans, at least until the storm has passed. I want to assure everyone that if I thought our situation and circumstances were not safe with a reasonable margin, we would not be here.

On a technical note, I moved MX records to be managed by Vlad so my email will be cached, but it’s possible that I will be down for email communication for a period of time (24 hrs) after the storm passes. 

We expect to lose power, get some rain and wind, it’s pretty much a given. We are not in the area expected to get the maximum winds from the storm. Don’t assume the worst, we are in a good area by pretty much every definition today other than it’s in Louisiana. :)

- Jeff

HaNote, this is where the STORM IS NOW

If you missed the live meeting traing series for SBS 2008 you can watch the recorded versions.

Here is a list, have patience it takes forever once you click one of these links until you get to the actual recording, but it is well worth the wait. Once they start they are fine and you will learn a lot.

HaNote: when you get to wespal05 which is actually part 4 use the low res version, the hi res verion is missing the slides, the rest of them play fine in ri res.

Session 1 - https://training.partner.microsoft.com/plc/details.aspx?systemid=1821820&page=/plc/search_adv.aspx

Session 2 - https://training.partner.microsoft.com/plc/details.aspx?systemid=1821957&page=/plc/search_adv.aspx

Session 3 - https://training.partner.microsoft.com/plc/details.aspx?systemid=1822160&page=/plc/search_adv.aspx

Session 4 - https://training.partner.microsoft.com/plc/details.aspx?systemid=1822161&page=/plc/search_adv.aspx

Session 5 - https://training.partner.microsoft.com/plc/details.aspx?systemid=1822162&page=/plc/search_adv.aspx

Session 6 - https://training.partner.microsoft.com/plc/details.aspx?systemid=1822163&page=/plc/search_adv.aspx

Session 7 - https://training.partner.microsoft.com/plc/details.aspx?systemid=1822164&page=/plc/search_adv.aspx

The last part of the series has been postponed until Sept 10th here is the link to register
https://training.partner.microsoft.com/plc/details.aspx?publisher=12&delivery=249912

So the tease campaign is over, it is time to get down to the nuts and bolts. Ready for partnering 2.0, Vlad lays out his vision for the future of the Technology Business and how he can help you not only survive, but thrive in this new and exciting space. Pour yourself a cup of coffee and set aside a few minutes to digest this POST, he is going to make you money even if you fight him all the way :>)

Did I catch your attention with that headline?

Read the gory details on VLAD’S BLOG, new and improved offerings from Exchange Defender.

Unbeleiviable pricing thanks to SMB Super Hero Crazy Ligman.

This picture caught my eye while I was aimlessly browsing blogs this morning,

What has Vlad Done Now?

So I hop on over there to check it out and I must be too early, damn it is not often I get up before the worm.

So join me and come back a little later to check out the announcement and ExchangeDefender 4.0, I can’t wait. Can ED really get any better?

Boy what some guys won’t stoop down to, TEASE MARKETING what would Jack Ryan say?

PRESS RELEASE

SMB Nation 2008 Fall Conference to Hold Launch Party: Small Business Server 2008 and Essential Business Server 2008.

MarketPlace Expo SOLD OUT!

Seattle, WA – August 22, 2008 - Boasting a completely sold out tradeshow hall and host hotel, SMB Nation 2008 will hold a Small Business Server 2008 (SBS) and Essential Business Server (EBS) LAUNCH PARTY on the Saturday night of its October 4-6, 2008 annual conference in Seattle. A 58’ Hatteras yacht will be christened the M.V. SBS 2008 on the pier at the party.

“With the SBS 2008 release-to-manufacturing (RTM) yesterday, we are thrilled to be timed perfectly for the SBS 2008 and EBS 2008 products debut and look forward to toasting its great success,” said Harry Brelsford, founder and CEO of the 20,000 member SMB Nation. “Our conference is uniquely positioned to motivate and educate the small and medium business (SMB) technology consultant, channel partner and computer guy and gal!”

SMB Nation 2008 appears to be outperforming similar technology events with the complete sellout of the MarketPlace Expo tradeshow hall and with attendance figures ahead of last year. “We believe the 600+ attendees will be treated to a unique educational experience and BE THERE for the start for the next generation of SBS and the first release of EBS!” Brelsford added. Over three busy days and nights, attendees will select from three (3) academic tracks including BusinessSpeak, GeekSpeak and “How To” that provide bona fide content without “being sold to.” SMB Nation 2008 has even added a “Speakers Behaving Badly” hotline where attendees can report any speaker from the 40+ content sessions that make commercial statements to insure the most pure attendee experience possible. “We want to avoid the wolf in sheep clothing phenomena,” emphasized Brelsford.

Sponsors and attendees will meet in the spacious Bell Harbor Conference Center. “At a time when similar technology shows are behind plan, we are ahead of plan” said Brelsford. “We believe this underscores the strength of the SMB segment and the optimism our sponsors have about the SBS 2008 and EBS 2008 opportunity.” Intel and Trend Micro are the platinum sponsors leading the event followed by HP and Microsoft. Gold sponsors include Autotask, CMIT  Solutions, Aastra, SonicWall and Labtech. Silver sponsors include D&H, The Planet, Connectwise, Citrix, N-able, Reflexion, Tigerpaw Software, Nero, 19Marketplace, Symantec, StorageCraft, Acronis, Calyptix, MaxSP, Doyenz, EMC Retrospect, Quanta\Syspine, Zenith Infotech, Linked In, Backup Assist,  CRU DataPort and WatchGuard. Bronze sponsors include Netgear, Untangle, CTL Computers, Level Platforms (LPI), MSP Partners, Linksys by Cisco, Comcast, Diskeeper, Expetec, New Global Telecom (NGT), Pronto Marketing, eFolder, CoreConnex, Highly Reliable Systems, SMB Books & Results Software, Technology Marketing Toolkit, Napera Networks, Independent Computer Consultants Association (ICCA) and Integrated mar.com. 

Attendees can expect a high-quality conference with content that has been rigorously scrutinized by esteemed industry conference chairs (Dana Epp, Mikael Nystrom, Curt Hicks and Joe Moore). That has resulted in outstanding speaker selections such as Jeff Middleton, Susan Bradley, Ramon Ray and Amy Babinchak and popular topics such as How to Sell Your SBS\SMB Consulting Practice and Security in SBS 2008.

“So the last question is this. Where will you be October 4-6, 2008?” concluded Brelsford. Attendees can learn more and register at www.smbnation.com.

About SMB Nation

Founded ten years ago by Small Business Server author Harry Brelsford, Bainbridge Island, Washington-based SMB Nation supports small and medium business technology consultants to improve their business and technical skills with publications (books, SMB PC magazine) and events (SMB Nation conferences and workshops). SMB Nation boasts worldwide tribal membership in 30+ countries exceeding 20,000 consultants, resellers, VARs\VAPs and channel partners. Harry Brelsford is a Microsoft Small Business Specialist (SBSC) and holds an MBA from the University of Denver in addition to MCSE, MCT, MCP, CNE, CLSE and CNP certifications.

 Contact:
Harry Brelsford
CEO, SMB Nation
206-915-3072
harryb@smbnation.com
Harry Brelsford | CEO | SMB Nation, Inc. | www.smbnation.com

Please attend our SMB Nation 2008 fall conference, October 4-6, 2008
Read Harry’s SMB Dude Blog here
Download your copy of SMB PC magazine here

This morning I found this GREAT POST on the Diva’s Site. They say plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery, so here it goes:

Let’s get out our pencils shall we?

Start with the price tag of SBS 2003.

Add to that the price tag of Windows 2003.

Add to that the price tag of ISA 2006

Add to that the price tag of Outlook 2007 licenses.

Add to that the price tag of SharePoint Designer.

Got all that in your head?

Okay so now think of the price tag of SBS 2008.  Got that?

So now if I told you that between now and October 31 that you can have your customers buy SBS 2003 + Software Assurance, spread the price tag over the next three years (and like who couldn’t like a spread of payments in this economy) and then when SBS 2008 hits the streets you get SBS 2008 plus all those bonus pieces of software I just listed.

There are times that Software Assurance is a very hard sell.  And then there are those times when it REALLY pencils out. 

One of the good things is that SBS 2008 RTM’d today.  It’s finally out.  One of the bad things is that SBS 2008 RTM’d today.  That means the clock is ticking on your ability to lock in this steal of a deal.

One of the best benefits of SBS 2008 is the ability to park whatever stupid line of business software you have (do check it’s supportability on Windows 2008).  Another advantage is that you can run that second server as a 32bit box in case you have funky printers that can’t support 64bit.

But bottom line, check out the attached slide deck.

http://msmvps.com/media/p/1645467.aspx (whoops forgot the link)

Software assurance makes sense, but only until October 31st.  Act now, before the window of opportunity passes you by.

Today the long awaited RTM (Release To Manufacture) of SBS 2008 formerly know as Cougar is a reality.

This marks a major milestone in SMB technology as we wave goodbye to 32 bit technology and welcome in the new world of mainstream 64 bit technology. Years of effort have gone in to building this long awaited upgrade to the almost 6 year old SBS 2003 product base.

This new release is going to make adoption of SBS so much easier for folks moving from P2P whether they are a DIYer or were smart enough to hire a pro from the get go. Either way I am betting the adoption rate for SBS doubles over the next 12 months even in the tight economy. This is by far the easiest OOBE (Out Of Box Experience) for SBS since its inception. A little harder of a sale to existing SBS 2003 customers since 2003 was such a great product, there is no ”I just have to have this today” but there are a lot of cool new things SBS 2008 not the least of which is the new image based backup. 

I want to publicly congratulate the entire SBS team on a job well done, SBS still Rocks!