ChannelThinking

Jay McBain, Director, Small and Medium Business, Lenovo Americas

While attending a large Public Sector conference in Florida earlier this week, I had the chance to listen to the new face of healthcare in the United States – the IRS!

Several agencies were either created or expanded by the passage of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act on March 30, 2010. These include the Health Choices Administration, the Health Benefits Advisory Committee, and the Health Insurance Exchange, among dozens of others.

However, the primary federal bureaucracy responsible for implementing and enforcing national health care will be an old and familiar one: the Internal Revenue Service. They will determine who has an acceptable health insurance plan, find and punish those who don’t have such a plan, subsidize individual health insurance costs through the issuance of a tax credits, and enforce the rules on those who attempt to opt out, game, or otherwise game the system.

The Health Care Act finished up at over 2,500 pages. This is just the beginning, according to industry experts (including the IRS). The regulation and legislation interpreting this act will likely run from 75,000 to 100,000 additional pages. This is in addition to the earlier Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (better known as HIPAA) from 1996. HIPAA has already changed the industry significantly with the addition of privacy and security safeguards required for compliance. Examples include:

1. Administrative Safeguards – policies and procedures designed to clearly show compliance with the act including designating a privacy officer.

2. Physical Safeguards – controlling physical access to protect against inappropriate access to protected data

3.Technical Safeguards – controlling access to computer systems and enabling covered entities to protect communications containing patient information.

What does this mean for the Channel and Managed Service Providers?

Many Channel partners have taken advantage of opportunities around HIPAA compliance already. The level of consulting, implementation and support services needed to reduce the complexity as well as ensure compliance has grown exponentially. With at least 75,000 pages of regulation on its way by 2014, this will not slow down.

It was reported by Gartner last year that 11% of US based small and medium sized businesses IT spending is in a recurring revenue model. Looking at each of the 27 major industries, it is very clear that government intervention is good for the growing Managed Services industry.

A couple of examples:

1.Finance industry – with the current political climate supporting increased regulation of Wall Street, it isn’t farfetched to think that 2,500 pages of law may be coming soon. On top of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, forthcoming legislation will likely add administrative, physical and technical safeguards to this industry as well. Independent accountants and financial planners may be put in the same position as doctors and medical practices are today.

2. Oil industry – with the worst ecological disaster in US history happening now in the gulf, it is extremely likely that the tide of industry self-regulation will come to an end. Regulation and compliance will not just be for the largest of the oil companies, every small geological and engineering company will be included as well.

3. Education industry – with significant budget shortfalls in almost every state, one of the casualties has been IT support for schools. In fact, a study by eSchoolNews last year showed 550 mean number of computers per technician – a staggering 1409:1 student to technician ratio. 75% of IT professionals in this industry report no having enough staff to implement and manage new technology.

Why Managed Services is the Model of the Future

Those Channel Partners who have made the successful transition to Managed Services are reaping the benefits of supporting more and more customers from a central location. Building a practice that blends vertical expertise as well as horizontal consulting and implementation capabilities will further drive growth for these providers.

I am hear customer feedback from single doctors right up through ultra-large school divisions that having a trusted Service provider who share the same goals and objectives has truly changed the game.

It wasn’t long ago that the Channel garnered most of its services revenue from time and materials, break/fix and implementing disparate systems. Customers wondered whether the Partner really wanted the solution to work – as that would theoretically reduce their revenue.

In a recurring revenue model, the mutual goal of the customer and provider are to reduce costs, increase productivity, and implement best practices. The customer has the benefit of utilizing seasoned veterans, paying for performance, and a variable expense model that can be funded operationally off the balance sheet. The largest benefit for the customer is not to take their eye of the ball – avoiding decoding 75,000 pages of regulation and legislation and hoping to be compliant.

Call to Action

As IT vendors (big and small) take notice of this future there must be a willingness to work together for the common good of the Managed Services Provider. This means seamless hardware and software integration with their services. This also means a clear, consistent and predictable Channel program that doesn’t compete.

As Managed Service Providers further develop their acumen in vertical solutions, less time will be spent on navigating the myriad of vendors and complicated programs.

Jay McBain, Director, Small and Medium Business, Lenovo Americas

As an extension to the Community blog I wrote about a week ago, the core marketing function is going through a similar transformation.  This is not meant to be another commentary on the effects of social media, but the change in corporate thinking that needs to surround it.

Marketing Legacy:

Step 1:  Develop theme

Step 2:  Define budget and obtain financial approvals

Step 3:  Back into marketing plan based on budget

Step 4:  Close on traditional marketing vehicles, blending branding and demand generation

2010 and beyond:

Step 1:  Develop multiple themes and sound bites, define content owners and delivery mechanisms

Step 2:  Transactional budgeting and just-in-time micro-investments

Step 3:  Prepare for over 30 marketing vehicles and lock in communities, traditional and new media routes, and aggressive social media strategy

Step 4:  Generate market visibility every day, blending messaging across brand building, demand generation, thought leadership, education, breaking news, industry value add and leadership, public persona building as well as a measured amount of hype.

Defining the change

Most of us sat through Marketing 101 learning the legacy model above.  The main objective of traditional marketing training is choosing 2-3 “big” ideas and then hitting a home-run in the marketplace.  Careers were made on the back of big sports marketing plays or the agency campaign that turned the corner for the company.

I have never been a fan of black or white rhetoric when predicting future trends.  The traditional media vehicles have been, continue to be, and will in the future be very important for delivering results.  TV, radio, magazines, billboards and the like will always have a key place in the marketing plan, especially when you consider demographics.  Also, a celebrity corporate spokesperson who can connect with a targeted audience and who you can build a brand on will likely grow in importance in upcoming years.

The change is happening at the grass roots level.  We are being taught by newer, younger companies that have neither the budget or, in some cases, the traditional training to adhere to the past principles of going “big” on a few ideas.

The Dandelion is a popular concept where survival is based on wide and effective dispersion of seeds into the ecosystem.  Knowing that most seeds will fail to plant, quantity is preferred over quality.  With today’s overwhelming amount of information coming in all directions, it is fair to say that most messages will fail to plant as well?

Marketing is evolving into quantity over quality

Recent experience at Lenovo has proven this.  The decision to move into community based marketing was a good one.  Market share is up, the amount of Partners signing up and unique customers is at an all time high.  The down side to joining dozens of communities is the workload associated with driving content and delivery to satisfy the “seed” requirements.

It really comes down to a math equation.  Joining 30 communities, who each have a loyal and passionate base of followers, combined with 30 marketing vehicles each equals 900 seeds that must be dispersed.   For the first time, lack of budget is not the largest complaint in marketing circles.  Each grassroots community may only be $2K – $10K per year to join, roughly the yearly budget of adding one or two salespeople or running a couple of magazine ads.  Most of the new media vehicles are free or near-free to execute.

The challenge will clearly shift to content and delivery of these seeds.

Most marketing departments:

1. Are il-equipped to handle the workload
2. Lack the expertise to generate fresh corporate messaging and content everyday
3. Lack the skill to deliver the content in new media vehicles such as webinars, vod and podcasts, blogs, etc.
4. Do not have the power or influence within the organization to mandate business owners to do the above.

So, what is the answer?

Companies must start preparing for this shift towards communities and viral marketing today.  Executives who are more comfortable in the boardroom will have to break out of their comfort zone.  The old style of structured PR blitzes, carefully crafted involving deep preparation, is coming to an end.  Most media companies are now looking for in-your-face, twitter-style soundbites.  In fact, out of 7 interviews I conducted at a recent show, 5 of them were videotaped on a flip camera and simulcast on YouTube within hours.

The old-style press release with clean wording and great quotes are being ignored in favor of real-time customer or Partner feedback.  People are just getting smarter.  They recognize that most of those quotes are from people who were not involved with the development, and in some cases, have never even seen the product they are commenting on so favorably.  Having a community connector give an endorsement to their faithful followers drives significant more weight than a company executive who gives that biased thumbs up.

That being said, don’t stop generating press releases!  It forms another seed or “spray” into the market.

Why is spray effective?

Quite simply, everyone consumes content differently.   There is no right or wrong way to disperse seeds into the market.   Some have higher connection and conversion rates, but quantity is important to reach the entire audience.

Some of the behavioral differences are clearly generational.  My dad enjoys his cup of coffee every morning and reads the newspaper cover to cover.  Conversely, my daughter loses interest after 140 characters!  Now, if you chose to “go big” on newspaper (and you think Calgary, Canada is a good market for you), odds are you may have impacted my dad.

There are dozens of ways people consume information every day, and there is no way to know the consumption preference of each individual person in your target audience.  The Long Tail approach to communication, making sure you reach almost all of your intended audience, is to spray.

As I mentioned before, spray, like the seeds of a dandelion, will fail to connect almost all of the time.  That is actually good news, because the amount of times it connects will outnumber the targeted hits every time.  Yes, quantity trumps quality.

By quality, there is certain minimum standard that everything must reach.  Spelling mistakes, poor graphics and creative, as well as language that doesn’t fit your company identity is unacceptable.  A key role of marketing is to set these minimums or you will confuse customers and partners if each seed looks like it comes from a different source.

Finally, the blowfish

The one aspect of spray that I haven’t touched on is the collateral benefit of touching people well beyond your target audience.   The old marketing rule of telling someone seven times before they get it is still valid.  The evolution of the rule in this new age, is telling someone seven times, seven different ways.

Assuming you are spraying messaging across the marketplace and adding some degree of value (read as not selling), you will unintentionally pick up a following beyond your target audience.  If you are touching a larger market with more and more marketing vehicles, you will likely have an advantage over your competition who may be stuck in the old ways.   Remember, everyone has a preferred style of consuming content and if you happen to be the most ubiquitous, good things will happen.

This is the story of the blowfish, which expands its body size several times larger in the face of danger.  This is the way that your company, in the face of opportunity instead of danger, can look much bigger than it is by showing up everywhere.  A single owner/principal can look like a small company, a small company can look like a medium one and a Fortune 499 company can look like a Fortune 50.  It works at every level.

Next steps:

• Embrace the changes coming – unfortunately no one gets a vote
• Don’t send this to the marketing department to figure out and execute – this is a company-wide initiative and participation is by everyone who has the experience and skill to develop content and deliver it effectively
• Understand the community concept – they have the table already set (in most cases), waiting for you to join.
• Aggressively pursue new social media tools.  The shelf life of current favorites could prove to be limited.  Again the cost of execution is free or near-free, the content and delivery can be re-purposed, but does take labor.

Jay McBain, Director, Small and Medium Business, Lenovo Americas

Having a few moments to reflect on a flight to Miami for the Autotask Community Live event, it struck me how important communities have become in the IT business.   April is the busiest time of the year for events in the industry, followed by October.  Lenovo will be participating in 9 events in the next 3 weeks covering that many cities.

First, the facts on communities:

Gartner Group conducted an interesting research piece in 2009 where peer networking, associations and communities are the highest ranked ways that small and medium businesses learn, form opinions, and in the end, make decisions.

IDC reported the same finding when they were digging into Healthcare earlier this year.  In fact, 4 of the top 5 reported resources for Electronic Medical Record (EMR) selection criteria involve associations, affiliates, colleagues, and buying groups.

With the abundance of information at our fingertips, why do people choose communities?

Business has always been transacted with some level of personal interaction.  With the rise of e-commerce in the late 90’s and now with Cloud Computing growing in popularity, it will be interesting if this remains true in the future.

During this time of growing “electronic ubiquity”, the need for trusted and expert sources of information has increased significantly.  The amount of competitive choices for products and services, combined with vast information on the internet and endless buzz through social media, has created a scenario where cutting through the “white noise” has become one of the most important skills as we enter the 10’s.

Communities offer a smaller group of like-minded people (perhaps even competitors), sharing similar experiences and challenges, the ability to collaborate and improve decision making.  The feeling of belonging is strong, as well as the affinity of membership.  There is a feeling that communities are more democratic as they are built by the membership, and participation is encouraged and celebrated.

Who starts these communities?

Tracing back some of the more popular communities to the beginning, the following sources are evident:

1. “Connectors” – The Tipping Point book does a great job in explaining the concept of connectors.  These are people that you would recognize, even dating back to grade school, that seem to be the center of the universe.  Another way you can recognize connectors is in a place like Facebook.  You seek out this person, and they are 1 degree of separation from everyone in your school, company, neighborhood, etc.  In the business world, many connectors have translated this skill into organizing and building a strong following.  They have also recognized that vendors will pay top dollar to participate in these already established communities.  There is also a feeling by these connectors of altruism, or “giving back” to the industry or geography where they do business.  You may think that connectors are the most extroverted and charismatic people, but in reality, not always.
2. Industry verticals
   Several communities start as a result of a new technology or sub-industry.  An example in the IT industry is Virtualization, Cloud Computing, Electronic Health Records or Managed Services.  When the needs of a group is not being met by larger or non-related peer groups, new ones form organically from members as they branch out.
3. Traditional Media
   Trade magazines and event promoters have been quick to recognize the communities trend, and have formed powerful groups under their trusted brand.  Having a strong subscription or attendee following, makes the transition to community a logical step for these organizations.
4. New Media – Social Media
   The fastest growth of communities has occurred with the explosion of social media.  Whether Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, or the dozens of other purpose built community tools, the cost and complexity to start a community is approaching zero.  Many connectors started as bloggers who have built a loyal and passionate following.  Many bloggers have evolved into community leaders.
5. Distributors and vendors
   The fact is that some companies get it and some don’t.  Several organizations now recognize communities and have built organizations around community marketing.  It is not uncommon to hear Chief Community Officer in marketing circles.  Organizing a community goes far beyond marketing and advertising however, with product development, pricing and programs all tightly connected.

How do these communities interact with their followers?

A dizzying array of new marketing vehicles have popped up in recent years.  Traditional media such as magazines and events are very important in communicating to a community, but new media allows innovative ways to extend and enhance the message.  From webinars, podcasts, vodcasts, blogs, tweets, Linkedin groups, to virtual trade shows, community groups are using as many as 30 different marketing vehicles to be pervasive within the group.

The challenge with these marketing vehicles is different than in the past.  The main inhibitor to effectively marketing was money, today it is effective content and delivery.  Many of the vehicles I mentioned above are free or cost very little compared with traditional media.  Keeping content fresh, abundant and delivered daily takes resourcing beyond the marketing department.

Media savvy Executives who can keynote an event, tweet about it offstage, promote the message to the media gathered, and then write a blog about it later on is the new model for the future.   Messaging that would have required triple-checking through legal a few years ago, needs to be just-in-time and delivered on a daily cadence.   I have a mantra that is “be visible everyday”.

Finally, community members have very effective personal spam filters.  Anything that doesn’t add value to the community will be rejected and have a negative result for the organization delivering.  The old days of powerpoints and product spec slides doesn’t cut it.

Why are communities important?

Beyond the human requirements of personal interaction and belonging, communities provide tangible benefits to all involved.  Unfiltered information based on common experience will always trump random white papers and case studies posted on the internet.  The give/get relationships within a community inspire openness and, in most of the communities I have seen, a level of bluntness that is refreshing.
Some key advantages of communities:

1. Cost of entry low as compared to traditional media and other marketing opportunities.  Very much a “grass roots” feeling.
2. Ability to communicate and receive value is high.  Tons of touch points, combined with a high degree of passion.
3. Trusted source – community members have likely experienced your challenges, or will shortly.  The feeling you can “steal with pride” best practices and contribute your own successes.
4. Ability to enter new markets or industries.  Opportunities to network, build like-minded connections and potentially drive business development opportunities.
5. Credibility that comes with “member of” status.  Make the affiliations and partnerships that make your organization seem larger and more connected.  Getting published or quoted as an expert or thought leader is invaluable for your organization and personal brands.

Finally, what is the future of communities?

Based on the data from analysts, combined with the relentless growth of information available across the internet and the behavioral habits of people, it is difficult to predict a slowdown in the growth of communities in business.  Exponential growth, in fact.

Specialization will continue to expand as well, driving more need for these groups and subgroups.  There is an upper limit to the size of a community where the point of diminishing returns kicks in.  The point at where coordination of the group and the generality of messaging outweigh the benefits listed above.  Smart communities will organize sub-groups before the fringe members go off and launch a competing community.

Are you the next Chief Community Officer within your organization?

Jay McBain, Director Small and Medium Business, Lenovo

I just returned from a very interesting and informative day with CupCakeStop.com in NYC. Leading up to the ThinkPad Edge 14 and 15 inch launch on March 23, Lenovo wanted to spend some time with small business to see how the technology integrates into their business.  The Edge was built from the ground up as a small and medium business optimized device, so seeing it in action was important.  We also had the chance to give away 4 of them and the winners are announced below!

Let me first paint the picture on Cupcake Stop.  An entrepreneurial law student who is graduating in the top percentile of his class in early 2009 decides that an opportunity exists for selling premium cupcakes in New York.  After deep market research, Lev Ekster decides that a mobile business is more practical than bricks and mortar and that social media would be at the core of its operation.  Fast forward to 2010 and you have a growing business that is adding more trucks and locations, installing e-commerce with international distribution, and is in constant real-time communication with its 11,300+ followers on Twitter.

Watching a day in the life of Lev running his business using the new ThinkPad Edge 14” laptop product was very cool.  First of all, Lev never put down the ThinkPad Edge.  His thousands of customers are following him closely and the level of intimacy with social media is something I have never seen before.  From posting menu’s on Facebook the night before, to constant real-time updates on location of the truck as well as inventory remaining with Twitter, Lev uses the Edge as a lifeline to the business.

Here are 10 things that blew me away:

1. Being in a mobile business, CupCakeStop needs constant connectivity 24/7.  This means seeking out WiFi hotspots during the day is not an option.  Using ThinkVantage Access Connections with the embedded broadband allows access everywhere and anytime to the Internet through an AT&T connection.  It also allows easy switching to the home network as well as secure access to public WiFi when available.
2. Security is very important to CupCakeStop.  With over 75 varieties of cupcakes, the recipes are key intellectual capital that cannot fall into the wrong hands.   Combined with employee payroll data and supplier contracts, Lev uses the fingerprint reader to access the machine and encrypt the data.  Also, not having to remember passwords to all of the social media sites was a huge productivity boost.
3. With an Internet run business, including hundreds of Twitter and Facebook updates a day from customers, Lev runs the risk of clicking a bad link and getting a virus.  With the Edge being his lifeline, he cannot risk being down for a few days (even an hour would hurt the business).  Knowing that ThinkVantage Rescue and Recovery is installed means that by the touch of a button, he can boot into a separate and protected operating system and restore to a point just prior to the virus in minutes.
4. Lev made a great quote:  “EVERYTHING in this truck breaks”.  A mobile business with high activity level in a tight space, it became very apparent that a robustly designed laptop was critical to the business.  The large hinges and legendary Lenovo ThinkPad build quality was very important to his business continuity.  Again, waiting for the machine to get serviced is not an option.
5. The power limitations of the truck.  Lev made a funny comment that to plug in the ThinkPad Edge would mean he would have to unplug the cash register which isn’t good for business!  All day battery life was critical.
6. On the same subject as limited power, the always powered USB port allows Lev to keep his smartphone charged and ready throughout the day – saving another outlet.
7. The high quality light adaptive camera is used to publish new menu items to Facebook and Twitter.  For example, the prior day to us being there was St. Paddy’s day which had new and unique Irish offerings.  Being connected 24/7 (#1) also allows Skype access with customers and suppliers with the camera.
8. Lev uses the ThinkPad Edge as his personal machine as well.  With the investments into new trucks, bricks and e-commerce solutions, he doesn’t want to invest money in an additional laptop for personal use.   With the High Definition screen, audio, HDMI port as well as Blu-ray drive all built-in, the Edge handles all of his personal needs with ease.
9. With a new Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of memory and a 500GB hard drive running Windows 7 Professional, Lev can power through his day with multiple applications running concurrently.  Previously to his ThinkPad Edge he ran the business from a BlackBerry which started to be a limitation as the business grew in size and scope.  An example was a redesign of the website to e-commerce functionality which involved hundreds of prototype back-and-forths with the developer.  Having real-time access to the color-palette and sizings, Lev didn’t have to wait till 10pm to view on his home computer.
10. Probably the thing that blew me away the most was the design attributes of ThinkPad Edge.  Lev represents the future of social and traditional media entrepreneurs.  He was clear about his tools having design elements that represent his company as well as himself.  The bold statement that a bright red ThinkPad Edge makes is important as he promotes his business.  Ironically, the laptop is the same color as the stop sign in CupCakeStop.com’s logo….a perfect fit!

Since ThinkPad Edge is a new brand, we added an element of fun to the day to get people excited about the new products with a giveaway…

The lucky winners of the random drawing are:

Pateel Yenikomshian

Bryan Meyerovich

Brooke Brestel

Ronny Walton Jr.

Congratulations!

The media hook of a mobile, profitable business run on top of social media is what started the day.  The immersion of ThinkPad Edge in the very core of the business is what made the day.   The observation of how each feature and function are used in real-time provided Lenovo with the insight around product development for the future.

For Lenovo, a close connection with businesses using our products is very important.   Looking beyond cupcakes, we are observing doctors in ambulatory practices work with ThinkPad Edge, as well as accountants, students, and many other industries.   Products do not improve in the boardroom, they improve in the real-world.

Day well spent.

Jay McBain, Director of Small and Medium Business, Lenovo

There has always been one constant in the technology industry. During every major economic downturn, opportunities emerge for Channel Partners to transform their businesses and increase their value to their customers.It is clear that this round is about Managed Services.

What are Managed Services?

The term Managed Services is very broad in its definition. In fact, Wikipedia shows over 30 different major categories of services that fit under the umbrella. Simply, it is the practice of customers transferring day-to-day IT management responsibility as a method to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of operations. To a Managed Service Provider (MSP), it is the evolution from break/fix to Professional Services to fully remote monitoring and control of a client’s IT. Many MSP’s bill a fixed monthly fee and use sophisticated dashboards and reporting tools for providing a defined set of services.

What are the benefits?

For customers, there are several benefits.Probably most important is having IT as a predictable variable expense that can be funded with OpEx vs. CapEx.It allows for reduced IT staffing requirements while tapping into an expert pool of professionals. It also allows the customer to effectively level the playing field with larger competitors and access skills and resources that they would be unable to do on their own.

For MSPs, the benefit is a profitable, recurring revenue stream. This “base” of revenue allows for better planning and growth strategies.As well, Managed Services buffers the margin erosion in many hardware and software products over the past number of years.An increase in customer ownership and retention, as well as more efficient use of technicians makes this model more attractive to traditional break/fix resellers.

Is it too late to get on board?

Absolutely not! While the growth of MSP’s in North America is rapidly increasing, we are still in the infancy stage of this market segment.A couple of years ago, there were roughly 400 MSP’s as compared to over 4,000 today. However, a June survey by Kaseya shows that only 18% of current VARs describe their business as “fully outsourced IT”. Almost 80% of VARs are still operating in a break/fix or project based IT model.

The MSP model has primarily grown in the Small and Medium Business space.In fact, the same survey noted that 90% of VARs have less than 1,000 PC’s under management.In roundtables conducted by Lenovo and Intel, MSPs relayed a “sweet spot” of about 20-30 computers per client or the “2 person IT shop”.

How does Lenovo add value to MSP’s?

Lenovo (and previously IBM), has spent over 15 years investing in key MSP related technologies such as remote management, security and durability.With a strong legacy of supporting large customers with complex IT departments, Lenovo has built a robust set of tools and technologies called “ThinkVantage”.Many of these tools, almost 15 in total, come included at no charge with ThinkPad, ThinkCentre and ThinkServer products and are designed to lower costs from deployment to disposal.

For example, on the security front, Lenovo was the first company to incorporate a security chip in its products, later to become known as the Trusted Platform Module.Lenovo was also first to market with a fingerprint reader as well as robust bios and hard drive passwords, and external port control.Looking forward, a “poison pill” technology allowing MSP’s to send a simple text message to a PC to disable it after it is stolen will be available.

The goal of all MSP’s is to eliminate “truck rolls”, the unprofitable deployment of technicians for software related issues which make up over 80% of helpdesk calls.With Intel’s vPro technology, combined with Lenovo’s ThinkVantage Technologies, an MSP can wake up a system that is turned off and remotely take it over with the same access as being right in front of the unit.

To protect against hardware failure related truck rolls, Lenovo has incorporated durability design attributes into Notebooks such as protective “roll cages” for the screen and motherboard, “air bag” technology for the hard drives that sense a drop and brace for impact, and spill resistance including dual drainage holes in the bottom of the unit.This is in addition to the quality materials protecting against cracks, broken hinges, and cracked screens.In fact, Think products are the only certified PCs by NASA to travel into space!

Finally, Lenovo understands the importance of MSP’s being able to run their businesses from proactive IT management tools such as Kaseya, Level Platforms, N-able and Zenith Infotech.In addition, reporting tools such as ConnectWise or Autotask are important for billing and reporting purposes.Lenovo understands the importance of integration and is working with these firms to incorporate our ThinkVantage tools into their dashboards and tools.

Lenovo has programs and incentives to help MSP’s acquire demo products as well as increasing margins on hardware sales to their customers.A full suite of services and financing are also offered which can be used for Hardware as a Service (HaaS) type of environments.

Again, this is an opportune time for Channel Partners to understand the Managed Services model and choose the right vendors to build or further develop their practice.

Jay McBain, Director, Small and Medium Business, Lenovo Americas

The PC has played a very important role over the past 30 years in ushering in new and interesting changes to the way people communicate.   When Web 1.0 hit mainstream in the mid-90’s, people became accustomed to writing email, instant messaging, and for some, buying things electronically.   With Web 2.0, these technologies were enhanced with social networking tools such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and blogging widening the aperture of digital life.

One of the interesting concepts coming in Web 3.0 will be something called “lifestreaming”.  The term was coined by Eric Freeman and David Gelernter at Yale University in the mid-90’s.  It is basically a time-ordered stream of documents and electronic media that functions as a diary of your life.

Personally, I have been using Quicken (or its predecessors), scanning all of my papers, and categorizing all of my digital pictures since I was in elementary school.   It has become a huge directory tree of tens of thousands of documents sorted by year and month, chronicling my life day by day.  The ability to look back and find where and when I spent money, including scanned receipts, and digital pictures allows me to triangulate every day of my life, both personally as well as professionally.

Perhaps a negative effect is that I have become a “go to” guy for finding old documents.  It goes something like:  “Hey Jay, remember that Gartner study from 1994 on total cost of ownership?”   As the years have passed, I have added different technologies to the stream.  For example, voicemails, instant messages, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn information is now included.

I believe that PC technology will be the key enabler to lifestreaming.

For example:

1. Recording day to day life:    Lenovo PC’s are the only Microsoft certified unified communication PC’s on the market today, including:
   • Stereo digital high-definition speakers with 10 band equalization and dynamic range compression improve sound to audiophile levels.
   • Digital array microphone technology including the placement on either side of the camera providing for a more natural environment producing balanced sound input.
   • High definition light adaptive camera’s including digital zoom and HD LED displays improving the visual size and quality.
   • Tools allowing switching between MIC, headphones and speakers seamlessly.
2. Staying securely connected everywhere and anywhere with Wide Area networking (3G cellular integration), WiMax, WLAN 802.11, and Bluetooth.  Importantly, this is enabled by Lenovo’s Access Connections tool allowing seamless and secure connections from location to location.
3. Bullet proof security.  Can you imagine streaming your entire life and having that stolen?  This takes the risk of identity theft to the next level.    Windows 7 has improved security from previous versions and Lenovo has enhanced it with:
   • Fully encrypted hard drives – managed from a separate security chip that can’t be hacked.
   • Biometric fingerprint reader ensuring secure access to the machine – no risk of lost or hacked passwords.
   • “Poison pill” technology allowing the user to disable a ThinkPad with a simple SMS text message – even if the unit is turned off!
   • Secure data backup options such as Rescue and Recovery tool, Online Data Backup as well as a password protected, secure external drive.
4. Data protection.   Lenovo offers several hardware and software advantages protecting the data on the hard drive from physical damage or failures from viruses or operating system.   From a revolutionary “air bag” system that senses when a PC will be dropped to an innovative packaging of the hard disk inside the machine, to specially designed rubber feet that absorb impact, ThinkPad products are designed to protect the lifestream.
5. Data migration.  When it comes time to transition to a new PC down the road, Lenovo includes a migration utility for the lifestream, including all personality settings, and even offers a military grade data disposal tool before the PC is handed down, recycled, or hits a landfill.

Thus, from enablement of the lifestream, to managing it over time, right through to migrating to new technology, Lenovo has the tools available today for the technology of tomorrow.

Jay McBain, Director of Small and Medium Business, Lenovo

Listening to a group of Channel Partners with Unified Communication (UC) expertise today was fascinating.  Questions ranged from when it will become ubiquitous in small and medium business to the industry players that are going to make it a reality.

As always, my thoughts turned to the hardware side of the equation.   While there is general consensus that the amount of information will continue to grow exponentially, our ability to access and comprehend it will be highly reliant on the right devices being available at the right time and place.  These devices will continue to evolve with a move towards more natural and relevant presence in our everyday environment.  I write often about pervasive computing and our basic needs to communicate and keep up with the pace of change will be a key driver of the hardware evolution.

Nostalgia.

I remember buying my first PC webcam in the 90’s and having the grandparents see and talk to the grandkids was exciting at the time.  I would be remiss if I didn’t dial it back further….including concepts dating back to 1878 (only 2 years after the phone was patented in the US) called the telephonoscope.  It seems that every generation since then improved the technology including quality of audio and video.  It also morphed from a personal communication device, which society has never been truly ready for, to a business device.  Videoconferencing dates back to the 1930’s but was analog and very expensive.  With improvements to bandwidth, including digital and public broadband have spawned dozens of low cost, low quality solutions such as Skype, MSN Messenger, etc.

Today, when most small businesses are presented with Videoconferencing, Telepresence, or other cost saving measures, many conjure up images of choppy, low quality grainy images with monotone audio cutting in and out and delayed by a few seconds.  It is usually surprising to them when they demo today’s technology and the feeling that you are not only communicating effectively, but could be mistaken for being in the same room as the other individuals.  The key hurdle is cost – high quality communication comes with hardware, software and services that, while cheaper than travel, seem beyond the budget resources.

Enter the PC.

PC’s have had a wonderful history of stepping into many different uses because of the decisions made by IBM and others in 1981.  Keeping the product open, industry standard, and infinitely expandable, has allowed forward-looking entrepreneurs and companies to expand upon the basic idea and solve real business issues.  Lenovo has had a long history of working with UC firms in bundling technologies and features to assist in communications and bring it mainstream.  For example, a unique agreement with Avaya in  May of 2007 to turn the PC into a “softphone”.

Several things have happened in the past few years that make a PC a more viable UC device:

1. Stereo digital high-definition speakers with 10 band equalization and dynamic range compression improve sound to audiophile levels
2. Digital array microphone technology including the placement on either side of the camera providing for a more natural environment producing balanced sound input.
3. High Definition light adaptive camera’s including digital zoom and HD LED displays improving the visual size and quality.
4. OC tools allowing switching between MIC, headphones and speakers seamlessly.

Working with industry leaders to optimize the technology has been the largest benefit.  In fact, Microsoft has recognized Lenovo this year as the only PC Manufacturer to build to these new ultra-high quality standards and awarded a certification of “Optimized for Microsoft Office Communicator” to several products including the ThinkPad T400, T500, T400s and X301.   This is a broad array of affordable Notebook products that enable business to deploy advanced communications on the same products they are rolling in for their everyday computing needs.

Now the interesting part….

If one of the major objections to UC and videoconferencing include cost and complexity, and now you have an affordable, certified Notebook (that you are buying anyway), a unique opportunity for Channel Partners arises to counter those objections.

Blending the Mobility message into UC is another huge opportunity.  How many times are business people travelling and need to reach back to the team back home?  Whether from a hotel room or a customer or suppliers boardroom, they can bring on the extended team with that 4 pound Notebook under their arm.   With WWAN mobile broadband, WiMAX, or simply any 802.11 access point, the possibilities are endless where UC can be used.   Again, high definition video and audio output, enabling communication anywhere in the world;  Without the need for additional expensive hardware.

Stay tuned for more exciting announcements to come out of this space…..it may not be the final frontier of communications, but it is indeed the next frontier.

Jay McBain, Director of Small and Medium Business, Lenovo

I was doing quite a bit of thinking on the plane coming back from Las Vegas over the weekend from SMB Nation.  Managed Services is quickly maturing as a business model as well as a Channel community.  Much of the focus, deservedly so, was on the cloud, Saas, RMM and PSA tools.  There are, however,  key things that hardware vendors can bring to the table to enable Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to:

A)  Make current recurring revenue model more profitable and

B)  Drive incremental managed opportunities at each client

The buzz around Intel vPro was very strong at the event, and many MSP’s have been successful in recommending the technology as a requirement for supported hardware.  I even heard an example of a dual-pricing model for managing PC’s – one with vPro enabled and one without.

The challenge to MSP’s is that new SMB clients will likely not have the technology in house as it predominantly sells to large enterprise and public sector.  This means that the potential pricing and service levels will be less aggressive at the beginning – exactly the opposite of what you need to win a new client!

It was reported that Lenovo sold more vPro world-wide than any other PC manufacturer.  It is not surprising, given the focus on manageability and security dating back to the mid-1990’s.  Given this history, the question becomes:  How can Lenovo enable this technology to all clients?  From 5 employees to 500, there are key benefits of rolling out this technology and we need to help make it happen.

Intel vPro is a combination of processor technologies, hardware enhancements, management and security technologies that allow remote access to the PC.  Lenovo has worked closely with Intel since the beginning in all areas of the technology, most notably around Trusted Platform Module and Wake on LAN.  ThinkVantage Technologies by Lenovo extend and enhance the technology even further by focusing on the entire lifecycle of the PC from deployment thru disposal.

The ability to intercept the boot cycle of a PC remotely is the cornerstone to a successful MSP business.  Accessing a PC regardless of the state of the operating system can significantly reduce truck rolls and give the management and security options necessary to stay on top of anticipated or reported problems.  The proactive options available allow monitoring tools to predict errors, reduce downtime, and elevate security of the client.

Now, back to how Lenovo can help.   First are the products themselves.  The majority of SMB’s buy products in price cells much lower than vPro is positioned at today.  Here are some Channel-only specials we are running from now until end of December, 2009:

These products are at the lowest vPro prices we have ever offered, over 30% lower in some cases.  This should help MSP’s position the products, not only for the obvious benefits I talked about above, but for the attractive prices available specifically to SMB clients.  Beyond price, Lenovo has also worked hard on making sure the programs and incentives are relevant and profitable for MSP’s.   This includes taking away reporting requirements and dropping minimum clip levels to participate.  Feel free to explore lenovopartnernetwork.com for further information.    The products above can be purchased at any of our authorized Distribution partners:  D&H, Ingram, Synnex and Tech Data in the US.

It is incumbent among the hardware manufacturers, or the “edge” of the cloud, to ensure that technologies are enabled and merchandised to SMB clients.  Stay tuned for more news from Lenovo over the next few months…

It seems as though desktops have become the red headed stepchild of the PC Industry.  For years, desktops ruled the PC world, providing rock solid business productivity at one end and the ultimate customizable home PC on the other.

With all of the recent industry buzz around Netbooks, Smartbooks, Thinbooks and, of course, traditional Notebooks, it would appear the desktop category has become somewhat forgotten.  Well, perhaps forgotten everywhere except Lenovo!

The level of investment into desktop technology has not diminished at Lenovo.  Still representing about half of all PC sales, desktops run some of the most critical business and government applications today.  The ability to secure, manage and virtualize a desktop is unparalleled in these environments.

The three attributes that Lenovo focuses on in delivering a better desktop is Rock Solid build quality, Thoughtful Design and the Lowest Total Cost of Ownership.  This investment consistently ranks the ThinkCentre desktop brand as #1 in Customer Satisfaction by TBR.  In fact, Lenovo earned six competitive strengths extending across almost every category, according to Julie Perron at TBR.  Gartner reports that Lenovo desktops have a warranty repair rate 27% better than the industry.  Focusing on areas such as green technologies, thermals, acoustics, ease of use, tool-less designs, and industry-leading torture testing, ensures that leadership will continue.

Lenovo has accomplished several industry firsts in the area of security.  From a robust Hardware Password Manager, to individual port management from BIOS, to a Trusted Platform Module with full encryption, these desktops have the capability to be fully locked down.  This protection extends to Client Security Solutions, biometric access, and third party enablement with leaders such as Computrace.

The one thing that surprises many Channel Partners is the price.  Consistently $50 to $100 less than our lead competitor, Lenovo desktops can be purchased for as little as $379 with Microsoft Windows XP Professional or Vista – ready for business.

Lenovo desktops have gained over 4% share in Distribution in the past few months (according to NPD) and is well positioned for future growth.  The programs, pricing and promotional offers from Lenovo were developed around Partner feedback and appear to be hitting the mark!

The one thing that hasn’t gone down during this economic downturn is the threat of data theft and information security.  If you scan the marketplace there are hundreds of products, including hardware, software and services that promise to reduce these threats.

Almost every survey that is conducted with small and medium business customers ranks security in the top few issues that keep them up at night.  Lenovo, along with our trusted partners, have been investing in building secure, rock solid, PC devices for over 20 years.

Here is a list of key attributes for PC security:

1. Fingerprint Reader – It all starts with physical access to your data.  The ability on both ThinkPads and ThinkCentre desktops, workstations and servers to use biometrics for entry greatly reduces the risk of data or identity theft.  Did you know that 40% of Helpdesk calls are for password resets?  Lenovo Password Manager software links up with the fingerprint reader to provide easy access to protected applications and websites.
2. Encryption – combining biometrics with encryption is a great one-two punch that locks down access to data even if the drive is removed from the system and the physical platters are searched for information.  You can buy special drives now called FDE or Full Disk Encryption drives that have built in hardware to run as fast with encryption as normal drives do without.
3. Anti-theft and Theft Recovery – with 92% of companies of all sizes reporting laptop theft, combined with 42% of non-encrypted drives, the need to protect assets has never been greater.  Working with Intel and Absolute Software, Lenovo offers several layers of protection including “poison pill” deactivation, “theft mode” timers with login protection, and emergency remote data deletion.  Lenovo has an exclusive with embedded Computrace software on select models.
4. Wireless Security – Making sure wireless connections are secure is sometimes difficult for the end user.  They don’t tend to understand firewalls, ports, and vulnerabilities and need the PC to be smart enough.  Lenovo includes “Access Connections” with the PC which simplifies connections and ensures an extra layer of security.
5. Physical Security – from locking the mobile PC and related components with a key lock, to blocking out prying eyes on an airplane with a privacy filter, there are several hardware options that decrease the risk of assets being stolen or data being compromised.  Another example is the new Lenovo password enabled hard drive which offers encryption.
6. Secure Data Backup and Recovery – storing a backup of data is a good practice for everyone, the risk associated with having data on external drives or CD-ROMs is high.  Lenovo offers backup and recovery scenarios that use hidden secured partitions on the hard drive.  Lenovo also offers an Online Data Backup service that is very secure and cost effective.

It can seem overwhelming the amount of hardware, software and services in the market to protect asset and data security as well as personal/business identity.  Focusing on just a couple of the steps above will go along way to ensure that you do not end up in next years statistics for a security breach.

Lenovo has invested heavily in this area and there are some great new innovations coming out every year.