Rewind: Rebuilding Own Web Now

Posted: 4:41 pm
September 7, 2007
OwnWebNow
2 Comments

This has been on the radar for months but I am now glad to announce that we’re (or rather, I am) going to be publishing the process of how we’re rebuilding Own Web Now. No company is perfect, no product is perfect, but it takes a long time to design something that is phenomenally successful. I’ve managed to do that, OWN is currently far ahead anything I even imagined when I started it. However, with tremendous growth come a number of changes and adjustements a company has to make in order to survive and to thrive.

Over the past two years I’ve gone out of my way to attend many IT conferences, learn from my peers, learn from my partners and learn from the people who run the orgainizations that I wish OWN was. So, over the next year I am going to be taking you through the good and through the bad of rebuilding Own Web Now Corp. We’ve identified the following big areas of improvement that we need to focus on:

Billing – We need to get the financial systems up to speed with everything we do as soon as possible. Like yesterday.
Communications – Communication with our partners and our clients needs to be improved. We do a lot already, prehaps better than 99% of the companies we get to deal with, but thats our mark and we are going to work on a better site, more podcasts, more video blogs.
Sales – We are working on improving how we handle, compensate and bill for the products and services we sell. It’s not a matter of “how do we help you sell more” but how do we get people to have a positive purchasing experience.
Documentation – My bag. Our products are ridiculously complex but we make it very easy to purchase, setup and take advantage of things like Exchange, Virtual Servers, Offsite backups. Yes, they are easy, but I can make it easier for SMBs to train their staff to work with our products. This indeed will be the major aspect of Vladville as well.
Partner Promotion – Two words for you: Thieving Weasel. Even though thats not the name of the network, partner promotion is going to change the landscape of the type of business we do and just how profitable we all are. I’ve been very fortunate to be promoted by many, many, many, many IT solution providers who truely became our partners. Now we get to turn the tables and promote those partners instead.

This years WWPC and TechEd were easilly the most valuable conferences I have ever been to. They gave me the technical knowhow to execute what I needed to and WWPC along with its many attendees really cemented my blueprint and put it into action.

So, I hope you enjoy it reading about it, I hope it is as much fun executing it.

What Dell is up to with SilverBack:

Posted: 1:36 pm
September 7, 2007
IT Business
Comments Off on What Dell is up to with SilverBack:

Reprinted with permission:

I just met with my Dell Account Executive who was in town today and
addressed some small concerns I had. Here are a couple of notes from our
meeting that might be useful:

1. By late 4th quarter, there will be an official “Dell
Authorized Reseller” program that you can be part of as a Channel Direct
provider. This will allow use of the Dell logo on website, etc. There
is no firm details on if you’ll have to have a minimum sales volume or
not. My rep said it may be $200k/year, but that it could

2. The only calls end user customers of Channel should get
are for warranty renewals. There should be no direct solicitation of
customers. Dell wants to increase channel sales from 10% now to 30% in
the next few years.

3. Though the Solution Provider agreement says otherwise, the
channel program will accept up to 5% of total sales/year in returns if
it is crucial to you.

4. Regarding Silverback, my AE is being told by his
supervisors that the main focus will be on enterprise customers in
assisting with diagnosing hardware issues. I asked about soliciting my
customers, sending brochures to small biz customers with ads for “free
managed services” etc and he said that wasn’t in the plan. He said the
most we should see is an app preinstalled on a desktop similar to Dell
Support app that you can uninstall if you wish. Also, he said we might
see it as a system config option just like you do for installation
services when configuring a machine now. I ignore that box as do my
customers when configuring a machine because they know they want us to
do the work. That sounds ok to me.

My concern was that they were going to get brochures that offered
Managed Services at a huge discount, and then my client would come to me
and ask what the skinny was. Then again, I’ve surveyed my clients and no
matter what, they like dealing with us as we are their trusted advisor
that they rely on. So take the above for what it is worth. It could be a
load of crap, or maybe this whole conspiracy “Dell wants to take over
the world” thing is a little overblown. I guess we’ll find out, right?

This came courtesy of one of my partners that met with his Dell Account Executive. I heard similar stuff from Judd Spence whom I am hoping to shame into starting a technology blog.

Truth in Logistics

Posted: 1:29 pm
September 7, 2007
Web 2.0
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Sometimes honesty is not the best policy, courtesy of FedEx:

Gochina

Nothing just screams romance like knowing that the gift I just bought personalized for my lovely wife is being cranked out by a 5 year old sweatshop worker in China and dragged by a 10 year old on a bicycle all the way down to FedEx. And they didn’t even get it there by the cutoff. Makes you wonder about that word, doesn’t it?

Isn’t generalizing fun? Now, if you’d like to continue down this trail check this out, I haven’t posted it as it is pretty much offensive to everyone.

The reason why iPhone is the best selling SmartPhone

Posted: 10:22 pm
September 6, 2007
Microsoft
4 Comments

One word: Disconnected.

Pocketpcs

Windows Mobile device focus groups and hardware manufacturers that outsource their creativity to HTC have yet again taken what is undoubtedly the most advanced embedded operating system and turned it into one of the most expensive paperweights of 2008.

That’s my thesis and I’m sticking to it.

Look up. HP is comfortable letting HTC design the same junk it was designing around the turn of the century. Yes, it’s faster and flashier and it may have a keyboard or a phone in a model or two but its the same old useless Jornada rewrapped for FY2008. You can see the official breakdown here. Disconnected: From style, from purpose, from functionality and eventually from day-to-day use.

There are rumors out there that Microsoft is considering buying RIM. Microsoft entertainment division is set to bleed/squirt more money into Zune 2, which will fail again. God knows how much is lost on that futile marketing and development project.

So to my dear CEO Pal Steve Ballmer I offer the following advice: Buy HTC.

You already have the awesome mobile operating system. You already have integration into nearly every aspect of the desktop. You have a partnership with a harware manufacturer that has designed devices for Palm, HP, Toshiba as well as every phone carrier on earth.

So why, oh why, do you recognize the market dominance of your desktop and refuse to take charge in extending it past the table and onto the belt/pocket? Yesterday Apple released the Music Store, something I could write on WM6 in about 30 minutes. Get this – it’s a web browser that authenticates to a web service and downloads an aac file.

This is going to hurt. Microsoft lost the digital movie / music player war. It’s over. Let go. Nobody listens to a Zune no mo. The only hope you now have is to create a dominant digital convergence device that can leverage the power of office, home and life and you’ve got a 92% leg up there. How much of that lead are you willing to lose before you follow my advice?

Friends on Rough Days

Posted: 8:20 pm
September 6, 2007
ExchangeDefender, Friends
Comments Off on Friends on Rough Days

Today was a rough day. Even though the trouble lasted only about 40 minutes and affected just a handful of people its yet another smack in the face of the perfection that we strive for. Bah. I was out having lunch with Jen and bailed out early (thanks for picking up the check, you rock!) to realize I am not Google yet. Anyhow, I had this in the corner of my third screen all day long, it kept on looking at me while I was taking calls during the storm, updating the blog, checking on status reports, on the solution, looking what caused it, troubleshooted it with partners and so on. This was an IM I got at about 5 AM:

Morning V, before I got swamped again with work today I wanted to let you know that your last four posts rock – in particular the one about being mean and beloved and the one about Karl. I don’t care if you think you can’t write, you can, and you do it well. The best thing is that you write like you speak and so even though you are far away, I always have a little piece of Vlad on my desktop. 🙂

It’s good to have friends on days like today.. Now, off to Montana to breed sheep.

MSN Messenger needs flexible presence control

Posted: 5:17 am
September 6, 2007
Microsoft
4 Comments

So Chris Jones of the Windows Live Team actually responds to blog comments? I blogged about the Windows Live Installer yesterday so I figure I’d open this long-time-gripe with MSN Messenger, though I know its currently impossible to solve, because I can see its use for both business and a 12 year old girl.

Business:

Over the years my buddy list has grown, significantly, and I just need to get some control over it because I do not want to be bothered 24/7. Some folks are business contacts, some folks are casual acquaintances, some folks are friends, some… well, I don’t know who they are.

Point being, I’m sure I’d like to hear from all of the above but at the time of my choosing. For example, I’d rather not talk to my friends between 10–4, and I’d rather not see a business/tech support request at 2 AM.

I would like a flexible status indicator so people in one group would see one status and people in another group would see a totally different status. For my friends, I hope they see me offline during business hours, and for my business partners I hope they see the same in after-close hours.

12 year old girl:

I want my BFFs in one group, cute guys in one group and everyone else in a loser group.

I want my BFFs to see me all the time, I don’t want cute guys to see me online on Friday nights, even if I am, and losers, well, if I ever want to talk to them, I will IM them when I feel like it.

I am not sure who the bigger user of MSN Messenger is but I sure could use this feature because as-is I am about to take a weed wacker to my Live Messenger list.

How can you be so mean and be so beloved and respected at the same time?

Posted: 9:02 pm
September 5, 2007
Uncategorized
Comments Off on How can you be so mean and be so beloved and respected at the same time?

Got an email the other day that, between the lines, asked the following question:

How can you be so mean and be so beloved and respected at the same time?

It’s really pretty simple to tell you the truth. Last month this blog had 1.2 million visitors and thats excluding Google bots and RSS hits. On the adverage I get two dozen fanmails and one death threat a day. People just don’t like to login to comment I suppose. However, I am about to let you in on two secrets:

I am not mean..

Many people self-identify themselves in my posts. Even a blind man can tell that I have no advanced literary training, so how do I seem to write such potent blog posts that seem to hit all the buttons? Easy, because all of the little pokes and huge stabs are the pain points I personally experienced while building this company. You get to see them all the time.

The secret is in not sugarcoating it. Not posting it like a total retard. Not trying to lie about whats going on. It’s there, it’s clear and at times it sucks. However, you’re never left to wonder just where I stand.

I’m a leader..

… and in case you’re wondering, you’re not a “leader” just because you like the title, but because you try to do something new and you deal with the backlash that causes. Sometimes decisions are good, sometimes they are bad but you never know if you don’t try. And that’s the point.

People identify with what I go through because I do not bs about it. They see me overcome things, they see the mistakes that they may be making and of course they get deeply hurt by them. Nobody likes to be called as “too small to get a loan” or “too irrelevant” – so they do one of two things. They close the browser and never come back, continuing on their chosen path, or they look at the situation and decide that the only way not to be looked in that light is to lead themselves out of what is actually causing them to feel bad about what they do.

The point is that it’s not about me, it’s about  you. Nobody would think twice about what I think or feel. If you asked 1,000 people if they cared what I thought, 999 would say no (1 would say “WTF is Vlad?”) – but that “Vlad is mean” and “Vlad sucks” thoughts you may feel are not what causes change, its that little insecurity we all feel about what we may be doing and that someone out there just may have figured it out.

…

So I talk about my life, I state my opinion and this is my personal outlet. People seem to appreciate it and follow it and they write in every day to try and get better. I am here because I had wonderful people that helped me with every step of my career and my company, so I feel the least I can do is to pass it on. So I give entrepreneurs advice, I give corporate employees guidance, I talk to sr. management about trends and attitudes in SMB, I talk to startups about the problems they will see, I write, I talk, I record, I blog and I write.

And people seem to like it. Life is what you make of it and recoginizing that you have the choice and are in control of it is what makes you go further. It also helps being smart about what is irrelevant, who doesn’t matter and when you need to quit.

Is it safe to say Apple now owns the digital convergence?

Posted: 6:53 pm
September 5, 2007
IT Culture, Web 2.0
5 Comments

As much as I hate to say this, and as much as I hate Apple, and as much as I very strongly feel their computers are nothing more than homosexual accessories and toys for toddlers… I think it’s time to call the digital convergence as Apple’s property.

Sarah has the breakdown of the announcement where what once seemed a mere Walkman of the 21st century has evolved into a total market ownership of all digital things. They own the content distribution network (equivalent of owning newspapers, radio networks, TV stations), they own the devices (equivalent of making every single TV, Radio and printing press in USA), they own the support systems and now they also own the settop box, the best selling smartphone… they pretty much own it all.

I find all this pretty disappointing but the arguments against Apple are really starting to fall apart. They are producing the content people demand, they have a device for every budget and every lifestyle, they keep their products fresh and always evolving and it all seems like it’s done by a single guy that people just seem to love.

Will Microsoft, Creative and Sony throw in the towel?

Windows Live Installer – Get it all with one click

Posted: 6:43 pm
September 5, 2007
Microsoft, Web 2.0
1 Comment

Nutshell: Microsoft enters round 1 with Google, nearly 2 years late, and knocks it out.
Conclusion: Nobody cares this time around either.

Google first came out with Google Pack a long time ago with hope of making it easy to install/update shareware/freeware applications for the Windows Destkop. Most of us were not impressed.

Microsoft, to their credit, did the same thing but the outcome is far more impressive – it actually looks like a coherent collection of useful applications that have one common purpose (integration with online portal) and are likely already programs you use due to Microsoft’s bundling of Messenger, Mail, Photo Gallery, etc. This just makes sure that you get the more powerful live.com versions of those programs.

Windowsliveinstaller

It’s pretty impressive. Among the most interesting ones is the Windows Live OneCare Family Safety.

Windowsfamilysafety

So, round one goes to Microsoft. Read more about it at the Windows Live Blog.

Karl’s Managed Superblog

Posted: 9:50 am
September 5, 2007
IT Business, SMB
Comments Off on Karl’s Managed Superblog

There are very few blogs and even forums I can recommend to people that are looking to get into the managed services. Having seen Erick’s MSP Bootcamp I’m pretty convinced that if thats the strategy you’ve selected, Erick’s stuff will pay for itself immediately, not to mention the support systems. Believe me, it’s worth the money and everyone I sent to Erick has thanked me for the referral.

But when it comes to freebie advice there is the unquestionable 600 lb gorilla of all-things-service and his name is Karl Palachuck. If you’re new to this blog, Karl has written more professional self-help books than you can stick into a small airport store. Everything from whitepapers to workbooks to full on gudes, books and motivational guides. Karl is your man.

And over the last 2 weeks he has been writing about managed services, a series of posts that is likely to become a public blueprint for what you need to consider before heading the managed way: Managed Services in a Month.

Managed Services in a Month: Part one, Part two.

Oh, and if you like that stuff you’re really going to like guys books. I own them all, I’ve raffled away two of them and believe me, reading this stuff will save you days and months in the future.

Now, if you made some horribly poor choices in your conference budgets (and haven’t had the mind to cancel yet)  make damn sure you get there on Friday (9/28). Karl has a now legendary free seminar the day before the event that will include HaaS and Perfect Projects Every Time, something he has blogged about at times but nothing quite ties it in together.

Pro: Which brings back the ever-present Vladville keyword, WTF is the value? No matter how good you have it, I hope you still remember how hard it is to make money. So when it comes to parting with that money you ought to expect the very best, not just the best effort. In my biased (yes, Karl has helped Own Web Now and Shockey Monkey and the SBS Show immensely, so I speak from experience) opinion, Karl’s books and seminars bring it all together. That’s the value. Will you learn something so earth shattering that it changes the very fabric of your life. No. But the little tips mixed in with know-how, mixed in with templates, mixed in with best practices make putting your business plan in effect a matter of filling in the blank, not sitting around with a lawyer / accountant / financial advisor / dog / your BFF and thinking of a better way to build a wheel.

Con: If you’re going to the conference in search of eyecandy, $100 to watch some blonde shake her rack is probably a better investment. But if you’re trying to improve your business, Karl’s free seminar or $100 towards his books will pay off on the flight back home.