Vlad Mazek – Vladville Blog

I had a pleasure of being accompanied by JJ Antequino to the Tampa Bay SBS Partner Group. We had one of the best turnouts ever, over 25 people showed up to hear us discuss the new program.

Rene Alamo and I talked at length about the Small Business Specialist Program recently announced by Microsoft and JJ Antequino fielded questions from the partner community. He is Florida’s TS2 presenter (SST) and I’m glad he got some face time with the partners that truely care about the IT industry and believe in the efforts Microsoft is working on in the SMB.

Big thanks to everyone that showed up and I hope you learned something. I will announce my LiveMeeting seminars shortly, look forward to helping everyone get certified on 70-282.

Well, its the second Tuesday of the month, the official Microsoft patchday.

Summary is available at Microsoft Technet, they are all critical updates and patch holes that could allow for remote code execution.

Vulnerability in Microsoft Word Could Allow Remote Code Execution (903672)
Vulnerability in Microsoft Color Management Module Could Allow Remote Code Execution (901214)
Vulnerability in JView Profiler Could Allow Remote Code Execution (903235)

In addition, new Outlook 2003 Junk Filter rules have been released.

Regardless of how you may feel about the Microsoft’s new small business specialist program, you have to admit it is a step in the right direction. Not just by Microsoft, but by all the companies that now have a legitimate venue of certified professionals to pursue and market to.. and through!

First of which appears to be Computer Associates. They are making the following offer (read below) to the new specialization and it is somewhat revolutionary if you’ve ever had to deal with the AV folks. Not only was obtaining NFR (not for resale, fully functional software) almost impossible and very expensive, but there has not been a non-intrusive evaluation version since at least 1995 (good old McAfee command line scanner).

Let us hope CA is followed by many other companies who realize the benefit of the program and the members who showed initiative to become certified at it.

Original Announcement:
Computer Associates International, Inc. has announced support for the new Microsoft Small Business Specialist Community by inviting partners who join to receive from CA a Show and Sell kit for its new CA Business Protection Suite for Microsoft Small Business Server Premium Edition, a $2000 value. The CA Business Protection Suites for Microsoft Small Business Server Premium and Standard editions offers protection for both server and desktop resident data for small business’s using or planning to implement the standard or premium edition of Microsoft’s Small Business Server. The suites include antivirus protection, which helps customers fend off the onslaught of viruses while easing antivirus administration and automatically updating virus signatures; Anti-Spyware, which detects and removes tens of thousands of “pests” – including spyware, adware, trojans, denial-of-service attack agents, and other backdoor web-based threats – safeguarding PCs from unauthorized access, information theft and diminished system performance; backup-and-restore protection of desktops, laptops, servers and mobile devices, and advanced system migration functionality that streamlines the capture and transfer of user settings and data during a PC refresh, operating system upgrade or desktop recovery.

The Show and Sell Kit which will be offered to Microsoft Small Business Specialists at no charge for the kit includes: (Nominal shipping & handling fee will apply)
* A free version of the Business Protection Suite for Microsoft Small Business Server Standard edition that can be used in their organization and for demos to their customers.
* A free, 5-user license of the Business Protection Suite for Microsoft SBS Standard Edition that the MS Small Business Specialist can re-sell to a customer.
* 10 live trial cds that they can give to prospects to test drive the solution
* 10 data sheets/collateral that the partner can use to highlight the benefits of the solution to their prospects

More information can be obtained by visiting
http://www.ca.com/microsoft/sbspecialist/

Read the entire Exchange Server 2003 Security Hardening Guide online or download the Exchange Server 2003 Security Hardening Guide . This guide is designed to provide you with essential information about how to harden your Exchange Server 2003 environment. In addition to practical, hands-on configuration recommendations, this guide includes strategies for combating spam, viruses, and other external threats to your Exchange 2003 messaging system. Important: Since the previous version of this guide was released, the following new topics have been added and are available only online:
• Running Exchange Server 2003 Clusters in a Security-Hardened Environment
• How to Run Exchange Server 2003 Clusters in a Security-Hardened Environment

Harry Brelsford is reporting from Microsoft WWPC that there are some concerns by Microsoft Certified Partners that the new small business designation is going to dilute the value of their Microsoft Certified Partner program. Here is my response:

As a Microsoft Certified Partner, I can tell you that the ones complaining either do not understand the small business market or have not read through the benefits and qualifications they would get by obtaining this credential themselves. Even as a MCP you can get the Small Business Specialist designation for your company, I have. Here are my opinions, I’ll be glad to educate any MCP on how they can realize a lot more value than they think from the Small Business Specialist Program and, more importantly, Small Business Specialists.

Does it dilute their program value?
No, it reinforces it. How? Microsoft, for the first time, is actually providing the 1-man-shops with some legitimacy as they have shown at least some level of competency in deploying Microsoft software because they have become certified at something. This will bring a huge amount of advertising and awareness of the Microsoft Partner program and raise the stock of the Microsoft Certified Partners — Until now the difference between the “Microsoft Certified Professional” and the ‘Microsoft Certified Partner” on the business card was nearly indistinguishable.

As far as an opportunity is concerned, as a Certified Partner now I have Microsoft pointing out who I can subcontract and send my smallbiz work to and trust them not to destroy the clients network. Microsoft Certified Partners generally do not work with SOHO and being able to work with someone, even a 1 man shop, is an amazing benefit. You get a person that has put in enough initiative and self-motivation to get certified, pass the tests, subscribe to the Action Pack, and even get their logo out there. This is the kind of a partner you want — we all started small.

As for the value, by getting the Small Business Specialist you still get 25 MSPP points to use towards a higher certification level. You also get a listing in the resource directory for small business products.. so now not only can you approach smallbiz clients with the fact that you have a lot of resources, employees and experience, but you can also show them that you have the ability to understand their business and recommend an appropriate solution. If all your marketing collateral shows the big boys and Fortune 500, you can’t close on the small business. But if you show them “Hey, Microsoft recognizes me for my ability to give you what YOU need, at the price YOU can afford — Look at what Fortune 500 paid for their solution — millions, and we sold it to them… Now I can give you that same power for $599!” and watch their eyes light up.

Eric Ligman (Sr. Manager, US Small Business, Microsoft Corp) posted the following information as a response to a number of questions raised on the mssmallbiz mailing list. It certainly answers a lot of my questions but keep them coming, as I’ve said before, everyone that does anything in the smallbiz needs to have this credential. If you’ve got questions or concerns, this is the time to bring them up (while they are listening):

And let me add a little bit more to this for further clarification:

1) Small Business Specialist is not a Partner Level (like Registered, Certified, or Gold)
2) Small Business Specialist is not a competency in the Microsoft Partner Program
3) Small Business Specialist is a designation that a Partner at any level, Registered, Certified, or Gold, can look to obtain to differentiate their business as one that focuses on serving the needs of Small Businesses. So, you could be a Registered Member of the Microsoft Partner Program that is a Small Business Specialist or you could be a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner that is a Small Business Specialist (same for Certified). On the flip side, you could be a Registered Member, Certified Partner, or Gold Certified Partner and not be a Small Business Specialist.
4) Yes, Small Business Specialist does earn you 25 Microsoft Partner Points; however, it is not a competency. So if you have (2) competencies already, you can still use the 25 points from Small Business Specialist in your total (even though there is a cap of 2 competencies for points normally), because this is not a third competency.
5) On the Small Business Center website (http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness), which is where we point our Small Business customers through our advertising, the “Find a Partner” tool will list Small Business Specialists first because they focus on Small Business. As such, a Certified Partner that is a Small Business Specialist will list before a Certified Partner that is not a Small Business Specialist. Why? Because if a customer is looking for a
Partner on the Small Business Center, they are most likely a Small Business Customer and would be best served by a Partner with a Small Business specialization. Will a Certified Small Business Specialist come up before a Registered Member Small Business Specialist? Yes. Why? Because not only do they have a Small Business Specialization, they have also taken the extra steps to become Certified. So for those of you who are already Certified and have been suggesting that now that the Small Business Specialization is out it will alleviate the need to be Certified anymore, here is just the first example of where that is not the case.
6) You will see additional “proficiencies” be added within the Small Business Specialist Program around items like: Security, CRM, Financial Management, Retail Management, Business Productivity, etc. over time so that not only can you designate your organization as a Small Business Specialist; however, you can become a Small Business Specialist with a CRM proficiency, for example. To gain these proficiencies, you will need to meet minimum requirements (which will be determined as the proficiencies get introduced).
7) How many times have you been a part of, instigator of, or witness to a conversation that includes, “As a Registered Member that is a one or two person shop, we are too small to qualify to be Certified Partners, yet we have more SBS or Small Business skills than any of those who became Registered Members just to get Action Pack. How are we supposed to differentiate ourselves if Microsoft makes it too hard to reach that based on our size?” Sound familiar to anyone???? Well, part of the goal of this program is to help you do just that. Anyone who became Registered just to get Action Pack will no longer be on the same level as you. You will have an advantage. Those of you who have become Certified, you will still have all of the advantages of the Certified
Level, which still exceeds that of the Registered Level. And no, becoming a Small Business Specialist does not get you all of the advantages of being a Certified Partner. One thing to look at though is that by becoming a Small Business Specialist, those of you who really want to reach the Certified Level but were not quite big enough, you now earn 25 Partner Points which helps get you closer to attaining that goal. Those of you who are Certified, the 25 points gets you that much closer to obtaining a Gold Level if you choose to pursue it.

As someone very close to this program, I see it as offering a lot of positive upside to any Small Business Partner that really wants to differentiate themselves and use the program to get ahead. Looking at the issues that were raised in the past and complaints we have heard, I think we are much better off with the offerings available as of yesterday vs. what was available last week as several of these items are being addressed with the Small Business Specialist Program. As the program continues to grow and the additional proficiencies become available, I do believe this will become an even greater asset for all of our motivated Small Business Partners, which again, will help differentiate you from those who are in it just to be in it. And isn’t that one of the big things you have been asking for?

Ok, that’s enough typing for one post…

Thank you and have a wonderful day,

Eric Ligman
Senior Manager, Microsoft US Small Business

So I wrote about the Microsoft Small Business Specialist program that was announced yesterday at the World Wide Partner Conference. More interesting stuff is coming out of Microsoft regarding the benefits of the program, but if you’re doing anything with Microsoft in the smallbiz arena, suffice to say, you need to get it.

There are many details on where the program fits, but I’ll leave Microsoft’s propaganda machine to give you the details. Here is my opinion, based on all my work with Microsoft and Microsoft Partners:

This is the first big distinction Microsoft is making for individuals that specialize in Small Business IT. Essentially, it gives Microsoft’s seal of approval stating that you’re competent in smallbiz and they are behind you. This approach is very similar to the Microsoft Certified Partner program.

Whats more important is that this shows that you have support from Microsoft. Whether that is in the form of documentation, free PSS calls, free software, marketing collateral or anything else, it will definately show your clients that you have a real relationship with Microsoft.

What do I do now?

First, and the most important step is to train and pass the 70-282 Microsoft Certified Professional Exam. Details on this exam are available at Microsoft Learning : Exam 70-282: Planning, Deploying, and Managing a Network Solution for the Small and Medium-Sized Business.

You will not pass on your knowledge of SBS2003 wizards alone, you will need to train. Take a class, read a book, download a sample test, pay for a test simulation, read a book. Which book? Microsoft Small Business Specialist Primer & 70-282 Exam Preparation Guide by Beatrice Mulzer and Harry Brelsford. If you flip to the back (way, way back) appendix you’ll also find my 70-282 review 😉

After you have passed the test, you need to pass the Small Business Sales & Marketing Assessment which you can take over and over and over again until you figure out all the answers. No big deal, after all, this is what you’ll be doing all day long anyhow.

Long enough? There is a great community starting up on the smallbizserver.net forums where you can ask all the questions you want about this certification. I will take some time to post there from time to time so get the book, get the guides and get certified!

Microsoft Announces Small Business Specialist Community: New designation within the Microsoft Partner Program helps partners that focus on the small-business space differentiate themselves and better serve their customers.:

Microsoft World Wide Partner Conference

Microsoft Partner Program: Smallbiz Specialist Readiness

We had another OrlandoSBS meeting last night despite the few hurricanes just around the corner. Most people were still on the 4th of July vacation but I decided to hold the meeting anyhow and I was quite pleasantly surprised. OrlandoSBS, for those of you hearing about it for the first time, is a professional association of IT professionals and solution providers focusing on small-to-medium business.

We mostly talked about security, mobility and the business. On the tech side, we went through the complete deployment and configuration of Windows System Update Services (WSUS) and Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer 2.0 (MBSA) and then turned to business: how do I make this a part of my support contract, how do I give my clients a better service and a professionaly managed network without the high cost.

Small groups, especially when brought together with a common goal, tend to be a lot more productive than bigger groups because people overcome their shyness: they ask the questions and share information they may not be willing to share in a larger setting. For example, we found out how a local partner handles spikes in demand for his services and how he trains the new staff. Talk about the value not in just recruiting, but training and keeping the client happy.

If you’re not a part of an ITPRO group you’re hereby invited to join OrlandoSBS IT Professional group: there is no fee and what you will learn is priceless.

For the longest time the biggest complaint mobile users had with Exchange sync was that it did not bring all the address book contents to the device.

With this tool, you can bring your entire GAL (Global Address List) with you on-the-go and keep it in sync. There is a demo on how this works over at Eileen Brown’s Weblog.