February 2009 - Posts

TS2 Partnercasts - Creating an End to End Response Point Solution with NGT

Due to some technical issues with my previous post, I've changed the location of the Partnercasts so you will now be able to download them and listen to them at your leisure.   In this recording, I'm interviewing Matt Wilson and John Guillaume with NGT (New Global Telecom), to gain a better perspective of their service offerings and how it relates to money in your pocket as a Microsoft Partner.

 

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Here's are some highlights of NGT.

  • New Global Telecom, Inc. (NGT) is the largest provider of wholesale hosted and trunk-based VoIP solutions in the United States.
  • NGT is pleased to be the first service provider to pass lab testing and approval for Response Point.
  • NGT's Digital Voice is a simple, affordable service designed specifically for the small and medium-size business (SMB) market and designed to integrate with Response Point.
  • NGT is making its industry-respected network services available to Microsoft partners for the first time. As Digital Voice agents, you benefit from NGT's simple installation guide, solid network and support, and effortless monthly commissions.

 

 

Click here to access the Partnercast.  When your done, connect with NGT to become a Digital Voice Agent and deliver turn key VoIP solutions to your customers. 

 

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Service Delivery Boot camp in Tampa - ONLY 8 Seats Left!!!

Erick Simpson asked me to help spread the word for those of you interested in a great Boot Camp.  As you work to get the most out of your business in this economy, this boot camp is designed to help you evaluate your current business practice and identify new methods to enable you increase your utilization of your employees as well as the relationships you share with other Partners in your geography to deliver end to end solutions.

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You've been asking for it, and we are now ready to accept registrations for our first Service Delivery Boot Camp of 2009 in Tampa, Florida on Thursday April 30th and Friday May 1st, 2009...
 
There are only 8 spots left out of 24 to this intense I.T. and Managed Services Service Delivery Boot Camp - this is a firm number, and registrations will only be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. 
 

Click here to register now for this one-of-a-kind IT Boot Camp

 

What would it mean to your business if you could increase not only resource utilization, but realization by increasing dispatch and service delivery efficiencies, cutting unnecessary costs, raising your service rates and improving overall hardware, project and service profitability - all while delivering increased value to your clients?
 
If you're like most of our partners, you have already invested in technical staff and tools to deliver services to your clients, and would like to learn best practices to maximize their use in the most profitable manner possible.
 
Get the most out of your human resource and service delivery tool investments - register to attend this groundbreaking boot camp now!
 
Join us on Thursday April 30th and Friday May 1st, 2009 in Tampa, Florida at the ConnectWise Learning Center, where I will personally instruct and consult with you as you learn through participative direct presentation and work with forms and templates to improve every area of your IT Service Delivery business unit.
 
This is an MSP University Boot Camp - you do not have to be a ConnectWise Partner to attend. 
 

2-Day IT Service Delivery Boot Camp Agenda

Based upon MSP University's successful technical service delivery methodologies, our comprehensive boot camps provide attendees the knowledge they need to increase utilization, raise efficiencies, improve client satisfaction and become more profitable.

Give us 2 days, and we'll give you the tools and techniques to transform your IT service delivery process into an effective, repeatable revenue generator.
 
Our IT Service Delivery Boot Camps:

  • Teach standardized, best practices-based project and problem management processes and procedures that can immediately increase your efficiencies along with customer satisfaction
  • Provide an overview of Professional Services Automation, Remote Monitoring and Management and Remote Control tool requirements, functionality and interaction to maximize your resources and scale your services profitably
  • Dive deep into best practices for SLA management and service request prioritization, escalation and management to increase your effectiveness and client satisfaction
  • Discuss the pros and cons of utilizing 3rd-party service desks and how to manage and integrate them successfully into your service delivery offering
  • Cover HR tools such as DISC Behavioral Profiles and Personal Talent Skills Inventories to hire the right technical resources the first time
  • Uncover effective techniques to properly conduct interviews, the right questions to ask and how to put together a performance-based incentive plan and offer letter for qualified technical candidates
  • Explore best practices for overall Service Management improvement and success

 

This Boot Camp is recommended for: Owners, Technical Managers, Professional Services, NOC and Service Desk Personnel

 

Your Instructor: Erick Simpson

Erick SimpsonVice President and CIO of Intelligent Enterprise, a Gold Certified Microsoft Partner, and MSP University (www.mspu.us), Erick is a recognized industry expert and IT and Managed Services author, speaker and trainer, and contributor to numerous industry publications and events. Author of "The Guide to a Successful Managed Services Practice - What Every SMB IT Service Provider Should Know...", the definitive book on Managed Services, and the follow-ups in MSP University's Managed Services Series "The Best I.T. Sales & Marketing BOOK EVER!" and "The Best I.T. Service Delivery BOOK EVER!", Erick has also co-authored the HTG publication "Peer Power - Powerful Ideas for Partners from Peers".

Erick's prior experience includes includes overseeing the design, development and implementation of Enterprise-level Help Desks and Call Centers for Fortune 1000 organizations.

The investment required to attend this incredible 2-day business-changing event is only $1,995 per attendee. 
 
Your return on this investment in your business should be immediate!
 
Remember - there are only 8 spots left for this IT Service Delivery Boot Camp in April, and we expect these last few spots to fill up almost immediately, so act now to register!

There is simply no other IT Solutions and Managed Services-focused training of this type anywhere!
 
Click here to register now for this one-of-a-kind IT Boot Camp

Erick Simpson
MSP University
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Are you Certifiable??? Find out with a 50% Off Exam Voucher Courtesy of Microsoft TS2

As a way of saying THANKS to all the long time supports of the Microsoft TS2 Program, we're offering a 50% off Voucher for Partners to take a Microsoft Exam.  If you are looking to attain the Small Business Specialist Status, become a Microsoft Share Point Specialist or maybe even check your knowledge on Vista, you can leverage this discount to save you some of that hard earned cash.  Think of this as the TS2 Stimulus Plan.  We're putting money back in your pocket while helping improve your skills.

 

Just so you know, this code is only valid for the first 800 Partners that sign up for an exam so don't sit around on your duff trying to decide if you are ready for the test.  You can register today for an exam for a couple weeks from now and use that timeline as a motivation to prepare for it.  One more thing, you have to redeem it by May 30th, 2009.

 

Here's the code and the "fine print":

 

To request your voucher, please click here and enter the Campaign Code listed below.  Your voucher will be emailed to you within 48 hours.

Campaign Code: TS2attend

                Request your voucher now, as supplies are limited. One voucher per person.

Please contact ngc@kporp.com or psdcerts@microsoft.com if you experience any difficulty requesting your voucher.

For more information on Microsoft Certifications, please visit the Partner Certification webpage.

 

 

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BPOS Questions from Charlotte - PST Support with Hosted Exchange

During Larry's session in Charlotte there were several questions that came up during the BPOS session.  Here are the questions I captured and the answers I found.

 

Does Hosted Exchange work with PST files?  Is there an export support?

 

Here is the response that Woody came up with and sent to me to share with you:

 

Answer: There are three options for customers when making data available for audit purposes. Selecting the best practice is the decision of your organization. The three options are:

 

Option One: Folders

The first option is to setup an account for the auditor and share a folder that contains results of the data requested by the auditor.

Copy the data requested by the auditor to this folder.

Create a user account in Administration-> People. Enter a first name, last name and E-mail1. Ensure the "Worker" role is the only role assigned to this account (it should be by default).

Disable the "Allow Send & Reply" capability of the account as well as IP restricting access to only your location. Please note the account you create in the Web-based interface does not have to exist on your mail server. This account will only be used to grant the auditor access to the Web-based interface.

Create a folder in the Folders drawer. You may consider creating multiple folders perhaps by date range or end user under audit.

Right-click on the created folder and select Share. Select the user you created in step one.

Use the search tool in the Monitor drawer to search for the requested data by the auditor. Ensure that you select the "Send Results to a Folder" option. Select the shared folder you created for auditor access.

Once your search is complete, view the results in their respective folders. These results are what the auditor would view.

Instruct the auditor to log on using the newly created account and view the folder created with the data requested by the auditor.

 

Option Two: Export

The second option is to export the messages requested by the auditor. Exporting messages can be done ad hoc or offline.

 

To ad hoc export messages

Perform a search in the Monitor section of the Web-based interface.

Select all messages that you wish to export or right-click on your search results and select [Un] Select All - (All Pages).

Right-click to open the menu, and then click Export.

In the Save As dialog box, enter a file name for the file to be exported.

The export file created by Microsoft Web Access is a standard WinZip file that will contain one EML file per exported message. EML files can be viewed using Outlook Express and other e-mail readers.

To run an offline export (only available to compliance managers)

Perform a search in the Monitor section of the Web-based interface.

Select the Send results to a folder search option and submit an offline search.

Add a folder and enter the name of the folder you want created.

Select the offline search folder you created that you want exported.

Right-click and select the Offline Export option.

A dialog box will confirm that your offline export has been submitted.

Click OK.

When your export has completed, an e-mail will be sent to you confirming completion of the export.

Select My Preferences, and then select Recent Exports.

Click the file you want to export.

Click Save and enter a file name for the file to be exported.

 

Option Three: External Compliance Auditor

The third option is to create an account in the Web-based interface and assign the account the "External Compliance Auditor" role. This role will give access to the Supervise-> Review Messages section. This includes all messages that have been marked as reviewed and messages that are waiting review. This role also grants the auditor access to the supervisory review related reports of the Reports drawer.

Create a user account in Administration-> People. Enter a first name, last name and E-mail1. Assign the "External Compliance Auditor" role to the account. Please note that the "Worker" role is assigned by default.

Disable the "Allow Send & Reply" capability of this user as well as IP restricting access to only your office.

Please note the account you create in the Web-based interface does not have to exist on your mail server. This account will only be used to grant the auditor access to the Web-based interface.

Instruct the auditor to log on using the newly created account and view the Review Messages section.

Okay to be more precise:

The export file created by Microsoft Web Access is a standard WinZip file that will contain one EML file per exported message. EML files can be viewed using Outlook Express and other e-mail readers.

based on this I would say it doesn't create PSTs, but you can convert from above

How do I convert EML files to PST?

A: Below are instructions on how to convert the files exported from the Web-based interface to PST.

 

To convert the files exported from the Web-based interface to PST

After you export messages from the Web-based interface, you will have a zip of .eml files.

Extract these .eml files to a folder.

Launch Outlook if not already started.

Launch Outlook Express. Create a local folder in Outlook Express.

Copy and paste or drag and drop those .eml files you extracted into this Outlook Express folder.

Export this Outlook Express folder to Outlook. (File->Export->Messages, select the folder).

You will see this folder in your Outlook.

Now you can export this folder in Outlook to PST file. (File->Import and Export).

 

 

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Response Point SP2 is Here, Its Awesome and it's a FREE Upgrade!!!

Great news!  At the ITExpo in Miami, the Microsoft Response Point team announced the release of Service Pack 2 and it is a game changer!  Contrary to the beliefs of some critics out there, Microsoft is NOT charging people for an upgrade to take advantage of the new enhancements that come along with Service Pack 2.

 

There is so much to talk about with SP2, I'm going to hold off on the details until I have more time to share them with you.  Here are some highlights as well as a link to download the free update.  If you don't want to wait til my next posts, you can read the SP2 FAQ here.

 

Top Highlights for Response Point SP2:

o Even Easier to Talk to Colleagues and Customers

· Intercom & Paging

· Easy analog phone support with new devices

· After hours receptionist settings

o Better solutions for Trained Specialists

· VPN & Multi-Subnet support

· Launch a web page from an incoming call

· New trunk devices

o Enhanced Features

· Improved audio robustness

· Parked call return

· Personal contacts can be called with specific services

 

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