Infrastructure Optimization
http://www.microsoftio.com/
Out of our space? I don't think so… Many of us SBSCs came from enterprise, some maybe not so much. Having spent some time on this, reading, learning, and practicing it, I think any SBSC worth their weight needs to know this stuff inside and out. Are we going to be developing Infrastructure Optimization Plans for fortune 500 companies? Probably not. However, we should be up to speed on this stuff. Small Businesses tend to be more agile, more flexible than the larger companies. This is an opportunity to use that flexibility and agility to stay competitive with larger organizations. Our clients need the efficiencies and advantages that the Microsoft IO Framework provides.
I saw a report that said that organizations that transition from basic to standard can gain about $600 per desktop, just in provisioning. Now I won't go into how they come up with the numbers or even explaining basic or standardized or rational or dynamic states. What I will say is that Microsoft has done a great job of developing a framework for us as partners to talk to our clients about gaining return on investment and winning on total cost of ownership.
Real quick, if you have Small Business Server and a standardized Client Platform, you are well on your way to making your clients more efficient. And if they are on Managed Services for support, then way to go!!! This is not about getting high scores on some inane chart; rather it is a reflection on the business leadership's ability to leverage the technology for greater productivity.
That site is FULL of great information and can help partners talk to clients in a more insightful manner.