Archive for Announcement
Welcome Cliff Galiher!
Posted by: | CommentsThird Tier is pleased to announce the addition of Cliff Galiher to our team! Cliff brings a wealth of expertise in networking, Active Directory, OCS as well as SBS. He has been active at Experts Exchange as well as in the SBS newsgroups and forums for quite some time. You can find out more about Cliff on his bio page.
Welcome to Third Tier, Cliff!
Amy’s company wins Small Business Specialist of the Year award from Microsoft
Posted by: | CommentsI’m proud to announce that Harbor Computer Services has won Microsoft’s Small Business Specialist of the Year award.
As a small woman owned IT business in Royal Oak, we are very proud to announce that our work with Michigan small businesses has received an important award from Microsoft. It is very exciting for us that Microsoft recognizes the importance of small business to the Michigan economy and our role in helping those businesses thrive.
When Eriq and I formed Third Tier we did so out of our experiences in running IT firms in our local communities. The majority of our Third Tier staff also have local IT firms just like yours. It think it is because of this understanding that we can bring you quality IT services when you need them. It’s because we understand what it is to be you. The Third Tier staff have not given up their local businesses. Rather these business continue to thrive and excel in their local markets. It is through this continued experience that we can stay in touch with your needs.
For Release
June 23, 2010
Harbor Computer Services Honored in the 2010 Microsoft Partner Awards as
Small Business Specialist Partner of the Year
Royal Oak, Michigan, USA — June 23, 2010 — Today, Harbor Computer Services proudly announces it is a Microsoft Partner Awards winner as Small Business Specialist Partner of the Year. The company was chosen out of an international field of top Microsoft partners as delivering market-leading customer solutions built on Microsoft technology.
“Our submission highlighted our efforts to bring the best of Internet technologies and software subscription programs to our clients while co-mingling these new technologies with on-premise solutions for a rock-solid best of both worlds approach to IT. I believe that this is the path that will help our clients keep the competitive advantage by maximizing return on IT investment. I’m beyond excited that Microsoft has acknowledged our work with this award”, said Amy Babinchak, President of Harbor Computer Services.
Harbor Computer Services was recognized for superior technology and innovation in Small Business Specialist Partner of the Year. The Small Business Specialist Partner of the Year Award honors partners who use Microsoft technology in innovative ways to deploy integrated solutions that serve their customers in the small to midmarket business (SMB) space. This award recognizes Harbor Computer Services for demonstrating innovative excellence and proficiency in deploying solutions that leverage Microsoft technology scaled for SMBs. They have successfully provided ways to help small business owners save money and be competitive all while using Microsoft campaigns and sales tools.
“Microsoft is pleased to announce Harbor Computer Services as the Small Business Specialist Partner of the Year,” said Birger Steen, vice president, Worldwide SMB and Distribution, Microsoft Corp. “Harbor Computer Services is committed to helping small to midsize business customers find and utilize the best IT investments that reach their business goals. Their deep knowledge of Microsoft technologies enabled them to create a customized solution utilizing Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation and Microsoft Online Services (BPOS) to satisfy the customer needs of a fast network and remote access.”
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The Microsoft Partner Awards recognize Microsoft partners that have developed and delivered exceptional Microsoft-based solutions over the last year.
Harbor Computer Services is an IT services firm serving businesses with 100 or fewer computers across Southeastern Michigan. We believe that your IT investment should be making your company money and we care about your business.
For additional information:
Amy Babinchak, President – Harbor Computer Services.
(248) 850-8616
amy@harborcomputerservices.net
Product or service names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
MSP University Partners with Third Tier
Posted by: | Comments
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Erick Simpson
MSP University
Voice: (714) 898-8195
Fax: (714) 898-8194
busdev@mspu.us
www.mspu.us
MSP University Announces Partnership with Third Tier to Benefit IT Solution Providers
Largest online business improvement resource for IT professionals and managed service providers partners with advanced IT support services organization
Garden Grove, CA 06/09/2010- Managed Service Provider University (MSPU); the largest consultancy and online resource dedicated to business transformation and improvement strategies for information technology (IT) professionals and managed service providers worldwide, announced today its strategic partnership with Third Tier, a leading provider of advanced remote support services for IT professionals.
This strategic partnership enhances MSP University’s 7,000+ partner channel’s ability to increase their technical capabilities and scale their remote support services to their clients efficiently and cost-effectively.
“Integrating Third Tier’s services and capabilities into an IT solution or managed services provider’s deliverables greatly benefits their practices as well as their clients’ businesses”, said Erick Simpson, Vice President of MSP University. “This strategic partnership is another great example of MSP University’s mission to seek out and engage with business partners whose products and services will add value to our members’ businesses”.
Third Tier provides remote support services for IT Professionals that serve the SMB market with immediate access to subject matter experts. This approach provides IT professionals a more efficient alternative to traditional vendor support and gives them the confidence they need to support complex environments without having to invest in costly specialist staff.
“We’re excited about the opportunity this partnership presents to assist MSP University’s partners in growing their businesses”, said Amy Babinchak, Managing Partner of Third Tier. “By teaming up with MSP University, we’re delivering valuable services to help their members get the most out of their partnership with MSPU.”
About MSP University
MSP University provides IT business operations, sales and marketing and technical service delivery improvement education, training, fulfillment and consulting services to Fortune 50 manufacturers, distributors, membership organizations, vendor channels, franchises and thousands of independent IT service organizations worldwide. MSP University is the ultimate resource for IT solution providers, whether preparing to transition to an annuity-based Managed Services delivery model, or who are already delivering Managed Services, and wish to increase their knowledge of IT and Managed Services vendors, services, solutions and business, technical and sales and marketing best practices to drive revenue and increase profitability. For more information, visit www.mspu.us.
About Third Tier
Third Tier’s expertise includes a wide range of SMB technologies including Exchange, SQL, SharePoint, Active Directory, DNS, Hyper-V, System Center, Macintosh, Calyptix Access Enforcer, SBS, EBS and general networking. For more information, visit www.thirdtier.net.
RunAs Radio: Eriq talks Macs and Active Directory
Posted by: | CommentsThird Tier’s Eriq Neale will appear on the April 14th episode of RunAs Radio (http://www.runasradio.com) discussing issues surrounding incorporating the Macintosh platform into an Active Directory environment. This will be the second time in as many months that a member of Third Tier has been the featured guest on the program (Amy Babinchak appeared in the March 31 episode discussing security in EBS).
So who wrote this blog and what do they do for a living anyway?
We’re Third Tier. We provide advanced Third Tier support for IT Professionals.
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LinkedINMac Mini an Alternative to SBS?
Posted by: | CommentsIn a March 31 article at crn.com (http://www.crn.com/software/224200956), ChannelWeb correspondent Kevin McLaughlin posits that Apple’s special configuration of a Mac Mini with Snow Leopard Server preinstalled could pose a serious threat to sales of Small Business Server. Third Tier’s Eriq Neale was interviewed for the article and offered some insight on the topic. To get a deeper view of Eriq’s take on the premise of the article, come to SMB Nation Spring in East Brunswick and sit in on his session Alternative Solutions in the SMB Space. Even if you saw the session he did at the Fall conference in Las Vegas, this is one you won’t want to miss!
So who wrote this blog and what do they do for a living anyway?
We’re Third Tier. We provide advanced Third Tier support for IT Professionals.
Get Support Blog Twitter Facebook LinkedINThird Tier now tweeting in the land down under
Posted by: | CommentsYou are following our tweets, right? We’ve been tweeting for a long time now. New content, content calling out information hidden within our blogs post and announcements. All for our techie friends. But now, we’re also tweeting for our techo friends as well.
Third Tier will be tweeting during Australia time zone hours. So welcome Aussies. Please tell your friends to follow us! @thirdtier
Microsoft Pulls the Plug on EBS
Posted by: | CommentsMicrosoft stunningly pulled the plug on EBS today. It’s a stunning move because the highly anticipated version 2 was near release. Code was complete, TAP (technology access preview) customers were running it in production, TAP customers were recently flown in from around the world for training, and MVP’s received in depth information and training on the new version. The consensus of everyone who had used the new version was that it was a homerun and would live up to the promise made to the mid-market. An excitement was in the air.
Batter up! EBS V2 at bat, bases loaded with companies 25-500 users. Microsoft bean counter pitching. SBS 2010 standing way back in right field picking daisies. EBS is using 2 bats today, one traditional and one interesting new lean bat. Awaiting the pitch. Time out! Here comes Marketing from the sidelines to the pitching mound. It seems the pitcher is refusing to pitch to EBS. EBS is out of the game.
We saw something similar happen with Response Point. Just as V2, chock full of requested features and lesson learned from V1 and a partner community revving up, the Response Point plug got pulled. It makes one wonder if Microsoft has the stomach for marketing building; if they can create a new product and stand behind it long enough for the marketing to develop and the partner community to join in.
It’s a sad day for all involved. My condolences to the development team. You put in so much hard work.
Top Influences in SMB – Vote now
Posted by: | CommentsBe heard! Who are your primary influencer’s in the SMB Space?
Take SMB Nation’s survey of the top 150 influencers.
Interested in SBS 2008 Training?
Posted by: | CommentsLast month TrainSignal released a new video course course I created, and I thought I’d talk about it a little bit here, since I wrote it with the SMB consultant audience in mind.
I think that if I was looking for a course to take myself, I’d want to know that it did two things: cover all the essentials and additionally give me some beyond-the-basics expertise to add value to my consulting. Beyond that, I’d also want it to efficiently cover a given topic in a demo-driven way so that instead of having to plow through the whole course, I’d be able to sit down for 45 minutes or so with a specific topic and walk away feeling more prepared to implement.
That’s pretty much what I’ve put together, and when you add up all the content, it comes to over 17 hours of video, including segments covering SharePoint customization, certificates, WSUS, SBS 2003-2008 migrations, Exchange disaster recovery and much more.
TrainSignal typically sells scenario-driven courses, so there’s usually a fictitious company with fictitious characters whose needs the course is built around, and as part of the course, we field management requests from our “client” and translate them into technological solutions. In this course we are working for Mal Falconi, who runs KingFish Private Investigations, and she wants to set up a solution that maximizes her decentralized office strategy. Many videos begin with a description of a “business need” and we move on to craft and implement a solution that meets that need. I had a lot of fun building the course.
You can check out a larger overview here.
If you’ve already looked at the course, I’d be glad for any feedback you might have.
We’re Speaking at SMB Nation East
Posted by: | CommentsThe content is lining up for SMB Nation East and we’re proud to be part of it. Third Tier staff members Amy Babinchak and Eriq Neale will be presenting in separate sessions. Amy is partnered with SBS-MVP Kevin Royalty, together they will talk about how they have implemented a range of new backup solutions for their clients. There’s no one size fits all anymore, so we’ll be trotting out lots of different solutions to show when, where and why we implemented them. Eriq will be a busy guy during his presentation. The world of IT is changing and boy to we have choices. Choices are a good thing, or are they?
GS103: Backup here, backup there, backup everywhere
Speaker: Amy Babinchak, Kevin Royalty 
Agenda
By now everyone knows that backup has changed. We’ve gone from tape backing up data only to the wonderful world of hardware independent image backup and restore. Suddenly the options are endless. We can backup workstations incrementally, a whole server every 15 minutes, we can store them locally, on removable media, send it off-site or all three! But will your client pay for all of this wonderful new backup technology? How do you present it to them? Amy and Kevin will discuss the various technologies and show you what they are doing for their clients and how to sell it.
GS101: Alternative Solutions in the SMB Space
Speaker: Eriq Neale Agenda
“What if SBS isn’t the best solution for my client?” If you’ve been asking yourself this question recently, you may find some answers in this session. Eriq Neale demonstrates two on-premise solutions and other cloud-based services that might be a more viable option for some of your customers, with real-world implementation examples. Is the notion of “one size fits all” still viable in the SMB space? Come learn and decide for yourself!
If you haven’t registered for the conference yet, then now we would be a good time to do so. Your conference fee includes accommodations at the Hyatt! Can’t beat the value. Use the link below to register.
http://www.smbnation.com/Events/SMBNationSpring2010/PricingandRegistration/tabid/288/Default.aspx
