IT Blog NOW

Tired of copying files to a flash drive or send them to your e-mail account every time you have to work on a different computer? Why not give Microsoft Office Live Workspace a try? It’s free and allows you to access your files from anywhere.

When I started using Office Live Workspace a while ago, I had no option but using the web interface to upload or download my documents before being able to actually work on them. But now, there’s a plugin for Microsoft Office Word, Excel, and Powerpoint that allows me to open and save documents directly from the Office applications installed in my computer, without having to access the web interface on my browser. After the plugin is installed, you’ll actually get two new menu options on Office 2007, called “Open from Office Live” and “Save to Office Live”, and a new toolbar called “Go to Office Live” on Office XP and 2003, containing the Open and Save buttons.

Nothing changes about the way you work with your files; basically, you will just be using the cloud, instead of your local computer, to save and retrieve your documents, and the process is completely transparent to you; it’s like having a second drive installed on your computer to save your documents. And the good thing is… if you also have the plugin installed on your work computer, you can easily, from work, open any document saved to the cloud through your home computer, and vice-versa.

That’s not all, if you’re also interested on collaboration, you can use MS Office Live Workspace to share documents with anyone you want. You can easily define, at the document level, who on your sharing list is allowed to edit the document and who is only allowed to view it. Also, once you share a document, providing the email address of the people you’re sharing the document with, Office Live Workspace automatically sends them an e-mail, inviting them to view or edit the document.

It sounds cool, doesn’t it? I know it helps me a lot when I’m working on a document and I have to jump from one location to another.

Google launched in January of this year a reseller program that allows solutions providers to become Google Apps authorized resellers. That’s a great opportunity for solution providers trying to break into the SaaS (Software as a Service) market.

As a Google Apps authorized reseller, you’ll be able to create unique solutions to help your existing and new customers implement Google Apps for their businesses. And the best part of the program is that Google will have no relationship with your customers. In other words,  the customers are yours… you provide the services… you bill your customers… and Google bills you. Also, as an authorized reseller, you’ll get discounts off the annual Google Apps list price, which might increase your margin compared to what you bill your customer.

Just be aware that, as Google Apps are less expensive than other systems, your margin on the list price might not be as high. However, as a solution provider, you probably already know that the real revenue is not in the application resale, but on the services provided along with the application, which can result in a substantial margin. And to make things even better, because Google Apps are not so expensive, your customers will have extra cushion to spend on other services offered by you.

Curious about how you can take advantage of this program? Well, in the program details, you’ll find a few of the business opportunities available for solution providers, which I have listed below, grouped by the type of service solution provides might be willing to offer.

If you’re interested in recurring revenue and customer relationship, you can try these services:

• Strategic business process consulting
• Worry-free management of services
• Comprehensive support

Now, if you are more of a project-based kind of solution provider, you can try these ones:

• Data migration
• User training and best practices
• Systems integration
• Application extensions development

And don’t think you’ll be alone on this journey. As an authorized reseller, you’ll have Google support along the way. The list below, that can be found within the program details, gives you an idea of what type of support you can expect from Google:

• Technical training and reseller support
• Sales tools and training
• Marketing programs, collateral, and tools
• Reseller discount off the annual list price for Google Apps Premier Edition
• Reseller logo branding
• Solution provider community forums
• Integration into the front-line customer support flow
• Console to create and manage customer accounts
• Opportunities for other performance-based benefits.

And to make things easier for you, Google has also created the video below to help you decide whether or not this program is right for you. Check it out:

Thus, with more and more businesses taking advantage of the cloud for their operations, this program is a great opportunity to solution providers to increase their revenue by help their customers become more competitive.

Last week I blogged about POP3 settings for Hotmail not being available for US customers. Well, even though I haven’t read anything official from the Hotmail Team about it, it seems like US Hotmail customers can now take advantage of POP3 settings from any e-mail client that accepts it, such as your iPhone, Windows Mobile devices, Gmail, Yahoo mail, Outlook Express, and so on. For Outlook users, it’s the freedom of having access to your e-mail without using the Outlook Connector. I wrote a post about some issues I faced when installing the Outlook Connector on my Vista Box, so I’m pleased that I don’t have to go through that again.

Here are the settings, retrieved from the Windows Live Blog, to get you going :

• POP server: pop3.live.com (Port 995)
• POP SSL required? Yes
• User name: Your Windows Live ID, for example yourname@hotmail.com
• Password: The password you usually use to sign in to Hotmail or Windows Live
• SMTP server: smtp.live.com (Port 25)
• Authentication required: Yes (this matches your POP username and password)
• TLS/SSL Required: Yes

Enjoy.. I know I will.