Hosted Windows Desktops Meet Open Source
Consider the following scenario: mindSHIFT, a Microsoft Gold Partner, is pretty excited about Windows 7’s scheduled Oct. 22 launch. Yet mindSHIFT also is launching a cloud service that blends hosted Windows desktops with open source applications. Is this the start of a bigger trend across the IT channel?
mindSHIFT’s NextDesktop cloud starts at $39,99 per user per month and includes a lengthy list of application options — everything from managed security to Microsoft Windows to Microsoft Office and OpenOffice. Wait a minute: How did OpenOffice — the open source applications suite — get in there?
Call it a sign of the times. Microsoft continues to build its own cloud services (Windows Azure, Business Productivity Online Suite and Office Web, among others). Some channel partners will leverage those services. Other channel partners are looking for ways to diversify and build their own branded managed services around Microsoft SharePoint, Exchange 2010 and Dynamics CRM. And third-party solutions providers, such as Parallels, are launching tools to help VARs and SaaS providers speed their hosted Microsoft application deployments.
No doubt, mindSHIFT continues to work closely with Microsoft. The company is a Microsoft .Net fan. But the days of VARs spending all their time focused on Microsoft-centric solutions are over.
Competing and Cooperating with Microsoft
When The VAR Guy visited mindSHIFT a few weeks ago, the company raved about Windows 7’s stability, user interface and overall speed/performance. Yet mindSHIFT continues to hedge its own business bets — on traditional desktops and on hosted desktops. The NextDesktop cloud service, which offers OpenOffice as an applications option, is proof of that.
The VAR Guy suspects quite a few VARs are gearing up to make similar hosted and SaaS moves.
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Curious to know if Mind Shift has gotten out of the PC business (selling/upgrades, etc.). Were they ever in it? The hosted Windows strategy sounds smart but what about the rest of us VARs who don’t have the $$$$ to build data centers to run applications like this?
We’re currently working on a Private Label program for VARs, MSPs, ISPs, and Hosters who can resell the new Hosted Desktop service – under their name and brand. This lets small businesses buy the service from their trusted IT vendor.
In case it’s not 100% clear, I am a mindSHIFT employee. 🙂
(I thought the Website link was going to show in my original comment to make my relationship obvious)
Ravi: Thanks for clarifying your affiliation with mindSHIFT, and for some of that hosting info with our readers. The VAR Guy greatly appreciates it.
Frankie: We are also a small VAR. I believe the cloud (or hosted desktop) I will be selling is in my customers office. I can manage all those desktops and servers from my desktop. The cost of hardware is dropping so I can cheaply provide redundancies. The problem for hosted services, that is not mentioned enough, is the need for bandwidth. My customers are scanning in and moving around very large documents. If I have to increase my monthly cost for larger pipes, where am I saving money.
Just something to think about.
Larry Ellison went off on cloud computing in his Churchill Club interview last month. Which suprised me, but I believe his point was that the Internet is here and people are trying to market it as something new and different.
In the end, I think we are going to have a mixture of some applications being hosted on providers systems and other services will be hosted on the business’s own systems.
Microsoft is demonstrating Office Web in their booth at SMB Nation conference. I know it’s just a demo but I was impressed to see pivot tables and other Excel features running in Office Web
I am trying to find a way to install openoffice on my cloud server to be part of my packaged web solutions. Anyone know of how to do openoffice server install?