If you're a Zenith partner, go sign up for this training right now at www.zenithinfotech.com/boxoffice. If you're not a Zenith partner, run don't walk to become a partner today.
Zenith expects to start shipping their on-premise cloud solution in October . . . just around the corner. And you can't buy it if you haven't done this training.
There was a recent write-up on this topic in Vertical Systems Reseller magazine.
Okay. So much for the announcements.
What is this thing?
Zenith's Smart Style computing is a unit that will include redundant servers and a backup, with the ability to quickly deploy virtual servers and workstations. The goal will be to create an entire client office "in a box" on virtual machines. The basic box is dirt cheap. Each server is small additional charge per month, and each virtual workstation is a very small charge per month.
Of course you're free to price this to your clients as you see fit.
One way to sell this (which we anticipate doing) is for you to provide this device plus thin clients and Microsoft SPLA licensing. In other words, you will own 100% of the client's technology. You'll own the hardware and resell the software on a monthly basis.
The client will buy technology as a service, so it's a total operating expenditure and not payments on an asset that depreciates. It means the client can count on a nice stable price for three years and avoid that big one-time bump for the purchase of the server.
When I went to the initial Zenith roadshow for this product in April, I knew right away that we needed to sell it. I talked to a client who had spent about $80,000 over the previous three years to support an SBS Server and ten users, with all managed service and hourly labor.
My basic pitch was that we would be able to even out monthly costs, cut the overall budget by 10%, and provide a much higher level of service and support.
How can I do that? Well . . . for one thing, desktop support will consist largely of rebooting the thin client to bring down a fresh image. Done.
The client was very eager to do this. He made it clear he didn't want to be the first person on such a system, but he's be willing to be an early adopter.
Another client said they'd go through an early adoption if I put my company through it by building up our own infrastructure on such a system. Resistance so far has been zero.
There are two big questions that everyone has:
1) If all my stuff is on one big thing, what happens when that thing breaks?
2) If something happens to KPEnterprises, who would support such a system?
Answer 1 is pretty straight forward. Because the BDR is included in the package, a total failure of two servers would just mean that we have to restore an image to something else. KPEnterprises would provide a loaner machine and the client would be back up same day.
If the price is right, we might even have a spare Smart Style Computing system in a box at our office.
Answer 2 is that there will be lots of companies supporting this technology by the time we get our hands on it and begin actually deploying it. If Zenith has as much success with this as they've had with the BDR devices, this should be no problem at all.
- - - - -
Most of the training for the last two days was not about the product itself. The training was a step up on cloud services and a pummelling on the business models that are available to cloud service providers (like YOU).
Do yourself a favor. Get into this space as quickly as you can.
The early adopters are lining up. The technology is emerging very quickly. And the future is a lot closer than you think.
:-)
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