smbvirtualization.net

Try to explain virtualization to the layperson, the office manager of a nearby physician practice or the CEO of a regional retail chain, and you may get that blank stare, deer-in-headlights look.
You put all the servers onto one server? What? What good is that? And why didn't we do it all along?

Plenty of people have tried to explain it. Dell even has a new set of videos out, promoted on its channel PartnerDirect blog in an effort to help partners explain the technology to their small business and enterprise end customers...

AT&T (NYSE:T) says it's a "premier partner" for Microsoft (NSDQ:MSFT)'s forthcoming Windows Phone 7 Series devices, and Microsoft says AT&T is a "valued partner." However, Microsoft solution providers say that giving AT&T any sort of special partnership status for Windows Phone 7 is a risky strategy given the carrier's well-publicized travails with the iPhone...

http://www.crn.com/software/222900777;jsessionid=40MIRLZ0BYPTHQE1GHRSKH4...

Dave's new blog post on ChannelInsider!

Transitioning a customer's environment to the cloud is the way of the future for solution providers -- and right in many ways -- but early on here we must acknowledge that such change displaces other things that we do....

http://www.channelinsider.com/c/a/Commentary/Trepidation-in-Moving-to-th...

Time is money. It's an old axiom that's still true for today's enterprises. For data-intensive businesses, the cost of downtime can easily exceed six figures for each hour of lost network access or user productivity...

In early 2009, Dave Sobel, CEO of Evolve Technologies, visited a number of U.K.-based user groups to discuss virtualization. At the time, said Sobel, "I got a lot of comments that this was the first time they'd ever heard of virtualization in SMB or the first time that they'd thought about virtualization in SMB."

"By December, I visited a group in Philadelphia and more than half the room was already doing virtualization," he added. "To have that level of change in the user group community, which is largely small business IT consultants, is pretty dramatic."

Dave's Latest ChannelInsider blog post:

"Beware Technology for Technology's Sake"
http://www.channelinsider.com/c/a/Commentary/Beware-Technology-for-Techn...

Some interesting news on the virtualization front as TechTarget acquires a UK-based virtualization Web site. Check out the full story:
http://virtualization.com/acquisitions-acquisition-takeover/2010/02/03/t...

Dave Sobel talks virtualization for the SMB with Redmond Channel Partner.

Read the full article here: http://rcpmag.com/Articles/2010/02/01/A-Virtual-Door-Opens.aspx?Page=1

Cloud solutions will become one good new option in the solution provider tool kit, but beware the "cloud-only" play, especially early on when even the cloud-friendliest customers will continue to have plenty of components on premise.

Read the full commentary here
http://www.channelinsider.com/c/a/Commentary/Is-Anyone-Fully-in-the-Clou...

Dave Sobel, was presented with Microsoft’s Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award for his work with virtualization technology. The Microsoft MVP Award is an annual honor that recognizes technology leaders worldwide who actively share their high quality, real-world expertise with Microsoft and its users.

Core News Facts:
•Microsoft has been recognizing IT leaders with the MVP Award since the early 1990s.

•Microsoft often gives MVPs early access to products, and typically solicits feedback and recommendations about product design, development and support.