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SWC Sees Momentum Building as Small and Midsize Businesses Migrate to Microsoft Online Services

Posted on: Monday, 22 June 2009, 06:00 CDT

OAK BROOK, Ill., June 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The trend of small and midsize businesses accessing Microsoft Corp.'s popular hosted communication and collaboration software continues to gain momentum as cloud computing moves solidly into the mainstream and economic pressures drive companies to uncover new ways to cut costs and boost productivity.

Businesses of all sizes are embracing the concept of Microsoft Online Services, enterprise-class Microsoft software available as subscription services. The Business Productivity Online Suite, part of the Microsoft Online Services offering, includes: Microsoft Exchange Online, a hosted enterprise-class messaging and calendaring solution; Microsoft SharePoint Online, which enables employees to better collaborate, find organizational resources, monitor content and manage workflow, as well as develop internal or project-based intranet sites; Microsoft Office Communications Online for enterprise-class instant messaging and presence capabilities; and Microsoft Office Live Meeting Online, an enterprise-class web conferencing service.

Companies can subscribe to individual services or to the Business Productivity Online Suite, depending on their needs. The applications run on servers in data centers operated by Microsoft and, with the help of partners, are sold to customers on a subscription basis. End users access the programs via the Internet.

One of the first Microsoft partners in the Midwest district to help companies deploy Microsoft Online Services is SWC Technology Partners, a consulting firm with roots that go back 30 years. SWC is leading the charge to introduce small and midsize businesses in the Chicago region to online solutions and has a dedicated team in place specializing in delivering such solutions.

Susie Cummings, Vice President, SWC Technology Partners, cites three primary factors that are driving small and midsize business to move to online solutions:

• Capital constraints - Online services require no upfront expenditures in infrastructure and manpower.
• Budget constraints - Online services mean predictable IT costs.
• Workload constraints - Online services enable IT staffs to focus on more business-critical initiatives.

"SWC is helping accelerate the adoption of Microsoft Online Services in the small and midsize market by identifying and refining the steps for a seamless migration from legacy systems to Microsoft's software plus services approach," said Sassan Saedi, Group Product Manager, Breadth Partner Programs and Readiness, Microsoft. "Microsoft relies on partners like SWC, especially as customers' enthusiasm and demand for the flexibility and reliability of Microsoft Online Services continues to grow."

"We're seeing increased demand for Microsoft's hosted solutions across all industry sectors and consistently smooth and swift migrations," Cummings noted. "Online solutions eliminate the need to buy hardware and software, saving companies thousands of dollars in upfront expenditures and ongoing maintenance. Hosted solutions consistently save time and free up the IT staff to focus on more strategic matters. And companies appreciate the fact that they pay only for the exact number of users at any given time, upsizing or downsizing as needed."

Doculabs, a Chicago consulting firm that delivers information and content management strategies to its customers, recently made the transition to Microsoft Online Services with the help of SWC. "When SWC first introduced us to the suite of online solutions from Microsoft, we could immediately see the benefits for our organization. We're already taking advantage of the enhanced communication and collaboration provided through Exchange and SharePoint. Our consultants travel extensively and the ability to securely access email and client information from anywhere has improved communication between our employees, customers and partners," said Pat Turocy, Business Manager, of Doculabs.

"Now we are able to benefit from all the new features of these solutions without having to invest in new hardware or deal with the headaches of maintaining an in-house system," Pat added. "It was easy to port everything over to a hosted environment which freed us up to spend more time serving our customers."

About SWC Technology Partners

SWC Technology Partners (www.swc.com) is the leading provider of innovative IT solutions to small and medium-size businesses. For nearly 30 years, SWC has excelled at providing strategic guidance and delivering solutions tailored to the needs of growing organizations. SWC's areas of expertise include best-in-class Managed Services, Performance Management, Business Applications, Messaging & Collaboration and Network Infrastructure & Security solutions. Headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, SWC is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, a Symantec Gold Certified Partner and a Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Partner.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE SWC Technology Partners

Source: PR Newswire

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