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Sean Ferrel, President and CEO of Managed Solution

MS Microsoft¹s 2010 Teamwork award for excellence

Date: 4/19/10
Managed Solution was recently awarded Microsoft’s 2010 Teamwork award for excellence after bringing together various technology companies creating an overall cost savings Vistage International, The World’s Largest CEO Group.

Vistage International requested that Managed Solution to help with their internal IT spend and to assist in bringing their network and technology up to date. After meeting with upper level management it was determined that there were many areas to assist in reducing the IT operations cost for the company. Managed Solution engaged both licensing resellers as well as mobility specialists in order to reduce overall operational costs by more than $350,000 over a three year period.

This was accomplished in conjunction with the licensing and mobility teams using Exchange 2010 and other Microsoft products recently released. The overarching goal was to do more with less and show definitive ROI for the projects that Vistage engaged in with Managed Solution.

Managed Solution has been working with various mid to enterprise customers over the past years bringing overall cost savings anywhere from 30-50% while increasing efficiency for the end user. By bringing together the right partners we are able to leverage various areas within technology including email, conferencing, mobility, voice, and other business critical applications that allow the business to be more productive.

Sean Ferrel, President and CEO of Managed Solution

“UC is how we enable connectivity anywhere and anytime, in order drive efficiency in the business.”

Date: 4/16/10
If the enterprise wants the ability to collaborate whenever and wherever, it is going to have to adopt the idea that Social Media and Unified Communications (UC) are really one in the same. The problem every enterprise faces is what differentiates Social Media from Unified Communications and how UC can help efficiency in the business. To shed some clarity on this subject let us start with the definition of Unified Communications.

Unified Communications is a system that consists of the following elements: voice, unified messaging, video, mobility, web/data collaboration, conferencing, and presence management. Unified Communications allow businesses and their end users to control how, where, and when communication occurs through a consistent interface regardless of mode or access method. An effective UC deployment provides the business simplicity through common end-user interfaces, value through significantly improved network, IT infrastructure efficiency, and productivity in improving interactions between users.

As Sean Ferrel, the CEO of Managed Solution said, “UC is how we enable connectivity anywhere and anytime, in order drive efficiency in the business.” Tie that to Social Media and it leverages one of the greatest benefits of UC, which is collaboration. UC allows users to be fully aware of each other’s status, location, and to instantly contact someone using the best means available at that moment. It may be a text if someone is in a meeting, a mobile call if they are away from their desk, or an on-the-fly video meeting if that is what is needed.

One of the key ways Social Media can enhance UC – and vice versa – is through presence and location. When you look at Twitter, for example, it is all about where I am and what I am doing right now. That is a function of presence and location. On the corporate side, if I know you are in a meeting and unavailable, I won’t waste time trying to contact you and will know to try you later. If I can establish that you and the other members of my team are available, we can quickly arrange a collaborative conference to complete a project.

An example of Unified Communications vs. Social Media can be seen in “Tweets” in Twitter and Presence from Microsoft Office Communication Server, is there really a difference? No, is the answer. Either way the person knows what you’re currently doing. Sure, some of this can be done today via emails and calendar updates, but presence makes it all happen faster and more efficiently. Would this sway a business owner who sees Social Media as a burden to the workplace but knows people like quick and easy communication? We say yes!

In addition, Social Media tools like corporate wikis or Facebook-style intranet features can make the information that we need for our collaborative conference much more available. Also with UC, a key part is mobile integration – the blending of mobile and wired networks – these are accessible anywhere.

No effective Social Media initiative in the enterprise is going to succeed without a heavy dose of mobility. People – particularly the front-line people are critical to making their companies immediately responsive to what goes on in the Twittersphere and blogosphere – just don’t work that way anymore. They are on the move, and they need to be able to access and engage Social Media wherever they are. For them, mobility is truly the foundation of the State of NOW, and UC extends the benefits of that mobility and the collaboration it enables throughout the organization.

With the younger generation driving technology usage in the business, Unified Communications seems inevitable. The question most business owners have is, “where do I start?”

Sean Ferrel, President and CEO of Managed Solution

“Exchange 2010 reduces operational costs by 50-80%”

Date: 3/28/10
As the anticipated release of Exchange 2010 hit in December of 2009 many businesses, integrators, and consumers continued to wrap their heads around its capabilities over Exchange 2007. Managed Solution a specialist in the Unified Communications realm spent months working with Microsoft and customers talking about what the roadmap for Microsoft looks like and where things are headed as the release of these new products takes place.

In the traditional way of doing things newer versions of Microsoft seem to be the “next step” for most business as they advance their technology. Many don’t have the answer as to where this is headed only the fact that it runs their email system and that’s a necessity in the business.

CEO Sean Ferrel of Managed Solution tells a different story to many he talks with when talking about the technology roadmap and where Exchange 2010 sits in the world of technology. “Exchange 2010 is just a building block that in a whole world of Unified Communications. As Microsoft has begun to move ahead in the voice space with their lineup of applications built around UC business have been able to increase overall communication in their businesses while reducing costs significantly. For us at Managed Solution it’s been a great story and more so solution for many of our customers.”

Although just released Managed Solution is the first integrator in the South Western Region to deploy Exchange 2010 for one of its customers who has 500+ users. When first asked what interested the customer the most about the product the comment made was that Exchange 2010 allowed them to build out e-mail, voice mail, instant messaging, and more—from virtually any platform, Web-browser, or device to get more done wherever they are.

Microsoft Exchange Server has been the core building block of Microsoft’s Unified Communications solution. It allows for a flexible and reliable messaging platform that lowers overall communication costs by 50-80% while at the same time allowing anywhere access to business communications.

“We believe Microsoft and their newest applications built around Unified Communications will continue to advance technology while allowing business to increase overall efficiency. This is addition to overall cost savings make the acquisition of these products seem very appealing.” –Kurt Lovett, Director of Sale

Managed Solution Receives Microsoft's Pipeline Accelerator Award at Managed Partners Conference

Date: 4/22/09
In 2008 Managed Solution was chosen to participate in Microsoft's Managed Partner Program. This program allows Managed Solution to work side by side with Microsoft's Southern California Sales Team to provide the highest level of customer service for Managed Solution and Microsoft customers. At a recent Managed Partner event held in Irvine, Managed Solution was awarded the "Pipeline Accelerator" award for new Microsoft business acquisitions in the second half of Microsoft's FY 2009. This award is presented to partners that provide Microsoft with net new Enterprise and Select Agreement opportunities in the Southern California region.

Holding many of Microsoft's specialized certifications, such as Office Communications Server, Managed Solution works alongside of Microsoft to deliver their latest technologies to small and midsize businesses. The key is Managed Solution's approach to providing value based consulting to clients in Southern California that enables them to save on IT operations expenses. By working with organizations to understand their technology needs, Managed Solution presales teams are able to assess a current network and systems infrastructure and make recommendations that not only introduce new technology but show businesses a return on the investment (ROI).

"In this economy cutting costs is important for most companies and the latest solutions from Microsoft like Hyper V (Virtualization) are able to do just that. When I walk into a business I look for ways to create better communication and organizational efficiencies and, most of all, ways to cut costs for companies in these difficult times." –Richard Richison (Director of Engineer)

By partnering so closely with Microsoft, Managed Solution has been able to bring Microsoft and their reps directly into many deals in the local market creating strategic partnerships within our clients to assist with their IT initiatives.

Sean Ferrel, President and CEO of Managed Solution

Managed Solution Supports Foster Youth Bound for College

Date: 7/25/09
Thanks to support from local companies such as Managed Solution, students on their way to higher learning will have more resources to succeed when Just in Time for Foster Youth hosts their 4th annual College Bound event Saturday, July 25, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. The Just in Time College Bound (www.jitfosteryouth.org) youth benefiting from the event will all attend school full-time in the upcoming semester. Like a supportive family, Just in Time College Bound helps youth become college-ready by supplying a laptop, printer, basic school supplies, deposits for dormitory, and other fees.

Managed Solution, a local IT integrator and Managed Service Provider, will load the Dell Inspirion™ computers with the latest applications and antivirus software and provide advisory services and 24/7 support over four years to ensure that the students can rely on their computers no matter what the time or deadline pressure throughout their college years.

“We are delighted to be part of the supporting family that provides a bit of extra security to these young students,” said Sean Ferrel, President and CEO of Managed Solution. “We want to provide just that little bit extra peace of mind so they can focus on what’s important—their studies rather than their equipment.”

JIT was formed when a handful of concerned individuals delivered home gift baskets to foster youth's apartments, observing firsthand their critical needs. Since July, 2006, JIT has operated as an independent non-profit organization in San Diego County. Today, JIT has grown to a viable 501(c)(3) organization, funding five different programs for former foster youth ages 18-26, who: have “aged out” of the foster care system and no longer receive agency assistance, and can show they are motivated to become independent and productive, by holding jobs and/or attending college/vocational school.

Payton Moyer Finalist in SD Information Technology Executive Award

Date: 4/23/09
The San Diego Business Journal selected Managed Solution’s Director of Network Operations, Payton Moyer as a finalist for the Technology Executive of the Year award held April 23, 2009. All finalists were honored at a VIP reception and awards banquet held at the Torrey Pines Hilton in La Jolla, CA. Finalists were selected based on their outstanding IT contributions to their affiliated companies. Mr. Moyer, who has been with Managed Solution for over four years, has been an integral part in helping the company evolve. In the last year, he personally researched, planned, prepared, executed and managed the implementation of the new ERP system, ConnectWise. ConnectWise is the heartbeat of the company and each business need was recognized, developed and implemented into the software rollout. This was a fundamental element in bringing all departments within Managed Solution under one system. Internally Managed Solution grew 75% in year 2008 large in part because of the accuracy of this system and being able to track overall workflow for Managed Solution. Mr. Moyer has a passion for not only the IT industry, but learning and evolving with the new technology and applying what is relevant to Managed Solution in order to provide better customer service to it's clients. A complete article will be featured in a special publication of the San Diego Business Journal in the April 27th issue.

Managed Solution Recognized in San Diego Business Journal

Date: 1/12/09
Brad Graves of the San Diego Business Journal highlights Managed Solution for doubling revenue in 2008 and setting itself apart from other small businesses in the area. Graves acknowledged several awards that Managed Solution received in 2008 as well as highlighting the partnerships that Managed Solution has with Microsoft, Cisco, Riverbed, Apple and Netapp as a reason for success. For the complete article, please log on to www.sdbj.com.

Managed Solution Attends MacWorld Conference in San Francisco

Date: 1/7/09-1/9/09
Macworld 2009 was held at the Moscone Center in Downtown San Francisco January 5th -9th. Managed Solution was able to send one of our Senior Macintosh Engineers Chris Sullivan to the event.

The event consisted of several intense MacIT Conference sessions focusing on 5 key areas of Macintosh Technology: Storage, Administration, Imaging/Deployment, Enterprise Integration, and Security. Macs are growing world-wide in the business sector, and exciting options are available for those large and small businesses looking to utilize Macintosh computers for all or part of their computing network.

Several high-level IT professionals from organizations such as Disney, Stanford University, and the City of San Francisco presented material on upcoming technologies and their uses as well as detailed courses on common industry best-practices. In addition to the Apple-sponsored courses, Macworld 2009 was filled with new technology and software companies eager to reach out to the 2009 Mac user. From Global Integration, to iPhone technologies, the Expo floor was filled to the brim with new technologies to fit any business or personal need.

Managed Solution Named Fastest Growing 40 Under 40 Company by San Diego Metropolitan Magazine.

Date: 11/14/2008
In October 2008 Managed Solution was recognized in San Diego Metropolitan magazine as one of San Diego's 40 fastest growing companies with owners under 40 years old. After 6+ years in business, Managed Solution has grown from working within the SMB market to working with companies who have footprints spread all over the world.

The continued success has been a direct result of a highly talented staff that has some of the most sought-after skills in their market space. This combined with strategic partnerships with companies like Microsoft and Apple have given Managed Solution a competitive edge resulting in their fast paced growth.

Managed Solution Achieves Advanced Unified Communications Specialization with Cisco Systems

Date:11/25/2008
With the ever changing world of the technology market the ability to communicate both outside and inside the business, companies are trying to collaborate more and more. In order to meet a wide range of customer needs and reduce overhead and increase efficiency, Managed Solution has chosen Cisco Systems as a vendor of choice to deliver its Unified Communications platform. Advanced Unified Communications, is a complete portfolio of IP communication products and services: integrates email, instant messaging, voice messaging, telephones, calendar applications, Web collaboration and video. The Advanced Unified Communications Specialization certification is awarded only to solution providers skilled in "selling, deploying and providing services for more sophisticated, value-added Cisco voice solutions," according to Cisco.

To learn more about Unified Communications

Managed Solution wins 69th Fastest 100 Growing Companies in San Diego

Date: 08/25/2008
Managed Solution was recognized as one of San Diego's fastest 100 growing privately held companies in San Diego. As commented by Sean Ferrel, owner and CEO, he believes Managed Solution is still in its infancy stages in terms of company growth."Our business has found that the ability to create better communication within its customer's business has allowed for overall savings throughout their organization. As we move further into this troubled economy, saving our customers money while providing higher levels of service is a key contributor to our success." This mentality along with a proven delivery method focused around Professional and Managed Services are what have and will continue to put Managed Solution ahead.

EVENTS

Steak and Tech Food for Thought

Managed Solution and Microsoft held another Executive Technology Luncheon in November which focused on Microsoft's latest version of Exchange 2007. As an IT integrator Managed Solution has focused its efforts in Unified Communications which is largely based off of Microsoft's new Exchange 2007 product. With demands to provide streamlined communications to end users to maximize their up-time no matter where they are. Not to mention, demands on the department to do it all—efficiently and cost effectively. This series of Lunch and Learn events are focused on getting a collection of our customers/ potential customers up to speed on the latest in technology providing a roadmap for how Managed Solution can better provide innovative solutions. Often times, Managed Solution has guest speakers who can add any additional insight and provide demonstrations pertinent to the topic. Lunch and Learn Events are usually held each Quarter and topic discussions change due to demands in the marketplace. Each event attendee is a decision maker or above and space is limited to 30 companies to ensure that each company gets individualized attention. To sign up for upcoming events like this one click here.

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