Zynstra's hybrid cloud solution integrates Office 365 with on-premise systems

IT services company Zynstra has launched a hybrid cloud solution designed to help 'small and midsized' businesses (SMBs) integrate Office 365 with their on-premise systems.

Called O365Connect, the managed Hybrid IT solution delivers the control of on-premise IT but with the economics and service levels typically associated with public cloud services, according to the Bath-based firm.

The solution, which was developed in partnership with Microsoft and HP, is aimed at businesses with between 5 and 250 IT users. It handles local networking, security, identity, file and print management and management of single-sign on to Office 365 and other applications.

Additionally, it automatically takes care of Disaster Recovery by backing up both local data and cloud managed emails and files to Microsoft's Azure cloud should office hardware go kaput.

ProLiant reliant

Part of Zynstra's Hybrid Cloud portfolio, the solution is installed on a HP ProLiant server by an IT service provider, which also manages the service and makes sure applications are up-to-date on the customer's behalf.

In a statement, Zynstra CEO Nick East said that the company's software runs on top of the server to allow local IT workloads to be run as services in virtualised Windows and/or Linux environments.

Zynstra's O365Connect is available from February 17 from the company's channel partners.

• Is hybrid cloud the future?

Microsoft and GoDaddy to lure SMBs with Office 365 promo

Microsoft and GoDaddy announced on Monday that are forming a "longer term strategic partnership" under which the web hosting provider will pitch Office 365 to its small business customers in the U.S. and Canada.

The partnership will let small businesses buy and run bundles of Office 365 and cloud storage under their own domain name. Customers that buy Office 365 bundles will also get access to GoDaddy's 24/7 customer support.

There are three packages, the cheapest of which, Email Essentials, include3s domain-based email and document storage and is priced at $3.99 (£2.43, $AU4.42) monthly.

The other two, based on Microsoft's Small Business and Small Business Premium subscriptions, are priced at $8.99 (£5.47, $AU9.97) and $12.49 (£7.61, AU$13.85) per user per month respectively.

Perplexing

Microsoft and GoDaddy are targeting a portion of the market that until recently would have been served by Microsoft's Small Business Specialist partners, which Microsoft discontinued last year.

Spencer Ferguson, president and CEO of Wasatch I.T., a Salt Lake City-based partner, said while the Microsoft-GoDaddy partnership won't have much impact on his business, he's still "perplexed" by the move.

"While Microsoft continues to be our core vendor, I can see why solution providers are seeking alternatives," Ferguson said in an email. "It is hard to understand why Microsoft continues to make moves that alienate its OEM and VAR partners."

Another factor behind the Office 365 partnership is that GoDaddy CEO Blake Irvin spent more than 14 years at Microsoft and was vice president of the Windows Live Platform group.

"The relationship between GoDaddy and Microsoft executives certainly helped start the conversation," Steven Aldrich, senior vice president of GoDaddy, told the Seattle Times.

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Office Remote app for Windows Phone is the PowerPoint user's new BFF

Microsoft's second screen endeavours have developed further with the launch of the Office Remote app for Windows Phone 8, giving the handset full control over the Word, PowerPoint and Excel apps.

The app, which is similar to the SmartGlass mobile app for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One, allows users to swipe and glide their way through documents, presentations and spreadsheets on their PC.

The standout use, of course, will be the ability for users to wirelessly control Office presentations, using Bluetooth to navigate between slides and point out objects on screen using a remote laser pointer.

At present, Office Remote is only available for WP8 and only compatible with Office 2013 for Windows 8 and Office RT for the ARM-based OS, but it will prove useful for those folks who tick all Microsoft's boxes.

Diversity on the way

"With Office Remote you can start your PowerPoint presentation, advance the slides, see your speaker notes, and control an on-screen laser pointer with a touch of your finger - all from your phone," said project manager Burt Van Hoof.

"You can also navigate between Excel worksheets and graphs, and control data slicers from the palm of your hand," he wrote. "And you can scroll through a Word document or quickly jump to specific sections or comments. You can also navigate between Excel worksheets and graphs, and control data slicers from the palm of your hand. And you can scroll through a Word document or quickly jump to specific sections or comments."

Microsoft said the initial launch is just the beginning with a roll out coming to a "diverse society of devices" in the future. We can presume that to mean an iOS and Android version of Office Remote might be in tow.

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