ThinOffice: Partner Update

May 2007

Know another reseller? We are excited to be working with our current partners, who are demonstrating that the model works. Our focus now is on bilingual partners who can service end users in Quebec, Ottawa and the Maritimes. If you have any recommendations for potential partners in these regions, please let us know!

In This Issue:

Contact Us:

Subscribe:

The first quarter of 2007 was an exciting time for ThinOffice. We have seen incredible interest in the offering, with thousands of end customers being serviced with the tools we have created. Thank you — and congratulations!

In this quarterly update we have two new promotions to tell you about, both of which provide incentives for getting more seats onto the platform more quickly.

We also have a few exciting plan changes, some great new product features, and an update on Hosted Exchange 2007.

We are always striving to improve our offering for our partners and we value your input. In our partner feedback section this month, we're looking for your thoughts on partner collaboration and training resources.

All the best,

ThinOffice

Second Quarter Promotions

We have TWO new promotions this quarter!

1. MAPI Promotion: Up to $15 per full Hosted Exchange seat!

We will be offering a cash incentive for sales representatives signing up seats for Full Hosted Exchange (either the 200 or 500 MB plan) during the months of June, July and August.

  • You will receive $5 per month for each qualifying seat that you add onto the platform.
  • The sooner you sign the customer, the more money you receive! For example, if you sign an HX 500 seat in June you will receive $5 for June, July and August...a total of $15 per seat!

2. Lite plus ActiveSync Promotion: Earn 33% of suggested retail!

Within this newsletter, you will read how the Lite plan is changing to include a server side calendar as well as more storage. Now you can offer your customers full OWA-based collaboration for less than $10. Add a Windows Mobility (ActiveSync) device for fully mobile users at approximately $15. Your customers can add a fully mobile Exchange user for only $15 retail – INCREDIBLE!

We are so convinced that this will be a leading bundle for you that we are offering a promotion to help you prime the pump:

  • You will receive $5 for every Lite plus ActiveSync bundle that you sell during the promotion period of June through August.
  • Based on a $15 retail price, that means you are earning a spiff of 33%!

More details on these promotions will be available in your Reseller FTP folder. Please contact us with any questions.

ThinOffice Plan Changes

ThinOffice Plan ChangesYou gave us feedback...we listened! With the introduction of the Ultra Lite plan we recognize that there is overlap with Hosted Exchange Lite. Since we are always looking for ways to make you more competitive, we will be making the following modification:

Hosted Exchange Lite

  • Now includes a server side Calendar
  • Storage increases from 50 MB to 100 MB

Think of the great new potential bundle: full OWA, shared GAL and Calendar. Add a Windows Mobility (ActiveSync) device for fully mobile users at approximately $15 retail! Contact us if you have any questions.

Partner Profile - Line 4 Communications

As a new feature in our quarterly updates we will be profiling different partners who are enrolled in the program. We plan to showcase success stories on how other partners have benefited from our programs and encourage networking amongst our great partner community. This month we feature Line 4 Communications. Keep an eye on our next issue for a case study on how Line 4 improved their messaging offering with ThinOffice!

A Premier partner located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with a branch operation in the Philippines, Line 4's core business is providing Hosted enterprise communications solutions including Voice Over IP, Interactive Voice Response and Automated Call Distribution functionality in a fully managed and monitored environment.

They provide the business and technical expertise to help businesses ensure service delivery to their customers. Once implemented, they ensure uptime and provide their business partners with the peace of mind to focus on their core business. If you would like to learn more about Line 4, please contact Bill Reynolds at (866) 344 3276 or info@line4com.com.

Exchange 2007 Update

Exchange 2007
Working with E2K7?
Tell us what you think!
Visit the E2K7 blog and vote on the features on our poll.

Exchange 2007 test accounts are available now! If you are interested in test driving the environment, contact us.

Soon you will have the option of provisioning customers on either E2K3 or E2K7. Some of the key E2K7 features we think that you will like:

  • Auto Discover: User set-up will be a breeze...with Outlook 2007, simply enter an email address and password. E2K7 and Outlook setup the user profile automatically. Spend more time selling and less time setting up end users.
  • SharePoint: Replacing public folders, this will offer users more collaborating tools including process templates, RSS and blogging capabilities. As a reseller, it becomes another value added feature that you can offer to your customers.
  • Mobility Empowerment: Vast improvements for the Windows Mobile user. Mobile-enabled SharePoint, calendaring tools and server-side search capabilities mean overall better performance and greater functionality for Windows Mobility users.

Would you like to read our assessment of E2K7's functionality? Check out the E2K7 Top 11 Tips PDF in your Reseller FTP Sales and Marketing Folder.

New Features

In addition to adding E2K7 as an option, the next version of the Customer Centre will also contain several important features:


  • Password Rules: This was added based on requests from our Reseller community. Suggested as something essential in today's security conscious business environment, we have added a full suite of password management options that you can set up at the customer level. These include the ability to manage Password Expiry, Complexity (including size and character requirements) as well as Notifications for your customers.

  • BlackBerry Wipe: One of ThinOffice's security features is the ability to wipe data from a lost BlackBerry. Currently, you need to call 2nd line support to have this done, but soon you will be able to do it yourself through the Customer Centre.

Have a feature request? Please let us know! We appreciate your feedback and will continue to deliver differentiation points to help you win new business and keep your existing customers!

Partner Feedback - We Want Your Input!

Think of this as our collective brainstorming section. We will raise topics that we have been considering where we want your opinion. If you are interested in any of these things or have other suggestions, let us know!

User Groups: Are you interested in connecting with and learning from what other resellers are doing? We are considering setting up sessions for resellers where we could table and discuss things that are important to our business. Some potential topics could be successful selling strategies, competitive market intelligence and support questions.

Monthly Support Open Forum: Would you find it helpful to have a monthly call where we could discuss any common 2nd Line Support Team questions as well as field your support calls? Would you participate or do you get the info you need from Support?

Training Sessions: Many of you have already participated in our Selling Hosted Exchange Webinar, and we are working on a recorded version that will be available in your Reseller FTP folder. What other types of training and education would be useful for you?

Let us know what you think!