Microsoft SMB Featured Article

Delivering communications-related applications as services has become big business, as organizations of various types react to the current economic situation by trimming away and/or outsourcing their IT departments.

 

A pioneer in the hosted services space, Apptix of Herndon, Virginia has become known as the master software service provider of on-demand services for messaging and collaboration based on Microsoft (News - Alert) Exchange and SharePoint. Their scalable Service Management Platform supports many third-party channel partners, with private label solutions (involving hosted email, voice, and collaboration services), that can be quickly deployed to small and medium-sized businesses lacking in-house IT expertise or infrastructure.

 

Apptix (News - Alert) provides daily network and applications management, including upgrades, patch uploads, and software revisions, and their services are backed by 99.99 percent SLA-backed uptime availability and 24/7 live U.S. based customer support. Apptix serves nearly 200,000 Exchange subscribers worldwide.

 

And now, Apptix has launched a series of new services, providing a comprehensive product portfolio to address SMB and resellers’ communications and IT needs. This move is signified by the inclusion of enterprise-class, multimedia web conferencing and secure Instant Messaging (IM) exploiting the expansiveness of Microsoft Office Communications Server (OCS) 2007.

 

Apptix also added hosted Virtual Private Servers (VPS) and an Online Presence solution that includes domain registration, Domain Name System (DNS) hosting, and Windows Website hosting to its product suite. Apptix recently announced availability of an Online Backup service that supports online backup and data recovery, accomplished via a partnership with EMC’s (News - Alert) Mozy.

 

Apptix is now one of the first providers to offer integrated Microsoft Office Live Meeting Web conferencing and secure IM capability through a small monthly subscription, starting at just US$14.95 (rather than on a per meeting basis) enabling businesses to hold as many online meetings as necessary without cost becoming a huge factor. Desktop sharing as well as video and audio are integrated directly through Internet-connected PCs, obviating the need for more costly third-party video solutions and reducing conference phone charges.

 

An extensive set of tools, including interactive whiteboards and surveys, encourages greater collaboration within meetings. The ability to incorporate multimedia capabilities, including movie clips and Flash animations, further enhance presentations and the overall meeting impact.

 

Web conferencing and secure IM capabilities are delivered by calling upon the functions of the Microsoft OCS messaging platform, hosted by Apptix. The solution integrates seamlessly with the native Microsoft Windows operating system and familiar Microsoft business productivity and communications applications, including Outlook. This integration enables the sharing of presence information and the initiation of a Web conference directly from an email message, a secure IM chat window, or a phone call.

 

As if that weren’t enough, Apptix has also unleashed a slew of new products that can accelerate the deployment of Websites and online applications, optimizing customers’ IT capabilities, reducing costs, ultimately providing a competitive advantage in today’s tough economy. These new products include Online Presence (encompassing domain registration, DNS hosting, and website hosting capabilities, along with tools and flexible templates to create a professional-looking website with little or no experience, making it faster and more affordable to launch a business online), and Virtual Private Servers (hosted VPS that optimizes computing power and enables businesses to run and manage applications on Apptix’s infrastructure at the fraction of the cost of an in-house server).