More Microsoft Office now available in the cloud

There is a natural synergy between small businesses, Microsoft Office and Microsoft Azure cloud services that has roots going back into IT history. But it also has a pretty good potential for future growth, particularly as some established Microsoft users get ever-closer to the demise of XP support day, in April next year. This one reason cloud service providers are starting to latch on to the potential even more.

Take, for example, Xanadu Technology, which started offering a cloud-delivered Office-based service capability able to scale from 1 to 1,000 seats. According to Managing Director, Mark Southerton, the company has customers at every level from the one-mailbox self-employed through to large organisations operating in the security sector.

Southerton’s main pitch to the MSP community is that Xanadu is specifically set up to deal with the small to medium enterprise. “We give them the opportunity to use corporate level technologies for a small business cost. We have distilled our experience down to a small business model which is delivered to SMEs on what we call a `pay-as-you-grow’ basis.”

He claims its key differentiator is that it does not limit customers to a choice of two or three different server specifications. Instead it aims to build them a scalable solution on a customisable base. The core products are based on a server-hosted desktop model, with hosted email, cloud backup, archiving, bespoke desktops, customisable servers, plus a managed services wrap. The necessary hardware – essentially a thin client with a monitor, keyboard and internet connection per seat - is included in the price if needed, or users can just opt for access to the hosted desktop.

It even offers what it calls the Office in a Box package, which is aimed at the very small, one to five user end of the SMB market. Here, users get all the hardware, Microsoft Office applications software, and the X-Top managed services solution for a fixed monthly cost.

Customers that don’t need the hardware can opt to just access X-Top, which is a portal desktop with all the software stack, customisable applications servers, and managed service wrap, run in a multi-tenant environment.

This also allows users to access any other browser-based applications in the normal way, and they can be installed on a Customer Application Server and added to the user’s hosted desktop. The sole requirement is that the application works with Citrix Receiver. This gives the added advantage of being able to clone the application, which gives almost instant failover to a new cloned copy.

Another new contender isWeWorkEverywhere, from Northdoor, an IT consultancy in Cloud and managed services. This is a new hosted desktop service that is designed with business users in mind. It provides a personalised, hosted desktop solution for business users to access their desktop, business applications and files anywhere, at any time. It also works on any device, allowing users of any PC, Mac or mobile device to connect to the WeWorkEverywhere hosted desktop.

The service is built on Microsoft’s Windows Azure cloud platform with access provisioned via Citrix. It is delivered as a managed service with predictable pricing and the ability to add additional line of business servers to the Azure platform.

According to Richard Reggel, Head of Cloud Services, WeWorkEverywhere, it provides users with the same ‘look and feel’ as their current desktop PC or laptop except that it is provisioned in the cloud. “This gives users freedom to work remotely, to rapidly scale their business without impacting on productivity and to meet fast changing customer demands.   With the imminent end of life of Windows XP and Office 2003, this service gives organisations a rapid and cost effective way of migrating.”

One of the initial cost-saving aspects of WeWorkEverywhere is the ability for users to continue to use existing PCs. As the processor power, RAM, and storage are provided by the WeWorkEverywhere servers, users are able to work with older PCs which would normally not be able to run a new operating system. This offers an alternative to replacing organisations desktop units, thereby extending the devices working lifecycle.

Costs are based on a monthly subscription and typically includes fees for a Windows Server Operating System, Microsoft Office, anti-virus and a fully customisable desktop environment which gives a world-class end user experience.

“Every organisation wants controllable IT costs and predictable pricing but that can be hard to achieve if you are a rapidly changing business,” Reggel said. “WeWorkEverywhere offers price certainty and a solution that is priced according to a businesses’ needs.  Organisations only pay for what they use.”