Today at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2008, Microsoft Corp. announced that private-label distributors Smarthost Sweden AB and groupSPARK Inc., the 2008 Microsoft Hosting Solutions Partner of the Year, are deploying new Microsoft-based services, enabling the reseller channel to expand their portfolio of hosted services and providing greater choices for resellers as they go to market with software plus services.

Microsoft is also showcasing its Communications Sector Partner Community and Hosting Solutions Competency to further support its global partner network.

Smarthost, one of the fastest-growing private-label distributors of software plus services in Europe, announced it will deploy the Microsoft Solution for Hosted Messaging and Collaboration Version 4.5 and Microsoft Connected Services Framework to help independent software vendors create software-plus-service offerings.

The new offerings will be sold through Smarthost’s network of value-added resellers and service providers as a cost-effective and simple way to quickly reach new markets. In addition, these solutions will further enable Smarthost’s resellers to rapidly deliver hosted services that are tailored to address the specific business needs of their customers, without the requirement to invest in deploying a hosting infrastructure themselves.

By implementing Connected Services Framework, Smarthost and its partners will be able to easily create service catalogs, aggregating services to create unique value to specific customer segments.

As part of Smarthost’s business offering, it provides access to a portfolio of hosted services available through the Smarthost Control Panel with a fully branded interface. The Control Panel not only serves as an administrative tool for resellers, but also helps give their customers a seamless experience of consuming services provided by the reseller.

Satinder /ITvoir Network