Anchor would like to thank our two veterans on staff for their service to our country. Michael McFarland, for his non war time service in the US Navy, and Tyler Heath, for his service in the 82nd Airborne of the US Army during the Iraq War. A sincere, heartfelt thanks to both of you.

Microsoft’s Office Suite is as common a feature of your job as your chair, stapler and trash can. All offices speak in “spreadsheets,” “Word docs,” “Outlook” – all of which are essential things that depend on these tools. And now, more and more offices are moving many operations to “the Cloud” – application hosting on the internet, which offers various advantages (as well as challenges). Office 365 is all about moving your processes – and all of the things you use the traditional Office Suite to accomplish – up there with you.

Moving to the Cloud with Office 365 might help streamline processes while enhancing functionality with options like:

Here are my thoughts about how Office 365 handles these options:

Mobility:
Office 365 is a subscription service, which means it’s available on all of the devices you use – your desktop, laptop and tablet all have access to the same files and programs, all the time, which means your office is totally mobile. Since it’s hosted in the cloud, the same files are available on any Internet-connected device as well.

Collaboration:
Office 365 makes collaboration on Word documents, Excel spreadsheets and Outlook calendars a little easier by moving them to the cloud. The final master version of your file is available to everyone because all collaborators to work on a single document. A word of caution, though: Office 365 users work in “near-time,” which means that your changes don’t appear to other collaborators until you’ve saved the document.

Secure service:
Office 365 operates within strict security and trust guidelines designed to address your concerns with data safety in the cloud, too. Your files, emails and documents are not scanned, for instance, to create advertising – or any other – profiles. Microsoft also backs Office 365 with a strong service guarantee of 99.9% uptime – to ensure your files are secure.

Web Conferencing:
Office 365 also enhaces meetings on the web with audio or video web conferencing for as many as 250 participants. That includes screen-sharing, note-taking, chatting and the ability to see who’s online and who’s not. And, because Outlook is also part of Office 365, scheduling meetings, setting reminders and planning can get a boost as well.

Summary
Office 365 may not cover everything you use the Office Suite for now, but it can help make the transition to the Cloud a little easier for you and your business. Chances are most of your processes and workflows will fit with an Office 365 subscription – some may not. This is where Anchor steps in. Our expertise in analysis and support, as well as our long experience with network ecosystems and how to make them work for business makes us the perfect group to help you make the right decision.

When you’re ready to move to the cloud and need some solid, experienced guidance to make sure you’re taking the right path, please contact us.

Many of our clients have been asking about the Microsoft Surface Pro tablet. After receiving ours in the mail recently, I put it to the test.
As a business owner, I work very much the same way our clients do. Portability with full functionality is important to me. I’ve been an iPad owner for quite some time but have never felt it very useful as a business device other than for email and web browsing. With the Surface Pro, I have a tablet with full business functionality as well.

Following are my thoughts on the Surface Pro after using it for a few weeks:

Cost:

The Surface Pro is expensive. It costs just about as much as a laptop, so if you are expecting to save money you will be disappointed. I bought the 128 GB model and the Type Keyboard (which has depressible keys) and it was close to $1,300.

Size:

The Surface is smaller and lighter than a laptop, but heavier than an iPad. It would not be comfortable to hold one handed on an airplane for very long without switching hands, but it will fit much nicer when set upright on a tray table than a laptop. The Type keyboard is also smaller than a standard keyboard and as a result I often have typos to fix. That said, I think it is the right compromise for a business tablet. Small enough to use for personal entertainment, large enough to get work done!

Functionality:

The Windows 8 user interface takes some getting used to. I struggle with anything touchscreen in terms of keyboards and typing (that’s where the Type Keyboard and trackpad come in handy). What’s nice is the Surface is more of a hybrid tablet and laptop, so if you are having trouble with the tablet interface, you can always switch over to the familiar Windows desktop view. You can even plug in a USB mouse if needed. After a few weeks of using, I find that I’m using it in hybrid mode. I use Outlook for email just like a laptop, but then use the touchscreen application of Kindle to read books.

Summary:

The Surface Pro is a great device for when out of the office but would be challenging to use as my only computing device. Business travelers will find this device a solid replacement for carrying both a laptop and an iPad. It has practical business use and can be very beneficial for field personnel, doctors, or any business person who is out of the office a great deal. I highly recommend it!

If there is one single thing that makes Anchor Network Solutions great, it’s the amazing team of employees we have. Everyone on the team is instrumental to the company’s success and we want to take time to recognize them and help you get to know them better. So let’s kick off this month by sharing more about Ryan Barlock.

Ryan reports to Jacee Dobbs, our Help Desk Manager, and Jacee had this to say about Ryan:

“Please join us in welcoming Ryan Barlock to Anchor’s team! Ryan was hired the first of March and is going through training to get familiar with Anchor’s procedures and clients. He moved to the Denver area in 2010 and has over 5 years’ experience in the IT and customer service fields. Ryan is certified in Windows 7 and Server 2008 and has a strong passion for IT. We are excited to add him to our help desk team!

Read below to get to know Ryan a bit more and be sure to say hi when you meet him!”

Q. What do you feel is your “power move” within the company?

RB: Sticking with the problem to get it resolved while maintaining a high level of support.

Q. What are your hobbies?

RB: Running, Golf, Basketball, Camping, Hiking, Video games.

Q. What is the last concert you saw?

RB: Jason Mraz

Q. What car do you drive?

RB: 2003 Saab 9-3

Q. What is the last movie you saw?

RB: Snitch

Q. If you were stranded on a deserted island, what is the one food you could not live without?

RB: Purple Grapes

Q. What’s your favorite color?

RB: Green

Q. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

RB: Denver, I really enjoy the culture, and the weather here.

Q. Any animals living at home?

RB: No

Q. If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you?

RB: Nicholas Cage

Q. If you could have three wishes, what would they be?

Worldpeace
House paid for
Good health

Q. What have you not done that you really want to do?

RB: Skydive and play in a world series of poker.

Q. What is the wallpaper on your cell phone?

RB: The beach

Q. What is the last book you read?

RB: Fear Nothing by Dean Koontz

Q. Favorite sports team and/or athlete?

RB: Any Dallas sports team.

Q. How would you describe yourself in three words?

RB: Patient, Aware, Happy

Q. Anything else we should know about you?

RB: That pretty much covers it.

Welcome Ryan! We are very happy to have you as part of the Anchor family.

Vince Tinnirello, CEO of Anchor Network Solutions, Inc. has been voted one of the top 150 worldwide SMB IT channel influencers.

Lone Tree, CO – March 21, 2013 – Over the past several months, hundreds of IT professionals from around the world have been engaged in the SMB 150 Channel Influencers contest. The SMB 150, which is a collaboration between SMB Nation and SMB Technology Network, is the SMB technology channel’s annual list of its 150 most influential members.

On Friday, March 8, 2013, Vince Tinnirello, CEO of Anchor Network Solutions, was named to the SMB 150 Channel Influencers List. Tinnirello joins a group of esteemed colleagues who were chosen during a two-phase voting process. In the initial stage, channel community members voted on 450 nominees at SMB150.com. Following the community vote, a panel of industry experts consisting of Harry Brelsford, (SMB Nation); Karl Palachuk, (Great Little Book Publishing Co., Inc.); Josh Peterson, (MSP Score); Dave Seibert, (IT Innovators); and Dan Wensley, (Level Platforms), evaluated each nominee based on a pre-established rubric. The community vote accounted for 40% of each nominee’s overall rating, with the expert panel’s decision contributing the remaining 60%.

“I’m thrilled to be in the company of such well-respected professionals. Building Anchor has been very challenging and rewarding. I’m thankful to my colleagues, partners, and clients for recognizing the success of Anchor along with everyone involved with making it what it is today,” said Tinnirello. “I’ve enjoyed learning from colleagues and peers over the years and have been working to pay it forward and share what I’ve learned with others in our community.”

Tinnirello and his/her fellow SMB 150 influencers are invited to attend the SMB 150 Awards Gala on May 4, 2013, during SMB Nation’s Spring Conference at the Microsoft Conference Center in Redmond, WA. The event is hosted by SMB Nation and SMB Technology Network and sponsored by BlackBerry. Each SMB 150 winner will receive a personalized award plaque, recognition in the SMB Nation magazine and other media outlets, and a new BlackBerry Z10 device.

“I encourage everyone in the SMB channel community to join with me in recognizing and celebrating the winners of this year’s SMB 150,” said Harry Brelsford, Founder and Chairman, SMB Nation. “Each individual whose name appears on this esteemed list has strived to ensure that our SMB community is one that will continue to thrive and succeed. I am beyond excited to toast them at the awards dinner on May 4 in Redmond.”

About Anchor Network Solutions

Anchor Network Solutions is a Lone Tree, CO based technology consulting firm that provides managed IT services and CTO level consulting to small business clients in the Denver Metro area.

About SMB Nation

SMB Nation is a media integration and events community, targeted at the small and medium business (SMB) channel partner/reseller/consulting/VAR community. SMB Nation spreads the knowledge of SMB technology trends through its conferences, books, print magazine, online services, and worldwide seminars and workshops. As an active participant in the technology community, SMB Nation has a long history of enthusiastic advocacy and evangelism. The SMB Nation tribe exceeds 54,000 followers worldwide. For more information, visit www.SMBNation.com, www.CloudNation.co and www.Telephonation.com.

Many of our clients have been asking about integrating a tablet into their business network. Some clients have tried using iPads or Google tablets and found they weren’t very business functional or were clunky to use for anything other than email and web browsing. With the release of the Microsoft Surface Pro tablet, all of that may change.

Microsoft’s Pro version of their Surface tablet will be available in just a few short days. The previously released Surface RT is aimed at consumers, while the Surface Pro will have the full version of Windows 8 and will be able to join a business network. The tablet will run about $899 for the model with 64 GB of memory and the Surface Pen, which allows users to write or draw on the device. The Touch Cover keyboard or Type Cover keyboard which as depressible keys will cost another $130.

Anchor will be purchasing one of these tablets when available and will post our thoughts after we test it. We are excited about the possibilities for our clients as it integrates with Microsoft Office and can run line of business applications that have been previously limited to laptops or desktops. Imagine a doctor who can move from exam room to exam room with the tablet and EMR software, or an HVAC field technician that can enter service call data right from their truck. For business travelers who primarily use Office and Adobe apps, your carry on just got lighter!

It is important to note that while Microsoft has entered the hardware arena with their tablet, many other hardware vendors will be making similar touchscreen devices as well based on the Windows 8 operating system that may better suit your needs. Let us know if you have questions regarding the Microsoft Surface Pro and we’ll be glad to discuss!

MSP Relies on Autotask to Deliver Superior Client Services and Maintain Healthy Margins

Lone Tree, CO and East Greenbush, NY—January 9, 2013—Autotask Corporation, the world’s leading provider of hosted IT business management software, today announced its client, Anchor Network Solutions, Inc., a Colorado-based IT managed service provider (MSP) anticipates strong revenue growth and high renewal rates in 2013.

With 80 percent of its revenue derived from managed services and 20 percent from product sales, Anchor Network Solutions is a thriving IT services provider with specific expertise in the SMB space. The company, which adopted Autotask in 2006, has managed to grow year over year and simultaneously increase profitability, productivity and efficiency.

“Autotask is a mission-critical business application and has been instrumental in enabling us to scale and meet the growing demand for outsourced IT services,” said Vince Tinnirello, CEO, Anchor Network Solutions.

According to leading analyst firm Gartner, global IT spending will reach over $3.7 trillion dollars in 2013 representing 4.2 percent growth over the previous year. “The market for outsourced IT has grown steadily over the last decade,” commented Tinnirello. “With the strong push toward mobile, bring your own device, and cloud technology, that demand will continue for the foreseeable future creating significant opportunities for IT services and expertise. The problem for us will not be finding new business, it will be finding talent, managing them and ensuring clients are satisfied.”

Anchor Network Solutions was founded in 2002 with a focus on delivering outstanding customer service. To do this effectively, the company chose Autotask to reliably track the services they provide to clients each month, increase customer retention and streamline the invoicing process.

“Autotask gives us the critical framework to run our business and we simply would not be as successful as we are today without it,” said Tinnirello, who is also an active member of the Autotask community and serves as an Autotask Certified Consulting Partner.

“We are continually working to ensure we deliver the highest-quality support and services to help our customers achieve their business objectives and increase profitability,” said Leonard DiCostanzo, Senior Vice President of Business Development at Autotask. “With Anchor Network Solutions, we have a true partnership and look forward to enabling their success through 2013 and beyond.”

To learn more about Anchor Network Solutions use of Autotask, read the full case study or watch a video.

About Anchor Network Solutions, Inc.

Anchor Network Solutions (www.anchornetworksolutions.com) is a Lone Tree, CO based IT consulting firm founded in 2002. Anchor provides outsourced IT, managed IT services, and CTO level services to small and medium sized businesses in the Denver Metro Area. Anchor Network Solutions is a Microsoft Certified Partner and Microsoft Small Business Specialist, and was recently named to the MSPMentor 250 SMB 150 lists.

About Autotask

Autotask Corporation provides the world’s leading hosted IT business management software to streamline and optimize business processes for technology solution providers. The software integrates a broad range of critical business systems, including customer relationship management (CRM), service desk, tech scheduling, project management, billing and reporting, and provides real-time service delivery intelligence to help users understand the factors that drive their business and their profitability.

Autotask is accessible from virtually any computing or mobile device connected to the Internet and features a world-class API that seamlessly integrates with the other systems and tools that providers rely on to run their businesses.

For more information about Autotask Corporation and products, please visit www.autotask.com or call 518-720-3500 Ext. 1.

Autotask® is a registered trademark of Autotask Corporation. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.

As 2012 comes to a close, I wanted to say thanks to my staff and to all of our clients. I drive my team pretty hard and we strive for excellence. We’re not perfect, but we try very hard. I want to thank them for all of their efforts to take care of our clients. They make me proud.

To our clients, thank you for everything you do for us. We realize that Anchor would not exist without you. We appreciate the opportunity to do business with you and enjoy our relationship with very much. Thanks for sticking with us through our growing pains and please know that we strive to be better every day!

From the Tinnirello family and everyone at Anchor, I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I hope you get to enjoy some downtime this holiday season. You deserve it!

Getting to Know…Vince Tinnirello

“Being the first hire at Anchor Network Solutions, Vince and I have been through a lot over the years! The company has experienced wonderful growth (and some growing pains) along the way and in my opinion Vince is the key factor to why we have been so successful. He brings a lot to the table for Anchor whether it is finding and winning new customers, coaching the team on dealing with people and personalities, or most importantly providing and managing a financially strong business, he is truly the glue that ties it all together. Anchor recently celebrated 10 years in business with Vince’s leadership and I’m excited to see what the next 10 years holds!” -Jacee Dobbs

Q. Is there a specific project or projects that you have worked on recently that you are most proud of?

VT: As a company I would say there are a handful of projects that we’ve recently completed that we’re proud of. For me it’s not about the technical work, but what business objectives get accomplished along the way. For Rocky Mountain Youth Clinics, we were able to give them corporate email and a cloud file server via Office365 which will ease their administrative burden when moving around their 3 area offices. For Comiskey & Company it was proving them with a more stable environment for all of their accounting applications as they enter tax season, and for Similasan it was giving them infrastructure with the centralization, backup, and security that their business needs dictate. When you can help solve business problems, it’s very rewarding!

Q. Specific clients that you have enjoyed working with?

VT: I enjoy the relationships we have with all of our clients, otherwise we wouldn’t do business together. I’m a firm believer that in the end, the relationships are what we’ll look back on in life. We won’t remember that server we installed, or the computers we set up-we’ll remember the people. I especially enjoy when customers allow us to get to know them personally, and when they take the opportunity to get to know us as individuals. So I’ve enjoyed taking some fantasy football winnings from my AmCheck friends, being punished biking over Georgia Pass by Dustin Jackson of KRG Capital Partners, golfing with Andrew Dunbar of Castle Pines Orthodontics (and him not laughing after I hit two houses on the first tee!), and golfing with Bernie Tailon of Triad Financial Group, Jesse Lanyon of Blue Sky Plumbing, and Howie Metz of Quality 1st Plumbing. This winter I look forward to finally getting on the mountain with Perry Rickel of Oxford Mortgage. Lastly, I’ve enjoyed lunches and happy hours with many other customers as well. I’m always up for happy hour so please let me know if we need to have a “technology meeting” at a local watering hole!

Q. What do you feel is your “power move” within the company?

VT: I really enjoy running a business. I’m trying my hardest to make Anchor a great place to work, and a great company to do business with. I believe my Marriott background brings a unique blend of customer service to the technology industry, and I’m trying to build our company culture around that. This combined with my understanding of small businesses and the challenges they face….this is what gets me going and I think I bring to the table.

Q. What are your hobbies?

VT: I’ve got one for every season it seems. In the fall I’m a huge college football fan and haven’t missed a South Carolina game either in person or on tv since I graduated. I love to ski, mountain bike, climb 14ers, and golf. And it goes without saying that I love to hang out with my two girls Ellie (4) and Macy (2)!

Q. What is the last concert you saw?

VT: You would ask that in a year I went to almost nothing! In September I saw Brit Floyd at Red Rocks, and in December I saw Yukon Kornelius in Vail. I’m embarrassed to say that’s it in the past year, but it’s really not my fault. The Allman Brothers and Dave Matthews Band both skipped Colorado this year!

Q. What car do you drive?

VM: Low key. I’m not a car person. We have a Chevy Traverse and a Saturn Aura. All I can say is thank God for the DVD player in the Traverse with those 2 girls.

Q. What is the last movie you saw?

VT: The Dark Knight Rises. Awesome.

Q. If you were stranded on a deserted island, what is the one food you could not live without?

VT: Ice Cream

Q. What’s your favorite color?

VT: Black

Q. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

VT: Colorado without a doubt. We have it all here except for the beach, and I can get that fix a few times a year by visiting family in Florida!

Q. Any animals living at home?

VT: No pets, though we might get Ellie some fish for Christmas.

Q. If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you?

VT: Vince Vaughn. He’s tall, goofy, sarcastic, and occasionally funny.

Q. If you could have three wishes, what would they be?

VT:I hate this question so I’m skipping it! J

Q. What have you not done that you really want to do?

VT: Climb Kilimanjaro, and ski Europe.

Q. What is the wallpaper on your cell phone?

VT: The default iPhone background. You mean you can change it? Just kidding.

Q. What can you do that most people cannot?

VT: Probably nothing. I believe you can do just about anything you are willing to try and work at. I’m proud of making the effort to climb all of Colorado’s 14ers but again, anyone can do that if they want to.

Q. What is the last book you read?

VT: Alex Berenson, The Shadow Patrol

Q. Favorite sports team and/or athlete?

VT:College Football-University of South Carolina, NFL-Tampa Bay Bucs,
NHL-Tampa Bay Lightning, MLB-New York Yankees

Q. How would you describe yourself in three words?

VT: Skipping! J

Q. Anything else we should know about you?

VT: I grew up in New Jersey and lived there until I was 14, and then we moved to Florida where I stayed until 1995. My parents and sister still live in the Tampa Bay area. When I moved to Colorado in 1995, I didn’t know anyone here!