Michael Wicander, CEO

Smarthost Sweden AB

Sweden

Q: Who are your customers and what do you do for them?

A: Smarthost enables resellers in different markets and segments, who previously could not overcome the barriers of entry associated with launching an in-house hosting operation, to go to market with a full range of Microsoft hosted services in their own name and brand.

Q: What’s your relationship with Microsoft?

A: As we base our offering upon Microsoft Hosted Messaging and Collaboration (HMC), with hosted Exchange 2007 and SharePoint services 3.0, Smarthost is partnering with Microsoft Communication sector as well as SMS&P, both on a local as well as on EMEA and international level.

Smarthost also contributes in the development of next generation HMC by participating in the HMC 4.5 technical adoption program.

Q: As a partner of Microsoft, what is your view on their S+S strategy?

A: We believe that Microsoft’s  S+S strategy is an accurate positioning in line with the evolution of the industry and that it will generate significant opportunity for Microsoft partners, enabling them to offer a wide portfolio of services leveraging local software with Microsoft hosted as well as partner hosted services.

Q: What challenges does your business face as you continue to grow?

A: To ensure continued growth Smarthost is dependent on offering a relevant service portfolio to our partners. We therefore closely monitor the market and partner with Microsoft and leading ISV:s to be able to continuously launch new in demand services.

Q: How can Microsoft help and what you would you like to see next?

A: We believe that it’s important for MS to actively promote and aggressively market Microsoft Online as well as partner hosted services to stimulate demand generation in the market.