2005 Already??

Man, hard to believe that 2005 is upon us. Time has gone by this past year very quickly and for TAZ Networks 2004 was a great year of really moving forward as a company and coming into our own. I'm proud of what we've accomplished but as always there is a lot of hard work ahead. 2004 saw us 1. become a better Microsoft partner and use the resources they offer and 2. immerse ourselves in the small business community. Doing both of these things has payed dividends for us as a company and for myself personally. Microsoft has a tremendous amount of synergy related to the SBS product and just being a part of that is a great thing. It truly is a great time to be a small business owner as what you can now do with technology is mind boggling. Late last week one of our client's Presidents finally "got it" I believe as we walked him from home through connecting to SBS' Remote Web Workplace and getting onto his desktop PC and reading Outlook Web Access. These are things that small business owners have been struggling to do securely for years.

For myself starting the Michigan SBS User Group has been truly rewarding and fun as well. It has been great to see other small business owners and consultants deal with their day to day problems but continue to consistently deliver rock solid services to their clients and customers. Also, the amount of knowledge that can be had in one room is often quite amazing. From sales to retail to technical items, a user group near you probably has all the expertise you would or ever could want!

So what does 2005 bring for you? Well all I can say is set a goal. Whether that be sales, customers, volume, services, etc. Do it and stick to it. Then review it periodically. And is it a bad thing to not hit your mark? I don't think so if you set your standards HIGH. If you shoot low you'll get an airball every time! Network Computing has a nice series of articles on suriving 2005 from the technology side of the house. Hopefully something like this is done for your sector of work. If not make up your own and review it later and then again and again!

So what's in the cards for TAZ Networks in 2005? Our goal is high regarding SBS. We want 24 SBS installs in 2005! I know you're probably saying "That's only 2 a month!" Yes it is but that also translates for us usually into 24 new clients and hopefully 24 new maintenance contracts. With that type of volume by the end of 2005 we hope to increase our technical staff to accomodate our goals and move ahead. Regarding service, we always set the bar high and want to keep it that way. And we will also continue to further our relationship with Microsoft and its Great Lakes personnel (who by the way have all been great to deal with). Regarding products we hope to soon announce that we will be a certified Retail Management System partner which should give our customers another value added service.

I hope 2005 is rewarding for you in business and remember to work ON that business more than you work IN it!