HOUSTON----The Planet, the world’s largest privately held dedicated hosting company, today announced the addition of the new hosted Microsoft^® Small Business Server^® SBS solution to its portfolio. Through this new offering, The Planet combines the quality of its world-class data centers, networks and support, with the expertise of IT integrators, providing hosted e-mail and collaboration for small- and medium-sized businesses SMB. The company plans to deliver the new hosted solution in September.

The Planet offers a complete enterprise-class “IT portfolio-in-a-box” that includes Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft Outlook^®, Microsoft Office SharePoint^® Server and Microsoft SQL Server^™, bundled with anti-virus and spam protection, and a comprehensive data backup solution.

In a white paper from Frost & Sullivan’s Stratecast Partners – titled “The Planet’s Hosted Microsoft SBS Service: An Attractive IT Outsourcing Solution for Small Businesses” – analyst Michael Suby offers a powerful evaluation of the new solution.

According to Suby: “The bottom-line conclusion is that a three-year cost of the The Planet’s hosted Microsoft SBS service is available at less than half the cost a small business would incur in a do-it-yourself approach, and exceeds in features and capabilities.” The white paper is available for download at The Planet’s Web site: http://www.theplanet.com/forms/register.asp?type=MSSBS_WP&utm_campaign =BPSBWPRA070607 Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.

“System integrators play a unique trusted-advisor role with their customers, who increasingly look to outsource management of their IT infrastructure,” said The Planet’s Vice President of Marketing and Product Management Steve Kahan. “Customers are looking to reduce complexity and focus instead on their core businesses. Working through this specialized channel, The Planet provides the great equalizer. IT integrators can customize hosted solutions for their clients and provide rapid deployment in days – not weeks – using our world-class data centers. This powerful combination of products and services enables them to increase revenues by turning one-time projects into more profitable recurring revenue relationships, while providing more options to their SMB customers for e-mail and collaboration.”

“Hosted Microsoft Small Business Server provides SMB customers with the core IT functions they require, in a cost-effective model designed expressly to meet their business needs,” said John Zanni, managing director of Worldwide Hosting in the Communications Sector at Microsoft Corp. “Backed by The Planet’s data centers and around-the-clock support, customers gain access to powerful Microsoft solutions through their trusted IT advisors in a hosted environment, allowing them to focus on their core business requirements.”

The Planet is committed to the success of its channel partners. Leads for the new solution will be passed along to The Planet’s integrator community, since their core competency is in providing these specialized, on-site services. The combination of The Planet and the expertise of the integrator channel provides an extraordinary opportunity for customers, who get the best of both technology and service.

“Our customers range from small businesses to large enterprises, and in every case we work as trusted advisors in building quality and accountability into our customized solutions,” said Panacore Corporation President Perry Berryhill. “The majority of our business targets the medical, petroleum, legal and entertainment industries, and in every case they each work against enormous deadlines to meet the demands of their own businesses. The Planet provides us with the infrastructure we require to meet their needs, along with a 100 percent uptime guarantee. We put the same trust and accountability in The Planet that our customers place with us.”

Located in the Permian Basin of Texas, Panacore http://www.panacore.com deals in the areas of custom software, custom system design, hardware sales, digital video, interactive Web sites and search engine optimization.

The Planet’s Hosted SBS Offering

The Planet provides IT integrators with choices to meet the needs of their specific customers, including a base offering with service upgrades as required. For each system integrator partner, The Planet provides a dedicated account manager to support the business, backed by Microsoft Certified Technology Specialists. The Planet’s Partner Enablement Kit offers product brochures, sales tools and training materials to support business development.

The Planet’s hosted Microsoft SBS solutions provide customers with key advantages for managing their IT infrastructure:

• All-in-one practical solution: With a complete SMB IT portfolio-in-a-box, customers gain immediate access to Microsoft Exchange Server, Outlook, SharePoint Server and SQL Server, bundled with anti-virus and spam protection, and a comprehensive data backup service.
• Low upfront investment and predictable monthly costs: Customers can control their costs and reduce capital costs, which frees funds to grow their businesses. Using The Planet’s world-class data centers, there’s no need to purchase hardware, software and networking equipment, and no requirement to hire additional support staff.
• Anytime, anywhere access: Using any PC, customers can connect to critical e-mail, calendar and contact information through the Internet.
• Always up and running: All hosted Microsoft SBS servers are backed by an ironclad SLA that guarantees continuous availability.
• Dedicated infrastructure provides security and customizable solutions: With a dedicated hosted SBS server, critical e-mail and business data are stored on a system that’s not shared with other companies. Users can configure and customize solutions to meet their unique business needs, all managed by their trusted IT advisor and integrator.
• Do more with less: Using Microsoft Exchange and SharePoint technologies enables customers to share e-mail, calendar contact information and critical documents, improve productivity and reduce costs.

For system integrators interested in learning more about The Planet’s hosted Microsoft SBS solutions, visit http://www.theplanet.com/partners/system_integrator.asp

About The Planet

The Planet is the leading provider of On Demand IT Infrastructure solutions, hosting more than 22,000 small- and medium-size businesses and 2.8 million Web sites worldwide. By offering the best choice of servers, software tools and world-class support, backed by state-of-the-art facilities and unmatched network connectivity, The Planet helps turn information technology into a powerful competitive advantage that enables customers to successfully grow their businesses. For additional information, visit http://www.theplanet.com.