AllenPort Brings New Twist to SaaS

Company:

Headquarters: Princeton, N.J.

Technology Sector: Software

Key Product: AllenPort Virtual File Cabinet

Year Founded: 2003

Number of Channel Partners: Several U.S. MSPs

Ideal Channel Partner: MSPs and Small business-focused solution providers

Why You Should Care: AllenPort's platform "mobilizes" local applications, data and settings, making it easy for MSPs to provide customers with hosted solutions.

The Lowdown: With Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) all the rage, it takes a little chutzpah to market technology that doesn't fall in line with the current "everything-in-the-cloud" thinking. But AllenPort takes the position that with desktop systems becoming increasingly powerful at ever-lower prices, "We want to take advantage of the speed of the local client and disconnected functionality," said Joel Allen, AllenPort president.

AllenPort's Virtual File Cabinet and its underlying file system technology provide a platform for small and mid-size businesses to host applications, user settings and data, making them accessible from any Internet-connected computer.

Allen describes the company's technology as "hybrid SaaS" which replicates a traditional Microsoft Windows network and makes it possible to download data or an application such as Microsoft Word to wherever the user may be working -- all in a secure environment. Virtual File Cabinet is different from other application virtualization systems because users also have access to their files and data, Allen said.

In a completely SaaS world, everything is accessed via a browser. But Allen argues that means using desktop PCs as thin clients or even the dumb terminals of the past. "We disagree with that philosophy," he said.

For businesses Virtual File Cabinet offers a way to reduce capital expenditures for network infrastructure or Web-based storage and services, either by using the service as an alternative to a data center network or using it alongside an existing LAN. "In tough economic times, companies realize IT is not a profit center," Allen said.

Last month AllenPort struck an alliance with Microsoft to provide owners of Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint and Exchange, access to those applications as a service through the Virtual File Cabinet. The system now works with Windows XP and Vista, and the company is looking at supporting other operating systems, including Windows Mobile and Mac OS.

Allen said VARs and MSPs use Virtual File Cabinet to set up IT networks for SMB customers, including assigning and deploying software to users in a structured file management system. The technology handles file management chores including backup, file sharing, disaster recovery, remote access and managing user requirements.

Initially AllenPort focused on direct sales when it launched its service last year, "then very quickly realized we wanted a channel program that focused on MSPs and VARs," Allen said. The company is now cranking up a two-tiered channel program with partners earning a percentage of Virtual File Cabinet subscription fees. The focus of the sales team has been shifted to supporting channel partners. And a new version of the platform released in the first quarter was geared toward MSPs and VARs.