Microsoft is increasing value, decreasing costs and making it easier for partners to do business
Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference in Orlando is all about transforming and revitalizing how
solution providers attract and add value for consumers.
The new products, services, tools, competencies and incentives introduced will allow Microsoft partners to own the entire customer life cycle by offering a more full-service experience.
The CSP Program
Microsoft’s Cloud Solution Provider program gives partners the opportunity to bundle the tech company’s services with their own, which can be billed as one unique offering.
Azure, Enterprise Management Suite and Dynamics CRM have been added to CSP’s portfolio and will soon be joined by a commerce REST API that improves automatic transactions.
With 75 thousand cloud partners, Microsoft indicated that the program has expanded to 131 markets since its inception just over a year ago and will continue to expand rapidly. At MessageOps, we are proud to be part of the Microsoft CSP Program.
Office 365 E5
E5, Microsoft’s enterprise-ready version of Office 365, is scheduled for release in October of this year and is seen as a value-added up-sell opportunity for partners. Microsoft estimates that E5 will be a $56 billion dollar business.
A new Cloud BPX features advanced analytic capabilities, upgraded security and the Power BI data visualization dashboard just recently unveiled.
Windows 10
Microsoft’s new operating system is about three weeks away from launch. CEO Satya Nadella believes the OS will “usher in a new era of personal computing” with more natural user interactions and the ability to work on virtually any device.
Incentives for Active Usage
Instead of getting paid for cloud resources sold, Microsoft wants customers paying (and partners being paid) for the resources that are actually being used. By reorienting their cloud competency and partner incentives, Microsoft will be able to provide active usage data to partners so that partners can deliver more value to customers.
Surface & Surface Hub
Microsoft is looking to increase the number of Surface resellers from hundreds to thousands in the near future, but ultimately want all partners interested in becoming resellers to have the opportunity to do so.
Azure Certification Program
Microsoft Azure Certified for Public Cloud was introduced as a certification program that allows partners to build and brand hybrid solutions. The new hybrid certifications will help partners gain expertise and showcase competency, which will jumpstart the evolution to building private clouds.
Supporting Third Party Products
Microsoft insists that partners’ future success will be driven by third-party tools that support and add value to the suite of Microsoft products they resell.
Unlike partners that solely rely on commissions from reselling products like Office 365, developers building new solutions that add value and encourage ownership of the entire customer lifecycle will become key players in the success of Microsoft’s cloud channel.
The Route to Success is Clear
- Master the cloud
- Add value
- Windows 10
- Own the customer life cycle
- Compete to win
- Obsess over customer satisfaction
If partners are willing to take the wheel, growth and profits will reach unprecedented heights. That’s our take on Microsoft 2015 WPC at a glance. We can’t wait to implement our learnings and continue to add value to our awesome community of customers. We are proud of the amazing partnership we continue to have Microsoft!
