I'm not a software developer; I'm just a guy helping Microsoft partners find their path to success. Nitty-gritty technical conversations have never been my arena.
But even a non-techie like myself sees that AI-driven software development is a revolution. Software development will never be the same again, to the benefit of both customers and partners. And this is where I'm an expert. I love to talk about business transformation and driving better business outcomes.
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Posted by Per Werngren on February 23, 20240 comments
Probably nobody in our ecosystem has missed the wave of news around AI. Besides the great products we've seen from Microsoft and others, AI has also been widely democratized via ChatGPT, which has really accelerated innovation. In just the year since it hit the scene, ChatGPT has become the engine for multiple solutions that build services on top of it.
At this month's Microsoft Ignite event in Seattle, there was a very strong focus on AI and the marching orders from Microsoft are crystal clear: AI is the chosen path and partners should get on board. But what exactly does a partner play for AI look like?
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Posted by Per Werngren on November 27, 20230 comments
In my previous article, I talked about CPOs -- chief partner (or partnership) officers -- and I'm overwhelmed and a bit surprised by how much interest this discussion has attracted. CPOs are the talk of partner ecosystems -- not just specific to the Microsoft ecosystem, but also in much broader terms, and even with regard to partnering outside tech.
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Posted by Per Werngren on October 03, 20230 comments
For as long as I can remember, whenever we in the channel have talked about "P2P" or simply "partnering," we were referring to transactions that either went in a single direction (as is the case with resellers) or a bi-directional flow of deals.
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Posted by Per Werngren on September 11, 20230 comments
Customers often need multiple partners. The more a customer grows, the more partners it is likely to need and have. Smart customers know that a single partner cannot do it all, and that it isn't wise to rely too much on just one dominant partner, so they end up with an ecosystem of partners in various business areas or geographies. Some partners transact goods like licenses and hardware, but most partners supply various types of services -- and their paths are likely to cross yours now and then.
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Posted by Per Werngren on May 17, 20230 comments
Networking and collaboration might seem fluffy; how can just talking to people be a real job? But in fact, successful partnering happens between people and organizations that trust and like each other. We see many so-called P2P efforts being wasted because there's no genuine interest from the parties involved to make it a mutual success. True and successful partnerships are created when all parties are looking out for each other's well-being and when the level of trust is high.
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Posted by Per Werngren on April 17, 20230 comments
We're now four months into the Microsoft Cloud Partner Program (MCPP), which succeeded the old Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) and went live on Oct. 3, 2022.
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Posted by Per Werngren on February 13, 20230 comments
Nobody has missed the buzz around the chatbot ChatGPT created by OpenAI. This is exciting, and acts as an easily accessible consumer-friendly showcase of what can be done with artificial intelligence.
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Posted by Per Werngren on January 23, 20230 comments
I'm often engaged in conversations with Microsoft partners around how to structure partnering arrangements -- often called P2P, or partner-to-partner, relationships.
Many partners come to me either on the brink of starting their partnering efforts and wanting to know how to build their strategy, or after they've been doing P2P for a while but don't feel that it's working for them.
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Posted by Per Werngren on December 28, 20220 comments
I have been part of the various iterations of Microsoft's partner program since the 1990s. Microsoft has done a great of job of staying relevant with its partner program through the years.
Last week, the company decided it was time to make a major overhaul, announcing that the existing Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) will become the Microsoft Cloud Partner Program effective Oct. 3, 2022. More
Posted by Per Werngren on March 22, 20220 comments
It's now time to close 2021 and look forward to 2022. Our industry -- and our channel ecosystem -- has re-innovated itself during the pandemic, and we can take pride in having helped people change the way they work.
For 2022, the digital transformation will continue. In many ways, the pandemic has accelerated digital transformation, but the opportunities are still endless. We have only just skimmed the surface; beneath are whole industries that need to transform, and partners with not only technical knowledge but also the right business acumen will become heroes. More
Posted by Per Werngren on December 22, 20210 comments
I got the first alert at 11:40 a.m. EST on Oct. 4 that there were problems with Facebook. As it's not business-critical for me, I didn't pay much attention -- but I did get puzzled when I couldn't connect to WhatsApp, as that is indeed a critical tool for me to interact with my different teams around the globe.
We've now learned that the outage lasted for six hours and involved not just Facebook but also services owned by it, like Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Oculus VR. This was a costly outage for every business that depends on these services, and it shows how business-critical these social media resources have become. More
Posted by Per Werngren on October 05, 20210 comments