Business Management


WPC 2012: Office 365 Partners To Get Direct Billing

Microsoft for the first time will allow its broad base of partners to handle customer billing for the Office 365 suite, addressing what has been the single biggest controversy in the Microsoft channel for the last few years.

Playing Games with Sales

Sales contests are a great way to encourage high performance among sales teams while keeping it light. Here are some tips for setting up a sales contest.

'Surface' Observations About Microsoft's New Tablets

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Microsoft finally took the wraps off its "Surface" tablet, and it's pretty striking. While it's too early to tell whether Surface will be a coup or a flop, Monday's launch event gave us plenty to think about. Here are our first impressions.

Amazon Prowls for Partners, Launches Marketplace

Not always seen as the most partner-friendly cloud provider, Amazon Web Services (AWS) is taking key steps to reverse that perception.

Getting Ready for Windows 8

In many ways, the channel is eagerly waiting for Microsoft to catch up to the market with its next OS. Will customers stand still long enough for the new OS to catch on?

Using MindManager To Organize Client Projects

There's only one "thought-processor" tool that has helped me develop perhaps thousands of different kinds of projects.

Best Mobile Apps for Microsoft Partners' Internal Use

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Here are the top five mobile apps to help partners navigate the Microsoft channel from day to day.

Best Mobile Apps for Microsoft Partners: Apple iPad Edition

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Microsoft partners using the iPad need their apps, too. Here are six of the best ones.

The 30 Best Mobile Apps for Microsoft Partners

Buried in the marketplaces maintained by Google, Apple and Microsoft are valuable smartphone and tablet apps that can help round out compelling solutions for customers. Here are the top 10 for each mobile platform.

Microsoft's Small Business Competency Gets Real

At long last, small business-focused partners will have their own competency in the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) next month.

How 'Cloud' Isn't Helping the Cloud

What changes with the cloud is very simple. Instead of just hardware and software, we now integrate hardware, software and services. So why don't many partner companies believe in it?

Now Is the Time To Become an IT Services Company

In the new technology marketplace, it's the buyers -- not the sellers -- who have the power. And buyers are increasingly focused on intangibles.

Q&A with the IAMCP's New Worldwide Leader

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Kelvin Kirby talks to RCP about what's coming down the pipeline from the International Association of Microsoft Channel Partners, from the organization's plan to expand its chapters to what to expect from the upcoming Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference.

Partnering for Survival: Strength in Numbers for Microsoft Partners

It might be a tired cliche but it also happens to be true: You can't -- and you probably don't want to even try -- to be all things to all people.

MPN Small Business Competency: More Benefits, Bigger Price Tag

When Microsoft rolls out the Small Business competency next month, partners will find a program that is more expensive to join than the popular Small Business Specialist Community (SBSC), but also far more loaded with benefits and focused on cloud.