Business Management


How Microsoft Partners Are Selling Office 365

Now that it's available, partners are prepared to start offering Microsoft's biggest bet in the cloud to date.

With Office 365, Microsoft's Direct Billing Drama Continues

Microsoft created a new partner category when it launched Office 365 to fix the billing problems that vexed partners with BPOS. But there's a catch.

How Microsoft Dynamics Partners Are Evolving with the Cloud

With Microsoft rolling out more of its key business applications in the cloud, the channel must prepare. But in interviews at Microsoft Convergence, partners and customers are finding the cloud is just one more reason to re-emphasize good old-fashioned services.

When Is Growth a Problem for Partners?

The simple truth is that IT services executives have to constantly be looking ahead two and three years.

Microsoft Partners Energized by 'Windows 8'

Citing "cool" factor, partners see the next OS interface as unifying Microsoft's platforms. Concerns surround how the touch orientation will translate to the desktop, and whether thorny OEM and development issues find quick resolutions.

How Arterian Went from Lifestyle Partner to Growth Partner

With effort, a little prodding and help from peers, Jamison West took a "one-man band" to a 30-person firm. His company, JWCS, acquired two other Seattle companies in the last year and relaunched July 1 as Arterian.

For a New Category of Cloud Partner, Microsoft Relaxes Office 365 Billing

WEB EXCLUSIVE: In a major change from BPOS, 20 hosters with value-added services will handle their own customer billing for Office 365. VARs and MSPs must still go through Microsoft in the Partner of Record model.

Cloud Computing and Strategic Sales Management

Partners and sales teams are entering uncharted territory in cloud computing. Here are six tips for building a successful cloud practice.

For Microsoft Partners, the Focus Is Performance

It's one thing to be productive, but if your productivity comes at a high cost, you lose. Therefore, it's important to be efficient, too.

Microsoft Partners Find Benefits in 'Dogfooding' Lync

WEB EXCLUSIVE: It's hard enough to sell a product without having first-hand experience of it. That's even more evident when the product is Microsoft Lync. For some partners, adopting Lync for their own use has proven to be the best way to help their clients.

Hitachi Updates Partner Program with Specializations

Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) has revamped its TrueNorth Partner Program to include four new specializations, the company announced this week.

Microsoft Lync Partners Bullish on Skype Deal

While most of the analysis of Microsoft's $8.5 billion acquisition of Skype has focused on the consumer aspects of the deal, partners have responded enthusiastically and are seeing some opportunities for Skype alongside Microsoft Lync.

HP Helps Partners Build Cloud Expertise

Finally, the company enters a cloud market that's becoming increasingly crowded with other IT heavyweights, including IBM and Cisco.

Channel Metrics Most Microsoft Partners Ignore

Traditionally, businesses monitor things like revenue, leads and phone calls made. All are important items to measure...but they only tell part of the story.

Microsoft Partners and the 'Adjacency Growth Strategy'

It's when your business expands more than one degree of separation from your core offering that things unravel.