Opinion


Start Your 'Windows 8' Engines

The era of Windows 8, for better or worse, has begun.

How To Avoid an Epic CRM Fail

By adding the element of planning with CRM applications, sales leadership will have a much-needed higher degree of implementation success.

Starting a New Cloud Service? Get Back to Basics

From a basics perspective, you should have documents that outline your value proposition, pricing and why a reseller should join your program, as well as contractual agreements.

Registry Will Let Cloud Providers Disclose Security Controls

To say cloud providers are less than forthcoming on their approach to cloud security would be an understatement.

Want Your M&A To Fail? Here's How

Most M&As fall apart in the post-acquisition stage, when management is least likely to expect it.

Windows Azure Appliance: Out of the Spotlight but Alive

There has been activity among Microsoft's appliance partners revolving around Azure -- but you wouldn't know it from this year's WPC, where the product played a backstage role.

HP Gives Partners First Crack at ServiceOne

Hewlett-Packard is looking to make it easier for partners to offer its portfolio of services to customers.

9 Ways To Measure Your Company's Cloud Success

The transition to the cloud is a huge challenge for most business models. Here are nine key performance indicators for tracking your company's cloud progress.

5 Ways Microsoft Partners Can Block Cloud Sprawl

According to a recent report by Avanade, the nightmare of "cloud sprawl" is quickly becoming a reality for a growing number of executives. Here's how to guide your clients through the cloud-services minefield.

7 Signs of an Epic CRM Fail (and How To Fix It)

Many partner organizations implement a CRM system thinking it's going to be a silver bullet. That's their first mistake. Here are some guidelines to ensure the execution of your CRM system is as good as its promise.

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.

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.

Why 'Mango' Matters

There are three reasons why Windows Phone "Mango" will finally move the needle for Microsoft in the smartphone market.

Intel's Hybrid Cloud Approach Is a Win-Win for SMBs

The company's Hybrid Cloud Platform lets companies keep their data on-premises while leaving the managing to a provider. Everyone benefits.

Microsoft's Once-Shiny Brand Needs Some Polish

While Apple and even IBM are rocketing up the polls in brand ranking, Microsoft's brand has been dropping. What gives?

A Lesson from the Amazon Outage: Speak Up

Besides dredging up concerns about data security in the cloud, the Amazon outage made it clear that when it comes to corporate damage control, silence isn't the best policy.

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.

Wanted: More Windows Intune Licenses

For some reason, Microsoft is being stingy with the partner licenses for Windows Intune, the cloud-based systems management and security toolset that launched in March.

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.