Opinion


Azure Stack Will Take Time To Reach Its Potential

Think of the first release of the on-premises cloud appliance as a modest version of Microsoft's final goal.

Microsoft's CSP Program Isn't Just for Office 365 Anymore

With services like Azure, Dynamics 365 and Windows 10 also propelling growth, partners can expect Microsoft to keep expanding the program's scope to even more products.

For M&A Success, Make Sure Lawyers Stay in Their Lane

Partners, repeat after us: Attorneys are not advisers.

How To Improve Partner Profitability in 5 Steps

Why settle for 5 percent profitability when 30 percent is (relatively) doable? Here's how to get there.

What 'Billions' Nails About the New Reality for Microsoft Partners

"You offer a service you didn't invent, a formula you didn't invent, a delivery method you didn't invent."

Microsoft Predictions Revisited: What Came True and What Didn't

We were on the money with much of our forecast for Microsoft's FY2017, but there have been a few surprises. For starters, what ever happened to the company's "active usage" mantra?

Microsoft, Google Gaining on AWS, But Not Quickly Enough

As the current cloud field stands, leader Amazon Web Services may be ceding some market share to Azure and Google, but the challengers still have a lot of ground to make up.

How To Speak Microsoft, Vol. 2: Even More Acronyms You Need To Know

Good communication is the basis of strong relationships -- and when it comes to Microsoft, that means figuring out your CAUs from your PDUs.

A Milepost on Partners' Road to Recurring Revenue

How fast are Microsoft partners transitioning to managed services, and what are the most critical components of a managed services offering? A survey reveals some critical details.

The 3 Components of a Winning M&A Team

The key to a successful merger or acquisition is a well-vetted group of advisers and attorneys.

Google, Slack Get Serious About Overtaking Microsoft in Enterprise

Microsoft Office may still be the suite to beat in the enterprise productivity race, but a stodgy reputation and competition from upstart firms are putting its lead in peril.

The 10 Steps to Partner-to-Partner Success

Becoming great in P2P so that it becomes a practice isn't something that will happen overnight.

Are Microsoft Partners Ready for a Windows Server/Azure Future?

For years, Microsoft has been steadily bridging the gap between Azure and Windows Server. With the two products more tightly integrated than ever, partners with hybrid and private cloud expertise are poised to reap the benefits.

Does Microsoft Finally Get Open Source?

The path to a more open world has been an unpleasant one for Microsoft -- until recently.

When Partner Growth Stalls, Deeper Problems Are at Work

IT services executives need to take a hard look at their businesses right now to make certain they are fully in sync with -- and preferably ahead of -- the market.

VMware Extends Its Multi-Cloud Management Focus

The company's "Cross-Cloud" initiative aims to create a hybrid operating platform for organizations to run, connect and manage applications distributed among different public clouds.

For IT Services Partners, All Roads Lead to M&A

The industry doesn't need as many IT services firms as there are presently. The market knows this, the vendor companies know this, customers know this and you know this.

New Business Models Raise Questions for Microsoft Partners

Based on its talking points at WPC, Microsoft considers these four business models as critical for moving its partners into the future.

Which Public Cloud Will Win the Microsoft Channel?

In the two-horse race between AWS and Microsoft Azure in the public cloud, only one can be considered to have a robust ecosystem of platform partners. And it's not Microsoft.

How Does Microsoft's 'Professional Degree' Impact the Channel?

The new education program, announced by Microsoft at this summer's WPC, seems to raise more questions for partners than answers.