In-Depth Features


Marching Orders 2012: Big Ideas for the Microsoft Channel

RCP asked 19 channel luminaries for their best piece of advice for the year ahead. Here are their tips on ways to make 2012 a banner year for Microsoft partners.

9 Huge Opportunities for Microsoft Partners in 2012

WEB EXCLUSIVE: For many partners, matching their priorities with Microsoft's is a sure-fire way to boost business. Conveniently, Microsoft has just listed its top priority areas -- or "priority workloads" -- for the Microsoft Partner Network. Here they are, along with the related products and competencies for each.

Microsoft Exec: Analysts Will Be 'Shocked' When Office 365 Sales Figures Come Out

WEB EXCLUSIVE: In Part 2 of our Q&A with Microsoft's Tom Rizzo, he discusses Office 365's momentum and how Microsoft's advisor and syndication partners are contributing to its growth.

Microsoft Exec: Google's Problems in L.A. Wouldn't Have Happened to Us

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Part 1 of our two-part Q&A with Microsoft's Tom Rizzo. He talks about the cloud, Office 365's recent compliance coup, and why Google Apps wouldn't be missed if it got shuttered.

Judging the Impact of Microsoft's Master VAR Program

The Master VAR program evokes strong emotions in the Dynamics partner channel. There are plenty of critics of the program, but Microsoft is committed to pushing the model forward, which will bring a new dimension -- and perhaps new energy -- to the Dynamics partner ecosystem.

8 Third-Party SharePoint Vendors To Watch

More than 200 partners showcased tools aimed at extending the Microsoft team collaboration platform at its annual SharePoint Conference. Here's a snapshot of eight that caught our eyes.

The Microsoft Partner Network's 1st Year: What Changed, What Worked and Where Does the Cloud Fit?

What's happened since Microsoft completely switched over to the Microsoft Partner Network with its dramatically different competency, specialization and incentive structures? A lot.

Salesforce.com and the Enterprise Social Revolution

The company that defined cloud-based Software as a Service is now looking to change the way workers collaborate, communicate and service their customers.

Top 8 Partner Opportunities in Windows 8

The latest Microsoft OS promises disruptive opportunities for every type of partner -- from developers to solutions providers to those who provide training -- assuming they move fast.

Microsoft's Dynamics Partners Finding Strength in Numbers with Katalys (UPDATED)

Katalys Group formed to help small Dynamics partners find a creative way to meet the Microsoft Partner Network requirements by banding together.

Enterprise Ireland: Putting Microsoft ISVs on the Map

Enterprise Ireland (EI) is a government agency that helps Irish ISVs expand to global markets. The 13 ISVs who attended the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference and shared the EI-sponsored booth have a lot to teach other small firms about taking their products worldwide.

iOS 5, Ice Cream Sandwich and Mango: Top Features for Microsoft Partners

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Apple, Google and Microsoft are all sporting new operating systems for their smartphones. We look at the most promising business-related features in iOS 5, Ice Cream Sandwich and Mango.

What Microsoft Partners Think of Windows Phone: The Survey Results

One of Microsoft's key strategies for improving the market share of Windows Phone is to get the smartphones into partners' hands. Anecdotal evidence and an informal RCP survey suggest partners are taking up the devices. Will their customers follow?

Microsoft-Skype: What the Acquisition Means for Microsoft's UC Future

Microsoft's largest acquisition arrives with potential promise as well as possible pitfalls.

What's Going On with HP?

For tens of thousands of Microsoft partners, HP is their other strategic vendor. A look at what is driving HP's seemingly scattershot moves.

Microsoft's 'Master VAR' Program: Dynamics Franchising Revisited

Microsoft preps pilot of program for Dynamics partners as an alternative to its aborted franchise plan.

Apple Influence on Display in New Crop of Windows PCs

WEB EXCLUSIVE: The skinny and streamlined group of Windows PCs that Microsoft recently showed off seems to reference some of Apple's design philosophy -- even though Microsoft may never admit it outright.

Top 10 Windows 8 Features for Microsoft Partners

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Microsoft's recent Build conference gave partners -- and the world -- the first in-depth look at the forthcoming Windows 8 operating system. From the radically different UI to Hyper-V support, here are the top 10 features Microsoft revealed at Build that partners should pay close attention to.

Microsoft vs. the World: Can Microsoft Knock Out Its 6 Biggest Rivals?

At the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference, Microsoft COO Kevin Turner singled out and attacked six strategic rivals. Does Microsoft have what it takes to compete and win against Apple, Google, Cisco, Oracle, Salesforce.com and VMware?

Smartphone Shootout: iPhone 4 vs. Windows Phone 7

On the Verizon Wireless network, Apple and Microsoft each have one offering: the iPhone 4 and the HTC Trophy with Windows Phone 7. Both are relatively new to the largest U.S. mobile provider's network. Which phone is better?