With its first two Master VARs named, Microsoft is cracking down on a so-called buying group that sprung up in response to the recent changes for Microsoft partners focused on the business application/Dynamics side of Microsoft's product portfolio.
- By Scott Bekker
- November 02, 2011
Lead with pain points, not the Windows Intune brand. Leverage Windows Intune to help SMBs upgrade to Windows 7. Pair Windows Intune sales with Office 365. Look for business incentive fund (BIF) opportunities.
- By Scott Bekker
- October 18, 2011
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.
- By Scott Bekker
- September 23, 2011
Hidden in plain sight within the Microsoft Partner Network are six places where partners can get free product licenses. Hint: Check your Internal Use Rights.
- By Scott Bekker
- August 08, 2011
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.
- By Scott Bekker
- August 04, 2011
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.
- By Barb Levisay
- July 25, 2011
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.
- By Scott Bekker
- July 01, 2011
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.
- By Scott Bekker
- June 30, 2011
Partners and sales teams are entering uncharted territory in cloud computing. Here are six tips for building a successful cloud practice.
- By Ken Thoreson
- June 01, 2011
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.
- By Scott Bekker
- May 12, 2011
WEB EXCLUSIVE: Which components of Microsoft's 350-strong product portfolio are the most important to its partners' businesses? To find the answer, we asked the partners themselves -- over 500 of them -- to pick the 10 they and their customers can't go without.
- By Scott Bekker
- April 26, 2011
WEB EXCLUSIVE: From the early acquisitions of Great Plains and Navision, to the Burgum-Nadella-Tatarinov executive shakeup, to the company's tentative first steps toward an "all-in" cloud approach, we spotlight the top 10 milestones from Microsoft's decade of Dynamics.
- By Scott Bekker
- April 15, 2011
With the launch of the Microsoft Partner Network in November, Microsoft forced 400,000 partners to decide how they'll fit their businesses into the new structure. In our annual survey, readers reported how they're planning to adapt.
- By Scott Bekker
- April 12, 2011
In a channel network that's 640,000 strong, it's a tall order to address the multitude of questions, concerns and grievances that partners may have. Thankfully, the leaders of Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Group seemed eager to hear them all.
- By Scott Bekker
- March 30, 2011
If Microsoft doesn't get BPOS billing right, the sharks will certainly be circling.
- By Scott Bekker
- March 01, 2011