Navigating Microsoft


Partners Sidelined in New 'Microsoft Customer Agreement' Model for Azure

Microsoft's new approach for getting organizations to purchase Azure services appears to put its partners at a disadvantage.

Top 10 Microsoft Partner Tips of 2018

The tech landscape is evolving, and the channel along with it. Here are the year's best tips from channel experts for Microsoft partners trying to navigate the shifting IT ecosystem.

Microsoft Launching New Business Conference in July

Microsoft plans to host a brand-new conference this summer that's focused on its business intelligence (BI) technologies, as well as its various "365"-branded products.

What Nadella's 'Refresh' Button Means for Microsoft Partners

The Microsoft CEO's new book covers a lot of ground, but has just one reference to the company's broad community of partners. That's a cause for concern.

Microsoft's Menu of Indirect CSP Partners Gets Bigger

In the last few years, the number of Cloud Solution Provider Indirect Providers operating in the United States has jumped from just five to more than 14. Indirect Resellers have lots of choices, ranging from distys to LSPs to cloud distys to CSP specialists.

Microsoft CSPs Expecting Less Conflict, More Azure Consumption

A newly refocused Cloud Solution Provider program is giving partners hope for better relationships with Microsoft field reps.

Get To Know Microsoft's 'One Commercial Partner'

Microsoft upended its channel-facing corporate structure this year and unveiled major new engagement models and other programs for working with partners. In this special section, RCP describes and unpacks the myriad changes.

How To Speak Microsoft in the 'One Commercial Partner' Era

The channel and field reorg in Redmond is unleashing a flood of new terms and initialisms. Are OCP, TCM, ECM, PDM, PMA, RVP and STU all getting to be TMI? Use this glossary FTW. HTH.

Microsoft OCP Puts New Faces in Partner Management Roles

With the creation of the One Commercial Partner team and the reorganization of the Microsoft field structure largely complete, the roster of partner-facing channel executives at Microsoft seems mostly set for fiscal year 2018.

Navigating the Solution Maps and Channel Managers of Microsoft's OCP

Microsoft is in the midst of an all-hands effort to create Solution Maps. Partners who want to be at the center of Microsoft's business need to make sure they show up on those maps.

To Explain Microsoft's Cloud Stacks, Partners Use Periodic Tables

It's elementary.

What Will Microsoft's FY18 Restructuring Mean for Partners?

The landscape inside Microsoft is in flux as the company reorganizes its sales structure. For partners, the chaos presents both threat and opportunity.

Q&A with Ron Huddleston: Know Your Solution Maps and Channel Managers

In Part 3 of a three-part Q&A from the Microsoft Inspire conference, Microsoft One Commercial Partner CVP Ron Huddleston talks about two of the most important new concepts for partners to understand to succeed in Microsoft's revised channel model.

Q&A with Ron Huddleston: Microsoft's New Partner Engagement Model

In Part 2 of a three-part Q&A from the Microsoft Inspire conference, Ron Huddleston, head of Microsoft's One Commercial Partner unit, explains how Microsoft is trying to simplify its partner-facing organization to work more effectively with its massive partner network.

Q&A with Ron Huddleston: Meet Microsoft's One Commercial Partner Leader

In Part 1 of a three-part Q&A from the Microsoft Inspire conference, Huddleston explains his philosophy on partnering and how his background at Salesforce.com and Oracle is informing his approach to the channel at Microsoft.