The Changing Channel


For I Have Seen the Future, and Its Name Is DevOps

As cloud pushes the channel to evolve, Microsoft solution providers must proactively seek to partner with other ISVs to target that DevOps sweet spot.

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.

What Microsoft Partners Are Grumbling About

Howard asked partners what their biggest grievances are with Microsoft. They were more than willing to share.

IAMCP Bets Big on New Free Membership Level

The mother of Microsoft partner communities is shaking things up by adding a no-cost tier, shifting its focus to online meetings and setting lofty diversity goals.

No Coding Required: How To Develop IP Without Developers

Just about everybody seems to think that the only way to create your own IP is to become a developer. As one Microsoft partner shows, that's not the case.

Partners: Forget Microsoft's 'Cloud Consumption' Directive

Howard thinks it's time for partners to treat Microsoft with the same benign neglect it shows them.

How a Microsoft Partner Found Success by Linking IP and P2P

Microsoft Partner of the Year winner Nintex kills two birds with one very effective stone by combining IP creation with partner outreach.

The Hidden Payoff in Starting an IAMCP Chapter

In a region that's ripe for partner-to-partner networking, the launch of another IAMCP chapter is bringing more value to Microsoft partners.

Microsoft Partner Mandates: Focus on P2P and IP for Azure

Howard spotlights Microsoft partners that are succeeding by forging partner-to-partner relationships and developing IP to drive cloud consumption.

Survival of the Fittest Partners: Spotlighting New Partner Imperatives

Microsoft's channel vision is changing and partners are scrambling to adapt. Howard turns the spotlight on partners that have successfully evolved their businesses to keep pace with those changes.

IAMCP Program Gives Microsoft Partners a Leg Up on Training

For the first time, Microsoft partners who are members of the IAMCP may purchase the same Microsoft curriculum and online labs that partner training centers use.

In the Cloud and IP Era, Partners Rethink the Role of Salespeople

As the channel shifts further and further away from selling products, customers tell us more and more how they don't want to talk with salespeople anymore.

How To Develop Your IP for the 'Internet of Things'

The first step for Microsoft partners, Howard argues, is to acknowledge that there is no "Internet of Things."

Who Speaks for the Channel Partner?

Impersonal vendor channels are drowning out partners who voice their concerns. Is the only solution to speak louder?

Microsoft's Channel Chief to Partners: Up Your Game with Us

Phil Sorgen talks to RCP about his first Worldwide Partner Conference as head of Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Group, the evolving direction of the partner channel and Microsoft's role in it.

For Partners, Where Are the Microsoft Alternatives?

Microsoft partners looking to diversify their practices might have a hard time finding viable alternatives. And no, Google isn't one.

In Nadella's Microsoft, Uncertainty About Where Partners Fit

The new CEO's mantra of "mobile- and cloud-first" has some uncomfortable implications for partners -- one of them being the possibility of competition from Microsoft itself.

What Will Be the Straw that Breaks the Microsoft Channel's Back?

The next few months could prove to be the most trying for all but the largest of Microsoft's partners.

Partners: Keep Pace with Microsoft in 2014 with These Course Corrections

Microsoft has a history of changing tacks in its partner strategy, for good and sometimes for ill. Its partners should take care not to get left behind.

One-on-One with Microsoft's New U.S. SMS&P Chief

Meet David Willis, who in the wake of the recent partner executive reshuffling now runs Microsoft's U.S. Small and Midmarket Solutions & Partners organization.