Guest Blogs

Blog archive

Marching Orders 2014: Point Customers to the Right Devices

As part of RCP's 2014 "Marching Orders" feature, Jenni Flinders, vice president of Microsoft's U.S. Partner Group, gave some advice to partners regarding the "Devices" part of Microsoft's new "Devices + Services" strategy:

In the New Year, computing will continue to be everywhere and vastly more integrated. Not only will our devices talk to one another, the range of "devices" will expand greatly to include cars, buildings, roads, cities and homes. Our interactions with technology will be more natural and intuitive. Modern devices that enable productivity on-the-go and connect to all the important information you need is one of the key demands from your customers.

The experience of combining Windows 8.1 and the many amazing devices shipping from our original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) is positioning the U.S. channel for great success. Partners must listen to the needs of their customers and find the right devices and services that will work best for their businesses. I encourage all partners to become familiar with all the devices available to offer a customized experience. 

When the right devices are paired with how businesses want to work, partners have more opportunities to deliver a complete mobile experience by developing mobile applications. This is an area I believe our partner organizations are poised to lead. It's time to help businesses tackle the mobile adoption curve and help integrate mobility into traditional application-business models.

Resources available to support our partners with this include our MPN disclosure guide, which is a comprehensive look at upcoming changes to programs to support our partners to integrate more closely with us.

We've also developed learning paths aligned to new tracks and updated requirements for the MPN competencies.

Posted on December 26, 2013


Featured

  • MIT Finds Only 1 in 20 AI Investments Translate into ROI

    Despite pouring billions into generative AI technologies, 95 percent of businesses have yet to see any measurable return on investment.

  • Report: Cost, Sustainability Drive DaaS Adoption Beyond Remote Work

    Gartner's 2025 Magic Quadrant for Desktop as a Service reveals that while secure remote access remains a key driver of DaaS adoption, a growing number of deployments now focus on broader efficiency goals.

  • Windows 365 Reserve, Microsoft's Cloud PC Rental Service, Hits Preview

    Microsoft has launched a limited public preview of its new "Windows 365 Reserve" service, which lets organizations rent cloud PC instances in the event their Windows devices are stolen, lost or damaged.

  • Hands-On AI Skills Now Outshine Certs in Salary Stakes

    For AI-related roles, employers are prioritizing verifiable, hands-on abilities over framed certificates -- and they're paying a premium for it.