Microsoft Rolls Out the Benefits Wheel
We've said many times here at RCPU that Microsoft, in general, is very good
to its partners, and we still believe that it is true. The only problem, as
most partners probably know by now, is that sometimes the Microsoft Partner
Program can offer -- as the old saying goes -- too much of a good thing. And
sometimes that good thing -- maybe the one good thing a partner really needs
-- is a bit hard to find.
Roll in the Microsoft Partner Program "benefits wheel." Oh, it's
officially called the Partner Benefits Framework in classic stodgy Microsoft
fashion, but the round shape of the diagram used to clarify how partners can
access the benefits they need just lends itself to the "wheel" moniker.
Besides, we can envision thousands of clever little "wheel" quips
spinning out of this. Well, hundreds, anyway. Or maybe tens.
Anyway, in the magazine's
August issue, Redmond Channel Partner Executive Editor Anne Stuart
takes the
benefits wheel for a test drive, looking at how the partner program and
its new general manager, Julie Bennani (who, rumor has it, actually reads this
newsletter) are trying to clarify which benefits are available to partners and
how partners can access them.
Anne also talks to Robert Deshaies, vice president of Microsoft's U.S. Partner
Group, about a slew of new benefits Redmond plans to offer partners in Microsoft's
current fiscal year, which began at the beginning of this month.
As wheels go, the benefits wheel ranks pretty high on our list -- well above
"Wheel of Fortune" and probably somewhere between "Wheel in the
Sky" by Journey and a big wheel of cheese. In fact, you could say that
we never tire of looking at it. And if you're a partner, you should really get
around to checking out this wheel and what it can do for you.
Which are the most important benefits for you in the Microsoft Partner Program?
Tell met at [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on July 25, 2007