Pender's Blog

Blog archive

Microsoft Online Store Opens in U.S.

It probably won't affect the channel except at the very low end, and even there partners who are trying to make money strictly by reselling software are probably going broke, anyway. But the opening of Microsoft's online store in the U.S. might still make a few partners queasy.

Sure, the prices are high, and there's no threat to the services element that brings in most of partners' revenues, anyway, but Microsoft going into the direct-sales business in the U.S. -- it had already opened stores in Europe -- just might not set right with partners who are already concerned about Redmond's not-necessarily-channel-friendly cloud computing strategy.

There's always that nagging question: If Microsoft is willing to cannibalize retailers' business, when and how might it turn on the rest of the channel? Hey, we know that Microsoft still makes the overwhelming majority of its revenue through partners and has probably the best channel program in the business. Microsoft still seems committed to keeping partners happy, so there's no panic here. There's not even much suspicion. But there are tiny, lingering questions that weren't there so much a few years ago. That's all we're saying.

Posted by Lee Pender on November 19, 2008


Featured

  • Microsoft Appoints Althoff as New CEO for Commercial Business

    Microsoft CEO and chairman Satya Nadella on Wednesday announced the promotion of Judson Althoff to CEO of the company's commercial business, presenting the move as a response to the dramatic industrywide shifts caused by AI.

  • Broadcom Revamps VMware Partner Program Again

    Broadcom recently announced a significant update regarding its VMware Cloud Service Provider (VCSP) program, coinciding with the release of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0, a key component in Broadcom’s private cloud strategy.

  • Closeup of the new Copilot keyboard key

    Microsoft Updates Copilot To Add Context-Sensitive Agents to Teams, SharePoint

    Microsoft has rolled out a new public preview for collaborative "always on" agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot, bringing enhanced, context-aware tools into Teams channels, meetings, SharePoint sites, Planner workstreams and Viva Engage communities.

  • Windows 365 Cloud Apps Now Available for Public Preview

    Microsoft announced this week that Windows 365 Cloud Apps are now available for public preview. This aims to allow IT administrators to stream individual Windows applications from the cloud, removing the need to assign Cloud PCs to every user.