Microsoft this week launched the U.S. beta of
Microsoft
Pinpoint
, a new online business marketplace for connecting customers with
partners. Previously codenamed "Hitch," the site is the next iteration
of the Solution Finder.
According to Todd Weatherby, a general manager in the Worldwide Partner Group,
the company's goals with Pinpoint are to make it easier for customers to find
reputable partners. New capabilities include giving customers the opportunity
to leave ratings and reviews of partner solutions -- kind of an informal and
public way of reinforcing the company's ongoing push for customer satisfaction
data on partners.
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Posted by Scott Bekker on July 09, 20080 comments
The third version of the Microsoft Demo Showcase is officially available this
month following a February preview. The Demo Showcase is a demonstration tool
that Microsoft partners can use in customer engagements to show off usage scenarios
with Microsoft software. The newest version adds nine scenarios for a total
of 25 scenarios involving 29 products. It's available as either a download from
the Microsoft Partner Portal or in DVD form.
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Posted by Scott Bekker on July 09, 20080 comments
Windows Small Business Server 2008 and Windows Essential Business Server 2008
will officially launch on Nov. 12, Microsoft announced Monday.
The products are based on Windows Server 2008. SBS is the usual revamp of the
OS, tweaked and packaged with other products and specialized wizards for small
businesses. EBS, formerly known by the code name "Centro," is an entirely new
package aimed at mid-market customers.
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Posted by Scott Bekker on July 07, 20080 comments
Microsoft has a lot of information to convey to partners at the Worldwide Partner
Conference. In a June preview of the show, we scoured the session descriptions
to tease out a dozen themes, including Software + Services, BI, SMB, virtualization
and others (read the article
here
).
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Posted by Scott Bekker on July 07, 20083 comments
It's July, and here in the States that means barbecues, fireworks, parades
and...
adjustments
in the
Microsoft channel org chart. This time, Robert Deshaies and Cindy Bates will
both be vice presidents, responsible for managing different aspects of the U.S.
partner organization.
As of July 1, Deshaies is vice president of U.S. Partner Business Development
& Sales. According to a new bio sheet, he is "responsible for growing the
capacity, performance and satisfaction of Microsoft's nationally managed partners,"
which include National System Integrators, ISVs, distributors, Value-Added Distributors,
Large Account Resellers and Certified Partner Learning Solutions vendors. It's
primarily a lateral move from his former role as vice president of the U.S.
Partner Group, a post he picked up from Margo Day in the executive shuffle of
two years ago. It also appears to play to his strengths as a manager and recruiter
of strategic partners in the Microsoft revenue mix.
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Posted by Scott Bekker on July 07, 20080 comments
Some of the best opportunities for Microsoft solution provider partners emerge during the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference. A good way to figure out who might be launching interesting programs and products is to check out the list of major sponsors at WPC. There are a boatload of companies trying to make a splash in the Microsoft channel this year. Fujitsu and HP both laid out the big bucks for platinum sponsorships. The Gold sponsor list consists of Administaff, CA, Citrix, ExactShip, Intel, Kaseya, LG-Nortel, Micro Focus, OSIsoft, sitecore and Zenith Infotech Ltd. There are about 50 silver and bronze sponsors as well, including a little outfit you might have heard of by the name of Redmond Channel Partner magazine. Throughout the week we'll let you know what we can find out about the best opportunities that sponsoring vendors are trying to draw attention to.
Posted by Scott Bekker on July 07, 20080 comments
I went to the convention center in Houston on Sunday afternoon to register
for the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference and to get my attendee bag. It's
fine -- a black and orange affair with a laptop compartment and a surprisingly
nice silver water bottle.
But having attended nearly 10 years worth of Microsoft conferences, including
eight TechEds, a WinHEC show, a Windows 2000 deployment conference and now three
WPCs, I have to say, partners get the worst bags of the Microsoft constituencies.
The TechEd bags especially always made for great gifts. Microsoft, what gives?
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Posted by Scott Bekker on July 07, 20080 comments
For several months leading up to the show, Microsoft kept the speaker lineup fairly vague -- WPC regulars Steve Ballmer, Allison Watson and Kevin Turner were the only speakers committed. Now a full speaker slate is available for the keynotes each morning, and it reveals some interesting things about the messages Microsoft wants to convey to its partners. First, the schedule:
Tuesday, July 8:
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Posted by Scott Bekker on July 01, 20080 comments
Join
RCP
Senior Editor Lee Pender and me for a
Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference preview video
, available on demand (registration is required). Clocking in at just over 15 minutes, we talk about some of the major issues that Microsoft must clarify with its partners at this conference and analyze the major themes running through the conference sessions. If I do say so myself, this video is a great way to get ready for the conference if you're going, and a worthwhile way to get up to speed on some of the important channel news to expect from the show if you're not going to be there.
Posted by Scott Bekker on July 01, 20080 comments
Welcome to the
Redmond Channel Partner
's portal page for the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2008!
Bookmark this site and keep coming back for all the news that's fit to post from the biggest Microsoft channel event of the year.
RCP
editors will be on site in Houston, attending keynotes and sessions, taking Microsoft executive briefings and interviewing attendees and vendors, and we'll be posting up-to-the-minute news and developments here leading up to the show and throughout the July 7-10 event.
Posted by Scott Bekker on July 01, 20080 comments
How many partners will be rubbing elbows in Houston next week? If you're going, you'll be running up against about the same number as the year before in Denver and the year before that in Boston. Microsoft seems to have found a comfortable level for attendance at the conference of about 7,000 partners.
The first Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in October 2003 in New Orleans had about 5,500. Attendance was similar for the second conference in Toronto in July 2004. Minneapolis in July 2005 hit 6,500 and Microsoft had 7,000 attendees from 88 countries in Boston in 2006. Denver in 2007 hit 7,300 partner attendees from 130 countries.
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Posted by Scott Bekker on July 01, 20081 comments
A little over a year after publicly pledging a major channel push, the standard
bearer for direct sales, Dell, is continuing to invest in its partner program
and increasing its number of partners and its channel-related revenues.
Chairman and CEO Michael Dell first said publicly that his company was committing
to the channel in May 2007. The company followed that with the formal
launch of its new PartnerDirect program in North America in December.
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Posted by Scott Bekker on June 02, 20080 comments