Microsoft has re-released Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 to OEMs. Quality control problems with the version originally released to OEMs in July caused Microsoft to recall the original code a month ago. The version sent to OEMs at the time contained non-final versions of a few core components. Originally, the product was expected to be available in August. The recall and re-release mean availability to system builders and availability pre-installed on server hardware from Dell and HP will now occur in September. Meanwhile, the company launched a new partner program for SBS 2003 R2, called "Assess & Win." Partners who conduct and submit five customer business assessments using the Technology Assessment Toolkit will receive a free, resaleable copy of SBS 2003 R2 Standard Edition.
Posted by Scott Bekker on August 31, 20060 comments
Microsoft on Thursday announced a new process designed to make it easier for ISVs to redistribute Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2. The redistribution agreement for Virtual Server 2005 R2 can now be completed on Microsoft's Web site. Microsoft is hoping to encourage ISVs to bundle Virtual Server and benefit from the ease with which the partners' customers can then test their applications in a virtual environment. Early adopters of Virtual Server redistribution include Portlock and VMLogix. Virtual PC 2004 also includes redistribution rights as part of its licensing agreement. Microsoft has committed to the same approach with Virtual PC 2007, expected to enter beta later this calendar year. Information on the Virtual Server 2005 R2 redistribution license is available
here.
Also Thursday, Microsoft announced the availability for
download of Windows Server Virtual Server 2005 R2 Service Pack 1.
Posted by Scott Bekker on August 31, 20060 comments
One of the most interesting areas of technological development in Windows Server "Longhorn" is Terminal Services. New features include Remote Programs, Gateway and Web Access. If you're in the business of providing remote access for clients and want to find out more about what's coming in Longhorn's Terminal Services, Microsoft posted an information page this month
here.
Posted by Scott Bekker on August 31, 20060 comments
I've never been impressed with the
Microsoft Partner Program Web site. It's one of those sites that gives you the feeling that you're missing out on resources that you're entitled to just because the site is so poorly organized. Never a good thing.
Here's my latest gripe with the site. I'm testing Windows Internet Explorer 7.0 Beta 2, which I like very much. I tried to follow a link for a new OEM System Builder blog, and I got this warning message:
"You are using an unsupported Internet browser. Please use the most recent non-beta version of Internet Explorer to access this page. If you continue you will likely experience performance issues. Please download this supported version or proceed to the PMC page you requested."
An acceptable warning from anyone but Microsoft. Sheesh!
Posted by Scott Bekker on July 19, 20063 comments
Simon Witts gave enterprise partners their marching orders at the Worldwide Partner Conference, "Go and sell the enterprise versions of our products."
Witts, the vice president for the Enterprise and Partner Group, wants partners to focus on three upcoming enterprise editions: Windows Vista Enterprise, Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007 and the Enterprise CAL Suite. "I think this is a game change," Witts said of the opportunity with the enterprise editions.
Windows Vista Enterprise is the Software Assurance-only version of Windows Vista. In addition to the regular Windows Vista Business features, the enterprise edition includes Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption, the Subsystem for Unix-based Applications and multi-language support. Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007 goes beyond Microsoft Office Professional Plus with Groove 2007 and OneNote 2007.
The Enterprise CAL Suite, also new, offers client access licenses for many more products than the older Core CAL, which delivered CALs for Windows Server, Exchange Server, Systems Management Server and SharePoint Portal Server. The Enterprise CAL Suite adds System Center Operations Manager, Live Communications Server, Windows Rights Management Services and the Microsoft Security products as well as enterprise data searching, spreadsheet publishing, Web-based form creation and unified messaging. "For just $80, the customer can move from the Core CAL to the Enterprise CAL Suite," Witts said.
In describing the opportunity, Witts said that today about 40 percent of enterprises are under platform agreements with professional versions and the Core CAL. "I see two things happening," Witts said. "I see the standardization on the core products increasing to maybe 50 percent or even 60 percent over the next three years, and I see this migration to the enterprise version, and in particular to the Enterprise CAL Suite."
Posted by Scott Bekker on July 17, 20060 comments
I got a chance to talk to Robert Deshaies, the new vice president for the U.S. Partner Group, at the Worldwide Partner Conference last week. We'll run the full transcript of the interview in an upcoming issue, but I thought I'd share a couple of notes now.
The partner conference was really Deshaies' start in the job that Margo Day held for five years. He says he hasn't thought too much about what he'll do in the partner group yet, because he was busy wrapping things up in his old job as regional vice president for the East Region Small and Mid-Market Solutions and Partners organization. His plan is to spend the first 90 days immersing himself in the new job before he starts putting his stamp on things, which sounds smart to me.
One other thing about that last job: He wore two hats. In addition to serving as regional vice president, he was executive champion for Software Asset Management. He'll continue to spearhead Microsoft's Software Asset Management efforts as vice president of the U.S. Partner Group.
Posted by Scott Bekker on July 17, 20060 comments
Microsoft COO Kevin Turner is a critical executive to partners. Recently, Allison Watson's Worldwide Partner Group moved into his chain of command, following a similar shift for Simon Witts' Enterprise and Partner Group earlier in the year. Turner delivered the closing keynote at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference: Velocity 2006, giving a lot of partners their first glimpse of the former Wal-Mart executive.
This guy is feisty. A few quotes from his keynote give you a sense of his style:
"The fact of the matter is, there's not very many 501(c) nonprofit organizations in here, and certainly we aren't one of those."
"You want to make money. I heard that loud and clear from our partners."
"We are not going to let Google win in the enterprise search business. That's our space, that's our house. And those people are not going to be allowed to take food off of our plate, which is what they're attempting to get."
Posted by Scott Bekker on July 17, 20060 comments
Ben Romano did a really nice
profile of Allison Watson in
The Seattle Times. I swear I'm not just plugging the story because Ben quoted me. I found out some things I didn't know about Microsoft's channel chief.
Posted by Scott Bekker on July 17, 20060 comments
One of the things Microsoft promised partners for its Worldwide Partner Conference this week was a little more clarity on how the Live (a.k.a. Software plus Services or Software as a Service) initiative would affect them.
According to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, the net effect won't be much over the next year or so. "I don't think most of you should expect any major impact plus or minus from Live to the core of the business that we do together in the next year," Ballmer said during his WWPC keynote Tuesday.
But the company is asking for partner input, by adding a Partner Advisory Council to its existing array of these partner feedback panels. "We're announcing today the formulation of a Live Partner Advisory Council," Ballmer said. "As now is the time to build out the platform, now is also the time for us to come together and define the business model and the way we work together."
Saying the change from customer-based infrastructure to Internet-based infrastructure is inevitable, Ballmer added, "We at Microsoft have to embrace it, our partners have to embrace it."
Anyone have any thoughts on the kinds of issues this Live Partner Advisory Council ought to tackle? Comment here or send me e-mail at .
You can read Steve's keynote in full here.
Posted by Scott Bekker on July 13, 20060 comments
Microsoft is saying that nearly 1,000 global ISVs have committed to developing applications on Windows Vista. The company's list includes 15 of the top 25 global ISVs.
In a news release on the number, Microsoft called attention to Trend Micro, which has a beta available for its PC-cillin Internet Security using new security features in Vista, and SolidWorks Corp., which makes computer-aided design software that takes advantage of Vista's 3-D graphics capabilities.
Microsoft has several programs to encourage ISVs to code for Vista, including Project Glidepath for tiny software development companies, a Windows Vista Developer Jumpstart Kit and the Certified for Windows Vista logo program.
One thousand applications is a nice round number. It pales in comparison to the third-party application numbers Microsoft used to report for new Windows releases. But it's not bad, I guess, with so much development targeted for browsers as the platform these days.
Still, (with credit to Directions on Microsoft analyst and RCP magazine columnist Paul DeGroot on this question) it would be nice to know how many of these applications are really leveraging new capabilities in Vista versus just being updated so they run under Vista's more restrictive User Account Control features.
Posted by Scott Bekker on July 13, 20061 comments
The Microsoft Partner Program competency for BizTalk Server, called Business Process & Integration, is signing up partners left and right. According to Burley Kawasaki, group product manager for BizTalk Server Product Management, the number of partners who have achieved the competency increased by 1,041 percent in a year. Last July, there were 124 firms with the competency. This July, there are 1,415.
Kawasaki attributes much of the growth to the marketing bounce BizTalk got as a result of its co-launch with SQL Server 2005 and Visual Studio 2005. He also says more local systems integrators are going through the competency process.
An R2 version of BizTalk Server 2006 is slated for the first half of 2007.
Posted by Scott Bekker on July 13, 20060 comments
Microsoft did some serious signaling of its licensing intentions today at its Worldwide Partner Conference in Boston.
For one thing, the company announced that Software Assurance customers using the virtualization capabilities embedded in Windows Vista Enterprise will be allowed to run up to four copies of the OS in virtual machines on a single device for a single user. The reasons Microsoft will allow users to pay for one copy of the OS and run four (including Windows 2000, Windows XP and others) are for application compatibility, training, helpdesk functions and software testing. Microsoft describes allowing four virtual machines as generous, and it is for client systems. At the same time, the company is using this generous virtualization as a carrot to protect its Software Assurance revenues.
Also this week, Microsoft announced that Virtual PC 2004 Service Pack 1 will be available to all customers as a free download. Previously, the product cost about $100. Users will need a licensed copy of Windows for each virtual version of the OS run under this product, and its free follow-on, Virtual PC 2007, which will be optimized for Windows Vista and is scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2007.
Microsoft also unveiled a virtualization licensing move on the server side, where virtualization has the potential to change the way customers run data centers. At the RTM of Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition in December, the company unveiled a new licensing arrangement to allow users to run up to four virtual copies of Windows Server on the Enterprise Edition at no additional cost. At the time, Microsoft announced plans to allow users of Windows Datacenter Server "Longhorn" to run an unlimited number of virtualized Windows Server instances. With Longhorn being a late 2007 product, even without building the usual Microsoft delays into the schedule, that was pretty far off. Now, Microsoft is going to allow unlimited virtual machines on Windows Server 2003 R2 Datacenter Edition. Going into effect Oct. 1, the company will also allow customers to buy Datacenter through Volume Licensing and on systems as small as two processors from OEMs.
Like everyone else, Microsoft is feeling around in the dark on virtualization -- trying not to get left behind while protecting its traditional license revenues. But today's announcements go a long way toward allowing partners and customers to make some plans.
Posted by Scott Bekker on July 12, 20060 comments