Since its initial release, SharePoint has always been something of an enigma. In the early days, the common response to "What can SharePoint do for my business?" was "Whatever you want it to." Probably not the Microsoft-sanctioned response, but true enough.
The challenge for many SharePoint partners has been to convince enterprise customers that the solution is more than a document repository. SharePoint 2013 takes a huge leap forward in functionality, and Microsoft has been laying the groundwork to prepare partners for a more structured and strategic approach to deployment in the enterprise.
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Posted by Barb Levisay on November 07, 20130 comments
It's unlikely that a partner exists who doesn't have a cringe-worthy memory of a project that got out of control and didn't end well.
We may never know the full story of how HealthCare.gov joined the ranks of poorly executed IT projects, but it's pretty easy to imagine -- endless committee meetings, ignored recommendations and unrealistic deadlines.
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Posted by Barb Levisay on October 24, 20130 comments
What does it really take to start a cloud services business? While the headlines glorify those entrepreneurs who rake in millions from VCs, there are plenty of startups that are pulling themselves up by their own bootstraps. They choose to own their destiny and build their business -- usually while holding down a "real" job -- one customer at a time.
Building a Base Through Beta
The idea for Winsitter, a cloud service that monitors Windows servers and delivers alerts to busy admins, evolved from Bret Fisher's own sysadmin experiences. Now CEO of Winsitter, Fisher wrote on the first entry of the company blog, "I thought...what if we took the combined ideas of everyone we knew in the biz of Windows Server engineering and built an analysis engine in the cloud? ... What if the analysis engine does all the wizardry and you just get alerts the way you prefer (e-mail/SMS/Twitter/Facebook/Jabber/phone)?"
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Posted by Barb Levisay on October 10, 20130 comments
As more and more customers opt to move e-mail to the cloud, there is a very important question that partners may forget to ask -- but they only forget once.
Not asking for the details about the company's e-mail archive system can be a painful and costly oversight. While transitioning an enterprise or midsize organization e-mail to the cloud takes careful planning, migrating e-mail archives requires in-depth knowledge combined with years of experience.
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Posted by Barb Levisay on September 19, 20130 comments
There are a group of partners in the Microsoft channel who aren't waiting for universal adoption of Windows 8. Partners who are charging ahead to lead their customers, not follow them, into the next generation.
Businesses are struggling to keep up with an evolving workplace where paper processes and outdated line-of-business software don't work. Partners at the forefront of Windows 8 are already delivering the solutions that support the new workforce.
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Posted by Barb Levisay on August 29, 20130 comments
The success of Office 365 in the small-and-medium-sized-business (SMB) space is making it a good year for the growing legion of Microsoft cloud partners. To keep that momentum going, building on recurring revenue each year, partners need to answer two questions: How do you help customers get so much value from Office 365 that renewals are a non-event? And what additional services will you deliver to build on Office 365 customer relationships?
For at least one forward-thinking partner in Atlanta, the answer to both questions is the same. The business analytic capabilities of Office 365 give SMB customers access to enterprise-level tools, and give the partner opportunities to make the magic happen.
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Posted by Barb Levisay on August 15, 20130 comments
The end of a financial management system implementation is often just the beginning of a process of technology transformation for a growing company. At Brittenford Systems, a Dynamics and IT services partner, that transformation represents an opportunity to bridge the gap between technology and business strategy.
Formalizing a CIO Advisory Services offering about five years ago, Brittenford bridges the gap between business operations and technology. "We become an advisor, helping them build their IT strategy, writing policies and procedures -- the entire gamut of services that an internal CIO would provide," explained Ryan Risley, Brittenford's chief technology officer. "We are aligned with their business purposes, essentially working as one of them." More
Posted by Barb Levisay on July 31, 20130 comments
During last week's Worldwide Partner Conference, the Microsoft Dynamics group announced the addition of four new global independent software vendors (GISVs) to the exclusive program: distribution and manufacturing provider I.B.I.S. Inc., automotive software maker Incadea, food supply-chain consultancy Anglia Business Solutions, and retail automation vendor Escher Group.
Started three years ago, the GISV program's goal is to build a portfolio of vertical enterprise-level solutions built on the Dynamics AX and CRM platforms. Thirteen partners have joined the GISV corps to date, with another half-dozen expected to join this year. More
Posted by Barb Levisay on July 17, 20130 comments
Everyone could identify with Jimmy Fallon's portrayal of the IT guy who barks, "Move!" in the old "Saturday Night Live" skit. Funny then, and a reminder of how times have changed.
As businesses move to the cloud, the role of IT support is no longer focused on getting persnickety hardware to function, but to deliver the business value that technology promises. With that transformation, the skills that served IT well in the days of networking and break-fix aren't the same ones that support a successful cloud practice. More
Posted by Barb Levisay on June 27, 20130 comments
All eyes are on the cloud right now, but vertical market focus is still a driving force for partner business model transformations. Microsoft suggests that partners, from systems integrators (SIs) to value-added resellers (VARs), need to build industry specialization to prosper. And while sales may be the initial motivation to go vertical, there can be important operational benefits as well -- as Keyora, an Ontario, Canada-based ISV has discovered.
The Cost of Generic
An ISV with 50 employees, Keyora traditionally took a horizontal approach, building a generic e-business suite of products named "Wave." Ever-growing customer expectations and stiff competition in the e-business market has made a horizontal approach increasingly expensive. More
Posted by Barb Levisay on June 13, 20130 comments
There are countless Web sites that have been started with ambitious goals to build a place for a special-interest community to congregate. Most of those sites never attract enough participants to reach the tipping point and add real value to the community they serve. But there are exceptions.
The SharePoint Community has attracted over 1,200 members from around the world in the 11 weeks since it launched, far surpassing founder Mark Jones' expectations. Started as a collaboration between SharePoint partners as a central place to post blogs and build SEO links, the site has become a meeting place for a growing legion of SharePoint users and practitioners. More
Posted by Barb Levisay on May 30, 20130 comments
While partner adoption of the cloud may have started slower than Microsoft had hoped, the transformation seems to be fully under way. With 125,000 members in the Cloud Essentials program, SMB partners are facing an ever-more crowded field.
More competition accelerates the need for cloud partners to build new revenue models. For those partners who took on the cloud early, lessons learned include the need to demonstrate competency and invest in deeper, long-term customer relationships. More
Posted by Barb Levisay on May 16, 20130 comments