Pender's Blog

Blog archive

Careless Whispers at the WWPC

This week's Partner Conference in Boston has been a show for the big guys and the global guys. One partner told me that Microsoft told him that more than 70 percent of conference attendees are Gold Certified Partners, and almost half are from Europe. The Dutch in particular have been easy to spot with their bright orange shirts.

I also heard that Microsoft's Ballmer-attended Gold Certified Partner luncheon on Tuesday turned out to be a little less regal than expected. Instead of having the tables, table cloths and other signs of civilized dining that partners surely deserve, Microsoft's channel champions got rows of chairs (no tables) and cold box lunches! Heck, we got a better deal in the press room. Maybe those Eurofines have already led to some cost cutting in Redmond...

If you were at the WWPC, what was your favorite part of the show? What did you not like? Drop me a line at [email protected].

Posted by Lee Pender on July 13, 2006


Featured

  • Microsoft Joins Workday's AI Agent Partner Network

    Microsoft has become a key partner in Workday's newly launched AI Agent Partner Network, aligning with other industry leaders to integrate AI agents into enterprise workforce systems.

  • LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky To Lead Microsoft's Productivity Initiatives

    In a strategic leadership realignment, Microsoft has appointed LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky to oversee its consumer and small business productivity software division, encompassing Microsoft 365, Teams and AI-driven tools like Copilot.

  • Salesforce To Acquire Informatica in $8 Billion Deal

    Salesforce announced on Tuesday it plans to acquire data management firm Informatica for $8 billion.

  • An image of planes flying around a globe

    2025 Microsoft Conference Calendar: For Partners, IT Pros and Developers

    Here's your guide to all the IT training sessions, partner meet-ups and annual Microsoft conferences you won't want to miss.