Microsoft Offers Partners SureStep into Cloud

Microsoft on Monday unveiled the latest results of its eternal tinkering with the machinery designed to get partners selling cloud.

In a blog post, Thomas Hansen, vice president of Small and Medium Business for Microsoft Worldwide SMS&P, revealed Cloud SureStep, a business advice and tools program with three pillars based on the maturity level of a partner's cloud business.

"We've heard from many of you that moving your business to the cloud has presented a number of challenges, such as making the initial move with the least impact, knowing where to go for assistance and maximizing business efficiency once you're migrated," Hansen wrote.

The idea of Cloud SureStep is a "one-stop resource built within our MPN website," Hansen said. The three parts of Cloud SureStep are Getting Started, Grow Your Cloud Business and Optimize Your Cloud Business.

Getting Started includes IDC market overviews, pointers to videos about profitability and links to the Online Services Advisor incentives guide and other resources. The Grow Your Cloud Business section includes information on earning a competency or joining the SMB Cloud Champions Club. The Optimize section focuses on differentiation through offerings of multiple Microsoft cloud and/or on-premise products together.

Hansen said Cloud SureStep is beginning with Office 365 and Windows Intune and will add resources for Microsoft Azure and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online in the next few months.

The Cloud SureStep page is here.

Posted by Scott Bekker on April 21, 2014 at 1:32 PM