Hot Topics
November 23, 2009
Microsoft Partner Network: Working Towards Community
Excerpt from Redmond Channel Partner Online article,
This past July, the Microsoft Partner Program received a new name -- the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) -- and, in addition to new competency requirements, programs and technologies, a new social networking attitude.
As Julie Bennani, general manager of the MPN, notes, the social media effort "is part of our strategy to go where our partners are." That means sites such as Twitter, Facebook, flickr, YouTube and LinkedIn, for example.
She explains: "Our vision for the Microsoft Partner Network is simple -- we want to provide opportunities for partners to develop and expand their businesses, provide expertise and resources that help partners better serve their customers, and create passionate communities that spark innovation by connecting partners with one another."
What community features would you like the Microsoft Partner Network to add? Let us know by commenting below.
November 23, 2009
New Core Infrastructure Competencies Launched
The new Core Infrastructure Competencies launched today in the Microsoft Partner Network mean faster revenue growth and longer customer engagements for you. Did you know a recent IDC study found that partners with two or more Core Infrastructure competencies experienced 68% larger average deal sizes and 28% higher revenue per employee? New competencies include Desktop Platform, Server Platform, and Systems Management which replace the Advanced Infrastructure competency and join the existing Security and Virtualization competencies. Get started today!
November 20, 2009
Hot Topic: Google Chrome OS and Microsoft
Google has released Chrome OS, and the media is speculating what that means for Microsoft. For the latest, read Microsoft,other rivals slam Google Chrome OS on Computerworld and Will Microsoft's Silverlight dampen the appeal of Google's Chrome OS? on ZDNet. In Computerworld, the Microsoft spokeswoman states, "From our perspective, our customers are already voicing their approval of the way Windows 7 just works -- across the Web and on the desktop, and on all sizes and types of PCs -- purchasing twice as many units of Windows 7 as we've sold of any other operating system over a comparable time."
Thoughts? Let us know.
November 19, 2009
TechCrunch Exclusive Interview with Steve Ballmer
Watch a Steve Ballmer interview with TechCrunch's Michael Arrington about products, competition, and the road ahead. Ballmer talked about ways to interact with devices, including touch, voice, cameras, and gestures, and says Microsoft's goal is "one integrated computing infrastructure." He also talks about search innovation, acquisition strategy, and even Twitter.
On Microsoft’s “three screens and the cloud” strategy, Ballmer says it’s a “fundamental shift in the computing paradigm.” He added, “We used to talk about mainframe computer, mini computer, PC computing, client server computing, graphical computing, the internet; I think this notion of three screens and a cloud, multiple devices that are all important, the cloud not just as a point of delivery of individual applications, but really as a new platform, a scale-out, very manageable platform that has services that span security contacts, I think it’s a big deal.”
What do you think? We’d like to hear from you. Let us know by commenting below.
November 18, 2009
Download 2010 Betas for Office Suites, SharePoint, Project, and Visio
Today’s beta releases of Microsoft Office 2010 suites, Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010, Microsoft Project 2010, and Microsoft Visio 2010 represent an exciting opportunity for you to test-drive new features—and to share your feedback. And don’t forget: As a Microsoft partner, you can access a range of exclusive software benefits to run your business.
Now is your chance to discover firsthand how these beta releases of deliver collaboration and productivity enhancements to provide a superior user experience, whether it’s on a PC, a Web browser, or a Windows phone.
New features make working together easier than ever before. Get new or enhanced customizable templates, photo editing, and coauthoring capabilities in Office 2010. Find quick and easy access to resources and knowledge—in a familiar environment—with SharePoint Server 2010. New collaboration tools in Project 2010 provide even better visibility into projects at all levels. Visual tools and templates, and Web-sharing capabilities in Visio 2010 bring real-time data together from multiple sources.
Download the betas today to get critical hands-on experience—and get ready to help your customers increase efficiency and streamline business processes by making the most of their existing resources. You’ll also want to provide input to help us refine the products before they’re released to manufacturing.
November 18, 2009
Winner of Touch First Developer Challenge Announced
Congratulations to User Interface Design GmbH in Ludwigsberg, Germany for winning the developer challenge using Microsoft Surface. They won a Microsoft Surface Developer Unit for their application submission, UID Portfolio.
UID Portfolio is an interactive company presentation which provides an intuitive and innovative way to present a company’s portfolio of services by touching the elements on the screen. UID delivered an application which introduces new gestures like drawing a circle on the Surface to sort digital content, application design which delivers an optimum 360 degree view for simultaneous multi-user capabilities, innovative use of tagged objects to initiate an action when laid on the Surface, and introducing immediate user-guidance and feedback.
Runners up include: Vertigo (Hard Rock Worldwide Memorabilia) and Infusion Development/Serverside Group Ltd. (Financial Card Designer). The Microsoft Surface Team received over forty entries across six different countries with applications designed for retail, hospitality, automotive, banking and finance, as well as innovative new ways to manipulate digital content with the introduction of new gestures. We would like to thank all contestants who participated.
November 17, 2009
Launch of Windows Azure Platform Announced at PDC
Microsoft announced the availability today of the Windows Azure platform at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference (PDC). In his opening keynote address, Ray Ozzie, chief software architect at Microsoft, described Windows Azure and SQL Azure as core elements of the company’s cloud services strategy. The company also announced a set of new Windows Azure features, Windows Server capabilities, and marketplace offerings that will make it easier for developers to build profitable businesses from their Microsoft-based solutions.
“Customers want choice and flexibility in how they develop and deploy applications,” Ozzie said. “We’re moving into an era of solutions that are experienced by users across PCs, phones and the Web, and that are delivered from datacenters we refer to as private clouds and public clouds. Built specifically for this era of cloud computing, Windows Azure and SQL Azure will give developers what they need to build great applications and profitable businesses.” Read complete article on Microsoft PressPass.
Azure Platform Special Offers: Beginning January 4, 2010, members of the Microsoft Partner Network in select countries will be able try the Windows Azure Platform with minimal cost—and risk —through special offers.
Are you joining the cloud? If you have, how is it? Let us know by commenting below.
November 17, 2009
Dolly Parton on Internet Explorer 8 and Web Slices
Dolly Parton likes how the Web Slices feature of Windows Internet Explorer 8 makes it easier for her fans to find the content they want on her website. During the video, Parton says she "wouldn't know a gigabyte from a snake bite. But the folks over at Microsoft sure know their computers." Hear all of what Dolly has to say on YouTube or read about it on CNET.
What do you think? Let us know by commenting below.
November 17, 2009
Microsoft Office Chosen Over Google Docs in Mashable Poll
Who would win in a fight: Microsoft Office or Google Docs? Mashable wanted to know last week. The winner was declared with Microsoft Office getting 51% of the votes, and Google Docs 37%. If you didn’t get to vote, let us know your opinion by commenting below.
November 13, 2009
Get Ready for SharePoint Server 2010
The SharePoint Server 2010 Beta release is coming next week, are you ready? Training is now available for IT professionals and developers who want to upgrade their SharePoint Server 2007 skills to SharePoint Server 2010. Use this guide to get details about the learning resources that will be available, getting started with SharePoint 2010, certification paths, and new features.
November 13, 2009
Software-plus-Services Featured on Redmondmag.com
Excerpt from a recent article on Redmondmag.com entitled, “Microsoft’s S+S Strategy Grows Up” by Mary Jo Foley:
"Three screens and the cloud" is the updated take on Microsoft's Software plus Services (S+S) cloud-computing strategy. At this point it's obvious that it's focused primarily on consumer scenarios, but that's part of Microsoft's new strategy: Develop a compelling and consumer-friendly proof point, and then flesh out the enterprise complement.
Interpreting Ballmer's remarks, I see Microsoft's attack as being two-pronged. The company plans to deliver a set of services that are common across devices, PCs and TVs. One example is the Zune Video service that will work across Zune HD players, Xbox consoles, Windows PCs and Windows Phones.
But the company is taking this idea further by introducing common "user experiences" across these categories of devices -- things like touch, gesturing and voice-activated search. At that point, the word "Windows" in the names of products -- for example, Windows Phones, Windows MediaRoom, Windows Azure and the Windows operating system -- won't be just a branding mechanism. There'll actually be a set of common Windows elements and services that will be integrated and interoperable.
November 11, 2009
Debate on Cloud Computing on The Economist: What's Your View?
The Economist has been running a series of online debates on topical issues, and the latest one is on cloud computing. The proposed argument is that the cloud can’t be entirely trusted.
On one side is Stephen Elop, President, Microsoft Business Division, who states, "While I advocate for the cloud, there's a desire among many customers to avoid a technology ultimatum." Elop calls for a mixed approach, advocating Software-plus-Services as a much more realistic scenario for most organizations. He states, "Certain applications will be well served by the cloud, while others will benefit from immediate proximity to local computing and graphical capabilities, memory, storage and so on."
On the other side, Marc Benioff, Chairman & CEO of salesforce.com, could not disagree more. To him cloud computing is a shift that leaves localized applications behind, stating "because the vendor only has a single code base to manage, rather than dozens scattered over various platforms and operating systems, customers receive virtually constant innovation. Upgrades are seamless."
What do you think? We’d like to know! Leave a comment below, and join the debate to learn more about the issue and make your vote heard. The Economist debate continues with arguments and rebuttals until closing on Nov. 18.
November 10, 2009
Windows 7 Wins in OS Faceoff on Mashable
With the release of Windows 7 in October, Mashable pitted Microsoft and Apple operating systems against each other in their weekly web faceoff. As can be expected, the voting and the comments were heated. Over 7000 votes were cast with less than 400 votes separating the two operating systems. But in the end, Microsoft was declared the victor. With 3632 votes (50%), Windows 7 defeated Snow Leopard’s 3278 votes (45%). 357 (5%) voted that the battle was dead even.
Let us know how you would have voted, and why, by commenting below. We’d like to hear from you!
November 9, 2009
Exchange Server 2010 Announced at Tech-Ed Today
Today at the Microsoft Tech-Ed Europe 2009 conference in Germany, Microsoft Business Division President Stephen Elop announced that Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 is now available worldwide. Along with Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, Exchange Server 2010 is part of a generation of solutions designed for increased business productivity and cost savings.
In today’s challenging economic environment, innovative use of new information technologies can result in improved operational efficiency and reduced costs. The combination of cost savings coupled with improved productivity and innovation is defined as “the New Efficiency.”
Read complete Microsoft PressPass article
Watch the Tech-Ed Keynote with Stephen Elop
Download the Exchange 2010 trial (MS partners only)
Learn About the New Efficiency
November 5, 2009
Microsoft Partner Network Evolving to Serve You
Learn more about how—and why—the Microsoft Partner Program has evolved into the Microsoft Partner Network. What do these changes mean for you?
Communities and QuickStart programs—Through the Microsoft Partner Network, you can participate in communities, including this website, to connect with other partners whose solutions and services complement your own. If you’re an early-stage startup company, Microsoft BizSpark can help accelerate your success. And if you’re a Web professional, Microsoft WebsiteSpark can help you drive new business opportunities.
Subscriptions—Your primary program contact can purchase subscriptions, like Microsoft Action Pack Subscription (MAPS) and Empower for ISVs, if your organization is a Registered Member of the Microsoft Partner Network.
Competencies—Microsoft competencies help demonstrate your expertise and enable you to build more effective marketing campaigns. Your certifications are meaningful to prospective customers who can see your specialized ability.
Advanced competencies (coming in late 2010)—Advanced competencies can enable partners with deeper levels of expertise to differentiate their businesses in the marketplace with a specific Microsoft brand.
