Selling the Microsoft Brand

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Redmond ■ ChannelPartnerwww.rcpmag.com July 2006

DRIVING SUCCESS IN THE MICROSOFT PARTNER COMMUNITYHonored as BEST START-UP PUBLICATION Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Awards 2006

ASpecial special reportReport:on theSelling ups and the downs Microsoft Brand of selling the world’s most valuable brand.19 +Exit Interview: Margo Day 4 High Marks on MSPP Report Card 38 Project1 5/26/06 10:20 AM Page 1

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SPECIAL REPORT

DEPARTMENTS 4 Channel Report Exit Interview: A Q&A with Margo Day ...... 4 PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: Bond International Software 19 Microsoft: World’s Biggest Brand With a new job-applicant tracking solution, the Our special report includes: company is making its first channel play ...... 8 ANATOMY OF THE DEAL: EMC-Interlink ...... 12 21 The Importance of Being Microsoft Microsoft isn’t just the world’s most powerful software company. 45 Solution Spotlight It’s also the world’s biggest brand. Virtual PC is a flexible, full-featured virtualization environment. 25 The Two Faces of the Microsoft Brand With a great brand name comes great partner responsibility. COLUMNS 31 Dealing with Microsoft Haters PARTNER ADVOCATE: Scott Bekker The Mother of All Partner Conferences ...... 2 Microsoft may be the world’s best-known brand, but it’s not necessarily the best-loved. Here are ways to overcome deal-busting objections. THE PARTNER VIEW: Jim Airdo The Value of Reseller Training Centers ...... 14 FEATURE THE MICROSOFT VIEW: Margo Day 38 Making the Grade Power to the People...... 16 Partners evaluate the recent changes to the Microsoft Partner Program. MARKETING MICROSOFT: Mac McIntosh Don’t Doom Your Own Marketing Event ...... 50

SELLING MICROSOFT: Ken Thoreson RCPmag.com Sales and Marketing: Friends, Not Foes ...... 52

Worldwide Partner DIRECTIONS: Paul DeGroot Conference Coverage FindIT Codes Darwin and Intelligent (Software) Design ...... 56 Stay tuned to RCPmag.com and our newsletter, You’ll see FindIT codes Redmond Channel Partner Update, for the latest on embedded throughout Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference this Redmond Channel month. The staff of Redmond Channel Partner will Partner. Simply type be at the show to bring you all the breaking news these into the FindIT code and more from Boston. If you haven’t yet, be sure box on any RCPmag.com to sign up for Redmond Channel Partner Update page and you’ll jump directly to the desired (FindIT code: Newsletter). And if you’re at the information. (Note that all show, be sure to stop by our booth (#1220) and FindIT codes are one introduce yourself to the team. We look forward to word, and they meeting you! are not case-sensitive.) 2

COVER ILLUSTRATION BY SANYA HYLAND 0706rcp_Advocate_2.v6 6/9/06 9:49 AM Page 2

PartnerAdvocate ChannelRedmond Partner RCPmag.com July 2006 ✚ Volume 1 ✚ Number 9

Editor in Chief Scott Bekker [email protected] Executive Editor Anne Stuart [email protected] Senior Editor Lee Pender [email protected] Managing Editor Wendy Gonchar [email protected] Solution Spotlight Editor Lafe Low The Mother of All [email protected] Editors, RCPmag.com Becky Nagel [email protected] Partner Conferences Michael Domingo [email protected] Art Director Scott Shultz By ScottBekker [email protected] Senior Graphic Designer Alan Tao The main event of Redmond’s partner [email protected] calendar happens this month. The Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference: Velocity 2006 runs July 11-13 in Boston. Group Publisher Henry Allain [email protected] The amount of new software in Editorial Director Doug Barney the Microsoft pipeline, as well as [email protected] Group Associate Publisher Matt N. Morollo the uncertainty surrounding [email protected] Microsoft’s Software-as-a-Service Director of Marketing Michele Imgrund plans, means that this WWPC promises to be [email protected] Senior Web Developer Rita Zurcher Tan even more important event than usual. [email protected] The speaker schedule indicates the need Marketing Programs Videssa Djucich Associate [email protected] for plenty of channel preparation for the will offer perspectives on the major Editor, ENTmag.com Scott Bekker pending Microsoft product lineup. Microsoft competencies, along with sales [email protected] Editor, MCPmag.com Michael Domingo Following the opening-day fireworks of a and marketing, business leadership, ISV [email protected] keynote by Microsoft’s energetic CEO Steve concerns and customizing vertical solutions. Editor, Redmondmag.com Becky Nagel CertCities.com [email protected] Ballmer and partner context from Allison What’s more, we’ve been assured that Associate Editor, Web Dan Hong Watson, vice president of the Worldwide Microsoft will use the WWPC to begin shar- [email protected] Partner and Small Business Groups, ing its definitions for the phrase “Software Microsoft will dive right into the next as a Service.” Transparency is necessary for President & CEO Neal Vitale [email protected] round of products. Microsoft to bring its partners along in the CFO Richard Vitale Mike Sievert, corporate vice president, company’s transition to a services model. [email protected] Executive Vice President Michael J. Valenti Windows Client Marketing, will give part- Providing partners with definitions, even [email protected] ners the lowdown on turning Windows as Microsoft struggles with how the com- Director of IT Jerry Frazier [email protected] Vista into profits. Next, there’s a tour of pany itself will manage these changes, is a Director of Circulation and Abraham Langer Office 2007 in a keynote from Chris reassuring step. Data Services [email protected] Director of Web Operations Marlin Mowatt Capossela, corporate vice president, If you’re going to the show, keep an eye [email protected] Information Worker Product Management out for RCP ’s editors. We’d love to meet you Director, Print Production Mary Ann Paniccia [email protected] Group. Look to Capossela for tips on in person and hear what we can do for you. Controller Janice Ryan building solutions that connect Office desk- Stop by our booth (#1220) to let us know [email protected] Director of Finance Paul Weinberger tops into server-side software. what you think of the magazine and how [email protected] Microsoft is also lining up executives to we can help you strengthen your business. Chairman of the Board Jeffrey S. Klein [email protected] give partners the skinny on other future tech- In a recent reader survey, only 3 percent of nologies, such as Exchange Server 2007 and our respondents indicated they’d attended Redmond Channel Partner The opinions expressed within the articles and other contents herein Longhorn Server. The event will feature the WWPC in 2005. If you can’t make it do not necessarily express those of the publisher. Postmaster: Send address changes to recaps on the SQL Server 2005 value propo- this year, be sure to check our Web site Redmond Channel Partner, P.O. Box 2166, Skokie, IL 60076 sition and more detail about turning (RCPmag.com) throughout the conference Microsoft Dynamics into partner revenues. for articles and blog entries about all the Outside the big ballrooms, smaller sessions major developments from the show. • BPA Worldwide Membership Applied forMarch 2006 ILLUSTRATION BY CHAN ILLUSTRATION LILLIAN

2 REDMOND CHANNEL PARTNER JULY 2006 RCPmag.com Project3 5/9/06 9:37 AM Page 1

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Tell us aboutwhatled up to the switch and why you were eagerto make it. ** I’ve been itching for about the last year to become Q + A more customer-facing. As I think about the amount of technology innovation that we have in the market today, and will have over the next 12 to Exit Interview 18 months, it’s unprecedented in my 22-year career in the software business. A Q&A with outgoing U.S. Partner VP Margo Day. By Scott Bekker Vista and Office are going to absolutely reset the technology platform for our customers. [And with This month, Margo Day and Robert Deshaies swap responsibilities. the rich integration now of Microsoft’s desktop Day, who has run the U.S. Partner Group for five years, will become and server products,] the kinds of solutions and applications and the uptake of our technology a regional vice president for the Small and Midmarket Solutions & platform will be tremendous. Partners (SMS&P) organization in the United States. Stepping into I wanted to be out on the front lines talking with customers and partners on what this wave Day’s job is Deshaies, who has been a regional vice president for of technology innovations is really all about and SMS&P. Both will continue to report to the same boss (see “The what the direct business benefit will be to a SMS&P Org Chart Shuffle,” p. 6). customer’s business. T That [idea] was so appealing to me that I started Redmond Channel Partner spoke with Day, who will now assume a discussions with the management team here at more customer-facing role, about her long run as the public face of the Microsoft on my next role. U.S. channel and her view of the future for partners. Setthe stage forus aboutthe state ofthe U.S. MicrosoftPartnerProgram when you started in this “The biggestchallenge job. (Day became general managerin the spring of 2001 and vice presidentin May 2003.) is how we help partners, Our partner satisfaction was eroding. I think that partners had lost their connection with and subsequently Microsoft. They didn’t necessarily feel like they customers, consume were part of Microsoft. I would say that partners felt like we had the amount of innovation become very enterprise-customer focused, and in we’re putting in the that regard, very direct-selling focused. That’s the scenario essentially that I walked into about five marketplace.”— Margo Day years ago. [CEO] Steve Ballmer and [Chief Software Architect] Bill Gates wanted to reinvest very significantly because partners need to be part of the overall fabric of the way that Microsoft does business. And so we began a series of very significant series of investments over the last five years. Now when you fast-forward, if you look at VisitourWeb site fora longerversion ofthis interview, with additional questions and more detailed answers to questions marked with **. FindIT code: ExitDay our registered partners, if you look at our

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Michael Park » VP, SMS&P, U.S. The SMS&P Org Chart Shuffle Responsible for small and midmarket business customers, broad Microsoft recently rearranged top executives in its Small & Midmarket Solutions & Partners customer connection, and the partner (SMS&P) Group as a career development move to give executives, especially Margo Day channel in the United States. and Robert Deshaies, experience in different roles. The changes are effective July 1.

* formerly VP, SMS&P, East Region ** formerly VP, U.S. Partner Group *** formerly VP, SMS&P, Microsoft Canada Co.

Lane Sorgen Robert Deshaies* Margo Day** Dave Willis*** » VP, SMS&P, Central Region » VP, U.S. Partner Group » VP, SMS&P, Western Region » VP, SMS&P, East Region

reselling partners, the certified partners, SQL Server 2000, Exchange 2000 or are the product technology and what are the the ISV partners—across the board, part- Exchange 5.5. technology underpinnings that all of that ner satisfaction is at its highest level ever. So I think the biggest challenge is why this takes. That’s going to be big. it’s been a very rewarding ride. refresh from a technology-platform per- Can we do it? Yup. spective makes such sense for everybody’s Whatare you personally proudestoffrom your business. And to be able to talk about that in Microsoftis making some moves into software time in this job? Is itthe partnersatisfaction a construct that’s not just product- as a service. Any advice to partners on how increase? ** and feature- and function-related, [but], they can steerclose to Microsoftwithoutgetting Yes. I’ll tell you what I’m also very humbled more importantly, in a discussion that drives in trouble with any potential changes in the by: the trust that the partners have business value. And I think that’s the whole business approach? expressed. They will say, ‘I trust Margo.’ For underpinning of our “People-Ready” busi- Software as a service, managed services— me, trust is one of those things [where] it ness vision that we have in the marketplace. [those terms] mean a lot of different things doesn’t get any better than that (laughs). [See Margo’s final column on p. 16.] to a lot of different people. The first thing What it says is that people view you as that we’re working on is to provide a better having a tremendous amount of integrity. Whatare the biggestopportunities? degree of clarity and definition on what all You do what you say what you say you’re [The innovation wave is] a very significant that means to Microsoft. And we’ll be talk- going to do. You listen and you engage. opportunity. So many of our partners still ing about some of that at our Worldwide Trust is hard-earned, but when you earn are in the 1990s way of doing business: Partner Conference, so that people know at it, it’s something, obviously, that you need to speeds, feeds, reselling of products. They’re a more detailed level, what that means to regard as incredibly precious. That’s what not [involved] in the rich business solutions Microsoft. We want to be very transparent humbles me the most. that can be talked to about customers. That with our partner channel on where we’re takes a change in business model, it takes a going and then subsequently where their Whatare the biggestchallenges you see change in the people that you hire that are areas of opportunity are. ahead forpartners and foryoursuccessor, the sellers, it takes a change in the consult- So the way that they stay close with us RobertDeshaies?** ants that you have. would be in things like attending the The biggest challenge is how we help part- I do believe that the VAR channel is going Worldwide Partner Conference. To leverage ners, and then subsequently customers, through that evolution right now—it’s a bit the Microsoft.com/partner portal because consume the amount of innovation we’re painful. So it’s a very significant challenge for we use that as a communication mecha- putting in the marketplace. Think about the us to become involved in helping those part- nism. If they attend quarterly partner brief- customer adoption lifecycle for just a sec- ners evolve their business models, and then ings that we have in our field. This will be ond. There are hundreds of thousands of at the same time, give them the skills and the one of the topics that we’ll address once we customers still on Office 98. There are more tools to be able to talk to their customers in a have our strategy laid out so that we’re very customers than you could shake a stick at “People-Ready” construct. And then subse- transparent with partners about where that are on Windows 2000, Office 2000, quently [helping them understand] what we’re going. •

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PARTNER SPOTLIGHT Reaching for the Stars With its new job-applicant tracking solution, Bond International Software is making its first channel play. By Lee Pender

Timothy Giehll fervently hopesthat all the doomsday predictions come true. Because if the shortage of educated workers that experts have long pre- dicted does hit—or is already hitting—corporate America, the company he works for, Bond International Software, might just have found a niche that will be profitable for years to come. To stake a claim to that specialty area, Bond is unveiling a new division, of which Giehll is CEO, and a new product during Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference in Boston this month. The new division, StarSearcher, offers a product called StarSearcherATS, or Applicant Tracking System, which automates the processes that recruiting firms and corporate HR departments use to locate and lure job candidates.

“We looked at the effectiveness of the Microsoft channel and the fact that our solution was based on Microsoft technology, and it made sense for us to develop the channel for it.” — Tim Giehll, CEO, StarSearcher PHOTO BYPHOTO JOE TRELEVEN

8 REDMOND CHANNEL PARTNER JULY 2006 RCPmag.com Project1 6/7/06 9:24 AM Page 1

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ChannelReport

MANAGING A SCARCE RESOURCE domestic hiring-process automation mar- With the U.S. economy set to create far more ket—into which StarSearcherATS falls—at jobs than there will be workers to fill them, $750 million this year. Rowan expects that recruiting is about to become more impor- Bond number to nearly double over the next three tant—and more challenging—than ever, years, reaching $1.6 billion by 2009. especially for smaller companies and recruit- International “It’s a pretty strong growth area,” Rowan ing firms, Giehll says. That’s where he sees an says of applicant tracking for SMBs, although opportunity. He’s well aware of the U.S. Labor Software she warns that StarSearcher won’t be staking Department’s statistics that say that, with the a claim to uncharted territory. iCIMS Inc., in Headquarters: Goring, England, first wave of Baby Boomers reaching retire- Hazlet, N.J., and HRSmart Inc., of Richardson, United Kingdom ment age during a period of projected eco- Texas, among others, are already players in nomic growth, American companies will have President: Steve Russell the SMB space. nearly 55 million jobs to fill by 2014. And Founded: 1973 Still, it isn’t a crowded market. Judy with far fewer members of the younger Sweeney, research director at Boston-based Line ofBusiness: Software for the global “Generation X” following those retiring Baby staffing and corporate recruiting industries AMR Research Inc., says SMBs—especially Boomers, there’s likely to be a serious shortfall small recruiting firms—are underserved for MicrosoftPartnerProgram Level: in the numbers of people available for all those applicant-tracking systems. “There aren’t a Gold Certified open positions. That means that companies— lot of packaged solutions for those recruiters and the firms that find employees for them— MicrosoftCompetencies: Microsoft on the market today,” Sweeney says. will have to work harder and more efficiently Dynamics and ISV/Software Solutions than ever to get the right people into the right Annual Revenue: $26.2 million in 2005 FIRST-TIME CHANNEL PLAY jobs for the right price. Giehll hopes his new division will experience Growth Rate: 45 percent, 2004 to 2005 Although large corporations have been success similar to that of the other Bond divi- investing in applicant-tracking systems for a Employees: 200+ sion he heads. He became CEO of eEmpACT, few years, many small and midsize business CustomerBase: Small, midsize and large a Bloomington, Minn.-based, then-inde- (SMBs) and recruiting firms still use paper- global staffing firms and corporate pendent maker of staffing software, in 1998. based systems. In fact, in a recent Bond survey recruiting departments eEmpACT’s growth was slow prior to Giehll’s of 180 Microsoft partners, 80 percent report- Clients: Manpower Inc., KellyServices Inc., arrival, but the company has rocketed from ed that their customers are still using paper- Randstad Holding nv, TACWorldwide $1 million to $5 million in annual revenues based methods to track job applications. Companies, easyJet Airline Company Ltd. over the last five years. In February 2005, Giehll believes that this traditional method www.bond.co.uk Giehll agreed to merge eEmpACT with Bond, of record keeping won’t be sufficient in the a U.K.-based HR software vendor; eEmpACT, years to come, and that smaller companies like StarSearcher, is now a division of the will have to automate to remain competitive. British company. Giehll is CEO of both divi- For that reason, StarSearcherATS will primarily target smaller compa- sions, and both divisions’ products carry the Bond name. nies with fewer than 500 employees as well as recruiting firms. StarSearcher, however, won’t be sold as an integrated application “Many of the applicant-tracking technologies that bigger companies with the eEmpACT product, which includes some overlapping features use haven’t filtered down [to smaller businesses] yet,” Giehll says. In but also offers functionality for timesheets, invoicing and payroll. his view, companies serious about winning employment wars need to That’s because Giehll and Bond are charting a new course with the make talent management as high a priority as financial management. StarSearcher division—one that leads directly to the Microsoft sales channel. Bond, itself a Gold Certified Partner, has always been a AN EARLYARRIVAL ON THE SCENE direct-sales company. (eEmpACT was, too, as an independent com- Analysts agree that there’s money to be made by selling applicant- pany and still is as a division of Bond.) tracking systems to SMBs. Lisa Rowan, program manager for human But Microsoft channel partners, and only Microsoft channel part- resources management and staffing at International Data Corp., the ners, will sell StarSearcherATS. Giehll is building a network, con- Framingham, Mass.-based IT research company, estimates the sisting of primarily Gold Certified Partners, to take the new product

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ChannelReport

to market. His new division studied 12 partner programs from inde- underneath them by selling directly into StarSearcher accounts. Bond pendent software vendors and brought the best practices of each has gone as far as giving StarSearcherATS a completely different look into the StarSearcher partner model. and feel from the eEmpACT product: The interfaces of the products are Going the channel route made sense for StarSearcher given how different, and the applications don’t interface with each other. quickly potential customers are likely to need an ATS, Giehll says. There Giehll believes that the partner channel will provide StarSearcher was further synergy in the fact that StarSearcher plans to integrate the with an advantage over its competitors—many of whom only offer ATS product with the HR modules in Microsoft’s Dynamics ERP suites, hosted models of their applications, and most of whom don’t sell with the first basic integration available by the end of 2006. The new through the channel—because customers will be able to get their product also integrates with SQL Server, Outlook and Office. applicant-tracking solutions from Microsoft partners they already “We knew that for us to go and build from scratch a global sales force know rather than through direct sales from a separate vendor. would just take too long,” Giehll says. “We looked at the effectiveness of “In the end, these companies don’t want all these different systems— the Microsoft channel and the fact that our solution was based on they want integrated systems,” Giehll says. “They want to be able to go Microsoft technology, and it made sense for us to develop the channel to one single partner.” for it. That allows us to get that product out there for a lot of people right StarSearcher’s pitch to partners is clear. Ultimately, Giehll says, when they’re going to need it. These businesses don’t have four or five each of those partners faces the following choice: “Either I stand on the years to figure this out; they’re going to feel the pain [now].” sidelines and let that money go to all those direct-sales teams, or I get involved and make sure all that money is coming my way.” • THE PITCH TO PARTNERS Although StarSearcherATS represents the company’s first channel Lee Pender ([email protected]) is senior editor of Redmond play, Giehll says that the new division won’t cut partners’ legs out from Channel Partner magazine.

ANATOMY OF THE DEAL EMC Buys Interlink, May 11, 2006 By Lee Pender

firm InternosisInc., ofGreenbelt, Md., and cre- lished an operation on the West Coast with the ated the EMCMicrosoft Practice within the Interlinkpurchase, Pavone said, adding that TechnologySolutionsdivision. this will likelynot be the company’s last acquisition in the Microsoft services space. THE DEAL Interlink’sserviceswill be marketed and sold In May, EMCfurther boosted itsMicrosoft Practice through Interlink’sexisting team aswell as with the acquisition ofprivatelyheld services through EMC’sNorth American saleschannelsand firm InterlinkGroup Inc., ofEnglewood, Colo., a businesspartners. Pavone saysthat he doesn’t Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. expect the acquisition to negativelyaffect rela- Interlinkwill add about 180 employeesto a tionshipswith other existing servicespartners. Microsoft practice that now boastsmore than THE PARTNER 400 servicesprofessionals, saysTodd Pavone, THE ORGANIZATION EMCCorp. isa leader in vice president ofglobal solutionsat EMC. EMC Interlinkbecomespart ofEMC’sMicrosoft information management and did not disclose financial termsofthe deal. Practice. Bart Hammond, former InterlinkCEO, storage. Thisyear, the Hopkinton, becomessenior director for EMC’sMicrosoft Mass.-based companyhasbeen bulking up EMC THE STRATEGY Practice for the West. Hammond sayshe expects TechnologySolutions, itsprofessional services EMCcovered services on the East Coast with its EMC’spurchase to allow hisorganization to get organization. In January, EMCbought services acquisition ofInternosis and now has estab- into marketsmore quickly. • ILLUSTRATION BYILLUSTRATION JEREMY ZSCHAU

12 REDMOND CHANNEL PARTNER JULY 2006 RCPmag.com Project1 6/8/06 11:04 AM Page 1

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the partner view

The Value of Reseller BY JIM AIRDO Training Centers

eciding to develop a customer-training centeris a big step for any reseller. When executives consider opening such centers, they first see expenses: They need dedicated trainers, Vendors typically invest marketing resources and use their sales data- well-equipped facilities and the ability to offer a set of bases to augment such efforts. Meanwhile, your sales team can capital- comprehensive courses. Operating a center requires an ize on cross selling, creating another avenue for increased revenue. Dongoing commitment to updating courses, improving the facility 5. Increased CustomerLoyalty. Customers tend to feel more loyal to integrators that not only sell products, but provide education and and recruiting customers to fill seats. deep expertise about how to best use them. However, establishing a training center can be among the most One of our resellers, DynTek Inc., has capitalized on the advan- rewarding decisions that resellers make. The effort starts with iden- tages of creating an authorized training center. That’s partly because tifying products that are either vitally important to many customers DynTek avoided some common mistakes that resellers make in under- or are in demand in the vertical markets taking such initiatives. DynTek wasted no your company serves. Often, such prod- time after preparing its trainers for class- ucts are critical for closing engagements Despite the work involved es; it held its first class on the day its center with new clients. Once you identify those in getting a training center opened. (Generally, we recommend that solutions, creating a training center will resellers hold their first class within 30 allow you to offer classes on that vendor’s up and running, the rate of days of the training’s completion.) DynTek technology to customers, prospects and return on investment can also picked a trainer with real-world expe- other consultants. rience with ScriptLogic’s products. Despite the work involved in getting be extremely high. We returned the favor by introduc- a training center up and running, the rate ing DynTek to some of our existing cus- of return on investment can be extremely high. Here are five com- tomers and by providing marketing muscle to fill the training center’s pelling reasons in favor of launching such a facility: seats. For instance, our marketing team creates monthly promotion- 1. Competitive Advantage. A training center gives you a unique al mailers advertising new classes being offered at our reseller part- selling point, proving to prospects that you’ve got advanced expert- ners’ facilities. As a result of launching its training center, DynTek has ise in the products on which you’re training customers. gained customers who weren’t previously aware that DynTek is a full- 2. Increased ProductKnowledge. Having specialized trainers in- service integrator. Training also allows the company to provide a house will also spread product expertise to your sales force. In fact, complete solution for its customers. the “IQ” on a given product should rise across the organization. Ultimately, opening a training center is an ideal way to add sig- 3. Increased Revenue. You may be able to resell your training cur- nificant value to the products and services you provide. • riculum to your customers. In addition, training center students are often prospective clients who will purchase additional services and Jim Airdo is director of worldwide systems engineering and training at products after completing the class. ScriptLogic Corp.(www.scriptlogic.com/education), a Microsoft Gold 4. Augmented Customer Database. When you offer training for a Certified Partner based in Boca Raton, Fla., that provides network particular product, you can expect the vendor help you fill your classes. administration software for Windows-based networks. PORTRAIT BY SCHNARE JILLIAN

14 REDMOND CHANNEL PARTNER JULY 2006 RCPmag.com Project1 6/8/06 10:58 AM Page 1

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the microsoft view

Power to the BY MARGO DAY People

fyou’re reading these words, you appreciate the significant role technology, affiliated services and expertise play in business success. While I share that passionate belief in the importance of Over the past five years, we’ve invested billions of dollars annu- technology, there’s another component that’s even more critical ally in software research and development. As a result, we will bring to any company’s success: its people. more innovation, including Windows Vista and Office 2007, to mar- I When people are empowered, they discover and decide. People ket in the next 18 months than we have in all of Microsoft’s history. drive innovation and build meaningful connections. People are what make or break a deal or a customer relationship or a business. Getting There Together Individuals and teams rallying around goals are what drive innova- All of us at Microsoft look forward to working with you to bring these tion and results. In that spirit, everything we’re doing at Microsoft solutions to life. To support you, we’ve developed customer cam- and throughout our network of business partners is about empower- paigns that can help you reach new prospects and better serve your ing people, the differentiating factor in every business. existing customers. Our partners put the power of this concept in our customers’ The enterprise and midmarket campaigns for the coming year hands. Your skills and expertise enable them to achieve their goals will be geared to decision makers by role. Campaigns for business faster through innovative technology solutions. decision makers are designed to address their needs by solution So at Microsoft, we’re measuring the software we’re developing areas, such as building customer connections, enabling a mobile against some pretty tough standards—all of which have people at their workforce and improving business insight or compliance. For IT core. Software needs to help develop customer relationships, both decision makers, campaigns are focused on application platform internally and externally. With businesses forced to do more with less, infrastructure and optimizing both core and information worker software should play a role in improving operations. infrastructures. Software can also facilitate more meaningful insights. Most peo- Also, if you target the increasingly lucrative small-business mar- ple have more information at their fingertips today than they can possi- ket, you can take advantage of campaigns designed to demonstrate bly manage. For the last 20 years businesses have been focused on get- how Microsoft technology, together with your expertise, enables ting information into systems. Now, thanks to the Internet, we can help small businesses to run more efficiently and create tighter links with customers get the rightinformation out of systems and into the hands customers. These marketing programs include a suite of case stud- and minds to the people who need it. ies, product demos, how-to guides and incentives. We have an exciting year ahead of us. I urge you to take advan- Why Microsoft? tage of the campaigns, tools and resources that will work best for your As organizations renew their focus on their people, Microsoft is company. Together, we can help businesses off all sizes realize the full uniquely positioned to help. Together with the world’s most diverse benefit of their most valuable asset: their people. • and expert partner network, we deliver software and services that are familiar and easy to use. Consider Microsoft Office, used by 400 Margo L. Day, vice president of the U.S. Partner Group at Microsoft, million people worldwide. The familiarity of Office makes it easier this month becomes Regional Vice President, West Region, Microsoft for customers to integrate and connect new solutions with what Small and Midmarket Solutions and Partners. [Read the article on they’re already using. partner organization changes, “Exit Interview,” p. 4—Ed.] PORTRAIT BY SCHNARE JILLIAN

16 REDMOND CHANNEL PARTNER JULY 2006 RCPmag.com Project1 6/8/06 10:51 AM Page 1

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SPECIAL REPORT | World’s Biggest Brand

It’s a gift, mostly, but also a responsibility. Microsoft hands its partners what experts call the most valuable brand in the world. In this package of articles, Redmond Channel Partner magazine editors explore what makes the Microsoft brand so strong, what responsibilities Microsoft places on its partners to protect that brand value, and how partners handle cases where the brand’s baggage outweighs its benefits.

The Importance of Being Microsoft 21 The Two Faces of the Microsoft Brand 25 Dealing with Microsoft Haters 31

RCPmag.com JULY 2006 REDMOND CHANNEL PARTNER 19 Project1 6/8/06 10:45 AM Page 1

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FEATURE | Being Microsoft

The Importance of Being Microsoft Microsoft isn’t just the world’s most powerful software company. It’s also the world’s biggest brand. Here’s why—and what that means to partners. By Lee Pender

oca-Cola. GE. McDonald’s. … For partners, the power that comes with being asso- CThey are icons of American consumerism, not to men- ciated with the Microsoft name can be hugely advanta- tion American culture—decades-old brands that have geous. It can also produce negative consequences. Representing the Microsoft brand means carrying a lot become household names for people all over the world. of responsibility; partners, ultimately, play a critical Nike. UPS. Ford. … role in keeping the brand strong. Their corporate owners have spent billions of dollars to How Microsoft Got To Be No. 1 ensure that these magic words give you the right impres- Back in 1975, when a little software company then sion, the right feeling, when you see or hear them. You located in Albuquerque, N.M., began its quest for— quite literally—world domination, nobody knew who think fun, reliability, longevity, strength; most of the time, Microsoft was. How has the pride of Redmond gone you think what the brand’s imagemaker wants you to from anonymity to fame in such a relatively short peri- think. You have an emotional, almost subconscious reac- od of time? The world-domination thing has helped. It’s hard to tion to these symbols every time you encounter them. say whether Microsoft’s strong brand recognition played Budweiser. Disney. Rolex. … a role in its becoming the global technology giant, or whether its position as the runaway leader in the soft- They’re all giants, all carefully crafted and main- ware industry solidified its brand’s spot as most powerful tained, all immediately recognizable. But there is one in the world. name that stands out above them all, one mark that has “There’s a little bit of chicken and egg there,” says Ove Haxthausen, director of Millward Brown Optimor, risen in a relatively short amount of time to be what some the global brand valuation unit of Naperville, Ill.-based experts call the most powerful brand in the world. marketing research firm Millward Brown. In any case, Microsoft’s desktop ubiquity has been Microsoft. critical to its brand’s success, experts say. In April, That’s right. Not only does Microsoft dominate the Millward Brown Optimor ranked Microsoft No. 1 in its technology industry, it also dominates the glitz-and-glit- BRANDZ Top 100 ranking of the world’s most powerful brands. The firm estimates the value of the Microsoft ter, high-dollar world of branding and brand recognition. brand at more than $62 billion, outpacing GE ($56 bil- It’s bigger than anything the beer companies, the car lion) and Coca-Cola ($41 billion), and leaving competi- makers, the clothing giants or any other massive corpo- tors Google ($37 billion), IBM ($36 billion) and Apple ($16 billion) in its digital dust. rate advertiser has thrown at us. Microsoft is the world’s “The ultimate power of Microsoft is its leading posi- biggest brand. tion,” says Jack Trout, president of Trout & Partners Ltd.,

RCPmag.com JULY 2006 REDMOND CHANNEL PARTNER 21 0706rcp_F1Branding_21-24.v9 6/9/06 8:30 AM Page 22

FEATURE | Being Microsoft

a consulting firm based in Old Greenwich, Conn., that specializes in strategic positioning. Trout is also co-author, with Al Ries, of the seminal marketing book “Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind.” “When you have the leading brand, it gives you an enormous edge on your competi- Gates: tors. Leadership is probably the most powerful differen- tiator in the marketplace.” From Goat to Hero The Microsoft brand has also surged in value as the technology industry as a whole has gained more recognition over Almost10 years ago, in the throesofa lawsuit bythe U.S. Department of the last two-and-a-half decades thanks to the rise of the per- Justice, Microsoft Chairman and ChiefSoftware Architect Bill Gateshad, at sonal computer and the Internet. Google and IBM sit at No. 7 best, a fractured image. Seen bysome asa persecuted capitalist and others and No. 8, respectively, in Millward Brown’s list. In what is asthe head ofan evil empire, Gateshardlygot a hero’streatment from the perhaps a sign of things to come, China Mobile is No. 4. mainstream press. Nokia, Intel, Vodafone and Cisco all rank in the top 20, with Last year, he and hiswife, Melinda, appeared on the cover ofTime HP and Dell not far behind. By contrast, long-established magazine—but not because ofa lawsuit or scandal. Theyappeared with brands such as Ford (No. 37) and Budweiser (No. 46) from Bono, mercurial lead singer ofthe legendaryband U2, asPersonsofthe big-spending companies trail their technology counterparts. Year, recognized for the charityworkthat hasmade Bill Gatesthe world’s “Computers have become household products,” largest single contributor to good causes. Magazinesfrom Time to The Haxthausen says. “If you have a computer in your house, Economist have penned storiesofGates’ generosity. most likely it has Microsoft [software]. There’s a scale You might thinkthat Gates’ image asgood guyshould help Microsoft’s effect there that happens.” image. Brand expert Ove Haxthausen, ofmarket research firm Millward Never Ignored, Not Always Loved Brown Optimor, agrees. But Redmond having the world’s most powerful brand “Certainlyone would expect a founder like Bill Gatesto be part ofthe doesn’t mean that images of Microsoft are universally posi- brand imagery,” he says. “I thinka lot ofITcompanieshave veryiconiclead- tive. Millward Brown rates Microsoft’s “connection” with ers, and I thinkthat that doesplaya role.” consumers as a three—right in the middle of a scale of five. But partnersaren’t so sure. In a Redmond Channel Partner reader sur- Luxury brands—think Porsche and Louis Vuitton—usually veyconducted in May, most partnersdoubted whether Gates’ improved dominate that category. A three rating for Microsoft, in per- image reallyhelped them much in representing the Microsoft brand, spective, isn’t too bad. although manyhad good thingsto sayabout the charitable workhe has “Relative to other technology companies that we’ve done. In anycase, in an era ofCEO trialsand corporate scandals, it can’t looked at, it’s actually pretty high,” Haxthausen says. Again, hurt to have Gatesappearing on the cover ofTimefor good reasons. — L.P. a lack of serious competition helps. “Microsoft connects more strongly than IBM or Dell, which certainly makes sense in the consumer business where there’s a lot of competition on the hardware side and messaging on price.” “The products are far more valuable and feature-rich than the The results of a Redmond Channel Partner magazine reader survey [needs of] the people who are using them,” says Steven Lindner, CEO conducted in May, though, showed that there are still plenty of nega- of Steven Lindner Holdings LLC, a Microsoft Registered Member tive impressions of Microsoft among the company’s customers. Most based in Wynnewood, Pa. Lindner relates that when he visits small or respondents said that they still encounter old-fashioned Microsoft midsize companies, he tries to explain his concerns about customers’ “haters” among their clients (see “Dealing with Microsoft Haters,” p. infrastructure or compliance. He regularly meets with suspicion 31). The generic hater, however, is something of a dying breed. about how much value Microsoft really brings to smaller businesses: Criticism of Microsoft now focuses less on its industry dominance, “They’re not seeing it as a true opportunity to help their business. and more on specific issues surrounding security and pricing. They’re seeing it as an opportunity [for us] to make more money on Concerns about security top the list of reasons to not like the the Microsoft brand.” software giant, according to survey results. Many customers see And most customers still don’t have many alternatives. While Microsoft applications as a popular target for hackers and doubt some respondents mentioned open source technologies as a Redmond’s ability to deal with those threats, responses indicated. threat to Microsoft’s dominance, most indicated that the open Pricing is also an issue, namely because many customers see source model has failed to make a strong impression on their cus- Microsoft applications as being too expensive and doing much more tomers. For operating systems and office suites, among other than what they need. Complicated licensing schemes don’t help. applications, the “Microsoft or nothing” perception lingers.

22 REDMOND CHANNEL PARTNER JULY 2006 RCPmag.com Project1 4/10/06 9:32 AM Page 1

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FEATURE | Being Microsoft

“Because it has such a strong position in the market, there’s an advantage to be selling

Microsoft’s products.” — Ove Haxthausen, Director, Millward Brown Optimor

Getting Better All the Time “Because it has such a strong position in the market, there’s an Then again, maybe that’s not altogether a bad thing for the advantage to be selling Microsoft’s products,” Haxthausen says. “A Microsoft brand. Trout says that industry leadership can lead not brand is an identity and a reputation. The identity is certainly just to recognition, but to respect. there, but the reputation has to do with how [resellers] deliver on “Once people have a strong perception of your [Microsoft’s] lead- the promise.” ership and what you’ve accomplished, they’ll respect you,” he says. Providing honest sales and service are a given, but there are Despite some lingering negative feelings, survey responses indi- other ways in which partners can do their part to improve Microsoft’s cated that impressions of the brand are becoming progressively more image. Playing off of Microsoft’s image as industry leader is critical, positive. One reason is that Microsoft has helped its own cause— Trout says. Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Office 2003 impressed cus- “Partners can take advantage of that [leadership position],” he tomers as stable releases. Plus, according to some partners, the com- says. “Why did they partner with Microsoft? Because it is the leader. pany’s pitch to small and midsize businesses is working. That’s exactly what they should say to their customers and prospects.” “The company’s done a very good job at adapting their business Partners can also embrace Microsoft’s complexity in reaching out model and supporting the small-business segment,” says Peter Ells, to customers. Rodriguez says he often diffuses common concerns director of Microsoft business development and VARassist at about security and pricing by explaining to customers that the com- SoftwareONE Inc., a New Berlin, Wis.-based Microsoft Large Account plexities of supporting Microsoft products—which can involve seem- Reseller, Enterprise Software Advisor and Gold Certified Partner. ingly constant updates—really translate into advantages for users “I’ve seen a ton of improvement in Microsoft’s dedication to that and value for money. segment, especially in the last fiscal year.” “I’ll try to educate them about how Microsoft is supplying them And Sol Rodriguez, director of IT at Schambach and Associates, a with updates constantly in order to protect them,” he says. “These Whittier, Calif.-based Registered Member, says that Microsoft bene- are good things that are there to improve their security and their fits from the inroads its brand has made with average consumers, functionality. I try to use it as an advantage.” who can also be business customers and who often attribute advances in technology to Microsoft—whether the company has had Good Times Ahead anything to do with them or not. Some of his customers even attrib- Millward Brown Optimor gives Microsoft a “brand voltage” score— ute high-bandwidth Internet connections to Microsoft. an indictor of how likely the brand is to gain market share—an “All the things they’re using their computers for in general are impressive eight out of 10. That means partners will have the oppor- becoming more user friendly, more powerful, more exciting,” tunity going forward to continue to both profit from and help build Rodriguez explains. “They equate it all as being Microsoft-backed. the Microsoft name. They can watch videos online and e-mail their pictures to their fami- “In the past, Microsoft has shown the ability to move within the lies and use a lot of the services offered. Everything seems better.” market,” Haxthausen says. For his part, Rodriguez intends to make sure that IT perception You Are the Brand of the Microsoft name keeps moving upward. And everything can continue to get better for partners who know how “It’s going to be really hard for competitors to take away major mar- to handle the power of the brand. Partners can put Redmond’s power- ket share for a long time,” he says. “I’m placing my bets with Microsoft.” ful name to work for them, but they need to work to improve its image, Right now, that gamble is as safe as it has ever been. • too. As Microsoft’s sales and support force, channel partners play a large role in setting Lee Pender ([email protected]) is senior Visit RCPmag.com for more about Millward perceptions of the software giant. And they editor for Redmond Channel Partner maga- Brown’s brand rankings, including its ranking of shouldn’t be afraid to talk about just how the world’s top brands. FindIT code: MSBrand zine. Additional reporting by Executive Editor big and powerful Microsoft is. Anne Stuart (astuart@rcpmag .com).

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SPECIAL REPORT | World’s Biggest Brand

With a great brand name comes great partner

responsibility. Everyone by now has heard of Microsoft. Children want to be Bill By Doug Gates, or at the very least meet the man and hit him up for money. Consumers understand Windows, Office and Xbox, and every IT Barney pro worth his salt knows the whole dang lineup. So as a partner walking into a client site, you don’t exactly have to explain what Microsoft is. In most cases that’s a good thing. Like IBM in the old days, no one gets fired for buying Microsoft. Research firm Millward Brown, which ranks brands on their economic value, places Microsoft ahead of GE and Coca-Cola as the world’s most valuable brand, worth an estimated $62 billion (Google is eighth at $37 billion). The ranking included customers’

ILLUSTRATION BYILLUSTRATION SANYA HYLAND views of the brand and what this means for future growth.

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FEATURE | Brand Considerations

This means that the Microsoft brand helps generate its own sales Microsoft delivers and the value and distinct position of each of by predisposing customers to buy. Part of this is reputation, and much those brands and products,” says Karl Isaac, director, brand and is driven by Redmond’s incessant, powerful and expensive marketing. marketing strategy, Microsoft Dynamics, who works in a central As a partner you are representing this powerful brand, and its marketing group. “We are a centralized organization of discipline sub-brands, and Microsoft wants you to treat those brands right. experts; we do packaging, research, branding and advertising.” Unfortunately, there are not a lot of formal programs from Microsoft As part of this effort, Microsoft gives a lot of help in representing that teach about the brand. Nor does Microsoft train partners on the brand in the form of logos, templates and a wealth of marketing how to deal with competitive brands. What it has instead are a gag- materials, even in the absence of much formal training. But there gle of guidelines and a load of logos for the main brand, as well as are also serious restrictions and style guides you must follow to the sub-brands like Microsoft Dynamics, Windows XP, SQL Server, Xbox letter. While there is plenty of general advice, some is so specific and more. And as for competitors, Microsoft spends more of its time you’d think it was written by a copy editor, including grammatical helping partners position its products feature-by-feature and bene- advice this editor struggled a bit to understand. fit-by-benefit against alternative tools—rather than squaring up Microsoft has invested countless billions in brand building and, put against the brands themselves. simply, it doesn’t want you screwing it up. Trademarks are one legal way of protecting the brand. Enforcing trademarks through strict rules is another. One thing Redmond is seeking is consistency. It’s terrific for you to extend its brand(s), but this must be consistent with how The amount of customized logos that Microsoft itself treats the brands. have been downloaded. New logos include Microsoft Partner Award, The authors of the book “Partnering with Microsoft,” Ted Dinsmore > 42,000 Authorized Distributor and Small and Edward O’Connor, see Microsoft as the overall driverof the brand, Business Specialist. and partners as the ones that extend the brand by applyingit. Partners Figures “translate the benefits of its [Microsoft’s] branded solutions to select Number of partners achieving customers and select industries,” the authors argue. Microsoft Certified, Gold Certified or

and >30,000 Small Business Specialist status, qualifying them to use the logos. Co-Branding Many partners, including ISVs, do co-branding, mixing their identity with that of Microsoft. One way this is done is through custom Customers that would be “positively influenced” by either Microsoft logos that show just what kind of partner you are, such as a Gold Facts Facts Certified or Gold Certified Partner Certified Partner or Small Business Specialist. 89 status according to a recent “As a member of the Microsoft Partner Program, partners are Microsoft survey. percent able to use a set of logos in partner-branded materials. The Partner Logo Builder enables partners to quickly create unique logos that display the Gold Certified Partner or Certified Partner logo paired Brand Managers with achieved Microsoft competencies,” says Nicole von Kaenel, Brand managers provide an important function at Microsoft. group manager for To-Partner Marketing. “Customized logos can Here’s how Heather Hamilton, a marketer and Microsoft blogger, help promote your unique and valuable skill set to customers who describes the role of brand manager: “This is another tricky title, are looking for a particular type of solution. Logos signify that a because many companies out there, specifically consumer-pack- company has a significant level of industry experience providing aged-goods companies, use the terms ‘branding’ or ‘brand manage- services, software or support for Microsoft-based technology. They ment’ in a totally different way. What those companies describe is a indicate to customers that your business is reliable, experienced function similar to what we call product management here. Their and endorsed by Microsoft.” brand managers own product strategy and marketing for a brand of Many are proud to fly the Microsoft flag. “We use the Gold goods or a family of brands. Here at Microsoft, when we talk about [Certified] Partner logo on nearly all printed material, our Web site brand management, we are talking about the folks that manage our and company vehicles. We promote our status with all of our cus- brand identity. This could mean a product brand like Xbox, or tomers. We feel that our partner status conveys higher standards to Microsoft’s corporate brand and all brands in between. So brand- the clients and it has certainly been a beneficial investment,” says ing in this context involves not only the look and feel of our brands David Wertz, president of PC Works Plus, a Gold Certified Partner. (like logos) but also the meaning of the brand in the marketplace.” “Brand is really important to Microsoft because ultimately Proper Brand Treatment that’s what we have; it’s a strategic business asset we have for our Microsoft guidelines, logos and templates are all aimed at making customers to be able to understand the portfolio of products that sure partners treat the brand right. But behaving professionally is

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FEATURE | Brand Considerations

Microsoft is pretty serious about these rules, though executives interviewed by Redmond Channel Partner were reluctant to talk about potential repercussions. Partner Program Logos “The guidelines are meant to be followed, the reason they exist is ultimately to help our customers under- You have to be at least a Registered Member to use logos, there are specific logos for specific partner levels, and these logos can include competencies. stand the value we’re delivering,” says Microsoft’s Logos can be used on Web sites, business cards, collateral, ads, etc. In Isaac. “When you don’t adhere to the guidelines, we risk general, Microsoft branding materials and templates will specify exactly how confusing our customers.” and where they can be used. These can get darn specific, such as not using product names as part of new acronyms, using trademark MASTER BRAND symbols and notices, and even spelling out some rather detailed rules of grammar. “Those guidelines, product Microsoft naming and editorial usage guidelines, they get more granular. We get a lot of requests for specificity,” Isaac MAJOR SUB-BRANDS explains. “And when it comes to acronyms, we don’t see the value in using this acronym when what you are Microsoft Business doing is short-handing something that we put a Solutions (now Dynamics) tremendous amount of effort into developing. Our naming research for Microsoft Dynamics was one of Office the most extensive, qualitative naming-research projects we’ve done. It involved customer input, partner input, and [if] we’re just going to shorten that to an MSN acronym, then we’ve missed the key thing we’re trying to communicate.” Despite the layers of rules, Wertz doesn’t feel con- Visual Studio strained. “I don’t think the guidelines are restrictive at all. After reviewing the guidelines, I felt that they were in place to keep companies from abusing the status or Windows misrepresenting their involvement with Microsoft,” PC Works Plus’ Wertz argues. And while the company is serious about its rules, Windows Server System Microsoft doesn’t necessarily carry a big stick. “The set of Microsoft partners worldwide functions as a community. When partner businesses misrepresent their Xbox qualifications and skills, they’re often reminded by members of their own community,” von Kaenel says. The Early Bird Microsoft starts working early on its logo programs, just as important. “Proper representation of the brand is important even in the code-name stage. For instance, Redmond already has a for two primary audiences—customers and partners. Usage of the logo and branding program for Longhorn, even though the server is Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and Microsoft Certified Partner over a year away and hasn’t yet been given its real name. Based logos indicates to a customer that a partner has met a set of require- loosely on the “Built for Windows XP” logo program, the Longhorn ments to achieve this status. For a customer, it represents a level of program is designed to get partners to sign up early, and build training and expertise they can rely on,” explains Microsoft’s von broad partner support. Like other programs, the Longhorn pro- Kaenel. “Misuse of the logos and brand can potentially mislead cus- gram helps partners tap into Microsoft massive marketing and tomers in their selection of a partner.” sales tools that leverage Longhorn marketing. How massive? “Microsoft does give some strict guidelines on logo usage. [It] also Microsoft is spending a half a billion dollars on its “People-Ready” dictates how we are to convey our companies as Microsoft partners. For initiative alone (for more on Microsoft’s “People-Ready” initiative, instance, we’re not to say we’re ‘partnering’ with Microsoft. This has read Margo Day’s final column for Redmond Channel Partner, been in the form of documentation, not formal training,” says Wertz. “Power to the People,” p. 16).

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FEATURE | Brand Considerations

Freedom to Improvise Mike Torre, vice president and creative director for iPrimate, a Toronto- based creative marketing agency, built a Web site for consumers in Microsoft has invested Canada. “Over the years, we’ve been briefed on the Microsoft brand more than once. My opinion is that the brand has come a long way, in terms of style, without losing sight of its core brand proposition to countless billions in users.” Torre’s assessment? “Good stewardship.” As a result of his work, Torre is an expert in the Microsoft brand. brand building and, put “The Microsoft creative director came to Toronto a couple of years ago to present the new Microsoft brand standards to the subsidiary. In a rather impressive presentation, he walked us through the need simply, it doesn’t want for the Microsoft brand to have a style, like Apple, and what that new ‘expressively human’ style looked at, by way of the Segoe font, colors, images that inspire, use of translucence and so on,” Torre says. “He you screwing it up. also outlined the Microsoft brand strategy: which brands are being built and how products and services should be represented. We left with an abbreviated version of the style guide in hand, which later nication to Microsoft Dynamics customers, or prospective customers, translated into a more full-blown version of the identity and related [in that case] it’s around using the asset that we have created for part- assets, like Microsoft’s image bank, to work with.” ners to be able to do that—things like the Microsoft Certified logo, Despite all the guidelines, iPrimate was given the freedom to using box shots, using our brochures and videos. Then we help part- improvise. “The site today does not actually comply with all of the ners by providing them with a lot of content so they can articulate the brand elements, because we find a by-the-book application of the value. They can build on that and tailor it to the specific conversation standards to be too corporate and stiff. So our clients allow us to pro- they need to have with a customer.” duce and publish a customized solution for the Canadian market, Longtime partners have figured a lot of this out. “I think there’s one that our audience seems to appreciate,” Torre says. an automatic balancing,” says PC Works Plus’ Wertz. “We position the Microsoft logo on everything in a way that is not dominant. We just Striking a Balance promote the partner status enough to enhance our credibility. Microsoft’s brands are so strong they could obscure your own if you’re Actually, Microsoft has been very good about putting our name in not careful. While Redmond has logos and templates and guidelines, it front at co-sponsored events.” doesn’t have hard and fast rules for when you should promote Microsoft versus yourself. Microsoft hopes you’ll push both. “[The key is] making Viral Brand Marketing sure that we’re clear to our customers that it’s a partnership. We created For some Redmond fans, representing the brand comes naturally. a lot of value; our partners then extend that value. Customers need to Even IT pros can get drawn in. “I very much represent the Microsoft understand when they’re working with a partner versus Microsoft,” brand. I even wear one of my [Microsoft Certified Systems Isaac says. “We have a variety of guidelines available to partners to Administrator] shirts when I make house calls,” says Abel Diaz, a net- advise them in when and how to make those distinctions. For example, work administrator at San Joaquin Valley College in Visalia, Calif. “I on our Web site you can get information on how to reference Microsoft, let my customers know that Microsoft is the giant it is today because how to reference our sub-brands, in text.” their products do work and they work well.” The goal is to promote three things: Microsoft brands, the partner’s For Diaz, this means pushing the brand on the home and small brand and the partnership itself. “There’s a balancing act, where they business clients he cares for outside of work, and even to college end want to put the emphasis,” Isaac says. “We want partners to help us and users. “I get a lot of questions from students and faculty asking what we want to help them build awareness of this brand, yet at the same computer they should buy or what software they need at home. I time ensure that the customer is clear as to who they are working with. give them the same answer: Buy a computer with Windows on it, There are going to be times when you are going to want to promote buy the latest version of Microsoft Office, use IE instead of Firefox, your company as a whole, but when we’re talking about your commu- use Microsoft AntiSpyware [now Windows Defender], use Microsoft Office Picture Manager not Adobe Photoshop Album, etc. Where possible, keep it all Microsoft.” Log on to RCPmag.comto read an in-depth Q&A with Nicole von And that’s exactly how Microsoft brand managers like it! • Kaenel, group managerforTo-PartnerMarketing, and to read some excerpts from the Dynamics brand style guide. FindIT code: TwoFaces Doug Barney ([email protected]) is Redmond magazine’s editor in chief and the editorial director of Redmond Media Group.

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SPECIAL REPORT | World’s Biggest Brand

Microsoft may be the world’s best-known brand, but it’s not necessarily the best-loved. Here are When itcomes to Microsoftbashing, partners have heard it all. ways to They’ve heard prospects gripe that Microsoft products cost too much. They’ve heard customers complain about frequent bug and overcome security patches. They’ve heard tirades denouncing the company as deal-busting Byzantine or a behemoth, difficult to navigate and glacially slow to respond to complaints and calls for help. They’re well aware that objections. some people view Microsoft as the biggest monopoly since By Anne Standard Oil. And they occasionally still hear snide remarks about Microsoft’s founder, who, despite his generous donations to charity,

ILLUSTRATION BYILLUSTRATION SANYA HYLAND Stuart remains the world’s wealthiest individual.

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FEATURE | Haters

Washington, D.C.).The phrase “evil empire,” which, during the Reagan era, referred to the Soviet Union, became a synonym for Microsoft. Relentlessly forwarded e-mail messages spread anti- Redmond humor all over the planet. (Remember this one? Q: How Books About many Microsoft engineers does it take to change a light bulb? A: None. Bill Gates will just declare Darkness™ the new industry standard). In 1998, author Po Bronson told The New Republic that Microsoft bashing was so prevalent in Silicon Valley “that it’s like Branding talking about the weather in Minnesota.” Fast forward a few years. As Microsoft has matured and gained Following are some recommended mar- respectability, many of those vehement detractors have shut up or keting and brand-management guides: disappeared. True, the blogosphere remains rich with Redmond- related chatter, but today, it’s typically more focused commentary “Brand Portfolio Strategy: Creating Relevance, Differentiation, about, say, a postponed product release or the latest round of restruc- Energy, Leverage and Clarity,” byDavid A. Aaker (Free Press, 2004). turing rather than generic sniping and griping. And when was the “Brand Sense: Build Powerful BrandsThrough Touch, Taste, Smell, last time you opened an e-mail with another batch of Microsoft Sight and Sound,” byMartin Lindstrom (Free Press, 2005). jokes? Meanwhile, Gates—now a respectable 50-year-old father of “Designing Brand Identity: AComplete Guide to Creating, Building three—is widely perceived as a force for good. In addition to his phil- and Maintaining Strong Brands,” byAlina Wheeler (Wiley, 2003). anthropic work, he’s currently leading a campaign to curtail intellec- tual property theft in China, an effort likely to benefit the entire U.S. “Positioning: The Battle forYourMind,” 3rd edition, byAl Ries& Jack software industry (see “Gates: From Goat to Hero,” p. 22). Trout (McGraw-Hill, 2000). Probably for all those reasons, many partners say that they sel- “StrategicBrand Management: Building, Measuring and Managing dom hear flat-out “I hate Microsoft” sentiments anymore. In a recent Brand Equity,” 2nd edition, byKevin Lane Keller (Prentice Hall, 2002). survey of about 500 RCP readers, many indicated that they still hear plenty of grumbling about specific issues—some legitimate, some “The 22 Immutable Laws ofBranding: How to Build a Product or from left field—ranging from costs to customer service to security Service into a World-ClassBrand,” byAl Riesand Laura Ries concerns. But overall, partners told us, clients’ big-picture attitudes (HarperCollins, 1998). toward the Microsoft brand typically fall somewhere between resig- nation and respect. And while that might initially seem like faint praise—wouldn’t it be better to be admired or adored?—experts say Of course, some of those sentiments are unfounded, unfair or out- respect is the single most critical attribute for market leadership. dated, and channel partners whose companies depend upon “You don’t have to love a leader, but you do have to respect a Microsoft’s success do their best to counter them. At the same time, leader,” says marketing strategist Jack Trout, president of the Trout even executives whose companies deal solely in Microsoft solutions & Partners Ltd. consulting firm in Old Greenwich, Conn. “Nobody understand what’s behind the negativity. As one veteran partner ever loved IBM, but they still had enormous respect.” puts it: “Sometimes I hate Microsoft myself.” In Microsoft’s younger days, its reputation for ruthlessness cre- Therein lies one of the biggest challenges of representing the ated a major hurdle to earning that level of respect, says Trout, world’s most famous corporate name. author and co-author of several books on brand management (see “Books About Branding,” this page).“Microsoft’s problem is that From Hate to Respect [it’s] been a little difficult, a little aggressive, a little muscular,” True, Microsoft has come a long way since the mid- to late-1990s, Trout says. “[It] used a two-by-four instead of a scalpel on some of when it battled antitrust allegations and crushed Netscape in the those markets. [It] needed to offset those perceptions that [it’s] too browser wars. Back then, the Web was littered with sites with names rough.” Today, Microsoft remains a fearsome contender, but bal- like Microsoftsucks.com, Boycott Microsoft and The Official ances its competitiveness with leadership activities, such as initia- Microsoft Hate Page. A particularly virulent subset targeted Microsoft tives using technology to improve education. Chairman Bill Gates, depicting him as a dictator, a devil or the As a result, Trout says, Microsoft now commands the high Antichrist and inviting visitors to punch out, blow up or behead an regard that accrues to a market leader. Even if sometimes given grudg- animated effigy. Technology magazines ran editorials with titles like ingly, that respect is a boon to partners who might have once avoided “Time to Break Up Microsoft” and quoted spokespeople from organi- discussing Microsoft’s market dominance for fear of feeding cus- zations such as The Committee to Fight Microsoft (which, at one tomers’ views of the company as a competition-crushing monopoly. In point, announced plans to open a national headquarters in fact, Trout recommends that partners promote Microsoft’s No. 1 posi-

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FEATURE | Haters

tion as a genuine customer benefit: “Who That’s exactly how David Wertz, founder wants to run with No. 2?” of PC Works Plus, a Gold Certified Partner Microsoft’s ubiquity does make it easier Your based in Bellwood, Pa., responded to a hard- to sell, says Bob Prince, founder of NetSys+ core Microsoft-hater at one customer site, an Inc., a systems consulting firm and Gold educational institution. The school execu- Certified Partner based in Sioux City, Iowa. Two tive insisted that Linux was more functional, “There are a lot of repeatable, predictable more reliable and more secure than solutions in the Microsoft world,” he says. Cents Windows. “We showed him the functionali- “Ninety-nine percent of the time, we can ty that Microsoft provides out of the box for walk in and say, ‘Here are systems that can Worth SharePoint or Exchange,” comparing do exactly what you want them to do. I can features point by point, Wertz recalls. “That even show you how it works on my own sys- We recently asked RCP readers pretty much ended the argument.” tem because we use it, too.’” whether they encounter prospects Microsoft now uses a Get-the-Facts-style who, for any reason, simply hate approach to address potential customer Getting the Word Out Microsoft. Following is a sampling questions or confusion about many of its Even respect won’t convert every skeptic of responses: product lines. “There’s so much information into a fan, but that’s no problem, another that’s available to help in the conversation, expert says. “Every brand has supporters Yes, butnotas often as in the past. the moment of truth when a partner is eye to and detractors,” says Tim Calkins, an Some people are justbrand-centric, eye with a customer,” says Nyheim, noting associate professor of marketing and co- and that’s noteasy to change. that material is available both on partner director of the branding curriculum at No, notreally. They justhate keeping portals and the company’s public Web sites. Northwestern University’s Kellogg School up with upgrades. If, for instance, a customer asks you to of Management in Evanston, Ill. If detrac- stop by to answer some security questions Rarely. We explain thatMicrosofthas tors seriously dislike your brand, you’re changed overthe years and thatmany about a product, you can grab the most rele- unlikely to change their minds: “Brands are [former] issues are now non-issues. vant information online—perhaps some- based on associations, [which] are hard to thing like the number of critical patches Yes, Novell and Unixand Macusers. debate,” says Calkins. “It’s much easier to issued by Microsoft and its closest competi- debate the ins and outs of a particular prod- Yes, butthe rate has steadily declined tors over the previous year. “That way, you uct. You need to go beyond the brand to the [to] two orthree peryear. walk in the door as knowledgeable as you product features.” Yes, atleastmonthly. can be, and you have information you can Microsoft itself has made a major push leave with the customer,” Nyheim says. And to help partners do exactly that by making a Yes, one ortwo a month. by providing hard numbers rather than seemingly limitless supply of relevant, up- Yes, weekly. They complain butuse mere brand evangelism, “you take the cus- to-date information easily available, says the products anyway. tomer conversation away from perceptions Geoff Nyheim, vice president for Microsoft’s and emotions and move it toward a fact- Yes, weekly. I steeraround them Central Region Enterprise business. The and workwith folks who understand based decision approach.” best-known example: The “Get the Facts” business value. campaign, an ongoing effort to quantify Common Complaints and Yes, every day. I justletthem rant. Windows’ benefits over the open source Counterarguments Linux platform. The campaign’s centerpiece Yes, 40 percentofthe time. Partners say that today’s Microsoft bashing is a growing online collection of white varies from company to company and day to Yes, 20 percentofthe time. papers, third-party analyst reports and case day, depending on news developments and studies about high-profile customers who Yes, 10 percentofthe time. Theirobjections Microsoft announcements. For example, ultimately opted for Windows (recent exam- are usually irrational and uninformed. Microsoft’s decision to postpone the release ples include Royal Caribbean Cruises, [Yes, but] notoften. A clearexplanation of Windows Vista was among the biggest 7-Eleven and fashion designer Tommy ofROI is the bestway to win them over. lightning rods of recent months. Hilfiger). Says Nyheim: “Our approach was Ongoing grousing tends to focus on sev- Yes. I don’tbother[trying to overcome their simply to drive the conversation back to a objections]. They are in the “Microsoftis eral key areas: costs (both for initial licenses very rational assessment of the facts and a evil” camp—and they generally don’thave and upgrades), security threats and bugs. In clear decision framework for evaluating any money to spend to boot. all three cases, partners must deal with both Microsoft against competing alternatives.” perceptions and reality.

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FEATURE | Haters

“With most of the systems we sell, such as Outlook and Exchange, when they we get in touch about problems that were addressed the customers have a perception that the product is worth maybe $120 months or even years earlier, such as old vulnerabilities in Microsoft to $180,” says Prince, of NetSys+. “In reality, it costs $400 and up. Even Outlook. He simply spells out how Microsoft has resolved the issues in with discounting, it winds up somewhere in the middle, maybe at question, concluding by noting that “Microsoft is not perfect and never $350 or $375.” That discrepancy makes it particularly tough to con- will be—but at least what you’re hearing in this case is old news.’” vince customers that they need upgrades: “Usually, there’s very little J.B. Fields, an independent Microsoft trainer and Registered motivation on their part to say, ‘We need new Office products because Member, tries to put customers’ security fears in context with a big- we have 52 new things we want to do,’” Prince says. Instead, they insist picture explanation: “We had pretty good security on our old main- that what they’ve got works well enough, thank you very much. frames, but we didn’t have agility in accessing [outside] informa- So how does he overcome cost-based resistance? By demon- tion. Then we chose agility over security. We hooked our PCs to net- strating to decision makers that new versions of the solutions in works, then hooked our networks to the Internet”—and Microsoft, question probably offer far more capability than they realize. “Most like every other technology vendor, has been fighting off Internet- of the companies we deal with are not that tuned into Microsoft,” borne security threats ever since. In other words, he says he tells Prince says. Sometimes simply raising awareness about the latest them, “security is a problem, but it’s an industry problem, not just a new features is enough to do the trick. Microsoft problem.” Wertz, of PC Works Plus, defends Microsoft against price-related Realistically, though, people will still complain. For that reason, complaints. “We do software and application development ourselves, experts say the No. 1 brand-management best practice to keep in mind so I know the cost of that,” he says. “I haven’t the foggiest clue what is to resist the temptation to join in the Microsoft bashing. “Never apol- the costs are in developing [Microsoft] operating systems, but it must ogize for the brand,” says Calkins, the Northwestern marketing profes- be incredible.” He tries to help customers understand that that $400 sor. “You always have to defend it. After all, if the people associated software package is the end result of billions of dollars in research and with the brand don’t support it, who will?” • development, “not just more money in Bill Gates’ pocket.” As for security issues, Wertz expects customers to contact him Anne Stuart ([email protected]) is executive editor of Redmond when Microsoft issues new security bulletins. What surprises him is Channel Partner magazine.

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RCPmag.com JULY 2006 REDMOND CHANNEL PARTNER 37 0706rcp_F2MSPP_38-42.v8 6/9/06 12:12 PM Page 38

Making the

In 2003, Microsoft announced a sweeping, Grrisky overhaul of its partner program.de Three years later, many partners give the changes passing marks. By Rich Freeman

Tim Huckaby remembers the mood among his fellow Microsoft partners back in October 2003—and it wasn’t good. “Most of the partners were kind of pan- icked,” says Huckaby, CEO of InterKnowlogy LLC, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and provider of custom application development and network services based in Carlsbad, Calif. That alarm stemmed from the first Worldwide Partner Conference, held that autumn in New Orleans, where Microsoft executives unveiled plans to completely revamp the company’s partner relationships. For years, Microsoft had maintained separate offerings for solution providers, business solution resellers, training centers and other channel segments; each program PHOTO BYPHOTO TADDER TIM had its own, often loosely defined system of regulations and benefits. But, partners learned at the event, Microsoft would offer one big program covering Microsoft’s entire channel, effective in January 2004. There were other changes as well. To earn Certified or Gold Certified status, partners would have to rack up “partner points” by, for example, submitting cus-

38 REDMOND CHANNEL PARTNER JULY 2006 RCPmag.com 0706rcp_F2MSPP_38-42.v8 6/9/06 12:12 PM Page 39 0706rcp_F2MSPP_38-42.v8 6/12/06 11:48 AM Page 40

FEATURE | Making the Grade

tomer references and earning technical certifications. Partners with expertise in specific disciplines could showcase their capabilities by qualifying for competencies in fields such as network- ing infrastructure and data management. Meanwhile, a new Registered Member level, free of annual fees and prerequisites, would be made available to anyone willing to submit a brief profile and endorse a simple agreement. To smooth the transition, Microsoft grandfathered partners in at their current levels, giving them until their 2006 re-enroll- ment dates to actually meet the requirements for Certified and Gold Certified status. Just the same, recalls Huckaby, lots of partners had the jitters. Take those new competencies, for instance. “Say you were bragging you had a big practice in information worker [solutions],” says Huckaby. “Suddenly you had to prove it.” There must have been sweaty palms back in Redmond as well. Microsoft’s channel produces 96 percent of the company’s revenue. Tinkering with an asset that valuable is always risky. Would partners bridle at the slew of new rules and requirements? Could the its solution-oriented Dynamics partners co-exist peacefully under one roof with its volume-oriented “classic” partners? Fast forward to 2006, when the mood is distinctly different. Three years after the launch of the new Microsoft Partner Program (MSPP), members generally give it a thumbs-up (see “Reading the Report Card,” opposite page). Most partners have complaints and concerns, and some voice their opinions with something closer to contentment than delight. But Huckaby “We’re talking with more partners about more sums it up for many with this assessment: “So far, it’s worked pret- and different things, and from those ty damn well, ” he says. “It’s not perfect by any means, but all in all, it’s been a great thing for the partner community.” conversations are coming more opportunities

One Big Umbrella that we weren’t seeing before.” According to analyst Paul DeGroot of Directions on Microsoft, the — Todd Shelton, President, Netdesk Corp. Kirkland, Wash.-based research firm, Microsoft had no shortage of reasons for overhauling its previous partner offerings. First, many channel teamwork—there would be a single, integrated program for partners found the sheer number of programs bewildering. In addition everyone, company executives explained. Partner points would pro- to the Certified Partner program, the company’s biggest, Microsoft vide a clear, uniform basis for measuring achievement and doling out maintained dozens of other, sometimes tiny, programs, which often rewards. Competencies would help Microsoft deliver more targeted had vague or overlapping missions. “There were literally partner pro- information to partners, while simultaneously helping them highlight grams that had exactly one partner in them,” recalls DeGroot. their skills. And the new Registered Member tier would give even the Additionally, he says, rules were sometimes poorly defined and bene- smallest companies a way to partner with Microsoft. fits inconsistently delivered: “You had situations where one partner Now, nearly three years later, many partners say the MSPP’s would look at another partner who had announced some kind of spe- structural reforms have worked out pretty well. For example, bring- cial deal and [the first partner is] wondering, ‘How do I do that?’” ing Microsoft’s entire channel under one umbrella has unexpectedly Information overload was also a problem with partners com- spurred a sharp rise in cross-partner collaboration. “We’re talking plaining that they were drowning in partner program e-mail, much with more partners about more and different things, and from those of it irrelevant. Meanwhile, for thousands of potential partners that conversations are coming more opportunities that we weren’t see- were either unable to meet program requirements or unwilling to ing before,” says Todd Shelton, president of Netdesk Corp., a Seattle- pay membership fees, the problem wasn’t too much contact but too based Gold Certified Partner specializing in learning solutions. little. Such companies had no formal way to engage with Microsoft. Same goes for Infinity Info Systems Corp., a Gold Certified Dynamics The new MSPP was a direct assault on these problems. To make CRM reseller based in New York City. Infinity now regularly shares

partnering with Microsoft less confusing—as well as to promote cross- leads and projects with other firms. “It’s a win-win for everybody,” BYPHOTO SMALE BRIAN

40 REDMOND CHANNEL PARTNER JULY 2006 RCPmag.com 0706rcp_F2MSPP_38-42.v8 6/9/06 12:12 PM Page 41

says Yacov Wrocherinsky, the company’s CEO. Like Shelton and [Dynamics] is supposed to be a narrow, specialized channel or a broad, many others, Wrocherinsky gives his partner account manager horizontal channel,” says DeGroot. He warns that Dynamics partners (PAM) credit for introducing his company to firms with complemen- won’t be pleased if Microsoft goes the horizontal route: “It could lose a tary skills and encouraging them to join forces. lot of those partners if it erases the difference between [Dynamics] part- Meanwhile, many Dynamics VARs who worried that joining ners and the general run of the partner program,” he says. Microsoft’s vast army of other partners would erode their close-knit community say their fears have so far been unfounded. “Actually, A Lot of Benefits Microsoft has gone out of [its] way to keep that culture intact,” says Ed Erasing differences is exactly the opposite of what Microsoft is Cowen, president, CEO and sole employee of TTD Enterprises LLC, a attempting with its competency framework, which helps partners Dynamics GP (formerly Great Plains) reseller and Registered Member promote their distinguishing strengths. Huckaby remembers think- based in Schaumburg, Ill. Microsoft, Cowen notes, continues to stage ing when he first heard about competency requirements that, finally, events such as the Dynamics GP Technical Airlift in Fargo, N.D., which Microsoft was offering partners a way to differentiate themselves. he attended in April. The experience, he says, was exactly like attend- Without some kind of categorization, Microsoft has too many part- ing a Great Plains conference back in the days before Microsoft acquired ners for its local offices to keep straight, Huckaby argues. Grouping the company: “[There were] 600 of us from all over the world, and all firms by specialization enables salespeople to more easily zero in on the we did was talk about what’s going on with Great Plains.” right partner for a given opportunity. In InterKnowlogy’s case, at least, However, DeGroot cautions that the jury is still out on how comfort- the upshot has been more leads. “Doing the work isn’t the hard part,” able Dynamics partners will ultimately be in the MSPP. Microsoft, says Huckaby. “Getting the work is the hard part. One way we get the which has historically favored mass sales of individual products, has yet work is by that legion of Microsoft employees recommending us.” to fully embrace the Dynamics channel’s hands-on, solution-selling Thanks to competencies, he adds, “that’s dramatically better than it was model (for more on the Dynamics initiative, see “Getting Serious About three or four years ago.” ERP,” June 2006). “We’re seeing this type of wrestling going on where Even so, convincing partners to invest time in qualifying for competencies remains an ongoing challenge for Microsoft. For example, Tim Donaldson, director of marketing at Gold Certified Partner ICONICS Inc., a Foxboro, Mass.-based provider of visualization software for manufacturers, sees Reading the Report Card strong value in competencies. But time and resource con- straints have kept ICONICS from earning more than one, Ifpartnerswere to issue a report card on the Microsoft Partner in ISV/Software Solutions, to date. “We look at that as Program, here’show their grading might look: more opportunity for us,” says Donaldson. GRADE By contrast, recruiting Registered Members hasn’t Judging bythe 280,000 firmsthat have signed on posed much of a challenge for Microsoft. DeGroot remem- asRegistered Membersto date, the benefitsofthis Registered bers a Microsoft Partner Program spokesperson telling him Member entry-level MSPPtier far outweigh the low (asin non-existent, so far asfeesare concerned) costs. A in 2003 that the company hoped to attract 100,000 Registered Members. Today, according to Sherle Webb- Robins, general manager of the Microsoft Partner Program, Herding all itspartnersunder one tent hashelped there are a whopping 280,000. “What we’re seeing is huge, One Big Microsoft nurture a culture ofpartnershelping huge [numbers of] partners coming into the Registered Program partners. But whether one program can success- fullyhouse both Dynamicspartnersand “classic” A- level,” she says. “They’re really liking it because it’s more tai- partnersremainsan open question. lored to how they serve small-business customers.”

Partnerswho have earned competenciescall them The Pros and Cons of Points a great differentiation mechanism. Partnerswho Competencies Partners offer somewhat more guarded praise of the haven’t are often unwilling or unable to spare the resourcesnecessaryto earn them. B+ MSPP’s new point system. On the plus side, they say, partner points have added consistency to a channel landscape Partnershail the point system for replacing that once sorely lacked it. In the past, says Huckaby, Gold arbitraryperformance assessmentswith uniform Certified status “was a very arbitrary thing that someone at PartnerPoints standards. But theyalso criticize the system’s a district level would just anoint you with. The new system complicated rulesand awkward management B actually has metrics around these different levels of part- tools. nership.” Netdesk’s Shelton agrees. “The point system makes it practical to organize the investments that different

RCPmag.com JULY 2006 REDMOND CHANNEL PARTNER 41 0706rcp_F2MSPP_38-42.v8 6/9/06 12:12 PM Page 42

FEATURE | Making the Grade

Certified requirements has expired. “There might be frustra- tion, because some partners may not be able to get to that Certified level any more,” he says. The Make-a-Wish List Assessing the Impact The point system isn’t the new partner program’s only source Partnerscontacted for thisarticle named a varietyofchannel of gripes. Many partners complain that the program’s rules prioritiesthat they’d like to see Microsoft focuson in the future. are too complex. “In terms of doing the work to understand Here are just a few: how the partner program works, there are more moving parts these days,” says Shelton, of Netdesk. Online tools are anoth- Take the field to partner school. Ronni Schorr, ofInfoGenesis, er common sore point. The first version of the MSPP’s enroll- says she spends too much time educating Microsoft’sfield ment tool proved so unpopular, in fact, that Microsoft was salespeople about what her firm does. She argues that forced to replace it less than a year after its debut. Microsoft’s partner program team should share more of that Meanwhile, though Microsoft hoped that competencies burden: “I’d like to see them strengthen that and have [field would help it target communications more precisely, few part- staff] be more aware of what partners bring to the table.” ners have noticed a significant drop in the number of e-mails Think nationally. In the United States, every Microsoft sales they’re receiving. Donaldson, of ICONICS, receives about 20 a office picks its own partners. Rafael Costa, ofVis.align, wishes week. “And I’ll be honest with you,” he says. “I probably read one there was more uniformity across districts. “Microsoft would or two of them.” Wrocherinsky, of Infinity Info Systems, gets benefit from more of a national level of support for specific solu- more like 50 messages from Microsoft weekly—and says the tions, “because the districts still spend quite a bit of time sorting number used to be even higher. The danger of such an e-mail avalanche, many partners say, is that security alerts and other through who are the right partnersfor this or that,” he says. critical messages may well get lost in the shuffle. Better yet, think globally. Tim Donaldson, of ICONICS, says Still, despite such grievances, most partners feel they’re get- that because his company’s U.S. branch is Gold Certified, its ting more back from the MSPP than they’re putting into it. Can overseas offices should enjoyGold privileges too. “But they Microsoft say the same? “That’s an important question,” notes can’t get that same level of support,” he complains. That’s a dis- DeGroot. “In many respects, I’m very impressed with the Partner connect Donaldson would like to see Microsoft correct. — R.F. Program. The question is, what actually has been the impact on the company’s sales?” Not much, DeGroot suspects. “It’s helped them, [but] it’s not clear that the company’s top-line revenue has been dramatically expanded,” he says. partners make in a rational way,” he says. “To that extent, I think it For her part, Webb-Robins says that the MSPP’s pay-off for makes a lot of sense.” Microsoft has been substantial: “Our partner satisfaction has been Still, many partners concur with Ronni Schorr, vice president of going up, our customer satisfaction has been going up, and also marketing and strategic alliances at InfoGenesis, a Gold Certified Microsoft’s revenue is still growing.” All three trends, she maintains, Partner and hospitality industry ISV headquartered in Santa can be at least partly attributed to Microsoft’s new and improved Barbara, Calif. She calls the point system an effective way to meas- channel program. ure partner achievement, but adds: “It makes things a little more dif- Rafael Costa, executive vice president for marketing at Vis.align, ficult sometimes.” Many MSPP members say that gathering and sub- a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and solution provider headquar- mitting proof of their latest achievements can be a time-consuming tered in King of Prussia, Pa., has no special insight into Microsoft’s chore. And some partners question the valuations Microsoft places revenue or customer approval ratings. But Costa, whose company on those accomplishments. “Some points weigh a little more heavily serves the manufacturing, wholesale distribution and consumer than they should and maybe vice versa,” says Huckaby, who would packaged-goods industries, can verify that the MSPP has improved like to see fewer points awarded for technical certifications and more at least one Microsoft partner’s satisfaction. Vis.align has been part- points granted for influencing a volume licensing purchase. (For nering with Microsoft for four years, and “every single year they have more partner recommendations, see “Make-a-Wish List,” this page.) improved what the relationship gives to us,” says Costa. “I don’t Huckaby is careful to characterize such concerns as minor. But know if I’m the exception, but I’m very pleased with Microsoft as a Darren Bibby, senior analyst for software sales channels at IDC, the true partner.” • Framingham, Mass.-based IT research firm, wonders whether dissat- isfaction with the point system will become more widespread now that Rich Freeman ([email protected]) is a Seattle-based freelance Microsoft’s two-year grace period for fulfilling Certified and Gold writer who specializes in writing about business and technology.

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Even justa couple ofyears ago, the mention of Pack 15, OS/2 Warp Convenience Pack 1 virtualization conjured up images of white- and ConveniencePack 2. Your customers can coated lab geeks working deep in the also run Red Hat Linux, Novell NetWare and recesses of places like MIT or Stanford. Virtual PC 2004 other flavors of Linux within their VMs. Virtualization still has its place in research, MicrosoftCorp. Performance may vary because they aren’t software testing and other erudite applica- specifically supported. Release Date: December 2003 tions, but the cost and time savings it brings Each VM behaves like an individual com- to enterprise operations have set it well on its Price: $129 per single license (volume puter. VPC emulates all the aspects and ele- way to becoming a mainstream technology. licensing and guest operating system ments of a physical computer, establishing a E licensing priced separately) Microsoft has virtualization tools on both virtual processor; sound, video and network the server side (see “Virtualization Saves www.microsoft.com cards; even virtual hard drives. Customers Real Dollars,” June 2006 ) and the desktop. can set up dynamic, fixed-size or linked vir- The company acquired its desktop tool from tual hard drisks for each VM. They can also Connectix in February 2003. The following year, it released the set up differencing disks to share disks among multiple users and product as Microsoft Virtual PC 2004. VMs and track changes, and undo disks to preserve a copy of the orig- Virtual PC (VPC) has been locked in a “virtual” dead heat with inal disk state. VMware Workstation for the last several years. The trick is to divine Any application your customers install on a VM will work just as it your customer’s needs and figure out how they could benefit from vir- would on a physical machine. They won’t distinguish a VM from a tualization. Then you can better match them with VPC’s capabilities. physical computer. This adds an effective layer of protection for the physical host computer. Any changes that users make to VMs won’t Virtualization Nation affect the physical computers that are running the host and guest Companies turn to virtualization as a means by which to save money OSes. Any viruses or spyware loaded onto a virtual machine are easily in hardware and licensing fees and save time and effort in deploy- eradicated simply by ending the session. ment and management. Using virtualization as part of a network infrastructure also helps your customers tighten security, improve Under the Hood efficiency and establish a more flexible deployment framework. There are several other areas of functionality to emphasize when VPC lets your customers set up a physical computer to run as if it presenting VPC to potential customers. Guest-host integration is a were two or more computers. The number and capacity of virtual big one. The level of integration between the guest OS and host OS machines (VMs) they can run is limited only by the resources avail- is virtually seamless. If you or your customer installs Virtual able on the physical computer. Running Windows XP as the base oper- Machine Additions in the guest OS running within the VM, they ating system, they can install multiple instances of different guest can then easily copy, paste, drag and drop between guest and host. operating systems in VMs and have them run concurrently. There are a number of options for configuring VMs, installing or Microsoft VPC officially supports the following operating systems uninstalling applications and allocating memory resources based as guests within its VMs: Windows 95, 98, Me, NT 4.0 Workstation, on what the physical computer has available. Customers can switch 2000 Professional and XP; plus MS-DOS, OS/2 Warp Version 4 Fix between operating systems and different VMs as easily as they switch

RCPmag.com JULY 2006 REDMOND CHANNEL PARTNER 45 0706rcp_SolSpot_45-48.v10 6/9/06 11:13 AM Page 46

SolutionSpotlight

between Windows applications. To server side between Microsoft conserve resources, they can also Virtual Server and VMware Server pause an inactive VM so it won’t SpotlightHighlights and ESX Server. waste any CPU cycles on the physi- VPC and VMware Workstation cal computer. They can also save Key Features: each do more or less the same thing VMs to disk and restore them later. in similar ways, with some varia- ■ Tight integration between host and guest operating systems VPC has a single interface for han- tions in interface, operation and ■ Runs just about any operating system in a virtual machine dling these management tasks. performance. Each has a solid base The updates that came with Competition: VMware Workstation of dedicated users, so when you’re Microsoft Virtual PC 2004 Service Opportunities: selling a customer on virtualization Pack 1 (SP1) improved the overall as a concept and VPC as the plat- ■ Significant cost and time savings reliability, performance and man- form of choice, your primary con- ■ Well suited for migration projects and preserving legacy app ageability of VPC. It also now sup- cern will be VMware Workstation. ports running Windows Server VMware Workstation can run 2003 Standard Edition as a host Windows, Linux, NetWare or operating system. Solaris x86 within its VMs. Version 5.5 supports 64-bit guest and host operating systems from Microsoft, many of the latest open Competitive Landscape source distributions and new processors from Intel and AMD. It also Virtualization on the desktop is essentially a two-horse race— lets users open and convert Microsoft VMs and Symantec LiveState Virtual PC and VMware Workstation. It’s the same situation on the Recovery images, and comes bundled with VMware Player MICROSOFTDYNAMICSPARTNERSHOWCASE IntellaScanTM

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SolutionSpotlight

(VMware’s free application that runs VMs created by VMware good way to connect with current VPC users and help your cus- Workstation, GSX Server or ESX Server). tomers do the same. There’s also the VPC Guy’s blog, a good There are other virtualization methods and tools, like Altiris SVS, resource for sharing deeply technical issues. which focuses on application virtualization rather than the entire The VPC Knowledge Base is another useful resource. There are operating system and all properties of the physical computer. more than 250,000 articles contributed by support technicians Softricity’s Softgrid (which Microsoft recently acquired) turns locally after resolving particular customer issues. Microsoft is always installed Windows applications into virtual network services using updating, expanding and refining the Knowledge Base, so it’s application virtualization and streaming technology. Expect Microsoft worth checking on a regular basis. to position this to ease migration to Vista. The Final Word Marketing and Sales VPC lets your customers run multiple machines and multiple OSes on Microsoft is poised for a heavy push on virtualization. There are plen- a single computer. The benefits of this flexibility and the potential cost ty of resources online that can help you educate potential customers and time savings are significant in a variety of situations. about the concept of virtualization and details about VPC. For adding And again, the bottom line is that VPC lets your customers use one technical background to your sales presentations or if you just want to computer as if it were two or three (or more). Your presentation to pass them out to your customers, there are several white papers on the potential customers should point out how this aspect of VPC means VPC page that cover general technical issues, deploying VPC and it can quickly generate a return on investment many times over— using VPC as a development and debugging platform. and those savings are in real dollars. • The VPC Newsgroup is a lively forum where you and your customers can share stories and tips, discuss issues and exchange ideas Lafe Low ([email protected])is executive editor of Redmond about getting the most out of VPC. This is a valuable resource and a and the Solution Spotlight editor for Redmond Channel Partner.

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BY M.H. “MAC” Don’t Doom Your MCINTOSH Own Marketing Event

aving worked with dozens of large, medium and small Microsoft partners in planning and promoting their marketing events, I’ve learned what can make events succeed or flop. So when investing your time and money promoting ■ Describe what attendees will take home, in terms of both H knowledge and tangible items like workbooks or white papers. Share your next event, consider these tips to avoid learning the hard way. positive comments from peers who attended similar events in the past.

Start with Great Promotional Copy Promote Early and Often No matter what type of event you’re planning, it’s your promotional Start early when promoting your event. You want to get on the calen- copy that has to get people interested enough to sign up and show dars of executives, managers and technical people before they make up. It has to sell the benefits of attending your event. other commitments. And you want to remind them so they don’t forget If you don’t have a writer with direct marketing experience on all about it and miss the opportunity. staff, hire a freelance writer. Ask around, or search the Web using What doesn’t work? phrases such as “direct marketing writer” or “freelance writer.” An ■ Relying on one method of communicating. Sometimes e- investment in a good writer will pay for itself in increased attendance. mails get blocked or direct mail gets thrown out unread. Sending When it comes to promotional copy, what doesn’t work? both increases the chances of getting through. ■ Assuming your audience already understands the value of par- ■ Promoting your event too early, only once or too late. ticipating. Copy short on details doesn’t give people enough reasons to ■ Using formal invitations or postcards. Generally, registrations attend. This could also lead prospective attendees to conclude that the plummet with these types of pieces because there’s no room for details. event is a thinly disguised commercial for your company. What works? ■ Grammatical errors, incomplete information or broken hyper- ■ Employing an integrated marketing communications approach links (in e-mail announcements). Put yourself in the prospective atten- that includes postal mail, e-mail, telemarketing and your Web site. dees’ shoes: Is it clear how to get more information? Is it easy to sign up ■ Hitting your audience more than once with promotional mes- to attend? Can you find the event date, start/end and agenda? Do all sages. Test for yourself, but three times seems to be the magic num- the phone numbers, e-mail addresses and URLs work? ber. First, well in advance. Second, two or three weeks in advance. What works best? Third, as a last-chance reminder. ■ Headlines that generate excitement and promise benefits. ■ Following up with key prospects via telephone, and sending For example: “6 IT Mistakes That Can Cost You Big Bucks—and How last-minute, “See you there!” e-mails to registrants. to Avoid Them.” Events are a great way to increase leads and move prospects along ■ Promotional copy that’s long enough to spell out all the details the sales cycle. But you’ve got to promote them well to maximize the and benefits, but still easy to skim for those who want to get right to the number of prospective customers who will attend. • bottom line. Use subheads, bold fonts, bullets and call-outs. ■ Focus on selling the event, not your company. Although your Mac McIntosh helps Microsoft Partners use marketing to drive more ultimate goal is to sell your company’s products or services, if you leads and sales. For more information about Mac or his marketing, want more attendees at your events, you need to focus on selling the consulting and training services, visit www.sales-lead-experts.com or benefits of attending your event with the promotional copy. e-mail him at [email protected]. PORTRAIT BY SCHNARE JILLIAN

50 REDMOND CHANNEL PARTNER JULY 2006 RCPmag.com Project1 3/31/06 12:00 PM Page 1

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*IDC December 2004 2IIHU JRRG RQO\WRWKH ÀUVW FRPSDQLHV WKDW VLJQ XS IRU D 6HFXULW\6ROXWL RQV &RPSHWHQF\E\-XQH /LPLWHG WR WZR H[DP YRXFKHUV SHU FRPSDQ\ 0LFURVRIW&RUSRUDWLRQ$OOULJKWVUHVHUYHG0LFURVRIWLVDUHJLVWHUHGWUDGHPDUNRI0LFURVRIW&RUSRUDWLRQLQWKH8QLWHG6WDWHVDQGRURWKHUFRXQWULHV 0706rcp_SellingMS_52.v7 6/9/06 9:11 AM Page 52

selling microsoft

Sales and Marketing: BY KEN THORESON Friends, Not Foes

ales and marketing departments, which ought to work together in a symbiotic, supportive way, too often get bogged down in turf wars. In fact, as much as 88 percent of marketing expendi- munication between sales and marketing, messaging, lead tures on lead generation and sales collateral are wasted results, market feedback, competition, and upcoming events and Sbecause the sales team ignores these efforts, according to research company programs. from Aberdeen Group, a Boston-based IT research firm. Many sales 2. Metrics.Remember, you can’t manage what you don’t measure. teams apparently don’t trust the materials they receive from marketing It’s wise to track win/loss rates, lead quantity and quality, lead source departments and opt instead to prepare their own. Such teams, and lead source/win ratio (you need to know where your leads are typically, spend 40 to 60 hours a month re-creating customer- rele- coming from and what source is achieving your best win result). vant collateral material, according to Aberdeen’s research. Many organizations only track sales numbers, but we recommend In working with one Microsoft Dynamics client, our consulting measuring marketing’s contributions as well. That ensures that both group found that the company’s marketing staff generated an aver- teams are working toward the same goals and helps you determine age of 72 leads a month, but few of those leads ever showed up in the what’s working and what’s not. pipeline analysis. Marketing blamed sales for not following up 3. Collaboration. We recommend that marketing personnel not effectively; sales claimed that marketing’s leads didn’t pan out. only work trade shows with salespeople, but also regularly observe Many such problems stem in part from the two departments’ sales calls, demonstrations and executive presentations. This will failing to understand each other’s roles. Another issue is internal help them create far more effective programs and materials. political posturing. Sales teams often feel that because they’re the 4. Compensation. Consider creating mutual compensation ones on the firing line, they should receive all the credit for bringing plans, which reward marketing when sales achieves its quarterly in revenue. Marketers, on the other hand, often feel ignored or unap- objectives. In some partner companies, we’ve recommended giving preciated; they’d like acknowledgement for their role in sales. marketing a quarter-end bonus and an increase in its next quarter’s This cultural clash impedes revenue generation at a time when budget when sales makes its numbers. marketing is increasingly called upon to support sales and track ROI. Finally, from an organizational perspective, sales and market- In a Microsoft partner organization, marketing’s role should be ing should report to one executive to ensure that they’re focused on to position the company uniquely in the marketplace, ensuring that the same corporate strategy. That may sound obvious, but when we events and other business-building activities are effectively coordi- examine why organizations fail, we often see that their marketing nated and properly run to create the right sales opportunities. and sales departments have dramatically different perspectives Meanwhile, salespeople should focus executing that position- about issues as basic as the company’s greater goals. Making sure ing, rather than putting their own “spin” on what management has that both parties are playing for the same team is essential for every- determined is the company’s value proposition. one’s success. • We recommend that Microsoft partners serious about improving the effectiveness of their sales-marketing relationships focus on Ken Thoreson is managing director of the Acumen Management Group four key areas: Ltd. (www.acumenmgmt.com), a North American consulting organi- 1. Communication. Marketing should participate in at least zation focused on improving sales management at growing companies. one monthly sales meeting. Agenda items should include com- You can reach him at [email protected]. PORTRAIT BY SCHNARE JILLIAN

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AdvertisingSales

Matt Morollo Associate Publisher 508-532-1418 phone 508-875-6622 fax [email protected] RCPResources

Northwest West/Mid West East AD INDEX Advertiser Page URL Danna Vedder JD Holzgrefe Autotask 47 www.autotask.com Western Regional Sales Eastern Regional Sales Manager 253 514 8015 tel 804-752-7800 phone Avaya Inc. 20 www.avaya.com 775 514 0350 fax 253-595-1976 fax BackupAssist 11 www.BackupAssist.com [email protected] [email protected] Barracuda Networks 54 www.barracudanetworks.com AK, AZ, So. CA, CO, HI, ID, IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, AL, CT, DE, FL, GA, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MS, Business Objects 7 www.businessobjects.com MO, MT, ND, NE, NM, NV, OH, OK, SD, TX, UT, WI, NC, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, VT, WV, CCH Tax & Accounting 3 www.cch.com WY, Manitoba, Pacific Rim, Australia, New Quebec, Ontario, Europe Citrix Systems, Inc. C2 www.citrix.com Zealand, India, Pakistan, No. CA, OR, WA, Diskeeper Corporation 37 www.diskeeper.com Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan eEmpACT Software 5 www.starseachersATS.com Factiva 33 www.factiva.com IT Certification Online Sales – ENTmag.com FrontRangse Solutions USA 27 www.frontrange.com & Training – USA, Europe and TCPmag.com GRISOFT Inc. 23 www.grisoft.com Al Tiano Tanya Egenolf Hosting.com 43,44 www.hosting.com Advertising Sales Manager Advertising Sales Manager IntellaScan for Microsoft Dynamics 46 www.intellascan.com 818-734-1520 ext. 190 phone 760-722-5494 phone Lucid8 9 www.lucid8.com 818-734-1529 fax 760-722-5495 fax Microsoft Corporation 51 www.microsoft.com [email protected] [email protected] Mirapoint, Inc. 36 www.mirapoint.com Production Network Engines, Inc. 18 www.networkengines.com Neverfail Group C3 www.neverfailgroup.com Kelly Smith Production Coordinator Oracle Corporation 13,15,17 www.oracle.com 818-734-1520 ext. 164 phone Phoenix Technologies 35 www.phoenix.com 818-734-1528 fax Propalms Ltd. 53 www.propalms.com [email protected] Sunbelt Software 29 www.sunbelt-software.com St. Bernard Software 49 www.stbernard.com To Increase 46 www.to-increase.com Corporate Headquarters: ©2006 by 1105 Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Trend Micro Inc. C4 www.trendmicro.com 9121 Oakdale Ave., Suite 101, Chatsworth, CA Reproductions in whole or part prohibited Z-Firm LLC 48 www.zfirmllc.com 91311, www.1105media.com except by written permission. Mail requests to “Permissions Editor” c/o RCP magazine, 16261 Media Kits: Direct your media kit requests to Laguna Canyon Road, Suite 130, Irvine, CA EDITORIAL INDEX Matt Morollo, Associate Publisher, 92618. The information in this magazine has Company Page URL 508-532-1418 (phone) 508-875-6622 (fax), not undergone any formal testing by 1105 [email protected] Media Inc., and is distributed without any war- Adobe Systems Inc. 25 www.adobe.com ranty expressed or implied. Implementation or Advanced Microsystems Inc. 45 www.amd.com Reprints: For all editorial and advertising use of any information contained herein is the Apple Computer Inc. 21, 25 www.apple.com reprints, contact PARS International at (phone) reader’s sole responsibility. While the informa- Bond International Software 8 www.bond.co.uk 212-221-9595/(fax) 212-221-9195; e-mail: tion has been reviewed for accuracy, there is no Cisco Systems Inc. 21 www.cisco.com [email protected]; Web: guarantee that the same or similar results may Dell Inc. 21 www.dsm.net www.magreprints.com/QuickQuote.asp be achieved in all environments. Technical EMC Corp. 12, 45 www.emc.com inaccuracies may result from printing errors, Google 21, 25 www.google.com List Rentals: To rent REDMOND new developments in the industry and/or CHANNEL PARTNER’s or other changes or enhancements to either hardware HRSmart Inc. 8 www.smarthrinc.com 1105 Media Inc’s publications postal, or software components. HP 21 www.hp.com telemarketing or e-mail lists, please contact IBM Corp. 21, 31 www.ibm.com our list manager: Worlddata, 3000 N. 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directions

Darwin and Intelligent BY PAUL DEGROOT (Software) Design

ometimes the question isn’t “Should I use Microsoft for my project?” but “Which Microsoft technology should I use?” Take a collaboration scenario that uses instant messaging. You have your basic Windows Messenger that ships with Windows The Darwinian approach has certainly paid off for Microsoft, S XP. Then there’s MSN Messenger, Office Communicator, but it’s far from perfect. It may have three times as many employees Windows Live Messenger, Live Communications Server, Communicator working on a problem as are really needed to solve it, and fine peo- Mobile, Exchange Instant Messaging, Exchange Conferencing ple often work overtime on projects that never reach fruition. Both Server, Live Meeting, the Windows Communication Foundation circumstances have human and financial consequences, even for and Windows MeetingSpace. Microsoft. Meanwhile, customers grow disillusioned when promis- No two technologies are identical. Some are embryonic while ing and highly anticipated technologies languish in beta or never others are gasping for air. Some are for successfully jump from a Microsoft business, some for consumers. Some white paper to code. And when too come from the Windows team, others Pick a Winner many competing versions of a technol- from the Office group. And at some Here are some questionsto help you handicap ogy exist, some customers will delay point, Microsoft trumpeted each as an Microsoft’semerging technologies: spending until Microsoft sorts out innovation that would change life on • Did the product come from a strong team with a which technology to promote. earth. So how do you choose? After all, prominent leader? (Bonus points if the leader is As a partner, you must often pick a backing or buying the wrong one will a friend of Bill Gates or Steve Ballmer.) winner even further in advance than • Does Microsoft use the product or technology itself? be an expensive mistake. customers. Your personal notion of opti- • Does the product help Microsoft compete? Microsoft is in the unusual position mal product quality isn’t enough. You’ll • Do Microsoft development tools support it? of having so much money that it can fund • Can it be managed with Microsoft’s management tools? fare better if you rely on a team with a multiple competitive technologies with- prominent leader or champion. There out worrying that only one is likely to suc- are other considerations as well. A prod- ceed. Partners who bet on the right technology can win big. Those who uct optimal for a small market might spark little interest in Microsoft’s don’t wind up as fossils. enterprise sales force. A strong competitor might cause Microsoft to At Directions, we call this the “Darwinian” approach to software anoint the comparable Microsoft project closest to completion as its development: Try solving a problem or capturing a market opportuni- standard bearer, even if it’s not the best. (See “Pick a Winner” for use- ty in a bunch of ways and see which one lives the longest. Internally, ful questions to ask in assessing a Microsoft technology’s viability.) Directions on Microsoft sometimes rates Microsoft technologies by Ideally, you’ll get in early to take advantage of the high prices that the number of “Darwins” they get. hot technologies command, train the right number of people and For example, Office developers can choose from a host of over- receive solid marketing from Microsoft. But if you back the wrong lapping and competing technologies. We gave one of those technolo- choice, you could find yourself doing CPR on a fish with a fur tail.• gies two (out of a possible five) Darwins when it came out, and bumped it up to three when a major Microsoft partner used it for an Paul DeGroot is an analyst with Directions on Microsoft, an independent integration project. Alas, that team’s next project didn’t use the tech- research firm focused exclusively on Microsoft strategies and technology. nology, so it’s dropped to 1.5 Darwins. He can be reached at [email protected]. PORTRAIT BY SCHNARE JILLIAN

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