MICROSOFT MONEY Crucial Credibility with Customers

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RCPmag.com ✱ August 2010

Challenges5 Key for the New Microsoft Channel Chief

Jonathan Roskill takes over the Worldwide PLUS Partner Group at a time of Beware Microsoft overlapping, Zombie Products critical Microsoft Awards transitions. Go (More) Global DeGroot Takes on the MPN NUMBER 8 ✱ VOLUME 5 VOLUME BETTER BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE AT A BETTER PRICE UP TO 72% LESS

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16 DEPARTMENTS 9 Channel Report GAME CHANGER: Microsoft Bottles the Cloud in an Appliance ...... 9 BETA: Microsoft Takes a Crack at a Cloud-Based MSP Tool...... 10 RCP ON THE MCP: 11 Things to Know About … WPC Takeaways ...... 12 QUOTABLE: On the Channel ...... 12 REORG: New Assignments for Microsoft U.S. Channel Chiefs ...... 13 QUOTABLE: On Microsoft Competition ...... 13 TOOLS: Quest Reaches Out to MSPs ...... 14 MILESTONES: Major Service Packs Hit Beta ...... 14 SMB: Microsoft Unveils Windows Small Business Server Previews ...... 15 LIFECYCLE: Windows 7 Downgrade Rights Get Extension ...... 15 “I think we need to step back and look at COLUMNS some of the stuff we’re putting out and SELLING: Ken Thoreson just say, ‘How much is this collective The Power of Net New ...... 36 CHANNEL CALL: Keith Lubner ecosystem ready to absorb?’” Charting Cloud Channels ...... 38 Jonathan Roskill, Corporate Vice President, Worldwide Partner DIRECTIONS: Paul DeGroot Group, Microsoft The MPN in Two Words: Mo’ Money ...... 40

FEATURES 9

16 The 5 Biggest Challenges for the New Microsoft Channel Chief Jonathan Roskill takes over the Worldwide Partner Group at a time of overlapping, critical transitions. 32 22 Zombie Products Beware of these eight undead products: Customers may want them, but their support and future are in doubt.

29 Microsoft Partner Awards Go Truly Global While U.S. partners still dominate, the rest of the world is getting more recognition from Redmond.

IN EVERY ISSUE 4 RCPmag.com 8 Channel Watch 39 RCP Index COVER PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK > RCPmag.com AUGUST 2010 Redmond Channel Partner 3 What’s OnLine ChannelRedmond Partner RCPmag.com August 2010 + Volume 5 + Number 8

EDITORIAL STAFF @RCPmag.com Vice President, Editorial Director Doug Barney Editor in Chief Scott Bekker Executive Editor Jeff rey Schwartz Managing Editor Wendy Gonchar Associate Managing Editor Katrina Carrasco EXCLUSIVELY ONLINE BLOGS Associate Managing Editor Marti Longworth

THORESON’S TIPS FOR SUCCESS ART STAFF In his sales management blog, RCP Creative Director Scott Shultz columnist Ken Thoreson shares his RCPU Senior Graphic Designer Joshua Gould tips for personal and professional Stay tuned to channel success: among the tips is “be ONLINE/DIGITAL MEDIA creative.” Here are some of his news with the Redmond Web Editor & suggestions for creativity: Channel Partner Update Executive Editor, New Media Michael Domingo Editor, RCP Update Lee Pender ✱ Track your ideas: Keep a e-mail newsletter, written notebook and write down all your Director, Online Media Becky Nagel ideas-about anything, it’s amazing by Lee Pender. Online News Editor Kurt Mackie what happens when you build an Associate Web Editor Chris Paoli active list. Site Administrator Shane Lee Designer Rodrigo Muñoz ✱ Avoid set patterns: Break your habits, fl oss your teeth diff erently, ON SILVER AND GOLD brush your teeth in new sequences, MICROSOFT PARTNER CERTIFICATIONS President Henry Allain drive to work on a new route. Over the years, a fair number of members of the Microsoft Vice President, Publishing Matt Morollo ✱ Engage in hobbies: Disengage channel have put pretty signifi cant marketing resources into selling themselves as Gold Certifi ed. As the Partner Director, Marketing Michele Imgrund your mind from business stress. Online Marketing Director Tracy Cook Read the rest of his tips and Program morphed into the Microsoft Partner Network learn how these tips can improve (MPN), though, the Gold label seemed to be doomed. your performance and work and in Not anymore. In a move that many partners should President & Neal Vitale life at: RCPmag.com/Thoreson0810 welcome as good news, Microsoft is bringing the bling to the MPN by labeling competencies as “gold” and “silver.” Chief Executive Offi cer Senior Vice President & Richard Vitale RCP: YOUR WORLDWIDE RCPmag.com/PenderA0810 Chief Financial Offi cer PARTNER CONFERENCE Executive Vice President Michael J. Valenti HEADQUARTERS ON THE DEATH OF THE KIN PHONE Microsoft’s biggest product disaster ever (in our opinion) We’ve got the inside scoop for Senior Vice President, Abraham M. Langer everything WPC-related. Editor in is dead, but it’s not forgotten. Or, at least, it wasn’t for a Audience Development & Digital Media Chief Scott Bekker and Executive while. Apparently some smart fellow came up with a Kin tribute site that let users memorialize the phone, the life Vice President, Christopher M. Coates Editor Jeff rey Schwartz were on the Finance & Administration scene at the conference, providing of which only just managed to outlast the presidency of William Henry Harrison. Well, now, not only is the Kin dead, Vice President, Erik A. Lindgren detailed accounts of the most Information Technology important events and announce- the site is apparently dead, too—pending a new home, at & Application Development ments. Make sure you read up on least. Is there anything the Kin can’t destroy? Vice President, Carmel McDonagh the WPC aftermath and beyond RCPmag.com/PenderB0710 Attendee Marketing Vice President, Event Operations David F. Myers here: RCPmag.com/WPC2010

Chairman of the Board Jeff rey S. Klein QUOTABLE: Reaching the Staff Staff may be reached via e-mail, telephone, fax or mail. A list of editors and contact information is also available online at “If you don’t want to move to the RCPmag.com. E-mail: To e-mail any member of the staff , please use the cloud, we’re not your folk.” following form: [email protected] Framingham Offi ce (weekdays, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET) Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, speaking during Telephone 508-875-6644; Fax 508-875-6633 his Worldwide Partner Conference keynote 600 Worcester Road, Suite 204, Framingham, MA 01702 Irvine Offi ce (weekdays, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. PT) Telephone 949-265-1520; Fax 949-265-1528 16261 Laguna Canyon Road, Suite 130, Irvine, CA 92618 Corporate Offi ce (weekdays, 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. PT) Telephone 818-814-5200; Fax 818-734-1522 9201 Oakdale Avenue, Suite 101, Chatsworth, CA 91311 Redmond Channel Partner The opinions expressed within the articles and other contents EASY FINDIT herein do not necessarily express those of the publisher. What we once called FindIT codes are now easy URLs. You’ll see these embedded throughout Redmond Channel Partner so you can access the additional information quickly, without having to navigate through all the content on the site . (Note that all URLs do not have any spaces, and they are not case-sensitive.)

4 Redmond Channel Partner AUGUST 2010 RCPmag.com It's not just about the backup.

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Grow your business selling disaster recovery, data protection and system migration services to your customers. Offer these services today by joining the StorageCraft No-Cost Reseller and MSP Partner programs at www.StorageCraft.com/Partners or email [email protected]. Advertisement Weathering the Winds of Change With Managed Services Picking the right managed-services partner helped NorthEast Computer Services position itself as a major player right from the start. By Jabulani Leff all

That same pride in the region’s resiliency prompted the company name for NorthEast Computer Services LLC, which LaFleur founded in Haver- COMPANY hill, Mass., in 2003. It also fi gures into NorthEast Computer the company’s play-on-words motto: Services, LLC “NE Tech, NE Time, NE Ware” (any tech, ❱ Eric M. LaFleur, anytime, any “ware”). Founder And it even ties into one of the company’s many services—helping customers with backup and recovery SERVICES after they’ve been hit by a Nor’easter or OFFERED some other disaster. Full-service IT consulting, LaFleur says he started the managed services, remote diagnostics and backup, company to fi ll a new and fast-growing network administration need: providing managed services to small and midsize businesses (SMBs). www.necompservices.com “Managed services and IT outsourcing have been around for a long time for large companies, but they were just emerging into the SMB market segment,” he says. “We saw the potential and viability of starting a company to service that market.” Despite the homegrown moniker, NorthEast doesn’t limit its services to customers in its regional geographic area. It also doesn’t concentrate on just a couple of industries. “We set out with s someone who lives a vision not to service a limited near Boston, Mass., Eric segment of the market, but to broaden LaFleur is no stranger our scope across many verticals,” to “Nor’easters,” those LaFleur says. “Our strategic partner- winter-weather systems ships have allowed us to do just that.” Athat often wreak havoc throughout the NorthEast partners include Microsoft, northeastern United States, especially Dell, Cisco, Eaton, OnForce and the in New England. company LaFleur calls the most important But he’s also familiar with the area’s to his business: Zenith Infotech. ability to rebound, again and again, LaFleur says he talked to many from the storms’ strong winds and other managed-services partner fi rms bitterly cold temperatures. as well as industry peers who had used

0810rcp_Zenith_NEComputing.final.indd 16 7/13/10 1:20 PM “(Zenith’s) state-of-the-art network “Zenith’s platform was very easy to deploy operations center and help desk and required very little confi guration. off erings sealed the deal for us,” he explains. “This decision has allowed us That allowed us to spend more time on our to service a much larger population clients’ issues, rather than on trying to and to be a larger service provider right from the beginning.” earn a Ph.D in software confi guration.” LaFleur believes that those in the —Eric LaFleur, Founder, NorthEast Computer Services managed-services space will emerge from the economic downturn in good standing –and with exciting new Zenith. He never heard a negative tools. LaFleur says those tools gave his opportunities: “Companies have word about the company. company the immediate ability to learned a lot over the last few years With those kinds of recommenda- create an environment for desktop about how to streamline their organi- tions, he says, NorthEast just had to management, server and network zations to make them more profi table,” “complete our due diligence and fi nd monitoring, an advanced scripting he says. “They’ve found many benefi ts out just what Zenith brought to the engine, a reporting engine and a to creating strategic partnerships with table for us.” ticketing system. their vendors and clients.” NorthEast hadn’t initially chosen NorthEast also uses the Zenith Looking even further ahead, Zenith as its managed-services Virtual Help Desk, which provides LaFleur says he believes that IT infrastructure provider. “After having clients with a live United States-based partners will play an increasingly worked with another MSP, we knew we help desk. Additionally, the company is larger role in the SMB market as needed a change and Zenith Infotech beginning to implement Zenith’s those companies outsource more was just what we were looking for,” Business Continuity solution, which advanced projects to minimize LaFleur recalls. “Zenith’s platform was LaFleur says is a much-needed and capital expenditures and focus on very easy to deploy and required very cost-eff ective service for his company’s core competencies. little confi guration. That allowed us to existing client base and for opening up “There is real movement toward the spend more time on our clients’ issues, new markets.” cloud. Customers see that as providing rather than on trying to earn a Ph.D in Business-continuity solutions, a defi nite business and technological software confi guration.” with backup and disaster recovery as advantage,” LaFleur says. “Zenith has NorthEast also found Zenith’s key components, are valuable to proved to us that they have the pulse solutions highly aff ordable, requiring NorthEast Clients facing both literal of the industry and will continue to no long-term contracts and no and fi gurative Nor’easters—crises that off er services allowing us to compete expensive upfront license purchases. could cause physical or fi nancial harm directly in this area.” NorthEast currently uses Zenith’s to their businesses. LaFleur says that That, in turn, allows NorthEast to managed-services infrastructure, choosing Zenith to provide those weather the winds of change that are which includes access to a 600-plus services allowed NorthEast to focus always buff eting the technology person network operations center instead on marketing to and acquiring services industry, he concludes: “We can (NOC) and a variety of processes and new customers. grow and mature as the market does.”

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0810rcp_Zenith_NEComputing.final.indd 17 7/13/10 1:20 PM ChannelWatch

Microsoft Gets its Mojo Back BY SCOTT BEKKER

t a party during the Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) last month, a savvy, longtime Microsoft partner summed up his personal gauge of the A company’s focus. I’m paraphrasing, but the gist was this: “When Microsoft knows what it’s doing in the market, the food at its parties is really good.”

Covering Microsoft over the last few years has been a little bit excited about. They were mostly talking depressing from a technology perspective. Business opportunities about the Business Productivity Online for Microsoft partners have been good: Microsoft remains one Suite (BPOS), Hosted Exchange and the of the great profi t-generating engines in the history of business, other Microsoft transitional platforms and partners are both a key reason for—and a major benefi ciary that largely cannibalize the company’s of—that. But watching Microsoft take it on the chin from Apple current business. over Windows Vista, watching Redmond’s phone eff orts fail with The Microsoft cloud story is actually monotonous regularity while Google and Apple soared, watching better than the one the company’s the lack of an answer to the iPad and watching search eff orts currently telling. The place where repeatedly fail (although Bing has recently held its own), has made Microsoft has been innovating, quietly but me wonder on occasion if this magazine is tethered to covering a in plain sight, is in the mega-datacenters company that’s slowly drifting out of relevance. the company has been building out over To put it another way, when a company has to tell you as often as the last several years. Looking around, it’s Microsoft has told us over the last few years that it’s innovating … not clear that anyone has as strong a vision well, you know what that means. (with the bankroll and experience to make But this year, the food at the parties was really good. There was it a reality) for turning the cloud into a an energy level this year at WPC that was powered by the electrical general-purpose infrastructure that’s truly discharges from the newfound Microsoft focus in the cloud. looking forward to next generation- Microsoft didn’t come across as beleaguered, reluctant and approaches as Microsoft does. reactive about the cloud—which has been its default stance in It’s going to take a lot of work for the past. This time Microsoft projected confi dence about the Microsoft partners to fi t in—a lot of company’s role in cloud computing. And I’m not sure most of the work. This isn’t about tweaking your Microsofties even completely understand what they should be business model for BPOS margins. It’s about fi guring out what an ISV does in a Windows Azure-based cloud. It’s fi guring out what the role of a systems integrator is when computing scale goes completely into the wire. On behalf of the committed partners of Microsoft, I’d like to welcome the company back to the head of the pack. • PHOTOGRAPH BY KATHERINE LAMBERT KATHERINE BY PHOTOGRAPH

8 Redmond Channel Partner AUGUST 2010 RCPmag.com SPECIAL PULLOUT SECTION

PARTNER’S GUIDE TO INFORMATION MANAGEMENT Iron Mountain to the Rescue: Helping Solution Providers to Address Customers’ Information Management Challenges

Ramana Venkata, president, Iron oday’s typical company grapples with such a monumental Mountain Digital, leadsleads thethe wayway amount of data from e-mail, unstructured data and application inin informationinformation ﬁ les that it simply cannot manage and organize this informa- management with successful tion without help. Adding to this challenge, companies need partnerships. to make data available for compliance and legal discovery requests, while ensuring it’s recoverable in the event of a disaster. Increasingly, midsize and large companies are turning to solution providers to help them with these challenges. They realize that without a proper information management strategy, the very data that is supposed to boost the organization’s productivity and eff ectiveness can cripple day-to-day effi ciency and strategic growth eff orts. For their part, solution providers trying to address their customers’ information management challenges need support from a reliable vendor with market-leading technology and ﬂ exible partnership programs. For a growing number of solution providers, that vendor is information management leader Iron Mountain, which brings almost 60 years of experience and a comprehensive technology portfolio to every customer deal. The company stores, protects and manages more information than any other vendor in the world, giving customers the peace of mind that Iron Mountain can address their needs.

RCPmag.com AUGUST 2010 Redmond Channel Partner 1

0810rcp_IronMountainInsert.final.indd 1 7/16/10 3:01 PM RCP FEATURE | INFORMATION CRISIS

Iron Mountain gives solution providers a range of cloud-based physical,” explains Stevenson. “We’re not just a technology and on-premises choices to protect, manage and archive their company trying to sell you storage solutions.” customers’ data, from PCs to fi le servers, and across a range of In making its technology and services available to solution applications such as Exchange and SharePoint. Companies of all providers, Iron Mountain brings almost 60 years of experience sizes gain the ability to look across and into the information in working with thousands of companies worldwide, including their applications and storage systems. This translates to getting more than 95 percent of the Fortune 1,000. Itself a Fortune more value out of their information. 1,000 company, Iron Mountain had revenue of more than $3 billion Iron Mountain offers an attractive partner program for in 2009. qualifi ed solution providers, especially those experienced in “With Iron Mountain offerings such as Connected, Classify deploying Microsoft SharePoint, Exchange Server, Windows and Collect, CloudRecovery and NearPoint, solution providers Server and System Center. As a long-standing Gold Certifi ed can help customers gain a level of insight into the information in Partner, Iron Mountain off ers solutions such as NearPoint®, their enterprise that they can’t achieve by simply spending more CloudRecovery®, LiveVault® and Connected® that support money on hardware and software,” says Stevenson. “Not only Microsoft technology. Solution providers already profi cient does the information become better managed and organized, it’s in the Microsoft platforms can get up and running on Iron also more easily retrievable in case of a disaster or for eDiscovery. Mountain solutions in no time. As such, Iron Mountain takes the pain out of bringing companies “We have a very close working relationship with Microsoft,” into compliance with pertinent regulations.” says Daniel Stevenson, director of partner marketing at Iron Mountain Digital. “Because our solutions integrate tightly RELIABLE BACKUP ON-PREMISES AND TO THE CLOUD with key Microsoft platforms, it’s easy for our partners to get Iron Mountain Connected Backup for PC and Mac is a secure online up to speed on our solutions.” automated backup and recovery service that unburdens users from manual backups. According to research firm Gartner Inc., Iron INFORMATION CRISIS Mountain has the largest base of enterprise PC backup customers. Today’s businesses are in the midst of an information The solution is highly scalable, backing up as many as management crisis, which intensifies as organizations 10,000 Windows PCs, laptops and Macs to a pair of datacenters move their data to cloud environments in an attempt to for redundancy. It relieves companies of the need for costly control IT costs. They struggle with increasing amounts of on-premises backup applications and storage equipment such as unstructured and distributed data fl owing in and out of their tape drives. With its patented data-reduction and de-duplication networks from laptops and mobile devices such as iPhones technologies, Connected reduces storage costs by 85 percent, and BlackBerrys. according to Iron Mountain. Despite collectively spending billions of dollars yearly Connected is available as either a cloud-based subscription on equipment and applications to manage and archive data, service, licensed software or a hybrid of both, giving solution many companies get little return on their investment. Often providers fl exibility in how to deliver automated backup and traditional solutions, such as on-site disk and tape backups, recovery solutions to their customers. don’t work as expected, and companies only realize this when Complementary to Connected Backup, Iron Mountain off ers they need to recover their data. its Classify & Collect application, which gathers information This can lead to regulatory compliance and eDiscovery from computer files and folders. The information can be issues in times of litigation. Since 1996, the federal govern- compiled into reports for eDiscovery during litigation, regula- ment and most states have passed regulations governing how tory compliance purposes and intellectual property protection. legal, medical and fi nancial documents should be transmitted The Classify & Collect application catalogs metadata and fi le and archived. Failure to comply can lead to heavy penalties, in attributes, and it also monitors and records user activity, such as some cases putting an organization’s future at risk. Data, often the creation, movement and deletion of fi les. seen as enabling competitive diff erentiation and strategy, can also become a company’s biggest liability. EXPANDED PORTFOLIO OF CLOUD OFFERINGS Iron Mountain CloudRecovery for Microsoft Data Protection A HISTORY OF INFORMATION MANAGEMENT Manager (DPM) is an automated backup and recovery solution that For Iron Mountain, helping companies manage their digital provides an off -site archive of DPM data in the secure, redundant, information is an extension of the company’s decades-long underground Iron Mountain data centers. The solution provides mission. Founded in 1951 as an archiving service for paper an alternative to on-site tape or disk backup, and eliminates the records, Iron Mountain now manages all types of data, no risk of data loss, allowing solution providers to deliver peace of matter the format, media or location, and provides secure mind to their customers. storage through a network of underground storage facilities Solution providers can deliver CloudRecovery as a hosted and above-ground locations. service that archives data off -site, without the labor-intensive “We have a great deal of experience with helping customers procedures of managing secondary storage. While delivering the manage their information, across all media, both digital and benefi ts of off -site backup and storage, CloudRecovery functions

2 Redmond Channel Partner AUGUST 2010 RCPmag.com

0810rcp_IronMountainInsert.final.indd 2 7/16/10 3:01 PM as an integral part of Microsoft DPM 2007 and 2010, thereby of partners is to deliver solutions in a way that fi ts the partner’s enhancing the customer implementation process. business model. VARs can take advantage of reselling the In addition to CloudRecovery, Iron Mountain off ers the LiveVault Iron Mountain on-premises solutions and its services, while server data protection service which provides continuous backup MSPs and hosting companies typically focus on the cloud- for enterprise fi le servers and replaces manual, complex, daily services solutions. backup chores with automatic data protection to ensure easy, fast Whatever the partner’s business model, Iron Mountain and reliable data recovery. LiveVault can be delivered by VARs, is committed to increasing partners’ revenue opportunities, MSPs or hosting partners, and provides a complementary cloud either through recurring fees from subscription-based services storage solution for heterogeneous environments. or profi t margins from the sale, deployment and management services of on-premises technology. CONTENT ARCHIVING FOR SHAREPOINT AND EXCHANGE The goal, say Iron Mountain executives, is to make partners Managing ever-greater volumes of Exchange e-mail, SharePoint profi table and help them grow. “The real win-win-win here is content and other fi les is a constant challenge for companies today, when we work together to address customers’ critical informa- and that presents solution providers with the opportunity to solve tion management challenges,” says Stevenson. “We realize that this important customer problem. They can do so by deploying the more successful our partners become selling Iron Mountain NearPoint from Iron Mountain, the only product in the market technology and services, the more successful we will be.” that combines archiving and recovery in a unifi ed solution. NearPoint is an on-premises integrated e-mail, fi le system For more information, e-mail [email protected] and SharePoint archiving platform that complements or call 800-899-IRON. Exchange and SharePoint implementations, and includes functionality for eDiscovery, content monitoring, reten- tion and classifi cation, PST management, SYSCOM TAPS IRON MOUNTAIN TO tiered storage management and disaster OPTIMIZE CUSTOMER DATA USE recovery. More than 1,000 companies worldwide rely on NearPoint to manage Better and faster. That about summarizes the their critical information. Syscom Technologies mission to tackle customer data. Whether data is moving around the network, sitting in PARTNERING FOR PROFIT archives or being recovered from backup systems, Syscom helps customers optimize its Partnering with Iron Mountain allows use through next-generation solutions. solution providers to address their With data piling higher and deeper at a typical company, the $35 million Marietta, customers’ archiving, data protection, Ga.-based solution provider has turned to Iron Mountain Digital for support in helping eDiscovery and compliance challenges customers optimize their IT environments and comply with regulations governing data with proven, market-leading solutions. protection and storage. With a portfolio of more than 500 partners, “Iron Mountain off ers us a nice portfolio with a complete disaster recovery strategy,” Iron Mountain has depth of experience says Syscom Vice President of Sales Don Schrenk. Before partnering with Iron Mountain, when it comes to helping partners build he says, Syscom was managing multiple vendor relationships that each off ered a and expand their solution portfolios. component but not a full complement of data management and recovery solutions. To help them succeed in selling Syscom has been delivering NearPoint e-mail archiving solutions—which information management solutions, Iron became part of the Iron Mountain portfolio with its February acquisition of Mimosa Mountain has put together a comprehen- Systems—for three years to customers with revenues of $100 million to $2 billion. sive channel program that includes joint E-mail archiving, says Schrenk, will remain a major focus as customers look for help marketing and fi eld calls, a partner portal with ever-growing e-mail volumes. with plenty of instructional and promo- The solution provider has started to market Iron Mountain’s LiveVault cloud-based tional materials, and a training program backup and recovery solution, a perfect fi t for companies that don’t want to buy with online and face-to-face options. on-premises storage for backup. Iron Mountain puts its sales and channel Syscom executives expect their relationship with Iron Mountain to keep growing, management resources at the disposal and are planning various joint-marketing activities co-funded by the vendor. On tap of its partners to help close customer for this year, says Syscom Vice President of Marketing David Ecton, are 24 customer- deals, which are protected through a deal focused events, with attendance size ranging from 50 to 150 each. registration program. “Iron Mountain has become one of our go-to partners when it comes to running The Iron Mountain channel program a campaign,” Ecton says. “Looking at Syscom’s marketing plan for 2010, it would be accommodates the specifi c needs of VARs, diffi cult to fi nd a campaign where Iron Mountain is not represented. And that’s because MSPs and hosting companies. The guiding of the relationship. They are extremely supportive and easy to work with.” principle in working with diff erent types

RCPmag.com AUGUST 2010 Redmond Channel Partner 3

0810rcp_IronMountainInsert.final.indd 3 7/16/10 3:01 PM z

consists of our flagship data protection products, RCPREDMOND CHANNEL PARTNER PROFILEP Connected Backup for PC and LiveVault Server Backup. We’ve worked closely with Microsoft to develop CloudRecovery for Microsoft DPM and have seamlessly integrated our cloud storage capabilities. In the archival and eDiscovery area, Partnering to Proﬁ t our NearPoint solution supports archival of Exchange and SharePoint content. In summary— from Information this best-of-breed portfolio helps channel partners Management reduce their customers’ costs and risks across the breadth of the information management spectrum. Ramana Venkata President, Iron Mountain Digital Q How can the channel benefit by working with Iron Mountain? What types of programs have you put in place to help drive channel business? Q I understand that you’re launching a new channel program for A Our experience supporting more than 500 the Microsoft channel. What can you tell me about it? partners around the world demonstrates our strong A We’re excited to be launching a new program focused on Microsoft commitment to the channel. We are introducing partners that sell to the enterprise and midmarket. Geared to partners new programs to further support the Microsoft with proven practices around Microsoft Exchange, SharePoint, System channel, including “in-a-box” demand-generation Center, Windows Server and storage, the program enables partners to programs, with lead sharing and registration, and offer products and deliver services that solve their customers’ dedicated partner management resources. Coupled archiving, data protection and eDiscovery challenges. with new training programs and a comprehensive Partner Portal, we make it easy for partners to gain Q Can you tell us about the motivation for creating this new program? proficiency across our portfolio of information A We’re currently experiencing a shift in the market. Beyond just facing management solutions—to better impact their explosive data growth, organizations are increasingly concerned about bottom line. compliance and risk management, and we feel this is an opportune time for partners to capitalize on these industry trends and deliver best-of- Q The world is moving toward the cloud. How breed information management solutions. does that factor into your channel strategy? A Iron Mountain has been offering highly secure Q How is Iron Mountain positioned to help the Microsoft channel cloud-based solutions through the channel for solve its customers’ information management challenges? more than 10 years. Yet customers today want to A As a long-standing Global ISV and Gold Certified Partner, Iron “have it their way.” They’re looking for options— Mountain has years of experience in helping customers deploy and both on-site and in the cloud—to best support manage Microsoft-based solutions. Our portfolio of solutions is their IT and business strategies. Our information second to none, and spans the information management spectrum management solutions are location-agnostic— across data protection, archiving and eDiscovery. The portfolio meaning that they can be delivered either on- premises or in the cloud—or a hybrid combination. Partners benefit by offering a mix of solutions that best meet their customers’ needs.

PLEASE VISIT: www.ironmountain.com/partners E-mail: microsoftpartners@ ironmountain.com

0810rcp_IronMountainRCPPAd.final.indd 2 7/16/10 1:13 PM TRENDS ISSUES Channel ANALYSIS

REPORT August 2010

{Game Changer} Microsoft Bottles the Cloud in an Appliance Partners HP, Dell and Fujitsu will deliver 900-server, private-cloud enclosures running Windows Azure and SQL Azure services. By Jeffrey Schwartz

extended to our larger customers that want to provide IT services within their own organizations.” Details of the new appliance were vague, including cost, confi guration and how it will be rolled out to customers. Muglia did say the hardware for the new appliance will be specifi ed by Microsoft, allowing service providers to either off er their own hosted Windows Azure-based services or provision the appliances initially to large datacenter customers on-premises. The availability of such private cloud implementations addresses issues of control and compliance that have made cloud computing unfeasible for many corporate and government customers. “The benefi ts are associated with control, compliance and keeping the data locally— ddressing some of the key The exterior of the Windows data sovereignty. These are important objections to cloud computing, Azure Appliance was the benefi ts that allow for much more centerpiece of the Expo Hall at Microsoft unveiled plans for its the Microsoft Worldwide Partner extensive solutions being built around this Windows Azure platform Conference in July. OEM partners cloud environment,” Muglia said. to be available as an appliance plan to start fi lling the appliance For eBay, the appliance will ease Athat can run on customer and partner premises. enclosures with servers, storage deployment without moving its huge At its Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) and networking and off ering auction and PayPal payment processing them to customers later this year. in July, Microsoft revealed its intentions to off er service off -premises. “If I want to deploy what it calls the Windows Azure Appliance, an application today for eBay.com within which Microsoft has talked up conceptually for several months. The appliance my datacenters, I need to secure the will be off ered later this year by key partners—initially Dell Inc., Fujitsu Ltd. and hardware, provision a network, hook up Hewlett-Packard Co. The appliance will enable private clouds based on huge the load balancer and make it part of the turnkey systems equipped with the Windows Azure and SQL Azure services infrastructure,” said James Barrese, eBay running on self-contained server, storage and network infrastructure. eBay Inc. VP of technology, speaking at a press said it, too, will use the appliance. conference following the keynote. “The Windows Azure appliance fundamentally takes the Windows Azure service Dell, Fujitsu and HP all plan to off er and extends it,” said Bob Muglia, president of the Microsoft Server and Tools the appliances later this year, based on business, speaking in the opening WPC keynote in Washington, D.C. “It extends predefi ned hardware specifi cations by it to our service providers, allowing you to have exactly the same capabilities Microsoft. The hardware vendors said within your datacenter, providing that capability to your customers; and it can be they see opportunities for both off ering PHOTO BY JEFFREY SCHWARTZ JEFFREY BY PHOTO

RCPmag.com AUGUST 2010 Redmond Channel Partner 9 CR “Windows InTune ... really helps you help

{Game Changer cont.} customers manage and secure their PCs, “The Windows Azure all from the cloud.” appliance fundamentally Tami Reller, Corporate Vice takes the Windows President of Marketing and CFO, Windows & Windows Live Azure service and Division, Microsoft extends it.” Bob Muglia, President, Server and Tools Business, Microsoft

hosting services to customers as well as selling systems to very large enterprises such as government agen- cies and large corporations. Though the companies aren’t discussing the {Beta} confi gurations, the initial implementations will house just shy of 1,000 Microsoft Takes a Crack at a servers, Muglia said. One partner that appeared Cloud-Based MSP Tool totally surprised by the launch of the Windows InTune enters beta 2 phase with new partner-focused features. appliance was Harry Zarek, CEO of By Scott Bekker Toronto-based Compugen Inc. When he was approached on camera by As Microsoft pushes partners to go This time, Microsoft is allowing up to Microsoft Channel Chief Jon Roskill, “all-in” on the cloud, the company is 10,000 testers to participate. Zarek said, “We’ve been a Microsoft preparing a new Windows-based PC Partner feedback from the fi rst beta has partner for 20 years, having gone management off ering that partners can already changed the tool, Reller said. “One through the traditional product sell up there. of the most common pieces of feedback resale and service support. We had a Tami Reller, corporate vice president we got through the fi rst round of betas was, fear that this business was going to of marketing and CFO of the Windows ‘Allow us to see multiple customers. If we’re trickle through our hands and move & Windows Live Division at Microsoft, managing multiple customers through into the datacenter. We had a big introduced the second beta of Windows Windows InTune, allow us to be more question [about] what we would be InTune at the company’s Worldwide agile and quickly switch between,’” she left with. This is the missing link: This Partner Conference last month. The explained. “So this is a new feature with is the piece we need to give us the product is a cloud-based systems beta 2.0, and that is to be able to easily destination over the next few years in management and security tool for use by switch to another account. the cloud, and we have an important midmarket IT departments—and is also “It doesn’t matter where these PCs are role to play.” a new attempt by Microsoft to get into located,” Reller added. Muglia said the cloud has forced the market for managed service provider Rollout of the service is currently Microsoft to reinvent itself and will tools for partners. planned for early 2011. Pricing for require its partners to do the same. “It’s “Windows InTune … really helps you Windows InTune is currently set at $11 a change that’s inevitable, it’s a change help customers manage and secure their per PC per month. For an additional $1 that allows us all to deliver new value, PCs, all from the cloud. So, wherever you per PC per month, Windows InTune users it’s a change that thankfully is not have access to a Web browser, you can will have access to the Microsoft Desktop happening overnight and it’s a change really help customers with this,” Reller Optimization Pack. • we will embrace together,” he said. • said during her keynote. A fi rst beta of the tool back in April reached its limit of 1,000 users in about Scott Bekker ([email protected]) is editor

Jeff rey Schwartz is executive editor of 24 hours, according to Microsoft offi cials. in chief of RCP. MICROSOFT RCP and an editor-at-large at Redmond magazine. Follow him on Twitter @ Jeff reySchwartz, and reach him at Visit RCPmag.com for daily news updates [email protected].

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{RCP on the MPN}

Full speed ahead on the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN): There’s a 7 new channel chief in Roskill, but no plans to pause the implementation. New beneﬁ ts and requirements go online in October, barring 11 technical complications.

Gold is back, sort of: The Gold Things to Know About … Certiﬁ ed Partner level will be out when 8MPN goes into full eff ect, but the WPC Takeaways Competencies and Advanced Competencies By Scott Bekker/RCP Staff have been renamed Silver Competencies and Gold Competencies.

Microsoft is eyeing MSPs: With Windows InTune and future scaled- 9down Windows Azure appliances, Microsoft is paying attention to the managed Cloud Pack Essentials: A quick and service provider market. Another Microsoft Worldwide Partner dirty set of tools for partners to start Conference (WPC) is in the bag. While we’re 4moving their business onto the cloud. Turnover: The heavy layoff s just covering a lot of the WPC news throughout ahead of WPC caused scheduling the magazine and online, here are 11 key Cloud Accelerate: A new badge to help 10 turmoil for partners and vendors, takeaways from WPC in one place: 5born-on-the-cloud partners stand out. many of whose contacts were suddenly gone. Management: Steve Ballmer seemed Resilience: Nonetheless, partner Microsoft wants partners to be down. Kevin Turner was at the top of his enthusiasm was pretty high, with “all-in” on the cloud: Nearly everything 6aggressive game. Outgoing Corporate 11many partners telling us Microsoft 1was about cloud computing. This is a little VP of the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Group seemed to have its mojo back. Partner weird for partners coming in from countries (WPG) Allison Watson seemed wistful. New attendance was huge at a reported 9,300 out where Business Productivity Online Standard WPG CVP Jon Roskill was approachable. of about 14,000 total attendees. Suite (BPOS) and other off erings haven’t rolled out yet, but pretty compelling for U.S. partners.

Keep an eye on the Windows {Quotable} Azure Appliance: The 900-server, On the Channel 2private-cloud enclosures are supposed The Microsoft CEO, speaking in his keynote address at the Worldwide Partner Conference, raised a few eyebrows to be coming this year from Hewlett-Packard this year. Co., Dell Inc. and Fujitsu Ltd.—extending the Microsoft cloud story. “I’m sure I’ll hear various things about

Dynamics CRM Online: Margins how we’re competing with you when you jumped to 40 percent in year one, and 6 don’t want us to, and how we can improve 3 percent recurring—a huge bump from the channel conﬂ icts. I’m sure I’ll hear about old 18/6 mix. The off er is only guaranteed to be in place for a year. At the same time, partners margins and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. are getting 250 Dynamics CRM Online seats for BALLMER

STEVE But we’ll factor those inputs in.” internal use. SHUTTERSTOCK

12 Redmond Channel Partner AUGUST 2010 RCPmag.com Coming soon: Guide to the MPN

{Reorg} New Assignments for Microsoft U.S. Channel Chiefs ON MICROSOFT COMPETITION Bates leads new SMB organization; Flinders takes all of U.S. Partner Group. “Microsoft isn’t at Bates’ organization will “bring together our end-to- the top on end SMB sales and marketing vulnerabilities eff orts to accelerate our momentum in this important and exceptions segment,” Sorgen wrote. anymore. No. 1 “This [organization] will be

the primary voice of our } is Apple. No. 2 SMB Business and is Oracle. Distribution/VAR channel,” Quotable Cindy Bates Jenni Flinders his e-mail said. { They can have Due to the move, Sorgen Microsoft Vice Presidents Cindy Bates said he expanded Flinders’ charter to that ﬁ rst place and Jenni Flinders, joint chiefs of the U.S. lead the U.S. PS&P. mantle all they channel for the last year, moved into new “The PS&P organization is a national roles at the beginning of theMicrosoft FY team focused on driving strategy and want, as it relates to 2011 in July. execution across all ‘cross-subsidiary’ defects and vulner- Bates, formerly vice president of partner eff orts,” Sorgen’s e-mail said. U.S. Partner Strategy, Marketing and “This team will be the primary voice for abilities. That’s the Programs, will now head a newly our broad channel ecosystem in the created organization as vice president [United States].” only thing we’re of the U.S. Small, Medium Business and Bates’ direct reports include Rob going to give them.” Distribution organization. Sonderman, Business Operations; Flinders, formerly VP of U.S. Partner Gina Jackson, Business Coordinator; Sales and Business Development, Marc Monday, Distribution Sales; becomes vice president of the U.S. Benny Madrid, SMB-Regional GM Partner Sales and Programs Group West; Liz Siver (Acting), SMB-Regional (PS&P)—essentially returning the posi- GM Central; Kim Tubbs-Herron, tion of U.S. channel chief to a one-person SMB-Regional GM East; Eric Martorano, job again for the ﬁ rst time since mid-2008. SMB Channel Strategy, Marketing, In an internal e-mail, Phil Sorgen, Online Services; Josh Waldo, SMB corporate vice president of U.S. Small Solution Partner & Customer Marketing; and Midmarket Solutions and Partners, Dave Waldrop, SMB Business characterized the changes as necessary to Development; Rex Bloesser, SMB address the market. Retail; and TJ DiCaprio, SMB Branding “The SMB customer segment is an Content Strategy. Kevin Turner, COO, Microsoft, at the incredibly competitive market, with Flinders’ direct reports include Brenda 2010 Worldwide Partner Conference our traditional competitors doubling Shamon, Business Operations; Katie down their eff orts and the rapid growth McGiff ord, Assistant; Kristi Schwartz, of ‘cloud based off erings’ introducing Partner Programs & Incentives; Sherry new competition,” Sorgen wrote. “It’s Willman, LAR/DMR; Deb Patterson, important that we align ourselves Dell; Lynne Frankel, CDW; Pat Schlight, internally so that we can have a laser Managed ISV; and Jennifer Jobin, NSI.

MICROSOFT focus externally on this segment.” – S.B.

RCPmag.com AUGUST 2010 Redmond Channel Partner 13 CR Visit the TechLibrary

{Tools}

{Milestones} Quest Reaches Out to MSPs Major Service Major Microsoft ecosystem ISVs are hoping consumption-based pricing Packs Hit Beta will entice partners. Windows 7 and Windows Server Quest Software Inc. wants managed After seeing its revenues decline for the 2008 R2 packs are available now services providers (MSPs) to use its ﬁ rst time in a decade last year—from $735 for testing. broad portfolio of systems management, million in 2008 to $695 million last year— migration and connectivity software. The Quest is trying to extend its reach to MSPs The beta releases of a Service Pack 1 problem is MSPs don’t want to pay the by off ering its software via a new licensing for both Windows 7 and Windows Server traditional Quest lump-sum licensing fees. model that’s more attractive to them. 2008 R2 are available now. In order to make its software palatable Dan Atkinson, VP of alliances and This beta release isn’t intended to MSPs, Quest has introduced a new marketing at DirectPointe Inc., hooked for home users of Windows 7, and it consumption-based licensing model up with Quest about a year ago and found doesn’t add any new features, according that it hopes will broaden its market. The many of its monitoring and migration to a Microsoft blog. It’s mostly of note company recently launched its Service tools suitable for his company’s needs. for IT pros, who now can begin testing Provider Program, designed to let MSPs But Atkinson says DirectPointe couldn’t two virtualization features announced license its software the way service introduce new capital expenditures to pay in March: “dynamic memory” and providers are accustomed to doing for the software when the company was “RemoteFX.” business: by the month or quarterly, and as accustomed to weighing its costs toward The dynamic memory function applicable on a per-user or -account basis. operational expenditures. Atkinson says allows users to pool the memory “We’re traditionally targeted at the the Quest move from perpetual license available on hardware and allocate on-premises customer to give them all fees to quarterly per-user pricing sealed it dynamically to virtual machines as the capabilities they need to do things the deal. needed. It helps get more bang for the themselves,” says Darren Swan, Quest “Paying all of those upfront license buck with server virtualization. manager of development. “We’ve worked fees and maintenance fees doesn’t work The RemoteFX capability will with service providers to help them do well for somebody like ourselves that’s a enable a better graphics experience on it with the customers, but we haven’t pure-play MSP,” Atkinson explains. thin-client devices when users connect targeted speciﬁ cally the service providers Software vendors who want to do remotely with servers to enable desktop to enable them to move on-premises to business with MSPs and cloud providers virtualization. The RemoteFX capability, host and manage.” appear to be grudgingly moving in this which works with Microsoft Remote Quest had to make a fundamental direction, according to Atkinson. Case in Desktop Services core virtualization change in its business model to reach point is CA Technologies, which recently technology in Windows Server 2008 this new customer set. That’s because acquired monitoring vendor Nimsoft and R2, promises the ability to tap into the business model for MSPs doesn’t cloud virtualization platform vendor 3Tera. three-dimensional graphics (such as encourage them to incur upfront “We’re beginning to see more and more AutoCAD) and streaming video on software license fees. of it,” Atkinson says. —J.S. thin-client devices. Microsoft pointed to a number of hardware partners integrating and QUEST SOFTWARE INC. testing the RemoteFX technology in ANNUAL REVENUES $735M $695M a blog post. Advanced Micro Devices $631M Inc. worked with Microsoft to test $555M graphics processing unit compatibility $476M with RemoteFX, including AMD ATI $389M FirePro professional graphics cards. $304M $245M $258M Nvidia Corp. collaborated with Microsoft $167M on RemoteFX using NVidia Quadro $71M professional graphics products, and Dell Inc. has been testing graphics card ’99 ’00 ’01 ’02 ’03 ’04 ’05 ’06 ’07 ’08 ’09 support on Dell PowerEdge servers. —K.M.

14 Redmond Channel Partner AUGUST 2010 RCPmag.com Keep up-to-date with the channel with our free {Lifecycle} e-newsletter, RCP Update–subscribe at RCPmag.com Windows 7

{SMB} Downgrade Microsoft Unveils Rights Get Windows Small Extension The ability to downgrade to Business Server Previews Windows XP will continue. New Versions are code-named ‘SBS 7’ and ‘SBS Aurora.’ Microsoft has extended Windows 7 By Kurt Mackie downgrade rights for those buying new PCs from original equipment manu- Microsoft announced two new “previews” to come for its Windows Small facturers (OEMs). Microsoft employee Business Server (SBS) product suite. Brandon LeBlanc explained the change The previews, which aren’t yet publicly available, are code-named in a blog post last month. “SBS 7” and “SBS Aurora.” Announced at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner However, those looking for an Conference in July, the preview releases are supposed to be available for exact date will be disappointed. download by summer’s end. The short answer is that Microsoft SBS 7 is designed to support a maximum of 75 users, so there’s extended Windows 7 downgrade no real change in capacity from SBS 2008 (the currently available, all rights to Windows Vista or Window XP 64-bit product that rolled out in November 2008). However, Microsoft is “throughout the Windows 7 lifecycle,” planning to upgrade all of the components in SBS 7 to refl ect its current according to the blog. product stack of server technologies. A clarifi cation off ered by longtime SBS 7 will include “Windows Server 2008 R2, Exchange Server 2010 Microsoft observer Ed Bott explains that SP1, SharePoint 2010 Foundation, Windows Server Update Services 3.0 the lifecycle being and SQL Server 2008 R2,” according to a Microsoft blog entry. SBS 7 will referred to here support employees with “fi le-and-print, e-mail and Internet services,” is the Microsoft plus Microsoft is adding management and security improvements. sales cycle, not its SBS Aurora, on the other hand, will support a maximum of 25 users, support lifecycle. enabling remote data access. Microsoft is describing it as a “fi rst server” Consequently, some option for small businesses. What’s more, SBS Aurora is described as media accounts “the company’s fi rst [server suite] to deliver both traditional and cloud have incorrectly capabilities,” according to the blog. SBS Aurora also will feature automatic calculated that backup and restore capabilities and will enable fi le and print sharing. Window XP The blog describes “a lot of partner interest” in SBS Aurora, citing downgrade rights will extend to 2020 integration plans by Diskeeper Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., Level based on support lifecycle dates, Platforms Inc. and Symantec Corp. Microsoft plans to release a “Windows according to Bott. He estimates new PC Server Solution Software Development Kit” that will enable developers buyers will only have downgrade rights to to “build add-ins and write drive integration of new and existing online Windows XP “by the end of 2015.” services with SBS Aurora,” according to the blog. Those organizations that purchase For those organizations supporting a maximum of 10 users, Microsoft the right to use Windows 7 through rolled out a beta in April of Windows Home Server code-named “Vail,” volume licensing accounts should ignore which is aimed at consumers but also small business users. Unlike SBS such dates, as LeBlanc is only referring Aurora, the Windows Home Server Vail beta currently lacks printer to situations where users get new PCs support and doesn’t have terminal server support for remote access. with Windows 7 through OEMs. Also, the Windows SBS used to be part of a two-part off ering with Windows downgrade rights only apply to Windows Essential Business Server (EBS). However, in April, Microsoft killed off 7 Professional and Ultimate Editions. EBS, which was designed to support midsize organizations of 75 to 300 Those downgrading to Windows Vista users. On June 30, Microsoft ended the availability and development of or Windows XP can only downgrade to the EBS product (see “Zombie Products,” p. 22). • similar editions (that is, Professional and Ultimate). Windows 7 Home Edition users don’t have downgrade rights at all. —K.M. Kurt Mackie ([email protected]) is online news editor, Enterprise Group,

SHUTTERSTOCK at 1105 Media Inc.

RCPmag.com AUGUST 2010 Redmond Channel Partner 15 RCP COVER STORY | CHALLENGES

BIGGESTC Jonathan Roskill takes over the Worldwide Partner Group at a time of overlapping, critical transitions. By Scott Bekker and Jeff rey Schwartz

Everything is up in the air between Microsoft and its channel. The company is embarking upon a fundamental shift in the business model to cloud delivery of services

as well as infrastructure. Few in the Roskill makes his debut as the Microsoft channel chief at the company’s annual Worldwide Partner channel—arguably few even within Conference in Washington, D.C., last month. Microsoft—can say they really have a strong theory for how the changes will play out in the partnering model over the next ﬁ ve years.

16 Redmond Channel Partner AUGUST 2010 RCPmag.com TCHALLENGES for the New Microsoft Channel Chief

RCPmag.com AUGUST 2010 Redmond Channel Partner 17 RCP FEATURE | CHALLENGES

Adding to that tidal shift is an entirely new partnering model in the form of the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN), which brings changes that are on pace to go into eff ect in October. As if that isn’t enough for the channel to grapple with, Microsoft senior management threw some more instability into the mix by choosing this moment to transfer Allison Watson to a diff erent job after eight years as the head of Worldwide Partner Sales and Marketing. Enter Jonathan Roskill, Watson’s replacement as corporate vice president in the post. Microsoft gave Roskill one week on the job to get ready for the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC), and then he was “drinking from the ﬁ rehose,” in the old Microsoft vernacular—serving as master of ceremonies and keynote speech presenter at the largest Microsoft partner conference yet, and getting swept into a whirlwind of dozens of meetings with hundreds of partners, as well as analysts and press including Redmond Channel Partner. The challenges of the job at this time are legion. RCP sat down with Roskill sought reaction to Microsoft announcements during WPC keynotes from audience members Roskill at last month’s WPC in Washington, D.C., and talked with including Harry Zarek, CEO of Toronto-based attendees of the annual Microsoft confab. What follows are some of Compugen Inc. the top challenges that Roskill faces.

yesterday that I’m British, and I’ve lived here since I was three, so I don’t have the accent. But my grandfather was a British naval INTRODUCE historian. And he opened something called the Churchill Archives at Cambridge University, which makes this Churchill quote both HIMSELF AND personally interesting and professionally relevant to me.” 1WIN TRUST An engineer by training, Roskill made the switch to marketing while at Digital Equipment Corp. He joined Microsoft in 1993 and If you’re a technology vendor CEO, partners want to know that previous roles included developer and .NET Enterprise Server you’re brilliant and that your products will stay a step ahead of the marketing. Most recently, he was corporate vice president of the competition. In a partner executive, they want to know they can U.S. Business & Marketing Offi ce for Microsoft, North America. trust you. If Microsoft starts to get a reputation as undercutting or He also brings a diff erent style to the role than Watson did. Watson devaluing its partners, its days at the center of the biggest vendor- was the closest thing the Microsoft channel had to a celebrity— based partner network in the industry will be short. complete with ever-present handlers, big entrances and elaborate, Allison Watson was a known quantity. RCP conducted a reader poll funny short movies similar to the ones Bill Gates used to show at his in the fi rst half of July to get a quick snapshot on partners’ feelings keynotes. Roskill’s style, at least at his fi rst WPC, was much more about the unexpected leadership change. Nearly 70 percent of the low-key and approachable. For example, in a press conference 109 respondents thought she did a good or very good job. That said, with media and analysts, he circulated the room, talking briefl y to Roskill probably doesn’t face a backlash of disappointment with the everyone there before making some opening remarks and taking change at the top. Only 7 percent said they disagreed with Microsoft questions. Partners we spoke with who had met with Roskill at management’s decision that it was time for new leadership, while 47 WPC reported similar, positive experiences, fi nding him sharp and percent felt it was time and 46 percent said “maybe.” willing to listen. Roskill walks into the job with a clean slate. In the survey, 65 percent of respondents were not familiar with his track record. Of those who had heard of him, impressions leaned to the positive side—14 percent SELL PARTNERS had heard good things, 21 percent had heard mixed things and less than 1 percent had heard bad things about Roskill. ON THE Well aware of the requirements, Roskill moved aggressively in MICROSOFT Washington, D.C., to start fi lling in the blanks, sharing anecdotes 2CLOUD during and in between keynotes. In one example that smoothly blended personal history with the Responding to an open question about his priorities in the inter- momentous changes happening in the channel, Roskill said: “That view with RCP, Roskill went right to the cloud. “I’m thinking a lot brings me to a quote. ‘To improve is to change; to be perfect is to have about, obviously, the cloud, and looking at what’s out there right changed often.’ It’s a quote from Winston Churchill. Now, you heard now and what stage of completion it’s at. There’s clearly more

18 Redmond Channel Partner AUGUST 2010 RCPmag.com stuff to be done, but actually from what I’ve been seeing at this But cloud computing presents huge temptations to take off erings conference I feel pretty good about that,” Roskill said. to customers directly. Just because Ballmer and Turner say partners In the fi rst half of calendar year 2010, Microsoft has signaled more are their best route to the cloud doesn’t mean they’re convinced of strongly than ever that the company is “all in” when it comes to the it. Roskill will have to consistently make a legitimate case upward cloud. The company used the partner conference to hammer that within Microsoft that the company’s massive partner network is a message home for partners, and the job falls to Roskill to guide, drag, huge advantage—especially if the traditional Microsoft Windows lead or follow the various parts of the Microsoft partner community and Offi ce lock-ins begin to fade in importance. to the Microsoft cloud. Only time will tell if Roskill can hold his own on behalf of partners “His ride is going to be very diff erent from what it’s been for the last when Ballmer and Turner are tempted to undermine partners. We few years as they try to push partners into online services and there’s put the impossible question to him on the record of whether he could a lot of changes,” says Paul DeGroot, an analyst with Directions on stand up to Ballmer and Turner, and Roskill chose to answer it this way: Microsoft. “Nothing I’ve heard here this week really changes my view “Steve and Kevin came to me and said, ‘As we look to somebody new that the traditional Microsoft partner who sells technical skills will to take this role, we want you to take it, and we’re excited about you have diffi culty fi nding their footing in a future that places a premium as somebody with business strategy background who can be a voice on sales and marketing scale.” of the partner back up into the businesses.’ They want that energy up In the RCP survey, partners said the most important things Microsoft to the business groups.” can do for them in the cloud are provide better margins, provide programmatic resources to help partners launch cloud practices, and develop packaged services that partners can resell around cloud off erings. Roskill had the fortune of inheriting a few initiatives on those fronts that he could roll out at WPC. Microsoft cranked up the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online margins MANAGE AN to 40 percent in the fi rst year with 6 percent recurring for FY 2011—up 4 INHERITED MPN from 18 percent in year one and 6 percent recurring in FY 2010. In his WPC keynote, Roskill rolled out several major programs and When Allison Watson took the job in 2002, she had the opportunity resources to help partners get on the cloud—Microsoft Cloud to create a new Microsoft Partner Program from scratch. Roskill, on Essentials, Microsoft Cloud Accelerate, Business Builder for Cloud the other hand, inherits an MPN—basically Watson’s 2.0 version of Services and Cloud Profi tability Modeler. the program—on the brink of being rolled out after three years of While the Business Productivity Online Suite, Dynamics CRM research, eff ort and evangelism. Online and similar off erings represent a major business model shift Some partners would like to see the eff ort stopped in its tracks. for partners, in some ways they represent the tame changes coming In the RCP survey, about 30 percent wanted Microsoft to proceed with cloud computing. The implications of the major Microsoft as planned with the MPN’s full launch in October. Some 27 percent datacenter buildout to support the Windows Azure platform stand wanted a temporary review, 16 percent wanted a full-scale delay to bring much more fundamental changes. Thinking around corners with reworked details and 16 percent wanted Microsoft to start over. with partners and guiding them to mutually lucrative landing zones A do-over is not in the cards, Roskill told RCP. “I haven’t heard in that future will be a major part of the job over the next few years. anything yet that makes me feel like I should stop any trains that are rolling right now,” he said. “If I was going to, I would’ve done it before the conference.” Several tweaks were introduced at WPC, and Roskill said he’s already considering modifi cations down the road. The biggest change announced at WPC was a name change from Advanced Competency and Competency to Gold Competency and 3MANAGE UP Silver Competency. Requirements and benefi ts will be the same, but the name change brings back the “Gold” branding that thousands of Internally, a channel chief is judged on how well he gets the partners have built upon since October 2000. Similarly, the number vendor message out to the channel. Partners’ receptivity to that of certifi ed professionals required to attain the Gold version of the message, to a large extent, depends on how much they’ve been Midmarket Solution Provider Competency was reduced from four able to manage that message with their input, and how hard they to three. It’s the only competency that doesn’t require four unique think a channel chief will fi ght internally on their behalf. people to attain Gold. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and COO Kevin Turner said all The requirement that partners who want to attain multiple compe- the right things about partners at WPC, although Ballmer raised tencies have four unique certifi ed professionals for each is a major eyebrows with a quote that seemed to minimize partner concerns sticking point for small and midsize partner companies, and an issue about margins with a “blah, blah, blah” (see “On the Channel,” p. 12). that Roskill got an earful about at WPC.

RCPmag.com AUGUST 2010 Redmond Channel Partner 19 RCP FEATURE | CLOUD } ADVICE Quotables { for the New Microsoft Channel Chief

What some respondents to our online reader poll say they’d like to see changed “Look to provide more margin in the new Microsoft partner organization. for partners.”

“Strike a better balance in the “Review and assess the number of treatment of small and large partners to fi lter out the ones that partners.” are generating revenue. Then, once fi ltered, place them in “Be sure to understand the revenue-generating tiers. Once Microsoft Partner base, what the tier structure is created, they do, how they support assign an appropriate skilled Microsoft sales eff orts and what partner representative to they bring to the table.” manage those partners.” “As a benefi t of the revised channel “Realize the growing importance partner program, develop sales of SMB Partners!” bootcamps that are a foundation course for VARs, systems integrators “Learn what’s in place fi rst—then and solution providers.” start to make [an] impact.”

“Give partners more participation “The new MPN is all about trying to in the overall Microsoft get partners to focus more on core product directions.” competencies versus trying to be everything to anyone. This needs “Stop the changes to the partner to be developed further and network until [Roskill gets] a partners who specialize given better understanding of the more opportunities to help lead channel and an understanding Microsoft. Partners usually hear of the value the partners bring to and understand the customer their clients, no matter the size.” voice better than Microsoft.”

20 Redmond Channel Partner AUGUST 2010 RCPmag.com “I think we need to step back and look at some of the stuff we’re putting out and just say, ‘How much is this collective ecosystem ready to absorb?’” Jonathan Roskill, Corporate Vice President, Worldwide Partner Group, Microsoft

“I don’t think any of them are really concerned about losing their Beyond the thorny specifi cs of the competency changes and their Gold status,” he said. “What they’re concerned about is they have Gold timing, Roskill hinted that partners should also expect a fundamental status in maybe four competency areas. Let’s say they have a staff of simplifi cation of MPN resources for partners overall. eight people and you have to have four people uniquely certifi ed: “I think we need to step back and look at some of the stuff we’re they’ll only be able to [be Gold] competent in two competencies versus putting out and just say, ‘How much is this collective ecosystem ready four. I’ve heard that and I think one of the things we need to look at to absorb?’ What we tend to do is throw more stuff at it, and what then as a possibility here is for us to think about whether we can do some happens is they selectively fi lter out what they want. What we need solution-area competency. If we said, ‘If you could get Gold in three of to do is step back, go to the customer and fi gure out what the right the fi ve in Core IO, we could give you a Core IO competency’—that’s thing is for the customer—and then go back and say, ‘This is what the one thing that’s interesting to think about.” customers want. Let’s get stuff from the marketing teams that’s going Howard Cohen, Northeast Regional Chair of the International to work on that space.’” Association of Microsoft Channel Partners (IAMCP), says, “I think Microsoft wouldn’t need to step back, though, had the company there’s a good chance they’ll ultimately budge. If you look to [MPN let partners weigh in on the competency changes up front, Johnson General Manager] Julie Bennani’s WPC presentation, she showed suggested. “Why didn’t they ask us before they made this change, six groups of competencies.” He continues: “Looking at them, they that’s what I want to know,” she said. “They make the change and each constitute a platform group, and I think the fi rst thing they may ask us how we feel about it—that’s BS.” actually do is to relax that rule so you can use the same person for competencies within a platform. I think they’re more concerned about the platform groups than they are about the individual competencies. It’s not that they want to drive up body counts—they just want to make sure the focus is there. The focus there on the platform group is pretty much the whole deal, it doesn’t have to be the individual RIGHT-SIZE competencies themselves.” 5 THE NETWORK Timing is an issue. Roskill indicated he has some latitude to fi x it. “Based on what we’ve heard here, I want to think about tuning Ultimately, Roskill inherits one of the largest channels in the IT things. I don’t think we want to change anything before October. Like industry, or any other industry. One major challenge will be deter- the solution possibility, that’s something we could phase in later if we mining if the size of that network is right. want,” Roskill said. For the last several years, the MPN has hovered fairly steadily in Cohen contends the issue is more urgent among IAMCP members. the range of 400,000 partners in the network, with Microsoft saying “The challenge will still remain for companies that do [things like] that unoffi cial partners boost that network to 640,000 companies. infrastructure and messaging. Those two go together but they aren’t Out of the estimated 1-million-plus IT channel companies worldwide, on the same platform. Relaxing it would be a huge deal—it would get that’s a fairly impressive chunk. a lot of people breathing again. The panic is still well spread. A lot of With the radical changes in business models—and with the people are screaming but I think they’re screaming in private,” he adds. evolutionary changes in the MPN—Roskill will face questions about One of many public complaints came out during a WPC session. whether the interests of Microsoft are served by continuing with a Margaret Johnson, managing director of St. Louis-based Oakwood huge community, better served by an even bigger community, or could Systems Group Inc., has 85 people with several diff erent practices. “We actually be more eff ective with a smaller, more focused set. have the business intelligence team that’s 10 or 12 people, and currently Underneath the overall umbrella, Roskill and other channel- we have data platform competency, BI competency and performance facing executives at Microsoft will face dozens of smaller-bore management. Now I’ve got these 10 to 12 people and in order to be questions: Does Microsoft have the right number of Large Account Gold in each [competency], I need to take them out of billing, fi rst of Resellers, global systems integrators, Small Business Specialists all, get them trained up and tested. Some of them quite honestly might and so on. Between all those challenges, Roskill has plenty to keep be rocket scientists when it comes to data warehousing but not very him almost as busy all year as he was for his second week on the job good test takers, so I’m going to have to punish those people,” she said. this July in Washington, D.C. • “I have to pick now: Do I want a BI competency or do I want a SQL competency? And we look like SQL less than BI. I think it’s ugly. This really is the ugly part. Diff erentiation is good but not at the expense Scott Bekker ([email protected]) is editor in chief and Jeff rey of your credibility,” she added. Schwartz ([email protected]) is executive editor of RCP.

RCPmag.com AUGUST 2010 Redmond Channel Partner 21 RCP FEATURE | ZOMBIE PRODUCTS

Zombie Products Beware of these eight undead products: Customers may want them, but their support and future are in doubt. By John K. Waters

22 Redmond Channel Partner AUGUST 2010 RCPmag.com RCPmag.com AUGUST 2010 Redmond Channel Partner 23 RCP FEATURE | ZOMBIE PRODUCTS

Intuit with its ubiquitous QuickBooks. A year later, it was renamed Microsoft Offi ce Accounting (MOA) and eredoff in a free Express Edition and a paid Professional Edition. MOA provided a small business accounting application with what seemed, at the time, to be a hard-to-beat advantage: integration with apps in the Offi ce suite. The MOA package also came with numerous “strategically informative ways to use and understand fi nancial data,” everything from forecasting tools to more than 60 customizable lists and reports—a fairly innovative attempt to get business intelligence (BI) into a packaged accounting application. And yet, despite a splashy debut, subsequent discounts and a mail-in rebate program, MOA never made much headway against the established market leaders. Intuit continued to command more than 90 percent of the market; its closest competitor, Peachtree, owned less than 5 percent. Microsoft offi cially discontinued distribution of the product on Nov. 16, 2009. In its announcement, Microsoft said: “We continually evaluate our business strategies to make sure we’re working to meet the needs of customers, partners and shareholders. With that in mind, we’ve determined that existing free templates within Offi ce used with Excel were a better option for small businesses.” Microsoft might have killed it, but MOA still walks the earth. The HE STORY company has promised to continue providing support for the software for fi ve years, and you can still fi nd new copies of even the 2006 edition for sale on the Web. is familiar to many partners. Microsoft rolls out a new product with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. Partners commit a practice to selling the product, investing in training, staff and spending MICROSOFT MONEY crucial credibility with customers. Then, suddenly, Microsoft pulls Preceding MOA into the grave was Redmond’s personal fi nance the product off the market. software package, Microsoft Money. It was fi rst released as part Some products go out in a blaze of glory. The recent Microsoft Kin of the Microsoft Home product family in the early 1990s, and fi asco, while not strongly impacting business-focused partners, is a quickly emerged as a worthy competitor to Intuit Quicken and prime example of a high-profi le fl ameout. The product was yanked from other desktop fi nancial-management applications. the market seemingly moments after the teen-oriented device shipped Microsoft Money attracted a respectable user base over the years, behind a major air cover investment in the form of TV and Web ads. but never neared the market-leading position of Intuit, which the But other products drift away in a much slower and stealthier company actually sought to buy in the mid-1990s. In August 2008, fade. In such cases, Microsoft will continue to take orders for the Microsoft informed its customers it would stop releasing incremental product, and the product Web sites on Microsoft.com look completely updates of the product annually; there would be no 2009 version. A normal. Buried in the Frequently Asked Questions section, or noted year later, the company offi cially pulled the plug on development of in a related product blog, however, lurks a statement about how the product. future versions and direction are “under evaluation.” Meanwhile, Explaining its decision, Microsoft said on its “Money Plus” Web rumors may circulate that the entire product team has been laid site: “The category of personal fi nancial-management software has off or reassigned. This pattern seems to have accelerated a bit in the changed considerably in the 17 years since Money was fi rst estab- last year as Microsoft, like everyone else, has moved to weather the lished. As more users shift their attention to full-service off erings recession and competition from all over. These fading products are provided by banks and brokerages, demand for a comprehensive like zombies: walking dead through the IT landscape, going through personal fi nance toolset has declined.” the motions of performing a valuable function but having no sense Among those changes was the advent of free, Internet-based of direction and no upgrade path, and a looming support deadline. competitors, including Mint.com (recently acquired by Intuit) and Here are eight zombie products haunting partners today. the Intuit Quicken Online program, which took the desktop fi nance software market into territory where Microsoft doesn’t have the surest footing. MICROSOFT OFFICE SMALL Moreover, the death of Microsoft Money was seen by industry BUSINESS ACCOUNTING watchers as part of an overall cost-cutting eff ort, announced in early This undead app was spawned back in 2005 to tap into the lucra- 2009, which included a plan to lay off as many as 5,000 employees. tive small business accounting market, so ably dominated by A Microsoft spokesperson said at the time that the company was

24 Redmond Channel Partner AUGUST 2010 RCPmag.com “planning for economic uncertainty.” Microsoft has promised to we haven’t seen the necessary demand materialize to sustain support the still-animated corpse of Money through January 2011, Response Point as a viable standalone business. To continue to and several editions of Microsoft Money Plus 2008 can still be found support the needs of the small business community, we expect to shuffl ing around on online retail sites. consolidate our eff orts and off erings in this space around Microsoft Offi ce Communications Server (OCS).” Current Response Point customers will be able to continue using RESPONSE POINT the product, as Microsoft says, “per their equipment manufacturer Launched in March 2007 amid much fanfare, the Microsoft purchase agreement.” Redmond promises to continue to support its on-premises, Voice over IP (VoIP)-based private branch exchange partners and current customers via a special Web site, Microsoft.com/ (PBX) system was aimed at small businesses that couldn’t aff ord responsepoint, until Nov. 1, 2011. OEMs are free to continue selling expensive and complex switchboard systems, but who needed the Response Point phone system until Aug. 31, 2010. that capability. The plan was to make PBXes inexpensive and accessible via the Internet, and Microsoft partnered with several phone makers to distribute the product. PERFORMANCEPOINT S ERVER But Response Point was a targeted, niche play that just didn’t pan On June 6, 2006, Microsoft unveiled a new business process out. During a June 2009 Microsoft Town Hall meeting with VARs, management (BPM) product that pulled together several existing the company revealed that the product had gone into “maintenance products, including its Business Scorecard Manager, components mode,” and that no future releases were planned. The product is from its Dynamics product line and the then-newly acquired scheduled to join the ranks of the walking dead this year on Aug. 31, analytics tools from ProClarity. Dubbed PerformancePoint Server, when Microsoft will discontinue it offi cially. it provided a number of features, including dashboards, score- As Microsoft explained in its announcement, “Despite favorable cards, key performance indicators, reports, ﬁ lters and strategy initial response from customers and channel partners since launch, maps, all delivered via a monitoring server.

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RCPmag.com AUGUST 2010 Redmond Channel Partner 25 RCP FEATURE | ZOMBIE PRODUCTS

he death of Microsoft Money was seen by industry watchers as part of an overall cost-cutting eff ort, announced in early 2009, which included a plan to lay off as many as 5,000 employees.

The product was released in September 2007, and industry watchers alone product until June 30, 2009. The company essentially replaced noted Microsoft was entering a maturing market late—perhaps too Live OneCare with Microsoft Security Essentials, a free, downloadable late to catch up with BPM off erings from IBM Corp., Oracle Corp., anti-malware program with no back-up or tune-up utilities included. SAP AG and SAS Institute Inc., not to mention products from BI and Amy Barzdukas, senior director of product management for the ERP vendors. But they also expected Microsoft to do what it does: stick Microsoft Online Services and Windows Division, said in a statement with the product, refi ning versions until it gained market traction. at the time: “Customers around the world have told us they need But a down economy and a customer base that, as Microsoft put it, comprehensive, ongoing protection from new and existing threats, “needs to do more with less,” caused the company to kill the standalone and we take that concern seriously. This new, no-cost off ering will product in April 2009, and then quickly resurrect several of its features give us the ability to protect an even greater number of consumers, in SharePoint 2010 as PerformancePoint Services for SharePoint. Those especially in markets where the growth of new PC purchases is features included the scorecard, dashboard and analytic functionality. outpaced only by the growth of malware.” “Our decision is based on wanting customers to truly experience Microsoft has promised to continue supporting the users of this pervasive BI in their organization at a low cost through the tools they undead software through the terms of their subscriptions. But use every day,” Kurt DelBene, senior vice president of the Microsoft Redmond hasn’t optimized the product for the Windows 7 OS or Offi ce Business Platform Group, said at the time. “In today’s economic Windows XP mode in Windows 7. climate, having the most pertinent information available, allowing you to clearly view the health of your organization, is imperative. We want to give what customers need in a way that makes sense for their WINDOWS ESSENTIAL business—through the widely adopted Office SharePoint Server, BUSINESS SERVER the planning and analysis tool Microsoft Offi ce Excel, and the highly Microsoft Windows Essential Business Server (Windows EBS) was scalable Microsoft SQL Server.” designed to provide an IT infrastructure for midsize businesses. The product was built from the Windows Server 2008 code base, and included three licenses of the OS plus Exchange Server 2007, WINDOWS LIVE ONECARE System Center Essentials 2007, Forefront Security for Exchange Introduced in 2006, Windows Live OneCare was the Microsoft Server and Forefront Threat Management Gateway (Medium all-in-one security package aimed at the home PC user. Off ered Business Edition). The Premium Edition added another Windows on a subscription basis, it provided a combination of anti-virus Server 2008 Standard Edition license and the Microsoft SQL software, a fi rewall, back-up and restore utilities, a tune-up utility Server 2008 Standard database software. and malware protection. Microsoft released version 2008 of the product, but would never Live OneCare stirred up the market for a while, seemingly scaring release version 2010. The company cited lack of demand, but also a the pants off competitors. (Symantec then-CEO John Thompson market shift within that midsize business segment to cloud-based threw snarky barbs about the product’s pricing.) But they shouldn’t management and virtualization. Windows EBS seemed to be off ering have worried: OneCare never really won a signifi cant share of the a solution to a market segment that didn’t need one. consumer PC security market. In a March 2010 blog entry, the Windows EBS team wrote: “Since the Microsoft announced its plans to pull the plug on Windows Live launch of EBS, several changes have occurred that drove our decision OneCare in November 2008, but didn’t discontinue sales of the stand- to streamline our server product portfolio. First, midsize businesses are

26 Redmond Channel Partner AUGUST 2010 RCPmag.com rapidly turning to technologies such as management, virtualization Gates’ way to fi nally bring Ozzie himself on board after years of and cloud computing as a means to cut costs, improve effi ciency and trying to reel in the inventor of the original Lotus Notes. The tech- increase competitiveness. Those capabilities are already available nology, originally billed as Microsoft Groove, evolved into Groove through other off erings, including Windows Server 2008 R2, Microsoft 2007—which was available as a standalone product and was System Center and the Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite.” included in Offi ce 2007 (Ultimate and Enterprise Editions)—and Microsoft announced it would discontinue development of Windows then Offi ce Live Groove 2007, which was an annual subscription- EBS as of June 30, 2010, and that it would no longer be available for based version of the software. purchase as of July 1, 2010. “Groove technology fi lls holes in the Microsoft product off erings,” The blog went on to announce a “limited off er” for current Windows Forrester Research Inc. Senior Analyst Erica Rugullies said at the time EBS 2008 customers, who, from June 30, 2010 through Dec. 31, of the acquisition. “The current Microsoft collaboration products— 2010, would be able to get the individual component software from specifi cally Windows SharePoint Services, SharePoint Portal Server, the Windows EBS 2008 suite for free (plus local taxes and shipping Microsoft Office and Windows—are not good for cross-firewall and handling charges). collaboration, or for enabling a seamless online-offl ine experience. The company promised that the death of Windows EBS would not That’s where Groove excels.” “impact any other Windows Server products and solutions, including Rugullies added that Groove would bring hundreds of enterprise the next version of Windows Small Business Server (SBS).” customers to Microsoft—customers with serious expertise in collaboration, including inter-enterprise collaboration. “This gives Microsoft a quick crash course with customers who’ve done this in GROOVE real environments,” she said, “who understand what some of the Microsoft acquired Groove Networks in 2005 to add Groove requirements are and what works and what doesn’t. The Microsoft founder Ray Ozzie’s vision for a shared workspace to the product customer base, when it comes to collaboration—specifi cally around lineup, although the acquisition was widely perceived as Bill team collaboration—has been very much internally focused.”

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RCPmag.com AUGUST 2010 Redmond Channel Partner 27 RCP FEATURE | ZOMBIE PRODUCTS

t’s highly unlikely my people are going to be leaving Microsoft. Microsoft is kind of too big to fail.” Harry Brelsford, President, SMB Nation

The life of Groove as a standalone product ended in May 2009, to lead innovation for the e-commerce marketplace on a global scale. when Microsoft announced that it would be folding the technology Together, as part of a long-term technology roadmap, Cactus Commerce into the recently released SharePoint 2010 platform. The renamed will partner with Microsoft to deliver platform enhancements and SharePoint Workspaces would enable users “to take SharePoint sites complementary solution accelerators focused on technology and offl ine and work with the content on people’s desktops, whether or industry deployment scenarios.” not they’re connected,” a spokesperson said at the time. The 2009 release is the fi rst version delivered under the agreement; it’s a major Microsoft product that isn’t primarily developed by the 80,000-or-so employees of Microsoft. MICROSOFT COMMERCE SERVER Among the undead apps wandering the infosphere today, few are as popular as Microsoft Commerce Server. The smart line of products WHAT’S A PARTNER began with the company’s original e-commerce off ering, Site Server. TO DO ABOUT A ZOMBIE? That product was followed by Commerce Server 2000, Commerce Harry Brelsford, one of the biggest outside evangelists of SBS, was Server 2002, Feature Pack 1 and Commerce Server 2007. also an early advocate of the Response Point system. As president Commerce Server 2007 upped Redmond’s e-commerce game of the SMB Nation community and conference series, he shares signifi cantly by integrating business processes and disparate systems, his own observations. which made it easier for enterprises to create robust, end-to-end “It’s frustrating when Microsoft does that,” Brelsford says mildly. “connected commerce” solutions. This version also shipped with a “Now, that said, it’s highly unlikely my people are going to be leaving production-ready Web application that took full advantage of the 2.0 Microsoft. Microsoft is kind of too big to fail. It’s like when GM shut version of the Microsoft .NET Framework. down Saturn. It’s hard on the dealers. It’s highly unlikely [SMB Nation Last year, Microsoft released Commerce Server 2009, which shifted community members] are going to be leaving Microsoft. You’re gears slightly, citing “changing online business models and the rise not going to give up your dealership because GM pulled a line,” of Software as a Service, Web 2.0, service-oriented architecture and Brelsford adds. other new media technologies.” Microsoft Commerce Server 2009 So what’s a partner to do when a product becomes a zombie? also integrates with Microsoft SharePoint 2010 through a Template Brelsford says the Response Point angle gives an example. Although Pack, which is available now. Microsoft is encouraging partners to move to OCS for VoIP, those What makes Commerce Server something of a zombie product partners who committed to Response Point are now playing the fi eld. is the 2007 decision by Microsoft to outsource development of the “Microsoft has exposed itself to competition on VoIP with the deci- product. While it’s listed on the Microsoft product list, Redmond sion to shut down Response Point,” he says. “Cisco is pretty interested has a joint development arrangement with the Gatineau, Quebec, in talking to my crowd, and other vendors are starting to move in.” • Canada-based Gold Certifi ed Partner Cactus Commerce. As Cactus describes the August 2007 agreement, Cactus is “the joint development partner for Microsoft Commerce Server, including John K. Waters ([email protected]) is a freelance author and collaboration on product engineering, partner ecosystem development, journalist based in Silicon Valley, Calif. His book, “The Everything Guide to marketing, pre-sales, services and support. The long-term strategic Social Media” (Adams Media, 2010), is coming in November. RCP Editor partnership reinforces continued focus, investment and commitment in Chief Scott Bekker ([email protected]) contributed to this report.

28 Redmond Channel Partner AUGUST 2010 RCPmag.com RCP FEATURE | PARTNER AWARDS

Microsoft Partner GLAWARDSO GOBAL TRULY

While U.S. partners still dominate, the rest of the world is getting more recognition from Redmond. By Scott Bekker

he Microsoft Partner Awards had much Award winners. While last year, the fi nalists and more international fl avor this year. As winners came from 32 countries, the country-level the winners walked on stage at the awards more than doubled the number of countries Microsoft Worldwide Partner with an award-winning partner at WPC. Conference (WPC) in Washington, But even in the category-based Partner of the Year TD.C., in July, they carried fl ags from New Zealand, Awards—where companies from all countries compete Montenegro, Lebanon, Spain and South Africa. Also in a category, such as Communications Sector Partner crossing the stage were a partner with a World Cup of the Year or Distribution Partner of the Year—non- horn and a partner award winner with an orange “Go U.S. partners were slightly better represented. Holland” T-shirt. Companies from a total of 18 countries came away “You got to really see what a worldwide company with those types of awards this year, up from 14 we are when you get to see all these countries,” countries last year. Jonathan Roskill, corporate vice president of the Countries with winners in the Microsoft Partner of Microsoft Worldwide Partner Group, said after the Year category awards in 2010 include Australia, congratulating award winners on stage. Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, Italy, Every year, Microsoft gives out awards to partners Germany, Korea, Netherlands, New Zealand, Puerto across all of its fi eld organizations. But the big show, Rico, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, Turkey, the United the major leagues, is the Microsoft Partner of the Year Kingdom and the United States. Awards that are selected by the Worldwide Partner Group, announced each June and handed out at WPC. U.S. WINNERS This year, Microsoft ramped up the number of U.S.-based partners still dominated the non- winners dramatically, continuing a trend. In 2008, country awards, but with less authority than last there were 47 awards; in 2009, 69; in 2010, 134. Most year. While U.S. companies accounted for half of of that dramatic doubling in awards comes in the form the 69 winners in 2009, U.S.-based partners won of the newly launched Microsoft Country Partner of less than a quarter of the 63 awards in 2010. When the Year Award, of which there were 71 this year. all 187 fi nalists and winners for those awards are The country-level awards automatically increase considered together, United States partners made the geographic distribution of Microsoft Partner up less than a third, down from about half last year.

RCPmag.com AUGUST 2010 Redmond Channel Partner 29 RCP FEATURE | PARTNER AWARDS

Several United States winners collected more than one award. BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE PARTNER OF THE YEAR Slalom Consulting, an 800-person National Systems Integrator Winner: Slalom Consulting, United States based in Seattle, was named U.S. Partner of the Year. The company Finalist: GrupoMas, Costa Rica also won for Business Intelligence Partner of the Year and Finalist: 21C, United Kingdom Information Worker Solutions, Collaboration Partner of the Year. CITIZENSHIP PARTNER OF THE YEAR Avanade Inc., the global consulting agency that got its start with Winner: Computación Olidata, Chile a joint investment from Accenture and Microsoft, also cleaned up Finalist: CTTC, Pakistan in the 2010 awards. Finalist: Training Camp, United States Another repeat winner in the United States was direct-market reseller CDW Corp., which took Core Infrastructure Solutions, COMMUNICATIONS SECTOR PARTNER OF THE YEAR Systems Management Partner of the Year and Large Account Winner: Tribold, United Kingdom Reseller Partner of the Year. Finalist: CUBECORE Co. Ltd., Korea Finalist: Techpath LLC, United States READING THE TEA LEAVES? CORE INFRASTRUCTURE SOLUTIONS, DESKTOP PARTNER OF THE YEAR The partner awards can be a good way to read the tea leaves on Winner: CMS Consulting Inc., Canada what activities Microsoft holds in highest regard among its Finalist: Dimension Data, United Kingdom partners. For example, in a statement to accompany the CDW Finalist: ATEA, Denmark press release that it had won the LAR award, Ross Brown, vice president of Microsoft Worldwide Partner Sales, said: “CDW CORE INFRASTRUCTURE SOLUTIONS, provided cutting-edge solutions to our joint customers with its IDENTITY AND SECURITY PARTNER OF THE YEAR teams in cloud applications, new and renewal enterprise Winner: Certifi ed Security Solutions Inc., United States agreement advisory services, and Microsoft Open Value Finalist: Oxford Computer Group, United Kingdom licensing program sales, demonstrating the value of Microsoft Finalist: Edgile Inc., United States licensing expertise. In addition, CDW worked hand-in-hand with CORE INFRASTRUCTURE SOLUTIONS, regional Microsoft sales teams to profi le accounts and has since SERVER PLATFORM PARTNER OF THE YEAR closed hundreds of new sub-500-seat enterprise agreements Winner: ALAN Co., Russia worth millions of dollars in revenue.” Finalist: Ensynch, United States While examining changes in award categories most years is a Finalist: NetApp, United States valuable exercise, it would probably be a mistake to read too CORE INFRASTRUCTURE SOLUTIONS, much into the category listing for the 2010 awards. Microsoft SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT PARTNER OF THE YEAR is at a critical infl ection point in three ways as it hands out the Winner: CDW Corp., United States 2010 trophies. Finalist: Dimension Data, Australia For one, the company is in the middle of transforming its Finalist: Veeam Software, United States incentives and programs to steer partners toward cloud computing, making a completely diff erent list of awards likely for 2011. For CORE INFRASTRUCTURE SOLUTIONS, VIRTUALIZATION PARTNER OF THE YEAR another, the Microsoft Partner Network rollout, with all new Winner: Avanade UK Ltd., United Kingdom competencies and partner engagement models, is underway, Finalist: CDW Corp., United States which will also probably lead to changes in the ways the awards are Finalist: NetApp, United States handled. Last but not least is the presence of new leadership at the top in Roskill. With Allison Watson in charge of the Microsoft CUSTOM DEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS, APPLICATION INFRASTRUCTURE Partner Program for the last seven years, award categories one year DEVELOPMENT PARTNER OF THE YEAR could be an indicator of the Microsoft priorities that could help Winner: daenet, Germany guide partners’ focus for the following year. But with Roskill taking Finalist: SOLIDSOFT Ltd., United Kingdom over abruptly in July, he’ll have to fi gure out whether the direction Finalist: Bennett Adelson, United States of the program fi ts his own interpretation of Microsoft priorities. CUSTOM DEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS, It was a gracious scene at WPC when Roskill called Watson up on SMART CLIENT DEVELOPMENT PARTNER OF THE YEAR stage to greet and congratulate the winners with him. “I’ve got Winner: Asseco South Eastern Europe, Serbia some big shoes to fi ll,” said Roskill, adding that it wouldn’t be Finalist: Agito, Slovenia appropriate to hand out the 2010 awards without Watson on stage. Finalist: Avanade Inc., United States But the move also underscored the point that those awards were CUSTOM DEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS, Watson’s, and the 2011 versions will be Roskill’s. • WEB DEVELOPMENT PARTNER OF THE YEAR Winner: Macaw, Netherlands Finalist: Codify, United Kingdom Scott Bekker ([email protected]) is editor in chief of RCP. Finalist: Infusion, United States

30 Redmond Channel Partner AUGUST 2010 RCPmag.com DATA MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS PARTNER OF THE YEAR INDEPENDENT SOFTWARE VENDOR SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS INNOVATION PARTNER OF THE YEAR Winner: Mareigua, Colombia Finalist: Otsuka Corp., Japan Winner: 1E, United Kingdom Omnivex Corp., Canada Finalist: EXECPLAN, Brazil Finalist: Finalist: AtHoc, United States DISTRIBUTION PARTNER OF THE YEAR INDEPENDENT SOFTWARE VENDOR SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS Winner: Express Data New Zealand Ltd., New Zealand PARTNER OF THE YEAR Tech Data GmbH & Co. OHG, Germany Finalist: Winner: Jack Henry & Associates, United States D&H Distributing Co., United States Finalist: Finalist: MyBiz.net, Malaysia ENTERPRISE PARTNERS OF THE YEAR Finalist: NewsGator Technologies Inc., United States Winner: Accenture and Avanade, United States LARGE ACCOUNT RESELLER PARTNER OF THE YEAR Capgemini Group (Capgemini & Sogeti), United States Winner: Winner: CDW Corp., United States Hewlett-Packard Co., United States Winner: Finalist: Brasoftware Informática, Brazil HOSTING SOLUTIONS PARTNER OF THE YEAR Finalist: SoftwareONE, United States Winner: Outsourcery, United Kingdom LEARNING SOLUTIONS, IMPACT PARTNER OF THE YEAR FASTHOSTS INTERNET Ltd., United Kingdom Finalist: Winner: Academy of Networking Lanit & Microinform, Russia Fpweb.net, United States Finalist: Finalist: Educacion y Tecnologias de Informacion, Colombia INFORMATION WORKER SOLUTIONS, COLLABORATION Finalist: Torque IT Computer Training, South Africa PARTNER OF THE YEAR LEARNING SOLUTIONS, INNOVATIVE PARTNER OF THE YEAR Winner: Slalom Consulting, United States Finalist: Neudesic LLC, United States Winner: I.T. Intellect Training Solutions, South Africa QA Ltd., United Kingdom Finalist: PTC, United States Finalist:

INFORMATION WORKER SOLUTIONS, COMMUNICATIONS AND LICENSING SOLUTIONS, LICENSE DELIVERY PARTNER OF THE YEAR COLLABORATION SOLUTION PARTNER OF THE YEAR Winner: Bytes Software Services, United Kingdom Winner: Avanade Inc., United States Finalist: SoftwareOne Comércio e Serviços de Informática LTDA, Brazil Finalist: Preferred One Stop Technologies Ltd., United Kingdom Finalist: Dell Inc., United States Finalist: Aspect, United States MICROSOFT DYNAMICS DISTRIBUTION PARTNER OF THE YEAR INFORMATION WORKER SOLUTIONS, ENTERPRISE CONTENT Winner: HSO Nederland B.V., Netherlands MANAGEMENT PARTNER OF THE YEAR Finalist: AND Project, Russia Winner: Content and Code, United Kingdom Finalist: Qurius, Spain Finalist: Concept Interactive Inc., Canada Finalist: KnowledgeLake, United States MICROSOFT DYNAMICS FINANCIAL SERVICES PARTNER OF THE YEAR Winner: VeriPark, Turkey INFORMATION WORKER SOLUTIONS, ENTERPRISE PROJECT MANAGEMENT PARTNER OF THE YEAR Finalist: Computer Solutions & Software International Inc., United States Travi@ta, Belgium Winner: UMT Consulting Group, United States Finalist: Finalist: AccTech Systems Pty Ltd., South Africa MICROSOFT DYNAMICS MANUFACTURING PARTNER OF THE YEAR Finalist: Pcubed, United States Winner: Fullscope, United States INFORMATION WORKER SOLUTIONS, OFFICE BUSINESS APPLICATION Finalist: eBECS, United Kingdom PARTNER OF THE YEAR Finalist: mcaConnect LLC, United States Winner: Diamante Spa, Italy MICROSOFT DYNAMICS PROFESSIONAL SERVICES PARTNER OF THE YEAR Finalist: OCONICS Pty Ltd., Australia Winner: Client Proﬁ les, United States Finalist: Invensys Skelta, India Finalist: proMX GmbH, Germany INFORMATION WORKER SOLUTIONS, SEARCH PARTNER OF THE YEAR Finalist: Computer Generated Solutions Inc., United States Winner: Hitachi Consulting, United States MICROSOFT DYNAMICS PUBLIC SECTOR PARTNER OF THE YEAR Finalist: IT-Dev sp. z o.o, Poland Winner: CIBER UK, United Kingdom Finalist: B-S-S Business Software Solutions GmbH, Germany Finalist: CSG Ltd., Australia INFORMATION WORKER SOLUTIONS, VISIO PARTNER OF THE YEAR Finalist: INFOMA Software Consulting GmbH, Germany Winner: Global 360 Inc., United States MICROSOFT DYNAMICS RETAIL PARTNER OF THE YEAR Finalist: ProModel, United States Winner: Junction Solutions, United States Finalist: Visibility.biz, United States Finalist: K3 Business Technology Group, United Kingdom Finalist: Ignify, United States

RCPmag.com AUGUST 2010 Redmond Channel Partner 31 TECHMENTOR OCTOBER 18–22, 2010 LAS VEGAS 2010 PLANET HOLLYWOOD CONFERENCE AGENDA RESORT & CASINO

CONFERENCE DAY 1 — Tuesday, October 19 DEEP DIVE Group Policy Settings that Really, Night of the Living Directory: DEEP DIVE 9:45– 11:00 A.M. Smart Con gurations for vSphere Really Work (and Some that Don't) Understanding AD's Recycle Bin MCITP: Con guring Active Directory Networking Greg Shields Jeremy Moskowitz Mark Minasi Bruce Rougeau DEEP DIVE Managing SQL Server for Admins DNSSEC and Windows: Get Ready DEEP DIVE 11:15 A.M.– 12:30 P.M Best Performance & High Availability Who'd Really Rather Not for a New DNS! Mark Minasi MCITP: Con guring AD's Additional with vSphere Storage Greg Shields Don Jones Services Bruce Rougeau DEEP DIVE Exchange 2010 Capacity DFS Namespaces: The Cheapskate's DEEP DIVE 1:45– ESX High Availability with VMotion, Management: Scaling your Email File System Virtualization MCITP: Con guring and Maintaining 3:00 P.M. HA, and DRS Greg Shields from 10 Users to 10,000 Sean Deuby AD Objects Bruce Rougeau J. Peter Bruzzese and Raphael Barini DEEP DIVE Implementing and Securing Outlook Active Directory's Forgotten DEEP DIVE 3:15– Tips and Tricks for Creating Good for Out-of-the-Of ce Users Foundation: Optimizing your AD MCITP: Planning your Windows 2008 4:30 P.M. Virtual Machines. It's Not as Easy as J. Peter Bruzzese Sites Sean Deuby Server Environment Bruce Rougeau You'd Think! Greg Shields

CONFERENCE DAY 2 — Wednesday, October 20 DEEP DIVE DEEP DIVE How Healthy is Your Active DEEP DIVE 8:30– Monitoring and Intelligently Reacting Convert your Brain from VBScript to Directory? Your AD Checkup MCITP: Server Administrator Exam 9:45 A.M. to ESX Performance Issues Windows PowerShell Don Jones Checklist Sean Deuby Prep Bruce Rougeau Greg Shields An Exploration of Options for DEEP DIVE Structured Active Directory and AD Finding the Root Cause of Windows 10:00 A.M.– 12:45 P.M. Creating Highly-Available Hyper-V The Windows PowerShell Crash Replication Troubleshooting Crashes and Blue Screens Alan Sugano Course Don Jones Sean Deuby Bruce Mackenzie-Low Group Policy Troubleshooting DEEP DIVE The Very Best Tools for Cracking Open Kerberos 2:00– 3:15 P.M. Essentials Jeremy Moskowitz Windows PowerShell: Eight Tips and Troubleshooting Failed Windows Mark Minasi Tricks to Make You a Guru Don Jones Applications Bruce Mackenzie-Low Overcoming Common Security DEEP DIVE Five Real-World Uses of Failover Expand and Simplify Your Storage 3:30– 4:45 P.M. Challenges with Group Policy Automating AD Administration in Clustering You Should Implement with Windows VHD Support Jeremy Moskowitz Windows PowerShell Don Jones Immediately Bruce Mackenzie-Low Mark Minasi

CONFERENCE DAY 3 — Thursday, October 21 Dangerous Documents: Identifying DEEP DIVE DEEP DIVE Storage Showdown: Making Good 8:30– and Protecting Your Data from Windows PowerShell Scripting and Microsoft's Free Deployment Which Decisions for your Business 9:45 A.M. Malware Mike Danseglio Modularization: Build Your Own Ones Work for You? Alan Sugano Tools Don Jones Daniel Nerenberg and Justin Rodino Real-World Strategies in Protecting DEEP DIVE DEEP DIVE vSphere Versus Hyper-V: Against Dangerous Web Sites PowerShell Error Handling and Automating Your Pre-Deployment Performance, Price, and Passionate 10:00– 11:15 A.M. Mike Danseglio Debugging Don Jones Tasks: Inventory, Discovery, and Admins Alan Sugano Application Compatibility Daniel Nerenberg How to Virtualize and Disaster Proof The Need-To-Know for Inheriting DEEP DIVE Understanding How Application 11:30 A.M.– Your Exchange Environment Your First SharePoint Site Solving Deployment's Forgotten Virtualization Saves Time, Effort, and 12:45 P.M. J. Peter Bruzzese Wendy Henry Task: Migrating User Data Money Alan Sugano Daniel Nerenberg Restructuring your Active Directory SharePoint Storage: Tools for DEEP DIVE Simple Solutions for Data Security 1:45– Forest: What Tools Are Available? Preventing Wasted Disk Space Creating and Deploying OS Images on Laptops, USB Drives, and Other 3:00 P.M. J. Peter Bruzzese Wendy Henry with Windows Deployment Server Portable Devices Mike Danseglio Justin Rodino Restructuring your Active Directory Improving SharePoint Performance DEEP DIVE Practical Wireless Security on a 3:15– Forest: Strategies for Guaranteed by Controlling Indexing One Image for All Your Desktops: Budget Mike Danseglio 4:30 P.M. Success J. Peter Bruzzese Wendy Henry The Secret Tricks You Must Know Justin Rodino

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MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX PARTNER OF THE YEAR MOBILITY SOLUTIONS CONSUMER APPLICATION PARTNER OF THE YEAR Winner: Eclipse Computing Pty Ltd., Australia Winner: SPB Software, Russia Finalist: Fullscope, United States Finalist: Soti Inc., Canada Finalist: I.B.I.S. Inc., United States Finalist: Kabel Sistemas de Informacion, Spain

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS CRM PARTNER OF THE YEAR MOBILITY SOLUTIONS PARTNER OF THE YEAR Winner: Avanade Inc., United States Winner: Soti Inc., Canada Finalist: Customer Eff ective Inc., United States Finalist: CDC Ltd., Russia Finalist: Columbus IT Partner AS, Norway Finalist: PocketMobile AB, Sweden

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS GP PARTNER OF THE YEAR NOTES MIGRATION PARTNER OF THE YEAR Winner: Rock Solid Technologies Inc., Puerto Rico Winner: CASAHL Technology Inc., United States Finalist: InterDyn, United States Finalist: Binary Tree Inc., United States Finalist: Rose Business Solutions Inc., United States Finalist: Quest Software Inc., United States

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS NAV PARTNER OF THE YEAR OEM HARDWARE SOLUTIONS, DEVICE MANUFACTURING PARTNER OF Winner: Anglia Business Solutions, United Kingdom THE YEAR Finalist: Qurius UK Ltd., United Kingdom Winner: YukYung Technologies Ltd., Korea Finalist: Pleasant Valley Business Solutions, United States Finalist: Plantronics, United States Finalist: Jabra, United States MICROSOFT DYNAMICS POINT OF SALE PARTNER OF THE YEAR Winner: New West Technologies Inc., United States OEM HARDWARE SOLUTIONS, SYSTEM BUILDING PARTNER OF THE YEAR Finalist: MS POS GmbH, Germany Winner: Casper Bilgisayar Sistemleri A.S., Turkey Finalist: Positive Technology.com, United States Finalist: ARLT Computer Produkte GmbH, Germany Finalist: Micro-Star INT’L Co. Ltd., Taiwan MICROSOFT DYNAMICS SL PARTNER OF THE YEAR Winner: Queue Associates Inc., United States ONLINE SERVICES PARTNER OF THE YEAR Finalist: Gonzalez Cortina Glender Y CIA, Mexico Winner: Wortell, Netherlands Finalist: Synergy Business Solutions Inc., United States Finalist: Kyoritsu Computer & Communication Co. Ltd., Japan Finalist: Clearway Technology Partners, United States MICROSOFT GLOBAL ISV CLOUD PARTNER OF THE YEAR Winner: Cumulux, United States PUBLIC SECTOR, EDUCATION PARTNER OF THE YEAR Finalist: Fullarmor Corp., United States Winner: Gestar Tecnologia para Educação, Brazil Finalist: Intuit Inc., United States Finalist: K12 Enterprise, United States Finalist: Agilix Labs Inc., United States MICROSOFT GLOBAL ISV CONSUMER PARTNER OF THE YEAR Winner: Intuit Inc., United States PUBLIC SECTOR, GOVERNMENT PARTNER OF THE YEAR Finalist: CEWE COLOR AG & Co. OHG., Germany Winner: Infusion, United States Finalist: JAYTHOM Pty Ltd., Australia MICROSOFT GLOBAL ISV INDUSTRY PARTNER OF THE YEAR Finalist: Axcentro GmbH, Germany Winner: PTC, United States Finalist: Temenos, United Kingdom PUBLIC SECTOR, HEALTH PARTNER OF THE YEAR Finalist: OSISoft Inc., United States Winner: System C, United Kingdom Finalist: Eurodata Systems, United Kingdom MICROSOFT GLOBAL ISV INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNER OF THE YEAR Finalist: gloStream, United States Winner: Citrix Systems Inc., United States Finalist: Commvault Systems Inc., United States PUBLIC SECTOR, PUBLIC SAFETY & NATIONAL SECURITY PARTNER OF THE YEAR Finalist: NetApp, United States Winner: Geodan, Netherlands MICROSOFT GLOBAL ISV LINE OF BUSINESS PARTNER OF THE YEAR Finalist: MIGESA, Mexico Winner: Kronos, United States Finalist: E-Sponder LLC, United States Finalist: OSISoft Inc., United States SMALL BUSINESS SPECIALIST PARTNER OF THE YEAR Finalist: TXT e-solutions, Italy Winner: Harbor Computer Services, United States MOBILITY SOLUTIONS BUSINESS APPLICATION PARTNER OF THE YEAR Finalist: Quadrasystems.net, India Winner: CWR Mobility, Netherlands Finalist: NCI Technologies, United Kingdom Finalist: CDC, Russia Finalist: Blink Systems, Brazil

34 Redmond Channel Partner AUGUST 2010 RCPmag.com SOA AND BUSINESS PROCESS PARTNER OF THE YEAR UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS SOLUTIONS, INSTANT MESSAGING/PRESENCE/ CONFERENCING/VOICE PARTNER OF THE YEAR Winner: Expertime, France Finalist: QLogitek, Canada Winner: Enabling Technologies Corp., United States Ensyst Pty Ltd., Australia Finalist: Xterprise Inc., United States Finalist: Finalist: Eurodata Systems, United Kingdom SOFTWARE ASSET MANAGEMENT PARTNER OF THE YEAR UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS SOLUTIONS, Winner: Concorde Solutions Ltd., United Kingdom MESSAGING PARTNER OF THE YEAR Softwaremanagement.org, Germany Finalist: Winner: Janalent, United States Business Connexion, South Africa Finalist: Finalist: EMC Corp., United States SOFTWARE-PLUS-SERVICES PARTNER OF THE YEAR Finalist: Enabling Technologies Corp., United States Winner: Avalara Inc., United States WINDOWS AZURE PLATFORM PARTNER OF THE YEAR Infusion, United States Finalist: Winner: Lokad, France Neudesic LLC, United States Finalist: Finalist: Active Web Solutions Ltd., United Kingdom Finalist: Cumulux, United States

COUNTRY PART NERS OF THE YEAR Winners: Intergen New Zealand 25 INOVACOES TECNOLOGICAS Brazil INTERGRUPO Colombia Almoayyed Computers Bahrain ISA Technologies Malaysia Asseco South Eastern Europe Serbia KalSoft LLC Oman B.A.C Russia Kitry Belgium BCS Itera AS Estonia LINKdotNET Egypt BGI Solutions, Borchert GeoInfo GmbH Germany Logica Denmark Blue Bridge UAB Lithuania Mannai Trading Co. Qatar BMS Consulting LLC Ukraine Maritech Iceland Bonair Poland MFEC Public Co. Ltd. Thailand bSide Mexico Mustek Ltd. South Africa CAD R&D Center PROGRESS Bulgaria Nagnoi Inc. Puerto Rico Caperio AB Sweden NetDirect s.r.o. Czech Republic CEM BUSINESS SOLUTIONS FZ LLC United Arab Emirates NTT Group OBSERVING Italy Central Europe On-Demand Hungary Opisoft Ltd. Israel Cikom d.o.o. Montenegro PCL International Sierra Leone CMetrix Chile PLEXUS KUWAIT Kuwait ComTrade Slovenia pmOne GmbH Austria CONSULTORES E INGENIEROS CONSEIN C.A. Venezuela PROCOMIX Technology Group Lebanon Content and Code United Kingdom Pt. Wahana Ciptasinatria Indonesia Datacraft Pte Ltd. Singapore Qurius Spain Spain DATCO S.A. Argentina Rhema Systems and Associates Ltd. Ghana Dima Ltda. Bolivia SCRIBA France France Entersoft Greece SEGA S.A. Guatemala EPMWorks Costa Rica SEGACORP S.A. de C.V. El Salvador ERGOSERVICES Ltd. Ireland Slalom Consulting United States eSys Pakistan Pvt. Ltd. Pakistan Swisscom (Switzerland) Ltd. Switzerland Focus Solutions Jordan Techno Brain Ltd. Tanzania FRCI Mauritius TECNASA Tecnologia Aplicada S.A. Panama Frends Technology Oy Finland Tecnidata, SI Portugal FULL TECHNOLOGIES-FORMATIONS Senegal Teleios Systems Trinidad and Tobago Gratex International, a.s. Slovakia Ubibase Co. Ltd. Korea Hitachi Systems and Services Japan VeriPark Turkey InfoGraphics Nigeria Wipro Ltd. India Infusion Canada Wortell Netherlands Innicia Uruguay Zap Australia

RCPmag.com AUGUST 2010 Redmond Channel Partner 35 SELLING MICROSOFT BY KEN THORESON

VISIT RCPMAG.COM FOR LINKS TO ACUMEN BEST PRACTICES AND MICROSOFT PLAYBOOKS The Power of Net New RCPMAG.COM

Create a marketing plan to assist in ✱ Number of net-new proposals attracting net-new prospects. You should per month expect to spend additional marketing dollars ✱ Number of net-new opportunities in the pipeline as compared to simply marketing to your ✱ Dollar value of all net-new opportu- existing customer base. nities in the pipeline ✱ Number of net-new opportunities ver the last few years as messages must be unique and specifi c to sold, QTD and YTD we’ve worked with partners each job title. ✱ Dollar value of net-new opportuni- in strategic planning 3. Next in the game plan is to consider ties sold, QTD and YTD sessions to help them build sales compensation or sales contests to The classic line, “What gets measured predictable revenue, one build excitement and awareness of gets managed,” is the secret. If manage- trendO we’ve found is that clients who management’s interest in this objective. ment pays attention to its objectives and focus on adding net-new clients In creating sales compensation plans we pays attention to the execution and experience greater revenue growth. often create an additional percentage or actions of marketing and sales, the Bringing on net-new clients requires dollar bonus on all net- new clients sold if desired results will be achieved. Each careful focus and execution in several sales or revenues are greater than X month both executive and sales manage- key areas: dollars. These may be based on monthly ment ask the questions: Are we on target? 1. Company leaders must set the stage or quarterly objectives. In some cases a If not, why not? What are you going to do by asking: Is this a goal we (management sales contest is set up to replace competi- to fi x the problem? committee) are all committed to achieving? tive vendor installations with Microsoft One other point we like to recommend: If the answer is yes, then the fi rst metric to Dynamics ERP or CRM applications. You should graph these numbers to show be set is a specifi c number of net-new “Wanted” posters can be hung up with the the trend analysis. This will help you link clients sold per quarter. Depending on bonus dollars visible—marketing needs the marketing and sales actions to the the size of the organization, it may be to be aligned with this campaign as well. results and will help the salespeople appropriate to then determine metrics by 4. Management must consistently better understand the correlation practice for net-new revenue and reinforce the vision to the entire between goals, actions and results. net-new clients per quarter. company—as well as to the sales The important element to understand 2. Create a marketing plan to assist in team—at monthly company meetings, is, once you have captured this net-new attracting net-new prospects. You should sales meetings and in all written client, you now have the goal of earning expect to spend additional marketing communication where appropriate. a greater portion of their “IT Wallet dollars as compared to simply marketing 5. The last area that’s important is the Share.” The second, third and fourth to your existing customer base. We dashboard or scorecard. This is the sales will be easier and earn higher normally recommend that each potential measurement tool that shows by levels of profi tability. • prospect must be “touched” eight to 12 company and by individual salesperson times by e-mail, direct mail, phone calls the existing and past performance and other campaigns. The secret to a against the stated objective. From a Ken Thoreson is managing director of the successful campaign is touching various current status perspective the sales leader Acumen Management Group Ltd., a North job titles at each prospective organization, would want to track: American consulting organization focused on such as president, VP of sales, marketing, ✱ Number of net-new calls per week improving sales management functions within human resources and CFO. The marketing and per month growing and transitional organizations. You can reach him at [email protected]. Visit AcumenManagement.com and read his Next Time: Look for Thoreson’s next column in October blog at YourSalesManagementGuru.com. ILLUSTRATION BY JILLIAN SCHNARE

36 Redmond Channel Partner AUGUST 2010 RCPmag.com MSP Update to Your Inbox

MSP Update e-Newsletter %HVWSUDFWLFHV FDVHVWXGLHVDQGEXVLQHVVDQG WHFKQLFDOLQVLJKWVIRUJURZLQJ\RXU 0DQDJHG6HUYLFHV3URYLGHUSUDFWLFH Subscribe Today. It’s Free! RCPmag.com/newsletter CHANNEL CALL BY KEITH LUBNER

FOR MORE TIPS ON MAKING YOUR FIRM STAND OUT, SEE LUBNER’S OTHER COLUMNS ON Charting Cloud RCPMAG.COM Channels RCPMAG.COM

your worries. Think of the tremendous upside now. You could have hundreds, You could have hundreds, even thousands, even thousands, of partners selling your of partners selling your solution to solution to hundreds or thousands of hundreds or thousands of customers—in customers—in places and industries you would have thought untouchable before. places and industries you would have thought untouchable before. Participating in a Cloud Channel Participating in a cloud channel is a he buzz at last month’s things that must take place in order to no-brainer. Reasons abound, but in Microsoft Worldwide Partner eff ectively roll out your strategy. essence you immediately can create a Conference was all about cloud Traditionally, the software was recurring revenue stream for your computing. It seems that we are deployed “on-premises” and, conse- company, eliminate infrastructure costs at a pivotal point in the quently, the customer needed to have for your customers, and lower opera- Tevolution of information technology and certain pieces of infrastructure (think tional costs for you and your customer. If in particular with cloud computing. software/hardware) in place to deploy you’re not examining solutions that Microsoft is leveraging this model and so the solution. leverage the cloud, you better get going. should its partners, lest you be left in the With the cloud, we remove all of these There are many keys to picking the right dust by your competitors. From my barriers. Not only can the partner solution for your company: the market or vantage point, a partner can leverage the develop solutions more eff ectively, but industry you serve, how well the solution cloud three diff erent ways: creating a they can more easily sell to the customer leverages your core intellectual assets cloud channel, being part of a cloud because traditional hurdles like and so on. channel ecosystem or doing both. Let’s infrastructure compatibility or new Did you notice that I took out “compat- take a look at all three options. infrastructure needs are now removed. ibility to your current set of technology Additionally, the cost of the solution is off erings”? The reason is that it no longer Creating a Cloud Channel more appealing because it can be matters! For the fi rst time in history, you Microsoft partners will undoubtedly be delivered on a true subscription can now pick a solution to represent/ able to leverage the cloud in a much easier model—spreading the costs out over market/sell where doing the technology way—now that Microsoft is taking a time or taking the costs out of a diff erent “fi t” is a moot point. If you are a top-notch stronger stance. In talking with numerous “cost bucket.” selling organization you are golden. All resellers/systems integrators and ISVs, I Most intriguing is that the partner can you need to do is focus on selling, which often hear about cool products or widgets now easily develop a channel to support brings me to my fi nal point … that they’ve developed as a result of the product, because barriers of consulting engagements. deployment are minimized, training is Hybrid Approach: Create and Participate Many of these products are market- easier, customization is faster and the The optimum approach is to both create a able but the problem for the partner is recurring fi nancial model is more channel that can sell your widget or that they struggle with bringing the compelling to resellers than the solution and participate in a channel that product to market. Traditionally, they traditional on-premises deployment. off ers cloud-based solutions. • can either sell the product via a direct The trick to creating this environment sales force, which is costly and risky, or is crafting an attractive program—but they could develop a channel, which is once you have overcome the technical Keith Lubner is managing partner of Channel less expensive and also neutralizes the challenges of delivering your cool Consulting Corp., a global consulting risks. In either case, there are many application, the program is the least of organization focused on channel strategy, design, enablement, outsourcing and training for growing companies. Reach him at Next Time: Build a Channel Sales Team

[email protected]. ILLUSTRATION BY JILLIAN SCHNARE

38 Redmond Channel Partner AUGUST 2010 RCPmag.com Advertising Sales RCP Resources

Redmond Channel Partner ✱ AUGUST 2010 Dan LaBianca Associate Publisher AD INDEX 818-674-3416 ph 509-267-8965 fax Advertiser Page URL [email protected] Cablesys 25, 27 www.cablesys.com Dell C2, 1, C4 www.dell.com Diskeeper Corporation C3 www.diskeeper.com Microsoft Eaton Corporation 2 www.eaton.com IT CERTIFICATION & TRAINING Lenovo USA 11 www.lenovo.com Redmond Channel Partner 37 RCPmag.com Danna Vedder Al Tiano Microsoft Account Manager Advertising Sales Manager StorageCraft Technology Corporation 5 www.storagecraft.com 253-514-8015 ph 818-814-5227 ph TechMentor Las Vegas 2010 32, 33 techmentorevents.com/LV2010 775-514-0350 fax 818-734-1529 fax Zenith Infotech 6, 7 www.zenithinfotech.com [email protected] [email protected] EDITORIAL INDEX PRODUCTION Advanced Micro Devices Inc. 14 www.amd.com SALES STAFF Jenny Hernandez-Asandas Apple Inc. 13 www.apple.com Director, Print Production Avanade Inc. 30 www.avanade.com Tanya Egenolf 818-814-5289 ph CDW Corp. 30 www.cdw.com Advertising Sales Associate 818-734-1528 fax Dell Inc. 9 www.dell.com 760-722-5494 ph [email protected] 760-722-5495 fax Diskeeper Corp. 15 www.diskeeper.com [email protected] Charles Johnson eBay Inc. 9 www.ebay.com Production Coordinator Fujitsu Ltd. 9 www.fujitsu.com [email protected] Hewlett-Packard Co. 9 www.hp.com 818-814-5257 ph Level Platforms Inc. 15 www.levelplatforms.com [email protected] NVidia Corp. 14 www.nvidia.com Oracle Corp. 13 www.oracle.com Quest Software Inc. 14 www.quest.com Slalom Consulting 30 www.slalom.com Corporate Headquarters: Technical inaccuracies may result Symantec Corp. 15 www.symantec.com 1105 Media from printing errors and/or new 9201 Oakdale Ave. Ste 101 developments in the industry. Chatsworth, CA 91311 www.1105media.com Redmond Channel Partner (ISSN 1556-2727) is published monthly Reprints: For single article reprints by 1105 Media, Inc., 9201 Oakdale (in minimum quantities of 250-500), Avenue, Ste. 101, Chatsworth, CA e-prints, plaques and posters 91311. Periodicals postage paid contact:PARS International at Chatsworth, CA 91311-9998, Phone: 212-221-9595 and at additional mailing offi ces. Media Kits: E-mail: [email protected] Complimentary subscriptions Direct your Media Kit requests to www.magreprints.com/QuickQuote. are sent to qualifying subscribers. Matt Morollo, VP Publishing: asp Annual subscription rates for Phone: 508-532-1418 non-qualiﬁ ed subscribers are: U.S. Fax: 508-875-6622 List Rental: This publication’s $39.95; Canada $54.95 (U.S. funds); E-mail: [email protected] subscriber list, as well as other lists International $64.95 (U.S. funds). from 1105 Media, Inc., is available for rental. For more information, please Subscription inquiries, back issue contact our list manager, Merit requests, and address changes: Direct. Phone: 914-368-1000; E-mail: Mail to: Redmond Channel Partner, [email protected]; Web: P.O. Box 2166, Skokie, IL 60076-2872, www.meritdirect.com/1105 email [email protected] or call (866) 293-3194 for U.S. & Canada; © Copyright 2010 by 1105 Media, (847) 763-9560 for International, fax Inc. All rights reserved. Printed (847) 763-9564. in the U.S.A. Reproductions in whole or part prohibited except by POSTMASTER: Send address written permission. Mail requests to changes to Redmond Channel “Permissions Editor,” c/o Redmond Partner, P.O. Box 2166, Skokie, IL Channel Partner, 16261 Laguna 60076-9282. Canada Publications Canyon Road, Ste. 130, Irvine, CA Mail Agreement No: 40612608. 92618. Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to Circulation Dept. or Legal Disclaimer: The information IMS/NJ. Attn: Returns, 310 Paterson in this magazine has not undergone Plank Road, Carlstadt, NJ 07072. any formal testing by 1105 Media, Inc. and is distributed without any warranty expressed or implied. Implementation or use of any information contained herein is the reader’s sole responsibility. While the information has been reviewed for accuracy, there is no guarantee that the same or similar results may be achieved in all environments.

RCPmag.com AUGUST 2010 Redmond Channel Partner 39 DIRECTIONS BY PAUL DEGROOT

VISIT RCPMAG.COM FOR DEGROOT’S TAKE ON THE The MPN in Two LAR-VAR BALANCE Words: Mo’ Money RCPMAG.COM

Microsoft to determine who the best partners were. The goal of the MPN is to make sure When it comes to defi ning what you want that the Microsoft investment in partners partners to do, you can’t get much more bears fruit, and the good news for partners is that Microsoft is still investing specifi c than telling them how much money in partners. The fl ip side is that Microsoft they need to bring in. is also looking for a bigger investment from partners in Microsoft sales skills, ne of my beefs with the For example, partners that want to technical competency and vertical general Microsoft participate at the top partner tier, Gold specialization. While these new rules approach to business is Competency, will have a minimum may challenge many longtime loyal that it’s not, shall we say, Microsoft revenue requirement—a partners, a problem that shouldn’t be very business-like. requirement that, in the past, was taken lightly, the most serious of partners SometimesO the company spends too limited primarily to resellers and may fi nd these rules a small price to pay much time chasing imagined competitors Dynamics partners. When it comes to for a Microsoft that will probably spend that don’t threaten its core businesses. defi ning what you want partners to do, more money on fewer partners, giving Other times, after plodding every trail in you can’t get much more specifi c than them a better chance of success. the software forest, Microsoft misses big telling them how much money they need So what are the downsides? trees like search and mobile. The to bring in. First, rules that limit use of certifi ca- company often chases wild geese, such To drive home that the new MPN is tions for more than one Gold Competency as Xbox, while neglecting products that about sales of Microsoft licenses, are clearly intended to disadvantage are critical to its health, such as the partners need to take an online sales and smaller partners who can play in that debacle that was Windows Vista. marketing assessment and a licensing space, so if you’re one of those, you’ve In looking at the structure of the new exam or assessment: both requirements. been burned. Microsoft Partner Network (MPN), While partner tiers in the old program Second, if Microsoft really wants however, I have to say that it’s all about the required certifi cations, which required partners to sell more of its products, it business. For the most part, the changes— multiple exams and covered broad sets of should reconsider its Scrooge-like while not welcomed by all partners—are skills, the new program requires channel margins. The world’s most pragmatic and clearly focused. “certifi ed professionals,” a status that can profi table software company loves to tell My fi rm always emphasizes to require passing as little as one exam. That partners that software isn’t very companies looking to partner with may be easier, but it also lets Microsoft expensive, that it’s only a small part of an Microsoft that while they might want to specify exactly the exams that partners IT project’s costs, and partners can make talk about how great their own product is, need to pass in order to qualify for a much more on services. Microsoft wants to hear how the specifi c competency. Also, exams used for Now Microsoft wants to have its cake potential partner will help sell Microsoft one competency will in many cases be and eat it too: generate more money from software. This is perhaps obvious, but a useless for any other. software sales through the channel, surprising number of partners overlook Microsoft has been very public about while not increasing the rewards for it. The changes that Microsoft is making its concern that in the MPN’s predecessor, doing so. Good luck with that. • with the MPN reveal a company with a the Microsoft Partner Program, too far greater focus than in the past on many partners were making it to the top metrics directly related to sales of level, making it diffi cult for partners to Paul DeGroot is a senior analyst with Directions Microsoft products. distinguish themselves—and for on Microsoft, a Kirkland, Wash.-based independent research fi rm focused exclusively on Microsoft strategies and technology. Reach Next Time: Small Business Threats

him at [email protected]. ILLUSTRATION BY JILLIAN SCHNARE

40 Redmond Channel Partner AUGUST 2010 RCPmag.com NEW RELEASE!

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