Microsoft Revamps Cloud Essentials
Microsoft Revamps Cloud Essentials by UCStrategies Staff
Over the past week, 14,000 channel partners have been added by Microsoft to its Cloud Essentials initiative. This revamped program allows solution providers to easily enroll in the cloud computing starter program.
Microsoft has made various enhancements to its Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) program in the last few days, and the addition of Cloud Essentials is but one further change. The company, based in Redmond, Washington, has enabled partners to become certified and has consolidated others. This has been done through utilizing new “competencies” or technology areas.
A few of the changes were mentioned at the Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) earlier this year in Toronto, and fits into the MPN enrollment season for Microsoft partners which began recently.
According to the corporate vice president and head of Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Group, Jon Riskill, it is now possible for solution providers to sign-up or re-enroll for Cloud Essentials.
Prior to last week's changes to enrollment procedure, 40,000 Microsoft partners were enrolled in Cloud Essentials, and 14,000 new partners have joined since. Roskill said: “It's blown away my expectations.” He added that the number of Cloud Essentials partners could “easily” reach 100,000 by June 30, 2013, which is the end of Microsoft's fiscal year.
Although desktop software (like Windows and Office) is the reason why Microsoft is so well known, through developing programs like Office 365, Windows Intune and Dynamics CRM Online, the company has made strong steps towards entering the cloud space over the last few years.
Every month, 5,500 partners are actively selling Microsoft cloud services, according to Roskill, and around 700 new partners start selling cloud services each month.
Chris Pyle, the president and CEO of Champion Solutions Group, a Microsoft partner that sells Office 365 to customers, said: “We see more and more customers going to the cloud.” Champion Solutions Group bought Message Ops earlier this month; this company makes management tools for Office 365, and Pyle said the company will offer expanded services to customers with this offer.
Partners who are novices at cloud computing will be the greatest benefactors of Cloud Essentials. The main advantage of the program is 25 free licenses for key cloud computing offerings from Microsoft.
Roskill said: “Use the cloud to sell the cloud.” By providing free licenses, partners are able to familiarize themselves with the software, develop sales skills and enhance cloud practice. Training courses, cloud adviser incentives and other benefits are also provided by Cloud Essentials.
For those partners that are more skilled in cloud computing, Microsoft's Cloud Accelerate Program is most suitable. Microsoft can integrate numerous competencies such as portals and collaboration, content management, and search; these are all combined to create Collaboration and Content, a single competency.
Roskills added: “This focus makes much more sense,” when discussing the new competency. He said that it is focused around Microsoft's SharePoint software and is aimed at assisting partners to create opportunities in social networking.
Furthermore, Microsoft is combining with ISV, Software Development and Web Development competencies to form a single Application Development competency. This is targeted at partners who are seeking to profit from opportunities in development across the Windows Client, Windows Server, Windows Phone and cloud development environments, according to Roskill. The competency has also developed due to the increasing need for big data applications.
Desktop competency is changing to become Devices and Deployment competency with regards to the evolution of tablet computers and smartphones that are rapidly adapting to today's IT environments.
The MPN updates “delivered” on plans which Roskill and Microsoft executives had set out for WPC, according to the former. He said: “The easier we make it for partners, the higher level of satisfaction they have with the program.”
It was also suggested by the channel chief that Microsoft will release an additional cloud-related partner program, but failed to give further details. Roskill did say, however, that Office 365 Open, a program launched at WPC, will allow billing for the cloud application services to be handled by channel partners starting in the first calendar quarter of 2013. (CY) Link