Microsoft Partner Network: Ireland

Double the chance for Irish Partners to win Microsoft prizes!!

2013-05-22T11:01:00Z

Double the chance to win $1000 worth of Microsoft Prizes – Complete either Presales Technical Assessments or Sales Specialist Assessments and be entered into EACH DRAW.

1. Win prizes for taking free Presales Technical Assessments

If you are your sales team’s technical advisor for selling Microsoft Solutions to customers, the new Pre-Sales Technical FREE online learning materials for Private Cloud, Management and Virtualisation and Business
Intelligence should be your #1 resource to gain knowledge and insights that will help you close sales faster, increase deal size and get ahead in your career. Research shows that of the deals lost, 72% are done so in the Solution and Proof stages of the sales cycle. These materials will help you learn how customer business problems can be solved with Microsoft Business Intelligence and Private Cloud Solutions. Learn how to deal with upgrade/migration to SQL Server 2012 questions, how to position Windows Server 2012 (along with System Center 2012) as a Private Cloud solution and highlight their advantages in comparison to competitors.

Take the FREE Private Cloud Pre-Sales Technical Specialist assessment or Business Intelligence Pre-Sales Technical Specialist assessment before the 21^st June and qualify for a chance to win Microsoft Goodies to the Value of $1000 (Including Phone, water bottles, tablet bags, usb keys), receive a certificate that proves your expertise, help your organisation attain the Business Intelligence Competency or Management and Virtualisation Competency (requirement from Oct. 2013) and get recognised by customers as a trusted expert.

2. Win prizes for taking free Sales Specialist Assessments

Want to gain further knowledge and insights that will help you close sales faster, increase deal size and get ahead in your career? Then make sure you take advantage of the latest Microsoft FREE online sales training for Data Platform and Business Intelligence. Understand more about the licensing model for SQL Server 2012, how to expand your offerings based on its new features and capabilities, and how best to sell it. Learn how to identify business opportunities and how to cross-sell a complete Microsoft solution that compliments customer's current systems to meet existing needs.

Take the FREE Business Intelligence or Data Platform Sales Specialist assessment before the 21^st June and qualify for a chance to win Microsoft Goodies to the Value of $1000 (Including Phone, banners, water bottles, tablet bags, usb keys), receive a certificate that proves your expertise, help your organisation attain the Business Intelligence Competency or Data Platform Competency (requirement from Oct. 2013) and get recognised by customers as a trusted expert.

Winners

A winner from each draw will be chosen randomly and without prejudice from the list of completed training and assessments. All Winners will be announced at our June Partner Community call (28^th June) with Neil Hetherington. You can register here for that Partner Call.

Good luck!!

Partner Program Update and Partner Network Walkthrough for Irish Partners

2013-05-22T09:31:27Z

One of the benefits of being part of the Microsoft Partner community is being able to access a wide range of resources, from training to sales and marketing assets, from the Microsoft Partner Portal. That site also allows you to manage your profile and membership for the Partner Network, including who's linked to your company and what benefits are available to your organisation through the program.

We know there's a lot of information on the portal and knowing where to start to get the best from the Partner Network can be difficult, especially if you're new to the program. There is support available to all our Partners through the Regional Service Centres who provide support on any organisation specific support you need.

If you have previously used that service we do want to make sure you are aware of an upcoming change. Beginning July 1, 2013, email support will be phased out for all partners, and phone support will be limited to partners with competencies or Microsoft Action Pack subscriptions. Email support for all partners and phone support for partners without a competency or an Action Pack subscription will be replaced by an RSC agent–supported forum in the Partner Support Community.

As a local team we want to ensure that you have a way to connect with us directly on a regular basis, that we can provide advice on how to get the best from the Partner Program and have a forum for open Q&A and discussion of any issues in-person. Given that, during our next two monthly Community Calls we'll have a focus on upcoming changes to the Partner Program and a walkthrough of top tips on getting the most from the Partner Network. We'll also be providing access to an Microsoft Partner Network step-by-step reference document to those joining the call that we hope is useful!

May's call is on Friday 31st and you can register here.

June's call is scheduled for Friday 28th June and you can register here.

Neil.

Free Windows Server 2012 Migration Training

2013-05-21T17:30:00Z

With Windows Server 2003 out of mainstream support and with accelerating adoption of Windows Server 2012, take advantage of our "Transitioning from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2012" training course on 10th June.

This training is free for all Irish Microsoft Partners.

Date - 10th June, 2013

Time - 09:30-15:30

Topics covered in this session

What are the key changes introduced in Windows Server 2012
Windows Server 2012 Migration Tools
Best Practices for moving from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2012
Key Roles to be moved and the sequence
Known issues/ Possible Risks of performing Migration

Book your place by registering here.

Irish Partner Community Calls - Last Friday of every month - what are you missing?

2013-04-25T21:56:00Z

Tomorrow, Friday 26th April, sees the next monthly Irish Partner Community Call at 12:00 - we hope one of your team can make it. If you haven't attended one, find out more below...

What is the Community Call about?

A new initiative from the start of this year, we've been running the calls on a monthly basis since January and any Irish Partner can attend.

Scheduled at 12:00 on the last Friday of every month, the call lasts no more than an hour and there's a very specific reason why we run them. We want to make sure that each and every one of our Partners in Ireland, regardless of size, revenue or location, has a direct connection with the local team on a regular basis.

We want to make sure that we have a platform to proactively share information we think is impactful or relevant without our Partners having to go and find it on their own. We also want to make sure that our Partners have a platform to ask us anything (and we do mean anything) that's on their mind - whether it be positive feedback, specific concerns or outstanding issues that for some reason have yet to be resolved.

What have I missed from previous calls?

Rather than waffle on any more, have a look at the types of topics we have covered in the past calls by looking at the decks here. Again, we want attendees to be able to ask whatever they want. As a result, we will only share decks from these calls - we will not be recording any of the online sessions and discussions themselves.

Typically, these calls are the very first place that we share a lot of this information.

Currently we only have a small section of the community taking part in these calls but feedback from those that attend has been extremely positive.

Again, the link for registration to tomorrow's call is here - if you can make it, join the call and give us your feedback!!!

Thanks,

The Microsoft Partner Team...

Microsoft Practice Accelerators - What are they, what do they cost and why should anyone care?

2013-04-24T16:10:00Z

Microsoft Practice Accelerators - What are they, what do they cost and why should anyone care?

If your organisation has yet to get involved in a Practice Accelerator delivery, you're potentially missing an invaluable resource (in my humble opinion anyway). Thought it might be an idea to put together the below guide - let us know whether it is useful or not!

What's a Practice Accelerator?

Simply, it's a way to get access to reusable tools and best practices from Microsoft's Consultancy Services team that you can't otherwise get.

Rather than being Sales training or Technical Implementation training, Practice Accelerators are a way for Pre-Sales Architects, Project Managers or anyone scoping projects to get best practice Services guidance on specific technology areas. The aim is to help build, simplify and grow your Microsoft Services business.

Practice Accelerators are delivered on a regular, scheduled basis online and in real-time.

Crucially then, while the content is based on successful customer deployment experiences and provides a detailed framework of resources (spanning from pre-engagement to post-delivery), the real-time delivery means you have the opportunity to engage in open Q&A on any of the topics covered during the session.

The complete documentation set you'll get includes project guides, templates, architecture guidance, and planning and design guides. You'll also get customisable leave-behind materials for your customers as an output from the sessions.

What technology areas are available?

There are a range of Microsoft solutions covered by these Practice Accelerators, but the most recent (and in demand!) engagement types covered are:

How much does it cost?

Practice Accelerators are free for Gold, Silver and MAPS D&D Partners (potentially a good reason to get a MAPS subscription if you don't already have one for Internal Use Rights anyway!) The cost is included as part of your "Advisory Hours" assigned to your Partner Membership. You can check out what hours you have assigned to you through the MPN Portal.

Even if you're not Gold, Silver or MAPS D&D though, but you are part of our Cloud Essentials or Cloud Accelerate programs, you're still eligible to attend the Office 365 Practice Accelerator at no cost.

How to register?

Links to the next upcoming scheduled Practice Accelerators are below:

Business Intelligence - 20/05/2013
Flexible Workstyle - 20/05/2013
Office 365 - 29/04/2013 and 03/06/2013

Future dates and additional courses will be available through the Practice Accelerator site on the MPN here.

So, what is there to lose? :-) It's free, it gives you materials you didn't have before and should help reduce the amount of work you have to do in scoping projects for customers. Register for one now and, when completed, we'd love to hear your feedback!

As a final side note, you might have noticed a little more posting activity recently, either through this Blog, our Twitter or even through my LinkedIn account. Would love to get direct feedback via the feedback Posts, Replies or Direct Messages on whether what we're posting is relevant, what you're experiences have been and what you'd like to see more/less of! Let us know...

Thanks...

The Local Partner Team.

Windows Server 2012 Virtualisation Training / Certification Offer

2013-04-24T08:00:00Z

To help support our Partners investing in readiness on advanced Server 2012 topics (including Hyper-V), as well as in upgrading certifications to maintain/gain Microsoft Partner Silver/Gold status, we're pleased to announce investment in subsidised 5 day technical training exclusively for Irish Partners at the end of May.

Details and registration links below. You must be a registered Irish Microsoft Partner to register. Places allocated on a first come, first served basis once payment is confirmed.

Cost of the course listed below is for the full 5 days and includes an exam voucher for the associated Windows Server exam

Dates - 20th - 24th May

Course title - Implementing an Advanced Server Infrastructure

Course outline - http://bit.ly/Y2aD7z

Cost - €250 (includes exam voucher)

Registration link - http://www.nhireland.com/Microsoft-Partner-Training/20414.html

Partner Cashback Program Webinar - Open Q&A for Irish Partners - 1st May

2013-04-23T18:17:00Z

For a limited time Microsoft is offering Partners the opportunity to increase profits when selling qualifying Open Licenses of Windows Server 2012, Windows 8 and Office 2013 through a Cashback program.

With this incentive running until June 14, this webcast is an opportunity to get an overview of the program and act as a forum for open Q&A with the local Partner team on all aspects of the scheme.

You can register for the webcast with the team at http://bit.ly/11zpgO8

Windows 8 in Education Event for Irish AERs - 2nd May

2013-04-23T18:10:00Z

The Microsoft Ireland Education team and the Irish Windows Client Lead will be running this session on 2nd May, exclusively for Irish AERs. Specifically focused on Windows 8 in Education the event is aimed at helping:

Articulate the benefits of Windows 8 in Education
Identify the advantages of Windows 8 over iPad, Android and Chromebook
Be able to deliver a great Windows 8 demo!

Agenda

Windows 8 Overview (Demo)
Why Windows 8 devices for education?
What’s in it for the students?
Education Apps
iPad, Android and Chromebook – compete points
Resources available to support a Windows 8 briefing
Setting up your Windows 8 demo

Places are limited and available on a first come, first served basis. To maximise what you get from the training, we advise all attendees to use Windows 8 as much as possible before the event and, if possible, bring a device with Windows 8 installed to the event.

Registration at http://bit.ly/17UIfWX

Don’t miss our Monthly Irish Partner Community Call on 26th April

2013-04-19T16:11:00Z

Do you know your point of contact in Microsoft Ireland? Do you know where to get support? Do you have questions about Microsoft Products or strategies?

Do you have questions for the local team but unsure where to start?

Log on to our Monthly Partner Community Call with me to hear the answers, see below for registration:

April–
26/04/13 May– 31/05/13

June – 28/06/13

Windows Azure Infrastructure Services Announcement

2013-04-16T14:21:00Z

Today is a major milestone for Windows Azure and we're excited to announce that Windows Azure Virtual Machines and Windows Azure Virtual Network are now generally available. These new services make it possible for you to move your applications into the cloud as is. You can find the general availability announcement and GA price reduction details at the Windows Azure Blog.

Learn more at our Infrastructure Services page and get going with a free trial at www.windowsazure.com today.

We'll be hosting a live webinar for Irish Partners with our Server and Tools lead in early May to present more on Azure Infrastructure Services and to allow for open Q&A with the local team. When available, we'll provide the registration link both here and through out Twitter account @MSPartnersIrl.

Make sure you check out the new services and don't forget to check out the Windows Azure Partner Readiness materials!

Neil.