UK SBSC

This blog is moving!

2013-04-22T16:05:56Z

Hi All,

This blog is integrating into the (fairly) new MPN UK blog.

I’ll be posting all of the usual promotions and product info to that blog, along with the other bloggers from the UK MPN team. So lots of good stuff to see!

Access the new blog here!

Thanks,

Alex

Upgrade your Windows Deployment Skills

2013-04-02T09:05:08Z

Hi All,

The MPN team have secured some highly subsidised classroom training for Partners that wish to upgrade their Windows 7 deployment skills to Win 8 in April. The training takes place over 2 days and is run by our training Partner Global Knowledge.

The course is designed for individuals with a good level of existing Win 7 knowledge, and will prepare you to pass the new MCP exam 70-659: Upgrading to Windows 8 - this MCP counts towards Small Business Competency and Devices and Deployment (formally Desktop competency).

This course would normally cost around the £800 mark, but is available to MS Partners (UK only) for £99 - and includes an exam voucher for 70-659.

Max 2x participants per Partner org.

Register here -
https://training.partner.microsoft.com/learning/app/management/registrationex/LMS_Registration.aspx?UserMode=0&Mode=0&ActivityID=838591

Have a good week!

Alex

£99 Office 365 for Small Business Classroom training–includes exam voucher!

2013-03-20T12:08:18Z

Hi All,

We are heavily discounting some classroom training with our training Partner QA for Office 365 for Small Business.

There are 3 x deliveries that Partners can join – in London and the Midlands over the next few weeks. (First two in London next week).

Training is over 2 days and includes an exam voucher, this is designed to get you through 74-324: Administering Office 365 for Small Business (a requirement of Small Business Competency).

Limited availability - Register here - (sign-in required) https://training.partner.microsoft.com/learning/app/management/registrationex/LMS_Registration.aspx?UserMode=0&Mode=0&ActivityID=828861

Alex

Your chance to feedback–Microsoft Partner Roundtable, 7th Feb, London

2013-01-28T14:43:41Z

Hi All,

There are still a few places available on our quarterly Partner roundtable, taking place in Microsoft’s London Victoria Offices on Feb 7th (11am – 2pm).

The subject of the roundtable will be Online Services, both Microsoft and competitor offerings, including how you perceive Microsoft’s offering in this space and that of other vendors within the IT industry.

This session is for us to learn how to better serve you as Partners, and what we can offer or do differently to help you succeed, win new business, and increase revenue. For the Partner this roundtable gives a great opportunity to directly feedback to senior management at Microsoft UK, ask any questions you may have, and to get an insight into the trends and vision that they foresee in Online Services, and the broader IT market.

The session will be attended by senior management from Microsoft UK - debate at previous sessions has been top notch – very useful and eye-opening for the Microsoft staff in attendance and very informative and well received by our Partners!

Please email me directly at alex.kureen@microsoft.com for further details and to register for one of the remaining spaces.

Have a good week!

Kind regards,

Alex

Looking to upgrade your Windows 7 MCPs to Windows 8? We’ve got a course for that!

2013-01-24T10:39:17Z

We've teamed up with learning Partner Redtray to create an upgrade course for your Windows 7 MCPs, taking their knowledge up to the required level for the new Windows 8 MCP exams for Midmarket Solution Provider and Small Business Competencies (70-687: Configuring Windows 8).

This is a live delivery over Redtray's CloudRooms platform and takes place over 4 x 3.5 hour sessions starting on 12th Feb - so be quick if you want to register! You'll need to sign in to your live ID when you click the link below.

What’s covered in this course?

Topics covered will be:

Installing and deploying Windows 8

Managing disks and device drivers

Implementing Network Security

Securing Windows 8 desktops

Configuring applications

Configuring mobile computing and Remote Access

Implementing Hyper-V

Trouble shooting and recovering Windows 8

Using Windows Powershell

Delegate Pre-requisites:

Individuals who hold the MCTS: Windows 7 Configuring certification exam 70-680 and have continued to have hands on experience with the product.

The schedule:

12th February 09.15 - 12.45
15th February 09.15 - 12.45
19th February 09.15 - 12.45
22nd February 09.15 - 12.45

Cost is £499 per delegate

Additional dates available for Office 365 Jumpstart for Small Business Competency

2013-01-03T11:33:25Z

Hi All,

Happy New Year, I hope you were able to get some time off and enjoy the festive season!

New dates are available for the Office 365 Jumpstart course we have been offering for the last few months. We have also added 2x 1 hour chalk and talk sessions for Partners to ask questions etc. before or after their training.

Due to unprecedented demand, the frequency of the training has now been increased to every fortnight, meaning Partners shouldn’t have to wait so long to get on to this training.

The voucher offer is still included in the Jumpstart – Full details of the course and offer below:

EMEA 350 – Office 365 for Small Business Competency

This course will help you gain the key skills to administer Office 365 for small business customers and is especially designed for Microsoft partners looking to achieve a small business competency through the Office 365 certification 74-324: Administering Office 365 for Small Business.

This course is delivered through live online training and on-demand training.
The structure of the training is below:
Day 1:
Live Online Training – 90 minutes – 10am-11:30am -Introduction to Office 365 for Small Businesses
Partner Technical Consultants will provide an introduction to the course content and highlight the most important aspects to help focus your learning.
Day 1-3
On-demand training – 11 hours – 9 modules
Working to your own schedule you will have 2.5 days to review 9 on-demand modules lasting 11 hours. The modules cover all aspects of the 74-324 exam:

Module 1: Overview, Infrastructure
Module 2: Office 365 User Management
Module 3: Office 365 Single Sign-On, DirSync & ADFS (Part 1)
Module 4: Lync Online
Module 5: SharePoint Online
Module 6: Exchange Online & User Management
Module 7: Exchange Online Deployment & Migration
Module 8: Exchange Online Forefront Online Protection
Module 9: Exchange Archiving and Compliance

To view all 9 On Demand modules please follow the On Demand Link in the Registration Notes of the Course Live
Day 4
Live Online Training – 90 Minutes – Chalk Talk
After attending the Introduction to Office 365 for Small Business live online training and reviewing all on-demand modules you will have the choice of 1 of 2 chalk talks.
Chalk Talks provide an open forum where you can ask questions about the course content and get answers in real time from a Partner Technical Consultant.
A choice of two times are available for the chalk talk:

10am-11:30am OR
3pm-4:30pm

Voucher Offer

UK Partners (Partners whose primary Microsoft Partner Network Membership resides in the United Kingdom) that attend the live delivery of the Jump Start course in its entirety will be eligible to take the Administering Office 365 for SMB (74-324) exam for the reduced price of £25 (normally approx. £100).

To qualify for the voucher you must attend the live Introduction to Office 365 for Small Businesses, review all 9 modules of the online training and attend 1 of the 2 available chalk talks.

After you attendance at the course is confirmed you will be offered the exam voucher via e-mail. This is a free JumpStart course and purchase of the exam voucher is not compulsory.

Event language: English
Please find all delivery dates below. To register please follow the link:

14.01. - 17.01.2013
28.01. - 31.01.2013
11.02. - 14.02.2013
25.02. - 28.02.2013
11.03. - 14.03.2013
25.03. - 28.03.2013
08.04. - 11.04.2013
22.04. - 25.04.2013
06.05. - 09.05.2013
20.05. - 23.05.2013
17.06. - 20.06.2013

Register: https://training.partner.microsoft.com/learning/app/management/registrationex/LMS_Registration.aspx?UserMode=0&Mode=0&ActivityID=828059

We recorded our last session which can be viewed using the link above.

Find out more about the Small Business Competency

Have a great year!

Alex

Windows Server 2012 Essentials Resources Now Available!

2012-12-21T03:58:44Z

The Recommended Small Business Scenarios document is now complete and posted on PMC for external use. It also be available on the Windows Server 2012 Essentials product page. This document provides details on the much asked about scenarios for using Windows Server 2012 Essentials & Standard editions in the small business segment.

Talk to Frank

2012-11-02T12:36:39Z

No, not that Frank!

The MPN UK team now has a dedicated Competency Expert to assist Partners with the new Small Business Competency – Frank Sullivan.

Frank can’t get enough of the new competency and would love to talk to you about it.

You can talk to Frank to get assistance with the requirements, costs, training, assessments and anything to do with the new competency. He also knows a thing or two about the incentives we are running and can make sure you’re taking advantage of any offers around training and certification – and not paying for something that you could be getting for free (or subsidised). Frank can also help you decide which training or which competency is right for your business.

Talk to Frank today!

Call Frank on 0118 909 2242 or email on v-fsulli@microsoft.com

Small Business Server 2011 and WS 2012 Essentials –your questions answered

2012-11-02T11:59:17Z

Hi All,

As you’d expect there is lots of interest in Small Business Server 2011 and Windows Server 2012 Essentials from the Small Business Community, and during our Partner Business Briefings. And so I have provided a summary below.

This is by no means definitive, and you can ask questions to our product team at Ask Partner – 0844 800 6006, Option 2 or use the links below for further details..

SBS vs WSE

· As a reminder SBS Standard and SBS Premium Add-on are the SBS editions which have been retired completely.

· SBS Essentials has evolved and is now known as Windows Server 2012 Essentials

Facts about WSE

· WSE is built on the same code base as Windows Server 2012. This enables customers to do direct in place upgrades should they need to migrate to a larger environment

· WSE out of the box support 25 users and 50 devices

· WSE is licensed on server only licensing model. No CALs required.

· WSE is limited to 2 procs and has no virtualization rights

· WSE is a great platform for ISVs and hosters to develop plug-ins and services. One such plug-in is a seamless way to connect WSE with Office365 out of the box.

Key selling points & benefits

· Protect and secure your business data

· Access business resources from virtually anywhere and using almost any device

· Leverage the power of cloud-based services (Office 365)

Value Proposition

WSE offers and affordable first-server option that will support organizations with up to 25 users. It is designed so that it can be deployed and managed by individuals within organizations where there are limited in-house IT skills. It is optimized to let small businesses run applications on-premise or take advantage of the growing number of online versions of email, collaboration, and other software that major companies are already using around the world.

How long will customers be able to purchase Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard?

Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard will remain available through the OEM channel until December 31, 2013, and will remain available in all other current channels until June 30, 2013. In addition, the Windows Small Business Server 2011 CAL Suite will remain available through the OEM channel until December 31, 2016, and will remain available in all other current channels until June 30, 2016. CALs will no longer be available after those dates.

What happens if a user wants to expand past the 25 user limit, is this possible?

Yes, we now have the ability to do an “In place license transition” which means no more re-building of the server. Customers simply purchase the Windows Server 2012 Standard edition and the corresponding number of CALs for the business. The technical limits are then removed, however all Essentials features are in place to support up to 75 users in the business.

http://blogs.technet.com/b/sbs/archive/2012/08/06/growing-beyond-25-users-with-windows-server-2012-essentials.aspx

Full WSE FAQ can be downloaded here: Essentials FAQ

Windows Server Essentials product site: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/server-cloud/windows-server-essentials/default.aspx

Kind regards,

Alex

How UK Partners are making money from Office 365

2012-10-25T10:21:11Z

Hi All,

Here at Microsoft we talk a lot about Office 365 and how Microsoft Partners can make money from offering both on-premise and cloud based solutions to their customers. We have recently completed a number of case studies that showcase how other Microsoft Partners are already making great progress with this technology, winning new customers, growing revenue and expanding their businesses.

Some of these Partners have been working with Online Services for a few years now and have built up considerable cloud practices, but its not too late to get started with Office 365 and adding a new revenue stream and growth driver to your business.

Don’t forget – we are offering free in-depth Office 365 technical training to Partners every month via the Jumpstart, and a discounted exam voucher for Partners that wish to earn the Small Business Competency. We also run on-demand sales and business development training for Office 365 that helps Partners learn how to start making money with this product.

UK Cloud Partner Case Studies

Learn how Perspicuity went from 14 to 500 customers in one year by selling and deploying Office 365 – Perspicuity

How North Yorkshire Partner, Eitex are winning bigger clients by scaling through Cloud – Eitex

Video – How Start-up, The App Cloud is driving their Cloud business using the Microsoft Cloud Accelerate Programme – The App Cloud

Video – How Cloud Business adopted Microsoft Cloud Services and used Cloud Accelerate Programme to go on to win Worldwide Microsoft Office 365 Commercial Partner of the Year – Cloud Business

Video – How Adaptive Comms have used Cloud Services to add value to their existing customers – AdaptiveComms

Next steps

If you’re interested in learning more about how your business can grow with Office 365:

Attend the November Cloud briefing, hosted by Charles Davies from the UK Cloud team and I – Register here
Learn how to build a cloud practice using the free business development and sales training – Listed here
Attend the Jumpstart to learn how to deploy and service Office 365 to your customer – Full details here
Purchase your discounted exam voucher and earn the Small Business Competency to showcase your cloud expertise to your customers – need assistance with this? Talk to our Competency expert, Frank on 0118 909 2242

Have a great week everyone!

Alex Kureen

alex.kureen@microsoft.com