Welcome to the March Hot Sheet, a schedule of in-person training and live webcasts for Microsoft U.S. partners. These training events can help you understand the latest product features, make steps toward new business opportunities, and meet competency requirements.

February issue 

The new Office special edition

Windows 8 special edition

Windows Server 2012 special edition

Update—MPN Live on February 26 Covers Your Windows 8 Opportunities
Watch MPN Live on February 26 at 2:00PM Pacific Time, hosted by Channel Chief, Jon Roskill; General Manager of Windows, Erwin Visser; and Digital Community Lead, Kat Tillman, for a conversation about Windows 8: how to sell it, the devices that support it, and industry trends like BYOD (bring your own device). U.S. partners have an opportunity to enter to win a Windows 8 tablet from Dell or Lenovo. Read Official Rules for details.

Self-Paced Training

You’ll find self-paced courses for partners organized by product, role, competency, and exam in the Learning Plan Tool or learning paths.

These new webcasts can help you have more meaningful Office 365 and cloud conversations in every customer meeting, and improve the cost and predictability of your cloud sales cycle:

• Joint Solution Selling Training for Systems Integrators (SI)
• Joint Solution Selling Training for Large Account Resellers (LAR)
• How to Pitch Office 365 Using the Microsoft Solution Selling Approach

Training Offers and Announcements

U.S. Partner Spring Training Sweepstakes

Receive automatic prize drawing entries when you take any of our featured Windows Server 2012, Microsoft SQL Server 2012, Microsoft System Center 2012 or Windows Intune training. There are courses for every role, and we will be giving away $100 American Express gift cards and Dr. Dre Beats headphones. Read the official rules.

Regional VAR Summits
East Region | Central Region | West Region
Register for a one-day event in a city near you to join your local Microsoft team and learn from Microsoft experts about your opportunities with the latest Microsoft products, including Windows Server 2012, Windows 8, the new Office, and the new Office 365 for business.

Microsoft Cloud Fast-Track Boot Camps
Join Microsoft cloud experts and your local Microsoft team for a one-day, no-cost training that will help you accelerate your cloud sales using demo tools, customer campaigns, and shared best practices. You will learn about partner opportunities with the new Office and how to successfully demo Microsoft Office 365 and Windows Intune for productive customer conversations.

Microsoft Tech Showcase
Learn about the features of the latest wave of Microsoft product releases at no-cost and low-cost training events hosted by Microsoft Learning Partners. Search the Tech Showcase Events site for training on Windows Server 2012, Visual Studio 2012, SQL Server 2012, Exchange 2013, SharePoint 2013, and Lync 2013.

Schedule Your Exams Today for MPN Competency Exam Packs Purchased in 2012
If you purchased MPN Competency Exam Packs, it's time to schedule your exams. Your exams (and your Second Shot retakes, if you need them) must be taken by May 31. Review the list of qualified exams, and then click Schedule My Test at the top of the page to get started. Or, purchase new exam packs by May 31.

Prepare for Certification Exams with Official Microsoft Learning Courses
The Courseware Marketplace now allows Microsoft Partner Network members to order Microsoft Official Courses and other Microsoft Learning training offerings so your employees can prepare for certification exams and learn to deploy and support the latest Microsoft products and technologies.

Pass a Sales Assessment. Win a Windows 8 Tablet.
Get the training and resources you need to strengthen your selling skills, achieve sales goals, stand out from competitors, and promote your expertise. When you earn your Sales Specialist or Presales Technical Specialist accreditation by April 30, you’ll be automatically entered in our sweepstakes for a chance to win a Windows 8 tablet. Official rules.

Live Webcasts and Partner Calls