Partners will not need to purchase Office 2007 to use the Toolkit!

 

A number of solution provider partners discuss their success with the Infrastructure Assessment Framework and the Business and Technology Assessment Toolkit in an article on MS.com/presspass.  An excerpt:

 

NetCom Systems Inc. is a network solutions provider and longtime Small Business Server partner in the Atlanta area. “We used the toolkit to create a front-to-back sales process that focuses on what your business is, what your objectives and processes are, what applications you use, and how technology interacts with the actual business processes in your company,” says Larry Allen, business development manager for NetCom. “Then we’ll do a brief survey of their current infrastructure and provide them with an assessment and a written review with recommendations. We have about an 80-percent close ratio.”

CRN picked up the story, too.

NOTE:  There has been some discussion on some blogs about this, saying partners will need to purchase Office 2007 to use the Toolkit.  Not true! The toolkit does require InfoPath 2007, but most partners received Office 2007 Enterprise Edition in January, of which InfoPath 2007 is a part, through their Action Pack or Certified Boxes (an MSPP benefit)