Microsoft System Center Alliance – requirements and behind the scenes
I’m back in the rhythm of things after a week or so of pure ITIL v3.
Today I’ve been looking at very different processes – the back office pieces that make up the System Center Alliance.
I blogged earlier about the high level aims of the System Center Alliance – namely:
The goal of this program is simple. To create, nurture and grow a strong partner eco-system around System Center products. Our intent is that this Microsoft and partner community will deliver the best set of management solutions in the industry.
The requirements for a developer partner are very public – and hopefully have enough clarity to enable you to join and be successful. From http://www.microsoft.com/systemcenter/en/us/alliance-program-overview.aspx:
Requirements and Qualifications
Although this is a no-cost program, partners must meet the following membership requirements:
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Must offer a product or solution that interoperates with the then-current version(s) of the System Center family of products; within ninety (90) days of release of any new version of System Center, to maintain membership, any upgrades or updates necessary to maintain such interoperability must be released
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Must make product or solution commercially available to customers and must market it actively
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Must be a member of the Microsoft Partner Program (MSPP)
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Must have a Microsoft Non-Disclosure Agreement in place
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Must delegate full-time employee as a single point of contact for System Center Alliance activities and communications
I will drill down into the two requirements that are most important up front.
First – membership of the Microsoft Partner Program (MSPP).
If you are not already a member of the MSSP then there is a wealth of information at https://partner.microsoft.com/. There are slightly differing components of the MSPP in different areas – visit the partner portal for full details. Local developer support and training may also be available in your region.
The second requirement is more involved. Membership of the System Center Alliance requires that you have a product or solution which interoperates with System Center.
There are many different ways that this interoperability could be implemented – from native console support and an extension of System Center Configuration Manager; through providing Management Packs for System Center Operations Manager; through to providing integrated enabling technology alongside System Center Virtual Machine Manager.
My next few posts will investigate some areas of integration; and resources available to developers to deliver such integration. For those that want a sneak peek – take a look at the Software Developer Kits for System Center Operations Manager and System Center Configuration Manager.
I’ll also talk more about the back office process improvements – and how we are working to accelerate and enable development partners and integrators in the use of System Center technologies.
Written at: Redmond, WA
