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Key Partner Features and Partner Momentum Announced at WPC09

paulenglis — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:25:00 GMT

This morning at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in New Orleans, Microsoft Online Services announced several new features that enable partners to assist and manage their customers who trial and buy the Business Productivity Online Suite.

Two key features are available today as part of the newly announced Microsoft Partner Network:

· Partner Order on Behalf. Partners can now place Microsoft Online Services orders on behalf of their customers. The feature allows partners to initiate trials, specify the services and quantities they recommend for their customers, pre-configure orders for their customers to complete, and ensure they are the Partner of Record for their customers’ trials and orders placed in the system.

· Partner Commerce Dashboard. The new Partner Commerce Dashboard provides a consolidated view of Microsoft Online Services orders and commerce, such as the status of trials and subscriptions, for customers that have the partner specified as their Partner of Record. Partners can work within the Commerce Dashboard or export the information to Excel to be imported into a CRM system.

Microsoft Online Services also announced Q4 availability of Delegated Administration for partners. Customers will be able to delegate administrative privileges to partners for some tasks in the Microsoft Online Services Administration Center.

Also announced for Q4 rollout is a new partner Distributor Model and integration of partner information on customer invoices. More information about the new partner program and features will be available through Quickstart for Microsoft Online Services.

Announcement of these features highlights the importance of partners to Microsoft Online Services. Since the Microsoft Online Services Partner Program was announced at WPC08, more than 5,000 partners have enrolled in the program. Additionally, 4 of 5 orders for the Business Productivity Online Suite have come through Partners, and Partners have built more than 100 custom solutions exclusively for Microsoft Online Services. Examples of these solutions are available via the Solutions Showcase.

More information from WPC09 can be found on the Microsoft Press Pass site.

Service Update: July 2009 Release Availability, Features Announced

paulenglis — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:09:00 GMT

The Microsoft Online Services Service Update for July 2009 will begin deployment into production data centers on July 7 and is scheduled to be available to all customers by mid-July; updates to the release deployment status will be posted to the comment section of this blog post.

No scheduled downtime is planned for the Microsoft Online Administration Center or the availability of the services in the Business Productivity Online Suite. Downtime is expected for the Microsoft Online Customer Portal, which will affect an organization's ability to set up trials, buy subscriptions, and modify their subscriptions. Watch this Team Blog for additional information on planned downtime.

The following features are included in this Service Update for July 2009:

Increase for SharePoint Online File Uploads. The maximum file size for documents uploaded to SharePoint Online increases from 50MB to 250MB.

More Live Meeting Attendees. Meetings hosted in Live Meeting Standard can accommodate up to 250 attendees, an increase from 15 attendees per meeting. This change applies to all users of Live Meeting Standard, including those that own Live Meeting licenses as part of their Business Productivity Online Suite. The upgrade will be available for new customers after July 13; existing Live Meeting customers will be upgraded by August 13.

Microsoft Online Services Trials for India. India becomes the newest market for Microsoft Online Services and the Business Productivity Online Suite. Trial accounts will be available to organizations in India with this service update. Commercial availability is targeted for Fall 2009.

Quick Trials. The process for getting a Microsoft Online Services trial is significantly streamlined. With updates to the Microsoft Online Customer Portal, user actions required to set up a trial account are reduced by 75 percent and better integration with Live ID authentication.

Worldwide User Provisioning. Administrators can assign user licenses to worldwide users, an important addition for multi-national organizations with users in numerous countries. Previously, administrators could only assign user licenses to users located in countries where Microsoft Online Services are marketed and sold. Users located in a country where use of Microsoft products is prohibited or restricted, however, still cannot be provisioned. Customers and Partners should consult with their Microsoft contact for additional information on these prohibitions and restrictions.

Trial Guide for Microsoft Online Services is Published

paulenglis — Tue, 05 May 2009 23:36:00 GMT

A new Trial Guide for Microsoft Online Services has been published and is available from the Microsoft Download Center.

If you are considering the Business Productivity Online Suite from Microsoft Online Services and want to start a 30-day trial of the services, the Trial Guide will help you get started with the trial and work through several common administrative and end-user tasks. The guide provides step-by-step instructions for several scenarios, including:

· Setting up a 30-day trial account in the Microsoft Online Customer Portal (MOCP)

· Basic account administration

· SharePoint Online administration

· Setting up the end user experience

· Converting a trial account to a paid subscription

Now Available for Purchase by Businesses of All Sizes! Introducing Microsoft Online Services...

Lori - Microsoft — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 11:34:00 GMT

Sign up for a Free Trial | Buy Online services

To get help using the Microsoft Online Services Customer Portal

· Visit the Microsoft Online Services TechCenter

· Ask a Question in the Community Forum

· Enter a Request to Our Support Team

· General Support Information