SharePoint Deployment Planning Services Available to Qualified Customers Worldwide on May 19th!
SharePoint Deployment Planning Services Available to Qualified Customers Worldwide on May 19th!
On May 19th,we will announce the release of SharePoint Deployment Planning Services (SDPS), a new partner and MCS delivered offering designed to help Software Assurance customers successfully plan and deploy SharePoint. SDPS includes a broad range of planning tools and services that help optimize the effectiveness of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server’s core capabilities (Portals & Collaboration, ECM and Search) and help lower the cost of deployment. Reception of this program has been VERY well received by both partners, customers and the field during our 4 month pilot that took place from January – April this year.
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SDPS is a packaged service offering that is a benefit for customers with qualifying Software Assurance. Customers now have the flexibility to choose Desktop Deployment Planning and/or SharePoint Deployment planning services as part of their SA investment.
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The number of Packaged Service days is determined by a combination of the number of qualifying Office licenses and the number of Core CAL suite and Enterprise CAL suite licenses.
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Currently we have over 300 certified consultants that are available to deliver an SDPS engagement.
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Over 18,000 Customers can leverage this service starting May 19th.
What does an SDPS engagement entitle customers to receive?
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A 1, 3, 5, 10 and 15 day deployment planning engagement will be offered depending on the customer’s SA benefit level.
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The types of services delivered will depend on the length of the engagement
1. A Strategy Briefing defines the vision for achieving technical and business goals and is part of all engagements,
2. An Architectural Design Session introduces SharePoint technologies, solutions and concepts is added in a 3 Day Engagement,
3. A Deployment Planning Session covers a specific SharePoint capability in depth is added in a 5 Day Engagement, and
4. A Proof of Concept demonstrates the solution in the customer’s environment is added in a 10 and 15 day engagement.
Where do Customers find information on their SA benefit?
To determine the software assurance the customer has purchased, they must identify who, within the organization, “owns” the contract with Microsoft. This could be a legal resource, a contracting specialist, or an IT executive and is known as the Notices Contact and the Agreement Administrator. This person would receive their entitlement details at http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/sa/default.mspx.
What is the value of SDPS to Customers and Partners?
Customers
§ SDPS enables customers to obtain a roadmap to understand how to effectively deploy SharePoint within their Organization and helps remove the customer-perceived risk and cost of planning for a SharePoint deployment.
§ SDPS offers an engagement that is customized for each customer, addressing their specific business or technical challenges.
§ SDPS enables customers to get more value out of their existing Software Assurance investment, and is available to them at no additional cost.
Partners
§ Partners receive the SDPS tools, training, and support to help customers deploy SharePoint and increase their revenue in the process.
§ SDPS helps minimize the up-front partner investment and pre-sales planning and helps customers get a SharePoint deployment plan in place, opening the door for increased partner service revenue opportunity.
§ Microsoft pays qualified partners to deliver SDPS services.
Where can I find more information?
The external site for partners to register is www.microsoftsdps.com, which will point them to the new partner community center where partners can leverage SDPS selling and engagement materials at www.partnersdps.com.
Customers can understand the opportunity and benefit of SDPS as part of the Software Assurance investment at http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/sa.
