Launch Central for U.S. Partners : software-plus-services

The BPOS Opportunity (and how to get your BPOS internal-use licenses)

dianeja — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:58:24 GMT

The Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) has been in market for several months now, so it might seem strange to talk about it in the Launch Central blog. But we think many partners still don’t know about the great business opportunity you have with Microsoft Online Services, and I’d like to highlight some resources and information that can help.

BPOS Reloaded Multi-City Tour. There’s still time to attend one of these live 2.5-hour events, which are offered at no cost to Microsoft Partner Network members. Read what the U.S. Partner Learning team said about these in their blog. Their post includes the list of cities (events are coming up in TX, KS, OH, IL, FL, GA, MI, NJ, PA, DC).
U.S. Online Services Events, Training & Offers. This partner portal page is comprehensive, and lists in-person and virtual courses, partner offers and incentives.
Up to 250 BPOS Internal-Use Licenses for BPOS Resellers. You can’t sell what you don’t know. Enroll to resell Microsoft Online Services, and qualify for internal-use license benefits.
Microsoft Online Services RSS Feed. Stay on top of the partner resources and information about Microsoft Online Services.

Looking for a particular resource about Microsoft Online Services or BPOS and nothing above fits the bill? Send us an e-mail at grpvine@microsoft.com or direct a tweet to @msuspartner.

Get Ready for Windows Azure – Resources for Microsoft Partners

dianeja — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:54:24 GMT

Windows Azure is the Microsoft operating system in the cloud. Azure is a whole new way for Microsoft partners, including Systems Integrators, ISVs, and Web Developers, to offer a wide range of Internet services that can be accessed from both on-premises environments and the Internet.

Here are some recommendations for you to explore the Windows Azure Platform services:

Windows Azure Platform on the Microsoft partner portal: https://partner.microsoft.com/US/productssolutions/psazure
Sign up for your own Azure account under the no-cost Community Technology Preview (CTP): http://www.microsoft.com/azure/register.mspx
Visit the Azure Partner Quickstart community, The Hub: http://hub.digitalwpc.com/WindowsAzure
Watch video presentations about Azure: http://msdev.com/Directory/SearchResults.aspx?keyword=azure

Want to experience Windows Azure firsthand? We’ve created a simple step-by-step document that will guide you through creating and uploading your own "Hello, World" Azure application on a single Web page. The whole process takes only 45 minutes. Register for the Community Technology Preview, then go through the tutorial at http://www.msdev.com/Directory/Description.aspx?eventId=1550, presented by Tony Bailey.

Attendees at this year’s Professional Developers Conference in November will have the opportunity to go deep on Azure and leave the Conference ready to go beyond “Hello, World”. Visit the PDC 2009 site at http://microsoftpdc.com/.

Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) Activation Seminar

dianeja — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 02:32:05 GMT

You are invited to attend a seminar to learn why and how to sell Microsoft Online Services suite of services. This 100-level seminar is designed for Microsoft partners interested in understanding more about Microsoft Online Services and the Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS).

In this 2 ½ hour seminar, you will learn how the Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) fits into Microsoft’s Software-plus-
Services cloud computing vision and see the products in action, plus:

Understand how you can profit by becoming a BPOS reseller;
Discover how to target customer traits and handle their objections.

Register today to attend this seminar in a city near you, with dates throughout October and into November. Once you have signed in to the Partner Learning Center, choose the “Register” button in the top left hand corner to view all cities and dates. All seminars are hosted at a Microsoft facility and run from 1:30pm to 4:00pm. You may have the chance to win a great prize for attending!

BPOS Launch Preparation Heats Up - Get Trained on Licensing and Business Policies

dianeja — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 21:53:00 GMT

The October launch of our Microsoft-hosted suite of online services that includes Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Live Meeting, and Office Communications Online, affectionately called BPOS (Business Productivity Online Suite), is only a few weeks away. BPOS represents a new business model for Microsoft, as we get further into the business of hosting services as indicated by our release earlier this year of CRM Online, and will also be a new business model for partners working with Microsoft. To help you get acquainted with this new model, we are offering six web seminars at the end of August that will help you understand the licensing and business policies and enable you to have a savvy and knowledgable discussion with your customers.

You can see the list of available web seminars, dates, and times on the Partner Learning Center here. The three courses are:

Level 100: Introduction to the Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) Licensing and Pricing
Offered on August 26 and August 27
Level 200: Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS): Sales Channels - MOSP, EA, SPLA
Offered on August 26 and August 27
Level 300: Microsoft Online Subscription Program (MOSP): Online Experience Walk-Through for Microsoft Partners
Offered twice on August 28

Remember that training available through the Partner Learning Center is a benefit of Microsoft Partner Program membership. To access the course information, you will need to sign in with the Windows Live ID you used to register for the Partner Program.

More soon--there is lots of activity as we prepare for this exciting new offering!

Diane Golshan, Sr. Marketing Manager

Exchange Online and SharePoint Online - How to Sell?

dianeja — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 02:14:00 GMT

Recently I received feedback via our "Rate This Page" function on the partner portal about the Microsoft Exchange Online page. "I want to know how to sell this," the partner wrote, "and all you're telling me on this page is about a stupid video and roadshow." Having been part of the team that reviewed and gave feedback on this page, I was kind of disappointed that it had missed the mark for this partner. So I wanted to take this opportunity to remind you that the products Bill Gates announced at the SharePoint Conference on March 3, Microsoft-hosted Exchange Online and SharePoint Online, will be generally available later this year (I encourage you to read the PressPass story, if you're not familiar with this announcement and I've piqued your interest). We will be adding more information about how to offer these services to your customers over the coming months. We think they will be a great opportunity for our partners to offer choice and flexibility to their customers, and help bring our software-plus-services strategy to life.

As for the video and roadshow that are referred to on the page, the video is a great testimonial from Evolve Partners about their take on the software plus services opportunity. The roadshow presentation was developed with the Institute for Partner Education and Development (IPED), and will offer a "state of the industry" take on Software as a Service (SaaS) as well as an assessment of software plus services and the Microsoft Online Services products.

Cheers,

Diane Golshan, Sr. Marketing Manager - US Partner Group