The US Partner Learning Blog

I’ve been running the Office 2010 Beta for some time now, and to be blunt, it seriously rocks. Can I share some of my favorite features? These are just a few and don’t even touch on several of the products included, but they should give you a good idea of some new Office goodies:

• Conversation View in Outlook – my inbox is downright clean, and dare I say, organized.
• New picture/video editing tools – one click updates to contrast, color, effect, brightness, etc. Picture editing is plain easy.

• Speed – With the new features, I have noticed that I work fast. Blazing fast. My productivity has gone through the roof with the ability to find recent mail and attachments via the Outlook Social Connector, quickly sorting through long mail threads, and most importantly, the ability to search and find things at what feels like warp speed.

If you want to learn more about Office 2010, here are some partner-specific resources (and some fun stuff too) to get you started:

1. Office 2010 Partner Challenge on Facebook

2. Beta Center for Office 2010, SharePoint 2010, Project 2010, Visio 2010

3. Our personal favorite, Office 2010 Sales Training recos on the Learning Plan Tool

4. Main Office 2010 page for partners, with opportunities by partner type 

We hope these are helpful! Do you have any other cool resources to share?

The Partner Learning Team

We get multiple questions every day about how partners can more easily take exams and get certified. Here is another offer from our friends over at Microsoft Learning to help knock down some of those barriers – this one was specifically created for team leaders to help grow the skills of their entire team. Here are the details:

Save up to 40 percent on Microsoft Certification exams:

Microsoft Certification is simpler and more cost-efficient than ever. Buy a specially priced exam pack before December 31, 2009, and invest in a Microsoft-skilled workforce for the new year! Distribute vouchers individually to get team members up-to-speed, or provide them to groups to prepare an entire team for deployment. Note This offer is valid in North America only.

Buy more, save more

• Exam 5-pack – US$500:
  20 percent discount: Get 5 exams for the price of 4

• Exam 10-pack – US$750:
  40 percent discount: Get 10 exams for the price of 6

We hope you take advantage of this offer, especially if you have a team full of techies who need to exams taken.

Enjoy!

If you’ve got some extra time around the holidays, be sure and look into the current training promotions. There are tons of courses included across all roles and products, and you could win something to make your holidays a little sweeter. Here’s what we’ve got for you:

Business Readiness Home Media Sweepstakes (ends February 19, 2010)

Register and attend our featured Business Readiness courses below for a chance to win one of 34 great home media prizes – the more you participate, the more you’re entered. Qualifying courses include: Prospecting, Business Value, World Class Selling, and Licensing.

Winter Sales Summit Sweepstakes (ends December 19, 2009)

Ramp up your sales skills in preparation for winter. For every course you register and attend on our Winter Sales Summit Training list, covering a variety of Microsoft solutions, you’ll be entered to win one of 10 $500 REI gift cards or a 4-night Vail ski holiday trip for two!

DevDrive Training Promotion for Developers (ends December 31, 2009)

For every course you register and attend from our DevDrive developer training list, covering new training on SQL Server 2008 R2, Visual Studio 2010, Windows Azure and Windows 7, you’ll receive an entry to win a trip to the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving or 1 of 20 Sirius | XM Plus satellite radio packages.

Learning Plan Fan Sweepstakes (ends January 15, 2010)

Microsoft’s Learning Plan Tool is the premier place to manage your team’s launch training. Get in the game and be entered to win a trip for 2 to the 2010 NCAA Final Four tournament in Indianapolis or 1 of 7 Coby 22” Widescreen LCD HDTV/DVD Combos. Create or update a Learning Plan with one of our launch learning packages to enter.

Netbook Sweepstakes (ends June 16, 2010)

Enter to win a Dell Inspiron 1011 netbook for every event you attend from our training list. Products include Exchange Server 2010, Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) and Office Communications Server 2007 R2.

Let Microsoft Online Services Make you a Star (ends June 16, 2010)

These monthly Web Seminars provide an overview of Microsoft Online Services and discuss partner program opportunities. Join us the third Wednesday of every month now through June 2010 to be entered into the monthly drawing for an Xbox 360 Pro Console and Rock Band 2 kit!

Get a Break on Your Next Certification Exam (ends December 31, 2009)

For a limited time, receive 15-25% off select Microsoft Certification exams. Visit the Career Campaign site to view the complete list of exams and discounts.

We hope these promotions are helpful to provide you with an extra incentive to grow your skills.

Enjoy!

We have several great courses for you on this lovely (and most likely cold!) Free Friday. Without further adieu…

World Class Selling:

Could we be any more excited about this series?  There is a Microsoft VP cameo in these sessions (who do you think it is?) who’s had some history of successful sales. He share some insightful comments around navigating the waters and compelling conversations to earn the trusted advisor badge with your customers.

REGISTER NOW:

Partnercast: Art of Selling in Turbulent Times

Partnercast: Compelling Communications at the C-Level in Turbulent Times

Exchange Server 2010 Licensing and Pricing Overview:

This course is designed to provide partners with an overview (a quick 15 minutes) of the Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 licensing and pricing information to become more effective at selling and explaining how the new Exchange 2010 features link to the different server and client SKUs. Take this training to help your customers maximize the value of their software investments.

REGISTER NOW: Exchange Server 2010 Licensing and Pricing Overview

These courses are both free to you as a Microsoft US Partner, so don’t miss out. Do you have any sales tips to share or Exchange licensing pricing questions? Let us know.

Have a fantastic weekend,

The Partner Training Team

I’m guessing that most of you have heard about BPOS (Business Productivity Online Suite), but if you’re still not sure what it is or how it can benefit your customers, be sure to register for this upcoming webcast:

Let Microsoft Online Services Make You a Star! Join our Webcast Dec 16th at 10 am PST

REGISTER NOW!

Interested in becoming a reseller of Microsoft Online Services? Attend our monthly webcast for an overview of our services and partner program opportunities and incentives.

______________________________________________

This webcast is free to you, and 1 lucky attendee will win a netbook. See more details on our Netbook sweepstakes here.

If you want to start digging around to see what BPOS is all about, here are some other great resources:

1. Microsoft Online Services page on the Microsoft Partner Network portal. 

2. Microsoft Online Services Team Blog

3. Specific questions for the Online Services Team? Give them a shout on Twitter.

4. If you’re still wondering “what the heck is BPOS?” – here’s the overview of what products are included in the suite, and how exactly it works.

Let us know if you have questions about BPOS,

The US Partner Training Team

We mentioned this a couple weeks ago but wanted to make sure you didn’t miss it through the Thanksgiving food haze. We’re incredibly excited about SharePoint 2010 – for those of you who want to get a head start and be ready for deployment, be sure to register for our upcoming Ignite Workshop series. There are 2 tracks – one for Developers, and one for IT Professionals, so you can be sure you’re receiving the best in targeted readiness.

Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Ignite – Developer

This 300 level, 3 day training targeted towards experienced SharePoint 2007 developers, covering developer topics for SharePoint Server 2010 including SharePoint 2010 Services Architecture, SharePoint Development with VS10, changes to Workflows, External Data in SharePoint, Extending the SharePoint 2010 Search Infrastructure, etc.

Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Ignite – IT Pro

This 300 level, 3 day training targeted towards experienced SharePoint 2007 professionals, covering IT Pro topics for SharePoint Server 2010 including deployment and upgrade topics, such as Topology Planning, Capacity Planning, Security, Governance, Operations, etc.

If you haven’t already, be sure to download the Office 2010 betas here and find on-demand SharePoint 2010 training on the Learning Plan Tool.

We hope you find these resources helpful!

When our Microsoft Office learning advisor sent us these three new Partnercasts to inform all of you about, I didn’t get it. I was thinking, “seriously, we’re trying to convince partners to sell Office 2007 when the Office 2010 launch is just around the corner?” So, I decided to listen to one of the Partnercasts for myself, and within just a couple minutes of listening to the product manager explain the 2 for 1 customer offer in market until the end of the month, I got it. Let us know if you get it too! Is the offer proving to be compelling for partners? What feature are you most excited about in Office 2010?

Enjoy these free, quick tips and have a great weekend!

5 Conversation Starters to "Why Buy Office 2007 Now?"

5 Common Objections to "Why Buy Office 2007 Now?"

5 New Features of Office to Help Answer "Why Buy Office 2007 Now?"

Your online presence is YOUR personal brand. Are you making the impression you want in your social media network? Join our Ready-to-Go Marketing team for this informative web seminar, and learn how to extend your personal brand online, reach out and make the connections you want. 12/8/09, 10am PDT, 60-90min

Enjoy,

The Partner Learning & Ready-to-Go Marketing Teams

Here are our hottest training sessions from November – make sure you’re in the loop with the latest learning buzz and register now for any of these courses.

Check out the highest viewed training from Microsoft Partnercasts:

On the Learning Plan Tool, you were all about Windows 7!

What was your favorite course taken in November? We’d love to hear in the comments below or on Twitter.

Enjoy,

The Partner Training Team

If you’re interested in exploring, upgrading, or fine-tuning your telecommunications offerings, check out this new workshop we’ve got touring the US.

Microsoft's Unified Communications (UC) Voice Ignite is a 5-day technical workshop for IT, Networking, and Telecommunication professionals. This workshop is based on Microsoft® Exchange Server 2007 SP1 Unified Messaging (UM) and Microsoft® Office Communications Server 2007 Release 2.

Over the course of this workshop, you will build on your previous experience with Microsoft's UC products and learn how to successfully design and deploy Microsoft voice solutions for your customers through presentations based on experience, Labs, a Make It Real group project, and a Make It Right lab.
The UC Voice Ignite Workshop reviews many of the features and capabilities that are built into Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2, including:

• Rich Presence
• Instant Messaging
• Audio/Video/Dial-In Conferencing
• Response Groups and Enterprise Voice

Acting as an OCS Administrator, attendees will deploy an OCS Voice environment beginning post-server installation, through to enabling users and clients, and including the configuration of some advanced features, such as edge servers, gateways, and dialing plans. Primary attendee focus will be to perform Telephony Integration, creating a "single click for all media Enterprise Voice Solution, as well as exploring new Voice Workloads such as Response Groups and Outside Voice new to Release 2.

Who should attend?
The UC Voice Ignite workshop was created for technical professionals who are mobilizing to deliver Microsoft Voice over IP solutions to customers with Microsoft® Exchange Server 2007 SP1 Unified Messaging (Exchange 2007 SP1 UM), and Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 Release 2 (OCS 2007 R2).

Prerequisites:

· UM Power Up - 3 labs and 4 tutorials, all need to be completed to meet the pre-reqs. Allow about 5 hours (1 hour per tutorial, .5 hour per HOLO).

· OCS 2007 R2 Ignite - 9 labs and 9 tutorials, all need to be completed to meet the pre-reqs. Allow about 20 hours (1 hour per lab, 1+ hour per tutorial). Additional presentations to support the labs can be found here under Training.

· Recommended Pre-reading modules can be found at http://trainings.partner.microsoft.com

Course Summary Outline:
Day 1: UC Voice Architecture (UM/VoIP/Conf architect/deploy/troubleshoot)
Day 2: OCS VoIP (architect, deploy, troubleshoot)
Day 3: OCS and UM integration
Day 4: Make it Right - design, troubleshoot, correct
Day 5: Conferencing, Microsoft roadmap, Certificates of Achievement

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW.

If you’d like to dig into our offering a bit more, do check out the Office Communications Server page on the MPN site, as well as the learning packages available to you for free on the Learning Plan Tool.

As a side note, over here on the Partner Learning Blog, we are fierce devotees of OCS and we depend on the capabilities of the solution every day – seriously, it’s an awesome product and we encourage you to check it out if you haven’t already. My personal favorite feature is the ability to call or IM anyone in my contact list at any number from the convenience of my inbox, an open mail, or my IM  buddy/contact list. There are so many great details in this integrated solution that makes work life so interconnected and easy!

Do you have a favorite feature to share? Let us know your thoughts on this product and the business opportunities you see. Tweet us, or comment below.

The Partner Training Team

Developers – You’re in for a treat. We’ve added even more courses to the DevDrive Sweepstakes. Remember, the more you take, the more you’re entered to win a trip to the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving or a Sirius/XM Plus satellite radio package. See the full details here, otherwise, check out the newly added courses below.

Give us a shout if you have any questions about this promo via Twitter or the blog comments below.

The Partner Training Team

Introducing SharePoint 2010 - the business collaboration platform for the Enterprise and the Web. SharePoint 2010 enables organizations to connect and empower people. Building products on a platform is a proven way to maximize the capabilities that you and your team can deliver to customers while maximizing your investment in development. Ready to get your hands dirty and attend some SharePoint 2010 training? Here are 2 series of in-person events – 1 for developers, and 1 for IT Pros.

Register now!

Developer SharePoint 2010 Ignite Training

IT Pro SharePoint 2010 Ignite Training

Have you downloaded the beta yet? Check out the full details of SharePoint 2010 on the Microsoft Partner Network site. Also, remember that you can brush up on SharePoint 2007 on the Learning Plan Tool.

Have you downloaded the 2010 beta yet? What are your first thoughts?

The Partner Training Team

We’re excited to launch a promotion that’s taking it back to the basics: the Business Readiness Home Media Sweepstakes. Here are the details…

Register and attend our featured Business Readiness courses below for a chance to win one of these great home media prizes – the more you participate, the more you’re entered:

The Business Readiness Home Media Sweepstakes includes a ton of course to help you drive success in your business, including:

World Class Selling

World Class Selling requires the synthesis of the Art and Science of Selling and ultimately earns trusted advisor status with your customers. Receive one entry for attending each of the following World Class Selling Partnercasts:

· Partnercast: Art of Selling in Turbulent Times

· Partnercast: Compelling Communications at the C-Level in Turbulent Times

Enjoy!

The Partner Training Team

Official Rules

*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. The sweepstakes is open only to legal residents of the 50 US states (includes D. of C.) 18+ who are employees of companies actively enrolled in the Microsoft Partner Network. Game ends on February 19, 2010. For full rules, please click here.

Here’s just a quick note to let you know that today we’re adding two more courses to our DevDrive training sweepstakes for developers. That means more great training opportunities (these two contain fresh content on the latest improvements to MSDN and Visual Studio 2010) and more chances to win one of our ‘high performance driving’ prizes. You can check out our original DevDrive Sweepstakes blog post for additional eligible training and offer details.

· Partnercast: The New MSDN: Overview & Partner/Customer Value Prop

· The New MSDN: Overview of Customer and Partner Value

Remember, the more approved courses you take, the closer you are to winning a trip to High-Performance Driving School. See the details and all the other prizes here!

What do you think of the training selections for this promotion? Is it helpful to have a developer-specific training promotion?

Cheers,

The Partner Training Team

Here’s a great incentive to push launch training you’ve been meaning to take up to the top of your to-do’s. Perform one of the following actions below in the Learning Plan Tool and be entered to win a trip for 2 to the 2010 NCAA Final Four tournament in Indianapolis (Fun! Can we come?) or 1 of 7 Coby 22” Widescreen LCD HDTV/DVD Combos. Each action qualifies you for one entry into the sweepstakes, so the more you learn, the more you’re entered:

1. Create a Learning Plan with a Learning Package from one of our launch products.

2. Update a Learning Plan with a Learning Package from one of our launch products.

3. Receive a bonus entry into the drawing for each course you register and attend from your Learning Plan.

Click here for quick access to all of the qualifying launch Learning Packages and the official rules.

Cheers,

The Partner Training Team