Microsoft Partner Network

Main article: Microsoft Rus

2022: Microsoft partners around the world refuse to switch to a new license sales scheme

At the end of April 2022, Microsoft admitted that partners were slowly moving to the Microsoft New Commerce Expirience (NCE) software license sales scheme. Sellers complain that this scheme makes software more expensive. Read more here.

2021: Partnership with SberService

Service IT company SberService (part of the Sber ecosystem) received the status of an authorized partner of Microsoft by signing a corresponding agreement with Microsoft Ireland Operations Limited (MIOL). This was reported on March 24, 2021 by Microsoft. This partnership was a continuation of strategic cooperation between Microsoft and Sberbank. Now more than 2.7 million corporate clients of Sberbank will have the opportunity to purchase the latest Microsoft products and solutions for digital business transformation, as well as get a high-quality IT service. Read more here.

2019

Microsoft announced investments in the development of the partner ecosystem

On July 17, 2019, Microsoft announced investments in technology and programs to support its partner ecosystem. They are designed to optimize the interaction of partners with the company in the era of cloud computing.

Investments in programs and products:

• Microsoft Teams Expansion. Two years after the launch of the platform, it is actively used by 13 million people daily, and 19 million weekly. Microsoft has expanded the list of features in Microsoft Teams that include opportunities for healthcare organizations and first-line employees. In addition, Microsoft is working with partners to integrate Teams with contact center solutions, and also opens up new opportunities for CSP partners.
• Update. Dynamics 365 Microsoft has announced a major update to the Dynamics 365 Nonprofit Accelerator initiative and two integration tools for the Dynamics 365 platform aimed at automobile financial industry and sector representatives. In addition, the Business Applications ISV Connect program has become available almost all over the world. It has new development tools and guides, marketplace resources, as well as new opportunities to support partner solutions and help bring them to market.
• Microsoft introduced the Azure Lighthouse. The solution provides partners with a single dashboard to monitor and manage all Azure customers. According to the developers, this provides more convenient management of Azure resources, with a high degree of automation and efficiency, as well as a higher level of transparency and security for customers. Microsoft first introduced a solution of this scale, developed with partners and for partners.
• Azure Migration Program (AMP). The initiative will help customers accelerate their migration to Azure. AMP provides proactive guidance and tools to reduce risk and respond to the most common issues associated with moving workflows to the cloud.

The Microsoft co-sell partner solutions co-sales program has been around for two years. The annual income of partners within it amounted to $9.5 billion. The investment, which was announced this week, is aimed at developing this direction.

Enhanced Partner Opportunities:

• General availability of Microsoft Security competence. This competence allows partners to implement their expertise in the market, and also provides access to a number of advantages that stimulate commercial growth and increase in the profits of companies.
• Five advanced specializations. This list includes expertise on migration Windows Server SQL Server and in, Microsoft Azure migration databases Linux Open Source and in Azure, migration to Data Warehouse Azure, upgrading web applications in the Microsoft cloud, and (Kubernetes open for ON management) in Azure to containers.
• Enhanced Azure Marketplace capabilities. Additional pricing models, incentive program and ways to bring products to market will be launched in July for companies that place commercial offerings on the Microsoft Azure Marketplace platform. Pricing models include monthly and annual, billing SaaS flexible customer-configurable billing options, standard contracts, and free SaaS trials convertible to paid engagements.

Microsoft has 7,500 new partners every month

In early February 2019, it became known about the increase in the growth rate of the Microsoft partner community - to more than 7,500 per month against 4000-4,500 two years earlier.

The head of Microsoft's partner business, Gabriella Schuster, spoke about this at the State of the Channel conference. At the same time, she did not specify the period for which the calculation was made, and did not name the number of partners who terminate cooperation with the software giant. In June 2018, the American corporation announced the addition of 7,000 partners monthly.

In early February 2019, it became known about the increase in the growth rate of the Microsoft partner community - to more than 7,500 per month against 4000-4,500 two years earlier.

Gabriela Schuster called the Cloud Solution Provider partner program (which allows you to sell Azure and Office 365 cloud products by subscription) "the fastest growing licensing model" from Microsoft. The company's revenues from this program jumped 31% in 2018.

By the beginning of February 2019, partners connected to Cloud Solution Provider serve more than 2 million customers.

Schuster also pointed to the growing popularity of the joint sales program, which encourages sales professionals at Microsoft and partner companies to work closely together. For 18 months of this program, it contributed to Microsoft's $8 billion partner business turnover, said company CEO Satya Nadella at the end of January 2019.

In addition, Schuster touched upon the Microsoft Azure Expert MSP program, which covers the most experienced partners in providing Azure service management services. Participants in this initiative earn from $100 thousand to $2 million per month, and the number of partners in the program increased from 32 in July 2018 to 43 in February 2019.^[1]

Due to the impending end of support for SQL Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008, clients are gradually moving their workflows to the Azure cloud infrastructure, and this could bring partners an additional $50 billion, Schuster estimates.

2018

Microsoft earns $1 from every $10 partner

At the end of January 2018, it became known how much Microsoft earns from its partners - about 10% of the income associated with the sale of solutions and services to an American corporation.

According to information published on the Microsoft blog by the company's corporate vice president Gavriella Schuster, who heads Microsoft's partner business, partners receive approximately $9.64 from each $1 earned by Microsoft in the partner ecosystem. These data are from the IDC study in 2018.

More than 95% of our business [we are talking about corporate income - approx. TAdviser] falls on a strong and constantly developing partner ecosystem, says Gavriella Schuster. - Last fall, partners helped us achieve the annual revenue from sales of commercial cloud solutions set just two years ago of more than $20 billion.

Microsoft spoke about the success in the partner channel

By the end of January 2018, Microsoft has more than 68 thousand cloud partners (+ 33% a year earlier), including 45 thousand connected to the Cloud Solution Provider program. The company has conducted more than 100 thousand training courses on the development of professional skills for practical work with the cloud infrastructure Azure.

The number of "golden" statuses assigned to cloud partners for the year increased by 64%. Partners earn 19% more profit compared to companies that partner with Microsoft's main competitors.

Gavriella Schuster also said that in the six months of 2017, 500 partners participating in the pilot joint sales program generated more than $1 billion in partner revenue and sold Microsoft products and services worth $6 billion. The projects carried out under the program are on average six times larger in size, and companies conclude transactions three times faster when they work together, the software giant said in a statement.^[2]

Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider 83% growth

In January 2018, Microsoft spoke about the success of its Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) partner program, whose members are distributing cloud solutions to the American company.

On January 24, 2018, the head of Microsoft's partner business Gavriella Schuster, during a speech at the annual State of the Channel conference, announced that a total of 45 thousand partners were connected to the CSP initiative, which is 83% more than 12 months earlier.

Microsoft spoke about the success of the partner business in the cloud market

The companies that joined the CSP offer customers cloud solutions and services based on Microsoft products. The program applies to Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365), Azure, Skype for Business, SharePoint Online, Exchange Online, etc. In addition to distributing cloud solutions, partners provide additional services, including billing automation, subscription management, and technical support. In addition, customers interested in developing the cloud direction can count on comprehensive pre-sales support from program participants: product and technical advice, financial and marketing assistance.

The CSP assumes a monthly subscription that can be modified based on product usage, unlike Microsoft Enterprise Agreement contracts, which include local software implementations over three years.

In addition, Gavriella Shuster spoke about the success of the joint sales program, under which partners can earn 10% of the contract value when supplying a solution together. By the beginning of 2018, the number of partners who joined this initiative amounted to 9 thousand against 1.4 thousand in July 2017.

Participants in the joint sales program do not sell Microsoft services, they actually sell partner services, thanks to which the customer receives a ready-made solution that satisfies his needs as accurately as possible, she noted.^[3]

2016: Microsoft curtails Internet of Things partner program

At the end of October 2016, Microsoft announced the curtailment of the Red Carpet IoT partner program, which promoted cloud solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT). However, this does not mean that the American software giant is cutting the IoT business. In contrast, it began to encompass more companies partnering with Microsoft.

Members of the Red Carpet IoT program received special support from Microsoft, including marketing and sales support, dedicated training on IoT solutions, as well as a set of tools and services that helped specialists more efficiently develop and implement solutions based on Azure IoT Suite.

Microsoft announced the rollback of the Red Carpet IoT partner program, which promoted cloud-based IoT solutions based on the Azure IoT Suite

The Red Carpet IoT program has become part of a broader partner ecosystem, allowing partners to easily access resources for all practical areas, including the Azure IoT Suite, a representative of the American corporation explained to CRN.

Red Carpet IoT was conceived as a pilot project for which Microsoft carefully selected partners based on their experience and successful IoT technology implementations. The company did not specify how its partner business in the field of the Internet of Things will develop after the curtailment of this program.

One thing is obvious: Microsoft intends to continue to actively promote the development and implementation of IoT technologies. Earlier in October 2016, the company released a new catalog of 175 Azure IoT certified devices, thanks to which partners will be able to more efficiently select solutions for projects and better understand the features of the equipment (how it connects to the Internet, what sensors it works with, what protocols are used, etc.), CRN notes.

In addition, Microsoft has launched a security program for Azure IoT, in which third-party auditors will be able to conduct security, enterprise hardware and cloud connectivity checks from scratch.^[4]

2015

Plans to reduce the number of distributors in Russia

In November 2015, the media reported that Microsoft was preparing for a drop in sales in Russia, in connection with which the corporation intends to reduce the number of distributors on the market.

As Vedomosti writes in the November 19, 2015 issue, Microsoft management in Russia and Europe has been discussing the issue of reducing the number of software distributors in Russia for several months. The newspaper refers to people close to the leadership of Russian IT companies.

Microsoft is preparing for a drop in sales in Russia, in connection with which the corporation intends to reduce the number of distributors on the market

According to them, Microsoft may terminate the contract with Asbis. In addition to it, the software giant cooperates in the Russian Federation with the distributors Merlion, 1C, Mont and Treolan.

Managers of the Microsoft partner company told the publication that the American corporation can maintain the total number of Russian distributors by replacing one partner with another. At the same time, the volume of contracts for the distribution of software will definitely decrease, the source of Vedomosti is sure.

Vice President of the Lanit Group (including Treolan) Philip Gens believes that Microsoft has a lot of distributors in Russia, given the decline in the market. Each partner gets a small market segment, and companies begin to compete with each other, dumping and trying to get a client at any cost. In the long term, this situation is not beneficial either to distributors or Microsoft itself, Gens argues.

The decrease in the number of distributors or contracts may be due to the fact that Microsoft is preparing for a drop in sales in the Russian market in 2016. Firstly, from January 1, a law comes into force that allows state purchases of foreign software only in the absence of Russian analogues. Secondly, Microsoft itself is changing the sales scheme, offering free updates to Windows and Office and making money by implementing the latest versions of these products to new users and charging a regular fee from Office 365 subscribers. Microsoft sells this software on its own in online stores, a distributor is not needed for this.^[5]

Microsoft Cloud OS Network Russia, part of the COSN program

Main article: Microsoft Cloud OS Network

Cloud OS Network Russia is designed to unite IT companies that have data centers in the country and have high competencies in creating cloud services based on Microsoft technologies.

Rostelecom, Electronic Moscow, CROC, DataLine, Softline Group and Infobox (National Communications) became participants in the initiative of early 2015. It was announced that they will create in their data centers in Russia their own high-quality, reliable cloud services that comply with international standards based on the latest solutions of the corporation, which will be able to meet the daily numerous needs of a huge number of Russian customers from various industries in computing, data storage, scalability, etc. The first services are expected to be available in March-April 2015.

"The cloud is no longer just a new trend, it is a reality and a necessary tool to improve business productivity. We are seeing an ever-growing demand for cloud services, "said Betsis Pavel, Microsoft president in Russia. - Microsoft has experience working with hosting service providers to provide customers with the widest range of cloud solutions, including public, private and hybrid clouds. It is very important for us that domestic IT companies create their own competitive services and increase experience and expertise. Today we are taking a serious step in implementing the strategy for the development of the partner cloud and the Russian IT market as a whole. "

By this time, for more than ten years, Microsoft has been improving partnerships with hosting service providers. In order to further grow the COSN program in Russia, Microsoft will invest in the development of an ultra-modern cloud infrastructure of partner data centers located in the Russian Federation, as well as contribute to the creation of high-quality services already available in many markets. In addition, it will help ensure the compliance of new services with international quality standards, as well as develop the competence of Russian specialists. Partners who have data centers in the Russian Federation, have high competence in creating a modern data center architecture and in the field of personal data storage, as well as experience in creating cloud services based on Microsoft technologies and implementing hybrid scenarios have become participants in the program. In the future, other partners of the company can join it.

The cloud model of IT consumption in general and Microsoft services in particular are in demand among Russian enterprises. Thanks to the latest solutions based on Microsoft technologies, Russian enterprises will be able to use such reliable, productive international-class services from partner data centers located in the Russian Federation as cloud solutions to increase business productivity (business-class mail, unified communications and collaboration system and in some cases CRM), cloud infrastructure and platform.

2012: OCS stripped of distributor status

As of July 2012, Microsoft distributors under volume licenses are:

• «1C-Distribution»,
• Mont,
• Asbis,
• Treolan (part of Lanit) and
• Merlion.

OCS was stripped of this status in July 2012.

2011: Transition to settlements in rubles

On March 1, 2011, Microsoft began to conduct settlements with Russian partners in rubles throughout the country. Microsoft Rus made this decision in response to the numerous wishes of its partners and customers. More

Summing up the results of fiscal year 2011, Microsoft reported that from July 2010 to June 2011, most of the company's partners had a business selling Microsoft products and solutions ahead of market growth. For example, Softline accounted for 43%, while PC-WARE Russia accounted for 111%.

In addition, the business of the company's partners in the direction of Microsoft Dynamics CRM in fiscal year 2011 increased significantly: for example, by 150% at AND Project and by 200% at Norbit.

2010: New Partner Requirements

On October 29, 2010, the rules and requirements of the new partner program, the Microsoft Partner Network, entered into force worldwide. More than a million companies are starting to live according to the new rules: an extremely clear system of competencies is being introduced, which partners will need to confirm by passing qualification exams and expertise based on the experience of successfully implemented projects.

The Microsoft Partner Program regulates the relationship between the vendor and its partners. The decision to upgrade it was made on the basis of the wishes of partners and customers. The previous program was designed to work with Microsoft's rapidly growing partner network and to interact with partners of various types: system integrators, developers, computer manufacturers and assemblers, distributors and resellers.

The new program appeared as a response to new life realities: fundamentally new types of business appeared; more transparent and clear differentiation of partners, their exact specialization, easily understandable to customers, was required. It was also important to develop a system of criteria that would allow a fairly accurate assessment of the level of competence of a partner in certain decisions of the corporation.

5 levels of participation

Cooperation between Microsoft and partners, as before, will be built on the basis of 5 levels of participation in the program. At the same time, key changes will affect the highest levels: previously they were "Certified Partner" and "Golden Certified Partner." Now these statuses will be canceled, and the "Partner with Gold level competence" and "Partner with Silver level competence" will appear as the main ones.

To become a Microsoft Gold winner, partners must successfully pass technical exams and receive Microsoft Certified Professionals. Companies also need to provide customer recommendations to support successful cloud projects, meet performance commitments (revenue and/or consumption/usage), and pass a technology and/or sales assessment. Only 1% of Microsoft's leading partners worldwide are gold qualified.

Moreover, this will not be a formal procedure for renaming the partnership level, but a transition to a completely new measurement system. It is by claiming these statuses that partners will have to work very closely with the company, regularly confirming their competencies and expertise.

The terms of cooperation between the vendor and partners at three other levels: community member (formerly registered partner), subscriber and Microsoft Small Business Partner (SBSC) - will not change so radically.

The ultimate goal of all transformations is to improve the quality of customer service, which will now make it much easier to choose the most competent partner for a particular business task. Since partner statuses will now be assigned exclusively according to the types of solutions that the partner delivers to the market, for example, Portals and collaboration (portal solutions) or Virtualization (virtualization solutions), as well as the level of professionalism of the partner in a specific direction.

Expertise in a specific area of ​ ​ the partner will need to be regularly confirmed: technical specialists will have to pass qualification exams for the latest versions of the relevant Microsoft software products, and marketing, sales and licensing specialists will successfully pass the relevant tests. At the same time, we note that a total of 29 unique competencies are introduced within the framework of the new partner program, which cover typical IT - the needs of both small companies and large corporations.

A two-level differentiation system for partners on Silver and Gold will allow you to choose the best in the specific competence of the partner. The client can be sure that a partner with Silver competence is one of the suppliers of this solution to the market, but a partner with similar Gold competence is one of the few market leaders with a very deep and powerful expertise on this particular type of solution.

The maximum benefits of the Microsoft Partner Network are available to partners with Gold competence: an expanded set of software for internal use and demonstration to customers (100 free licenses for Windows, Office and the development environment), a preferred position in search engines, Microsoft's public indication of best-in-class partners, dedicated technical support, etc.

Certification

In connection with the introduction of the new rules, Microsoft, 9 months before the start of their action, invited existing partners to undergo re-certification.

According to the rules of the new Microsoft program, companies applying for the status of a "gold" partner in a certain direction must submit at least four project manager-level specialists for certification. These specialists had to pass three exams corresponding to the level of their specialization. The status of a "golden" partner was assigned in one of 20 areas, including ERP, corporate portals, corporate licensing, etc. When successfully passing the exams, the company received a "golden" competence in the direction in which these engineers worked. According to the rules of the program, specialists cannot be involved in projects in other areas. Accordingly, if a company claims to receive a "gold" status in another specialization, then it will need to provide four more engineers.

If earlier integrators were the core of the Microsoft partner model, now specialized companies will be the core. The fact that no integrator in Russia has four strong experts in at least one specialization shows that it is difficult for Microsoft to control the fulfillment of its technological requirements by integrators.

Consequences of the launch of a new program in Russia

In December 2010, it became known that by the time the new Microsoft Partner Network program was launched, only 4 out of more than 500 Russian partners of the corporation who had them had received "gold" status^[6]

In Russia, only 4 partners (PM Consulting Services, Softkey and Fermo, as well as the Specialist Computer Training Center at the N.E.Bauman Moscow State Technical University) managed to get a "golden" status, and the rest were "automatically" transferred to the "silver" level. All the largest system integrators, including Lanit, Technoserv, IBS, CROC, Korus Consulting, GMCS and others, have lost their Golden status. In total, according to 2009 data, the Russian office of Microsoft had about 500 "gold" partners.

Microsoft CNews reported that many partners who previously had "golden statuses" are now in the process of certification to return it. But those who manage to return the status will be significantly smaller than before: "This is due to the desire of the corporation to make Gold status a symbol of maximum expertise, experience and professionalism in the market."

Until September 2011, Microsoft allowed companies to use the old logos of "golden partners" in their advertising materials and in tender documentation, Vladimir Ivanov, CEO of PM Consulting Services, which was re-certified and received two "gold" competencies, told CNews. "What Microsoft is doing now is reform, where specialized companies get an advantage over integrators," he said. "The previous Gold certification model was more profitable for integrators, as it allowed to raise many areas of activity with the help of only two average specialists in each of them."

Launch Pinpoint Search Portal

To make information about the corporation's partners available to customers, Microsoft launched the international search resource Pinpoint, which is a universal Internet directory containing information about the corporation's partners, their solutions and services. The Russian-language version of this resource was launched in early autumn 2010.

On this portal, any partner of the corporation, regardless of its status and region, can post information about himself, his competence, the level of participation in the program and his achievements, and current and potential customers of the company can evaluate the solutions of the partner, quickly contact him and begin cooperation.

"We fully support the growth of the professionalism of our partners and will encourage them for their competence, deep expertise and active position in the market," said Evgeny Voronin, Director of Strategy and Partner Programs at Microsoft in Russia. - There may be fewer partners with the highest Gold status, but these will be real professionals in their field. At the same time, we count on the growth of partners with basic levels of participation in the program: community member, subscriber and partner with the status of Small Business Specialist. Moreover, in our opinion, this should happen mainly due to the more dynamic development of our regional partners. "

Web development

Microsoft announced in October 2010 the launch of a new competence under the Microsoft Partner Network. The new competence of Web development is intended for companies working in the field of web design. Competence will provide competitive advantages and comprehensive support from Microsoft.

"The emergence of a new competence is a natural consequence of the development of the software development ecosystem in general and web development in particular. This competence of Microsoft is intended specifically for companies working in the web, and is designed to help Russian web companies most fully realize their potential, and customers - to find a reliable and professional partner in this area, "said Alexander Lozhechkin, Director of the Department of Strategic Technologies Microsoft in Russia.

Partners with Web development competencies will benefit from a number of benefits, including support from Microsoft in the form of marketing investments, participation in Microsoft events for web developers, as well as the ability to more efficiently build their communications and find new customers. In addition, certified partners receive technical support resources and will also be able to undergo additional training. To obtain this competence, a partner must meet a number of official requirements that guarantee his reliability and the quality of the services provided.

The competence of Web development is part of Microsoft's partner program and strategy for promoting programming and design technologies.

Notes