Microsoft Commits Multibillion-Dollar Partner Investments

LOS ANGELES, July 13, 2011 -

- Private and public cloud
incentives, competencies and benefits align to customer
projects.

Microsoft Corp. today unveiled updates to the Microsoft Partner
Network (MPN), to better help partners grow their businesses and
meet evolving technology needs of customers around the globe
through tools, training and incentives totaling $5.8 billion for
fiscal year 2012.

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“Winning together with our partners today, and long into the
future, means delivering incredible world-class technologies to
meet customer needs, as well as the right partner incentives, tools
and training, which will ultimately drive business growth for
them,” said Jon Roskill, corporate vice president of the Worldwide
Partner Group at Microsoft, speaking before more than 15,000
attendees from around the globe at the company’s Worldwide Partner
Conference. “We are bringing our partners to the cloud with us -
they can use the tools and skills they have now to take their
clients to the cloud.”

Roskill announced new or extended solutions and online service
incentives that are available and aligned to key priorities such as
customer projects, accelerated growth of public and private cloud
adoption, and tools demonstrating a broad commitment to partners’
success. Partners are encouraged to engage through the Microsoft
Partner Network to benefit from the incentives.

Align Partner Competencies to Customer
Projects

• The newly separated Messaging competency and Communications
  competency help differentiate companies with the explicit skill set
  and depth of experience to provide a holistic unified
  communications solution that includes voice and video. The
  competency split also will enhance recognition for partners’
  investments in advanced capabilities with Exchange, Lync and
  Microsoft Office 365.
• The merger of the Systems Management and Virtualization
  competencies in May 2012 will strengthen partners’ ability to
  help customers realize the benefits of cloud computing on their
  terms with Microsoft private cloud solutions. Partners can prepare
  now by attaining the current competencies for System Center
  management and Windows Server Hyper-V virtualization.

Incentives to Accelerate Cloud
Adoption

• New Software Assurance Planning Services will be available in
  August, paying qualified partners to deliver deployment services to
  Microsoft Software Assurance customers for Microsoft private cloud,
  Windows Azure public cloud, SQL Server and software development.
  These opportunities will help partners grow their client base,
  strengthen customer relationships and increase service
  revenues.
• Windows Azure Incentives reward qualified partners in
  the Windows Azure Circle program that influence customer adoption
  of Microsoft’s public cloud platform. As a result, partners can
  build new, sustainable revenue streams by helping customers benefit
  from the public cloud.
• Private Cloud Incentives. The Management and
  Virtualization Solution Incentive Program will reward qualified
  Gold Certified partners that influence sales of Microsoft private
  cloud technologies. This complements the Hyper-V Cloud Accelerate
  program that will fund partner and customer private cloud
  assessments, proofs of concept, and production deployments.
• The SQL Server Solution Incentive Program delivers
  rewards to Gold Certified partners that drive application platform
  and business intelligence solutions to customers, particularly with
  the upcoming cloud-ready information platform, SQL Server
  “Denali.”
• Monetary incentives and href="www.microsoft.com/licensing/about-licensing/value-of-volume-licensing.aspx">
  license mobility available through Microsoft Software Assurance
  for Microsoft Hyper-V, System Center and SQL Server will help
  hosting solution providers grow their businesses by enabling
  customers to deploy their Server Application licenses with Software
  Assurance on-premises or in the cloud within hosting partners’
  shared hardware environments.
• Microsoft is investing in scaled business model transformation
  approaches for high-potential partners (from in-person coaching to
  online self-serve), which will help business decision-makers within
  partner organizations build specific plans, analyze the change
  implications of integrating cloud (e.g., profit and loss shifts,
  staffing needs, etc.), and define commitments and a timeframe to
  execute the shift.
• To continue spurring the growth of Microsoft Dynamics,
  Microsoft is offering eligible partners an increased Microsoft
  Dynamics CRM Software Advisor Program (CSA) compensation of 40
  percent on new subscription sales of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online
  as part of the existing CSA.

Enhanced Partner Tools and
Benefits

• Expanded Internal Use Rights will offer increased Lync and
  Windows Intune licenses for partners. The number of licenses
  allotted to Cloud Accelerate partners will grow to 100 from 2 and
  those to Cloud Essentials partners will grow to 25 from 10. New
  partner toolkits and opportunity guides will help partners start
  paving a path to profitability with public and private solutions
  for the following four markets: small business, midmarket segment,
  enterprise and public sector.

Wrapping up the keynotes, Microsoft Chief Operating Officer
Kevin Turner addressed the overall theme of the conference,
“Winning Together.”

“We understand that partners have a choice in working with us,”
Turner said. “As they evolve their businesses to embrace cloud
technologies, partners can count on Microsoft to provide the tools
for cloud training, the resources to generate sales leads, and the
ability to boost revenue and increase value for customers. We’re
committed to our partners’ profitability and long-term business
success.”

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide
leader in software, services and solutions that help people and
businesses realize their full potential.

Erika Bitzer of Weber Shandwick Worldwide, +1-206-576-5531, ebitzer at webershandwick.com, or Weber Shandwick Worldwide, WPC11PR at webershandwick.com, both for Microsoft Corp. NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at www.microsoft.com/news. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.