Comments on: Microsoft copies Google, Salesforce, and Red Hat in new partner initiative

Microsoft is copying its rivals in a new service, but is it also outflanking its partners?

[josmor]

I was in the WPC. All the event was designed to explain partners how Microsoft will help partners to increase their business. So I think MSFT will not really compete with partners, they will user their partner muscle to move them to create new business models using MSFT's services as platform.
The problem goes when partners will maintain their business models. If many important and influential partners from around the world get the message, they will save millions and generate a lot of revenue.
For example, for small business... why to keep expenses for hosting when Microsoft with Live Services can provide it for free? (www.smb-email.com) Specially if the partners can add value to the offer...
The business for Microsoft partners is basically in value added. Licensing margins are very low, but maintenance contracts or deployment can be very good paid.

[josmor]

I was in the WPC. All the event was designed to explain partners how Microsoft will help partners to increase their business. So I think MSFT will not really compete with partners, they will user their partner muscle to move them to create new business models using MSFT's services as platform.
The problem goes when partners will maintain their business models. If many important and influential partners from around the world get the message, they will save millions and generate a lot of revenue.
For example, for small business... why to keep expenses for hosting when Microsoft with Live Services can provide it for free? (www.smb-email.com) Specially if the partners can add value to the offer...
The business for Microsoft partners is basically in value added. Licensing margins are very low, but maintenance contracts or deployment can be very good paid.

[josmor]

Your system is not accepting my long answer... so I opted to publish it in http://wpc08.blogspot.com/

[igilyeat]

It is always fascinating to me to watch Microsoft efforts to build subscription based solutions. This is an effort that begain back in the 1993 time frame. At the time I was with a small magazine publishing company called WordPerfect Publishing Corporation (no this is not WordPerfect Corporation). As I recall, WordPerfect Corporation had about 15,000 subscribers to a software product at this time. WordPerfect Publishing Corporation, separate from WordPerfect Corporation also had several thousand subscribers to a monthly software solution. I became aware of Microsoft recruiting subscription talent during this time frame and found it highly noteworthy that they were trying to acquire this subscription marketing talent. Subscription based marketing is a bit different that marketing shrink wrapped software or enterprise software. No matter, it's been fun to see that even though they've been pursuing subscription talent for the better part of 15 years, that they are just now coming to market with a SaaS solution.
www.iangilyeat.com

[joshcawthorn1]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8tNI2QDBmA

[christopherafernandez]