Find out what’s new for Microsoft partners. We’ll connect you to resources that help you build and sustain a profitable cloud business, connect with customers and prospects, and differentiate your business. Read previous issues of our online newsletter.
We provide real-time updates about the topics covered in this newsletter and other partner-related news and information on our US Partner Community Twitter channel.
To stay in touch with me and connect with other partners and Microsoft sales, marketing, and product experts, join our US Partner Community on Yammer and see other options to stay informed.
Top stories
Your path to profitability with the cloud starts with Microsoft
Microsoft US Channel Chief, Stephen Boyle, provides you with an update about your opportunities and resources for building and sustaining a profitable cloud business. From the new Modern Microsoft Partner eBook series to the updated Cloud Adoption Profitability Playbook to investments for app developers and in the Internet of Things, Microsoft can help propel your business forward.
- Read Stephen’s blog post
- Profitability blog posts
- Meet the modern partner and the four pillars for a successful practice
Introducing the WPC 2016 Vision Keynote speakers
At WPC 2016 this July, Vision Keynotes will be shorter and held on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday mornings. Satya Nadella will kick off the conference on Monday, July 11, and executives Kevin Turner and Phil Sorgen will be joined by product and segment leaders from across the Microsoft business.
- See the Vision Keynote lineup and learn more about each speaker
- Preview the United States agenda for WPC 2016 – US keynote and celebration are on Tuesday, July 12
- Register before April 21 for the current discounted price of US$1,995
- MPN Partner of the Year Awards are open until April 7 – complete and submit your nomination soon
- Give your feedback before March 30 to help us shape WPC content
- Join a WPC 2016 overview call on March 30
Data platform updates: SQL Server 2016 Release Candidate 1, SQL Server on Linux, and more
There are a lot of exciting announcements about SQL Server—from SQL Server on Linux to a release candidate for SQL Server 2016 to an offer for Oracle customers to move to SQL Server. Stay on top of the latest information with our links below.
- Watch the Data Driven keynotes by Satya Nadella, Scott Guthrie, Joseph Sirosh, and Judson Althoff on demand
- SQL Server 2016 Release Candidate 1 announcement
- Scott Guthrie announces SQL Server on Linux
- Get an early look at SQL Server on Linux, and sign up to stay informed
Customers running SQL Server 2005 after April 12 will no longer receive security updates and hotfixes from Microsoft. Now is the time to work with your customers to plan their upgrade to SQL Server 2014 and Azure SQL Database and benefit from dramatic performance gains, higher availability and scalability, and rich business intelligence capabilities.
- Planning resources for upgrades to SQL Server 2014
- Guidance for upgrades from the SQL Server team
- SQL Server 2014 business and technical resources
- ModernBiz SQL Server sales and marketing resources
March is about marketing on the US ISV and App Builder community calls
Throughout the month of March, guest speakers on the US ISV and App Builder Community calls have talked about marketing topics like using personal branding and social selling, creating a marketing roadmap, and using Microsoft marketing tools and resources. Rounding out this month’s focus on marketing are calls on March 24 about crafting your value proposition, and on March 31 about curating content and managing your social presence.
- Register for March 24 and March 31 calls, and watch previous calls on demand
- You’ve developed your awesome app, now take it to market
- Microsoft Partner Network investments in developer partners
March 23: New partner orientation call
On these calls, which last about 45 minutes, you’ll get an overview of the Microsoft partner program, an explanation of your membership options and key benefits, and information about how to obtain support and stay informed as a Microsoft partner.
- Register for the March 23 partner program overview call
- Register for the March 30 WPC 2016 overview call
- MPN 101 resources
- Membership essentials guide
Take your practice to Office 365 and beyond at SMB Live roadshow events
Whether you’re ready to start, or ready to scale, your Office 365 business, there is an SMB Live event for you. Choose from one of two events in each city. Build your Office 365 practice is for partners new to selling cloud solutions, and Expand your Office 365 practice with Microsoft multi-cloud solutions is for partners with established Office 365 practices that want to add other Microsoft cloud solutions like Microsoft Azure, Enterprise Mobility Suite, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, and SQL Server.
- Cloud SureStep resources help you capitalize on the cloud opportunity
- Not sure where to start with your cloud plan? Follow these four steps
- Add new business offerings for long-term sustainability
Build your Office 365 practice |
Expand your Office 365 practice with Microsoft multi-cloud solutions |
March 29: Microsoft Virtual Security Summit
Live from Redmond, WA on March 29, hear from top security experts and key Microsoft security professionals in a three-hour event dedicated to better understanding today’s enterprise security industry. You’ll learn about modern cybercriminals and their evolving tactics, how leading security experts keep their organizations safe, and about tools to keep people, platforms, and devices secure.
- Register today for the March 29 virtual event
- Security TechCenter for IT Pros
- Microsoft Trust Center
- Cyber Trust blog
Your resources for the updates to Microsoft FastTrack and the Adoption Offer
Recent changes to Microsoft FastTrack and the Adoption Offer for Microsoft Office 365 make it easier for smaller customers to adopt and use their cloud services. The FastTrack customer success service now supports SMB customers starting at 50 seats, and the Adoption Offer has been expanded to include payouts for customer purchases starting at 50 seats and extended to June 30. The resources below will help you understand the details of these changes and get guidance for how you can use the newly updated FastTrack web experience with your customers to plan and prepare them for their move to the cloud.
- Announcement by Gavriella Schuster in the Worldwide Partner Group
- Drumbeat Start for SMB video (22 minutes)
- FastTrack on the MPN portal
- FastTrack Yammer group for US partners
- Office 365 roadmap (FastTrack updates are included on the roadmap)
Meet your training goals with help from the Hot Sheet
Stay on track with your training goals. Refer to the US Partner Community Hot Sheet for a schedule of in-person training and virtual courses, calls, and office hours are available. The current Hot Sheet includes listings through April 2016, and we’ll add new courses as we learn about them.
- Go to the current Hot Sheet
- Get started with the new Partner University on-demand training platform
- Find on-demand technical training on Microsoft Virtual Academy
- Find on-demand sales training from our Sales Excellence series
- Cloud Platform University Online sales training
- Data Platform University sales training
- Download our one-page partner training reference sheet