Small Business Competency and Office 365 Certification Path

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Julie Bennani, GM of Microsoft Microsoft Partner Network, recently blogged more information about the upcoming Small Business Competency, which will be launched in June 2012. I wanted to highlight that there will be a strong cloud focus for this competency. Julie states “The competency will lead with the Cloud and be a key differentiator for partners focused on the small business segment. We believe this competency will be one of the biggest levers to accelerate cloud partner activation in the small business segment and anticipate it will grow into the largest competency within the Microsoft Partner Network. As a deliverer of Microsoft technology solutions to small businesses, this is a unique opportunity for your company to earn the Gold or Silver Small Business competency designation and differentiate yourself as a trusted advisor to small businesses.”

More details will be coming shortly, Julie concludes with highlighting some of the potential requirements for the upcoming SMB competency, which are very similar to completing many other competencies within the MPN. “In order to acquire the MPN Small Business competency, Microsoft Partners will go through a straightforward process to prove their capability through technical exams, sales assessments and quality customer references…”

While more specific details will be upcoming, I would like to point out that we have recently released an Office 365 Technical Certification track. 

Microsoft Office 365 Certification Overview

Office 365 is familiar Microsoft Office collaboration and productivity tools delivered through the cloud. Everyone can work together easily with anywhere access to email, web conferencing, documents, and calendars. It includes business-class security and is backed by Microsoft. Whether you are a small business or multinational enterprise, Office 365 offers plans designed to fit your organization's unique needs.

MCTS for Office 365

Help validate your in-depth technical knowledge of and skill in using the features and functionality of key technology areas in Microsoft Office 365. To earn this certification, you must pass one exam – TS:Administering Office 365 – Exam 70-323

MCITP for Office 365

The Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) certification helps you demonstrate your ability to use Microsoft Office 365 to excel in a specific, market-relevant job role. This path builds on the MCTS prerequisite of Exam 70-323 and passing Exam 70-321 Pro: Deploying Office 365.

For more information on changes to Microsoft Certification celebrating its 20th anniversary – Check out Ron’s post - https://blogs.technet.com/b/uspartner_ts2team/archive/2012/04/12/microsoft-certification-20th-anniversary-brings-major-changes.aspx

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