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Microsoft overhauls channel partners

by on14 July 2009

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Good bye Gold

 

Microsoft has ditched its channel partner programme and got rid of the designations "gold," "certified" and "general register". Now it seems that Redmond will give channel partners titles according to what they are good at.

The changes are part of a broader series of channel program plans Microsoft is unveiling this week at its Worldwide Partner Conference in New Orleans. Julie Bennani, general manager of the Microsoft Partner Network said that channel partners needs were changing. They needed to tell each other appart in the marketplace, "not just from a technology perspective, but from a business perspective", she said.

The new designations, which Microsoft is calling "landing places", include "community," "subscriber," "competency" and "advanced competency." Community resellers will largely be new partners starting out while subscribers will be partners with a narrowly focused practice targeting a specific customer audience.

Meanwhile Microsoft has created 30 "solution competencies" that channel partners can become certified in. These include virtualization, desktop platforms, and identity and security. To get the “business productivity competency” you have to know business intelligence, content management and unified communications.

It is going to take Microsoft two years to roll out the new programme but these new words apparently will make a hell of a difference.

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