Partner News: Community-Centric Microsoft Partner Network Launched at WPC09

Sign up for other newsletters | Update your profile | We Are Listening: Tell Us What You Need By any measure, the 2009 Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC09) was a resounding success. Over 9,000 joined us in New Orleans, and more than 150,000 of you attended virtually through Digital WPC. Participation on Facebook soared, too, and at several points, #WPC09 was a top-10 topic on Twitter. Those of you who came had much to say about the electricity and buzz generated during the keynote addresses, in the sessions, and by the product announcements. In this newsletter, we summarize some of what happened, including the rollout of the Microsoft Partner Network. Digital WPC will be a resource throughout the year for product updates, training, and more. And mark your calendars—the dates for WPC10, in Washington, D.C., have already been set. The Microsoft partner community is more than 640,000 members strong. It serves more than 160 million customers. So you can bet that we are always thinking about ways to enhance its success. That's why we've built the Microsoft Partner Network as the next generation of the award-winning Microsoft Partner Program. When you think about it, a network is more interactive than a program. It's more focused on partners and their customers. And better positioned to build on strengths and develop opportunities. Learn more about the timeline for the Microsoft Partner Network rollout, which has already begun. Here's the value of this change to you. We'll help you strengthen your capabilities to create and enter new markets by giving you early access to the latest technologies. You can leverage these technologies to expand your sales and marketing skills, and you'll be able to take advantage of clear learning paths, including the training opportunities announced at WPC09. Competencies have always been a key means to win customers. We've made it easier to earn and showcase these credentials in the marketplace. Take those capabilities out to your customers. Partners can leverage Microsoft investments in sales and marketing campaigns tied to major product releases and tailored to small, midsize, and enterprise businesses. Partners can add logos and personalize these materials to customers to reduce the cost of doing business. And we've also aligned competencies and specializations to the real business issues customers face every day—so sales conversations can go more smoothly. We'll foster real-time connection and support through communities that spark innovation, so that you develop the customer and peer relationships that drive opportunities. Reach out through partner social media sites and other community venues, including Online Technical Communities. Being networked—it's business today. Explore this FAQ to stay on top of changing requirements and benefits. Join the Microsoft Partner Network. New Azure Services Pricing Unveiled at WPC09 A new pay-as-you go pricing model for Azure services, announced at WPC09, will allow you to pay only for the Windows Azure, SQL Azure, and .NET Services you actually consume. Microsoft partners also will benefit from special promotional offers and savings that can help you to bring solutions to market faster, reduce IT complexity, and increase revenue opportunities. Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Beta Well-Received at WPC09 Partners attending WPC09 were excited by the Microsoft Exchange Server demos they saw. Download the beta as well as the promotional kit designed to help you market Exchange Server to your customers. In addition to customer-facing presentations and e-mail templates, you'll find webcasts with newly released product information and feature overviews. Microsoft Office 2010 Feature Overview Shared at WPC09 Unleashed at the 2009 Worldwide Partner Conference, the Microsoft Office 2010 Technical Preview provides an opportunity to show your customers how the Office 2010 suites will improve business productivity across PCs, browsers, and mobile devices. Demonstrate the capabilities and impress your customers with the benefits of collaboration in real time, from virtually anywhere. And go behind the scenes with the Office 2010 development team. The Next Generation of Windows Phone Unveiled at WPC09 WPC09 attendees had a sneak preview of the new features coming in Windows Mobile 6.5. Attendees also were introduced to the new Windows MarketPlace for Mobile—now accepting application submissions. Participate in the Race to Market Challenge. And follow the Windows Mobile blog to get the latest announcements. Microsoft Government Partners Offering Launched at WPC09 The Microsoft Government team announced the Citizen Safety Architecture, a suite of Microsoft and partner software and services. The suite enables governments to improve multiagency operational effectiveness, reduce costs, more efficiently detect and prevent threats to citizen safety, and prepare for and respond to critical incidents. Windows Server 2008 R2 Released to Manufacturing The virtualization and Web capabilities of this operating system update were highly touted at WPC09. Find out more in the role-based learning paths and study the new features in this on-demand webcast series. Register now for another webcast focusing on how the virtualization features can save on IT costs. Understanding Virtualization and Competitive Displacement At WPC09, COO Kevin Turner gave a rousing speech about Microsoft's competitive stance in the marketplace. Microsoft server virtualization technologies have an important role to play in this strategy. Learn how two new products, Hyper-V and Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager R2, can play a key role in your business. Learning Solutions Competency Requirements Changed If you provide training services based on Microsoft technologies, consider enrolling in this competency. New, more flexible program requirements make it easier for you to meet customer needs. WPC09 Release: New SPLA Essentials Offering Competitiveness in Web offerings was a big part of the story at WPC09. The Microsoft Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA) program now offers two ways to license the Microsoft products you need to host software services and applications for customers—SPLA and the new, simplified SPLA Essentials that helps you get to market faster. Download the SPLA Program: July 2009 Changes Overview and SPLA Essentials presentations to learn more. The Microsoft Enrollment for Application Platform was also announced at WPC09. • Help customers plan network-wide migrations with Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 4.0. • Download Microsoft Forefront Security for Microsoft SharePoint with Service Pack 3. • RTM availability • Windows 7 at WPC09 • Role-based learning paths • Application compatibility • Online Technical Communities • Visit Antimalware Engine Notifications and Developments site. • AV Comparatives ranks Microsoft first for proactive threat detection. • New role-based Volume Licensing training guide tool. Visit the Microsoft Partner Network Portal ©2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Azure, Forefront, Hyper-V, SharePoint, Windows, Windows Live, Windows Mobile, and Windows Server are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. Trouble accessing a Microsoft Partner Portal link? You may be signed in with another Windows Live ID not associated with the Partner Program. Sign out of any other Windows Live ID-enabled sites, and then sign in with the credentials used to enroll in the Microsoft Partner Program. If you still cannot open the link, please contact our support team. You will receive a response within 72 hours. Newsletter Legal Information This newsletter was sent by: Microsoft Corporation One Microsoft Way Redmond, Washington, USA 98052 Sign up for other newsletters | Update your profile | We Are Listening: Tell Us What You Need © 2009 Microsoft Corporation Terms of Use | Trademarks | Privacy Statement