Top 10 Reasons to Attend the Worldwide Partner Conference

Join Us in Toronto, Canada for WPC 2012, July 8 -12.

It’s all about connection and momentum. The 2012 Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) is the partner event of the year—a unique event that brings us all together in one locale. Join the U.S. and global team members in Toronto, July 8-12. Register now at digitalwpc.com. Find out about key Microsoft strategies and initiatives for the coming year. Expand and deepen relationships with partners from around the world. Learn about opportunities in the cloud and the next generation of business productivity solutions. Get insights from the execs that drive our business. Mix, mingle, and network at the U.S. partner celebration. Tuesday, July 10, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Roy Thompson Symphony Hall. Build a business plan that’ll help you realize potential and profits. Discover how to best take advantage of Microsoft Partner Network resources. Enjoy exclusive access to the U.S. lounge and 40+ track day sessions focused on how the latest Microsoft products can help you grow your business. Be part of the evolution of the IT platform. Find out firsthand what the largest city in Canada has to offer—for both business and pleasure. Join the U.S. WPC Community at aka.ms/usatwpc.

 

Ever wondered how many vouchers come with Open Value sale???

You can use the SAB calculator (SAB Calculator) to find how many benefits will be available for "X" number of purchases. Please include in presentations and pass to partners.

 

May Licensing Bootcamp + Extended Solution Sales Training & Workshop

May 16 at our Silicon Valley Campus

Agenda has been changed:

8;30 – 9:00 sign in and breakfast

9:00 – 10:30 licensing overview, basics refresher, examples and best practices

10:30 – 10:45 break and networking

10:45 – 11:30 licensing deep dive on SC and SQL 2012

11:30 – 12:00 lunch on own (cafeteria)

12:00 – 2:00 solution selling overview and refresher

2:00 – 2:15 break

2:15 – 4:30 implementing solution selling, taking the tools and applying to partner’s business

4:30 – 4:45 feedback and wrap

Sign up with link in this invitation:

West Region SMB Licensing Boot Camp
	Are you leaving money on the table? Are you stumped by the complexity of Microsoft licensing? Do you want to refresh your Solution Sales Skills? Join Microsoft for a focused discussion on Solution Selling & Licensing Microsoft Solutions for partners selling into Small & Medium Businesses.
	Microsoft Partners: This power-packed three-hour boot camp is great for client-facing sales managers, account executives, and technical resources who are new in their role or who need a refresher on Microsoft’s licensing programs. And, if you’re already a Microsoft licensing expert, attend this boot camp and test your knowledge! We will review trends, tools, scenarios and tips to help you and your customers. In just three hours, you’ll learn how to: Refresh your Solution Sales Skills Grow your business with the right licensing programs for your customers Discover techniques to position Annuity with Microsoft Software Assurance Enhance your profit margin with best practices Understand Microsoft Cloud licensing options for your customers Leverage incentives, rebates, financing and promotions to save money Connect with local resources and knowledgeable experts Gain invaluable insight on how to get more revenue from every sale This event is designed to give you the knowledge you need to advise your customers, save money and build a Microsoft roadmap. Register today! Sacramento, CA – Monday, April 16th from 1:30-4:30pm Mountain View, CA – Wednesday, April 18th from 9:00am-12:00pm Mountain View, CA – Wednesday, May 16th from 9:00am-12:00pm San Francisco, CA – Thursday, May 17th from 9:00am-12:00pm Register Today in a City Near You! Sacramento, CA Monday, 4/16 1:30pm – 4:30pm PT Mountain View, CA Wednesday, 4/18 9:00am – 12:00pm PT Mountain View, CA Wednesday, 5/16 9:00am – 12:00pm PT San Francisco, CA Thursday, 5/17 9:00am – 12:00pm PT

Suzanne Lavine – Microsoft Corporation Partner Territory Manager – Northern California/NV Commercial Small/Mid Market & Partner Focus VOIP: 415.972.6434 Email : suzl Mobile : 510.703.4220 My Blog:

 

Why Joining The IAMCP Makes Sence for YOU!

Ok, I didn’t write this….. but really worth reading 🙂
http://rcpmag.com/articles/2012/04/01/the-value-of-community.aspx

 

Drive YOUR Business with Event Marketing in Q4 – April 2012

This is the newsletter from our Community Manager, Michael Murphy

Marketing for Microsoft Partners – West Region (April, 2012) Dear Suzanne, You are receiving this e-mail because Microsoft is a member of the West Region, Microsoft Partner Network in which I cover and provide customized marketing opportunities that might be of interest to you. Drive Business in Q4 with Microsoft Community Connections (MCC) The Microsoft Community Connections (MCC) program is ideal for Microsoft partners and local community organizations (chambers, vertical or professional associations, etc.) to work together co-hosting or co-marketing an event. Plus, it’s an easy, effective way to raise awareness and increase attendance for your events! CLICK ‘Sign Me Up‘ for next steps. The Big Easy 8 Offer is BACK by popular demand! (Valid from March 5 – June 30, 2012) WHAT’s NEW? Includes Online Services – Office 365, Windows Intune and Dynamics CRM Online 2x payout on Open annuity – Open Value and Open Value Subscription Relatively higher payout on growth and emerging solutions Call to Action: Review the Bill of Materials, Start Selling and make MORE Money!!! Windows Intune Proof-of-Concept Tool for Partners Microsoft Partners can use the Windows Intune Proof-of-Concept (PoC) to introduce customers to the Windows Intune environment through a virtual lab-based engagement. The PoC is designed to showcase the ease of use and value of adopting Windows Intune to manage updates, endpoint protection, gather insight on hardware and software inventory and remote assistance. Upon successful completion of the PoC, customers should gain a clear understanding of the features and benefits of Windows Intune to enable them to move forward with a full implementation in the production environment. Call to Action: Please visit Microsoft Connect to learn more… What is NEW in RTG? You can now leverage the new Press Release Distribution Service offered by PR Newswire to help get stories out on the web. When you sign up for a Microsoft AdCenter account, receive $50 in FREE advertising. Run seamless events by using the Event Marketing 101 campaign resources. 5 new microsites have been launched to help you keep your websites up-to-date: Business PC, CRM Online and Office 365, Don’t Get Forced, Microsoft Exchange, Windows Server Upgrade and Virtualization and more… Get ahead on promoting SQL Server with the new Sneak Peek at SQL Server 2012 campaign. How do I get the Demo Provisioning Tool and the Demonstration Guide for Office 365? QuickStart Online Services Tools Quickly create an Office 365 trial tenant with demonstration data Auto-Provisioning of Users, Email, Calendar, SharePoint Sites, Lync Profiles, and Customization. Everything you need out-of-the-box to do demos. 90 Minutes+ of fully guided demonstration content and script, broken out into easy to consume scenarios of productivity. Technical setup and configuration documentation Lync Mobile Apps are Now Available Stay connected, communicate and conference while on the go! Mobile apps for Microsoft Lync 2010 deliver the power of unified communications including rich presence, instant messaging and audio conferencing from a single easy-to-use interface. Watch the video Download the Lync Mobile App Let your customers know (email template) Available on Windows Phone 7, iOS & Android platforms Feedback Please keep sending feedback and suggestions to help make this monthly communication the source of sales, marketing and readiness information needed to increase your business. Thanks, Mike Murphy Senior Business Development Manager & Slate Champ Microsoft Community Connections, West Region W: 469.775.2336 | M: 214.934.4868 | micmurph "Information is a source of learning. But unless it is organized, processed, and available to the right people in a format for decision making, it is a burden, not a benefit." – William Pollard West Region Monthly Partner Call ‘Successfully Selling Microsoft Cloud Solutions’ NEXT Friday, 4/20/12 @ 10:00am PST (Windows Phone 7 giveaway) Kick off by Neal Potter, General Manger Partner Corner featuring Ro Kolakowski, 6th Street Consulting – Success in Selling Office 365 Technology Buzz with Joshua Shea – Web Syndication & Tips on Selling Cloud Partner Open Roundtable  Register Now ( NOTE: This is a new registration link. Previous West Region MPC invities may be out of date. Please re-register with the link above.) OR copy to your calendar: Attendee: Live Meeting Toll-Free (within US & Canada): (800) 813-9612 Attendee PIN: 6529  West Region SMB Licensing Boot Camps Focused event on SMB Solution Selling & Licensing Microsoft Solutions Sacramento, 4/16 Mountain View, 4/18 Irvine, 4/26 Salt Lake City, 5/8 Mountain View, 5/16 San Francisco, 5/17 Webcasts: How Managed Service Providers can Thrive with Microsoft Online Services 50 Quick Tips on Creating More Opportunities at WPC (IAMCP Hosted) April 23rd @ 12:00pm CST May 10th @ 12:00pm CST Resources: West Region BLOG Partner Learning HOT Sheet Other Events: Read: ‘The Case for Joining IAMCP’ (Redmond Channel Partner) NorCal IAMCP Chapter Wednesday, May 2nd – ‘How Partners can grow their business leveraging the Microsoft Stores’ Seattle IAMCP Chaper – Thursday, April 19th @ 1:00 – 2:30PM w/ Jon Roskill, Corp. VP SoCal IAMCP Chapter Cloud Intelligence Conferences: Seattle, April 17th San Diego, May 11th 2012 WorldWide Partner Conference – Toronto July 8 -12th Register NOW! Have questions, looking for answers? Where do I go for my Software Assurance (SA) renewals workbook? Visit the renewals center to retrieve your workbook and to learn more about the tools in place to help your customers with their renewals. https://partner.microsoft.com/US/40114266 Where can I go for help with the VAR rebate? Visit Channel Advantage for the terms and conditions as well as the included products. Also, your distributor will be happy to help you understand the VAR rebate potential of various deals. https://partner.microsoft.com/US/40130363 Where can I go for help with Sales Incentives and the Big Easy Offer? See the Big Easy resource center and be sure to use the Big Easy Calculator. http://www.microsoftincentives.com Where do I go for help with my Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) account? Contact the Regional Service Center: (800) 765-7768, mspp-na Where do I go for help with the MPN Program? Contact the MPN Experts: (877) 254-6825 or msppexp Where can I find information on Marketing tools and Campaigns? Visit the Ready-To-Go site. http://www.mspartnerdirect.com or www.mscommunityconnections.com

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How to get a head start on the NEW Management and Virtualization Competency

I’m redirecting you to Eric Ligman’s article on this – great explanation.

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/mssmallbiz/archive/2012/01/05/how-to-get-a-head-start-on-the-new-management-and-virtualization-competency.aspx

Here’s the link to the Evolution of the Unified Communications competency post: http://ligman.me/k6h2DB

 

Get Exclusive Savings on Windows Phone Plans and Devices

Microsoft partners who currently hold at least one competency may be eligible for savings that make it easy and cost-effective to acquire Windows Phone devices and services. Take advantage of these offers to experience how Windows Phone delivers productivity without compromise, and how you can extend your productivity infrastructure to your customers. Find out how you can save on plans and devices from participating companies.

https://partner.microsoft.com/US/40168429

 

Microsoft Opens Another Store – Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto

Schedule of Events

Thursday, April 19th 9:30 a.m. – Grand Opening ceremonies 10:00 a.m. – Microsoft Store opens (complimentary* tickets distributed) 5:00 p.m. – Play Kinect with San Francisco 49ers legend, Jerry Rice
*The first 200 people in line will receive two premier-viewing tickets to the performance and an opportunity to meet Maroon 5 for an autograph after the show. The next 800-plus people in line will receive two premier-viewing tickets to the performance. Additional general-admission tickets will be given out while supplies last. Like us on facebook.com/microsoftstoreto get up-to-the-minute details. Friday, April 20th 9:00 a.m. – Partner Breakfast – Enjoy a private store tour, shop in the Stanford Shopping Center store in a relaxing atmosphere, and connect with local business organizations like Chambers of Commerce. Join us for the Partner Breakfast and automatically be entered to win a Samsung Series 7 Slate! (Reservation required, email suzl@microsoft.com)
Saturday, April 21st 2:00 p.m. – Exclusive performance by platinum-selling band, Maroon 5 Concert location: The Maroon 5 performance will be held off of Sweet Olive Way near Macys, at Stanford Shopping Center.

 

“Suddenly Microsoft is the Hippest Tech Company Around”

By Rebecca Greenfield | Mar 27, 2012

While Apple and Google are busy getting bad press for their privacy issues, labor practices and general big-evil-company wrongdoings, Microsoft has done some brand regeneration, making it look like the hippest tech company on the block these days. As Apple and Google captured a younger, cooler demographic, the Windows maker, with its stodgy business oriented PC-compatible operating system and notoriously annoying browser, became synonymous with lameness. Remember all those highly effective ? That PC dork (writer-performer John Hodgman) represented all things Microsoft: Slow, uptight, badly dressed. But as Apple and Google have grown up, they’ve lost their hip sheen. And, Microsoft’s taking advantage. In this era of awesomely bad, it doesn’t look so lame anymore — especially in comparison to the other guys.

We noticed this new-found hipness when we came across the endearing Browser You Love(d) to Hate campaign. With some admirable self-awareness, Microsoft used its own bad reputation to argue that its hated Internet Explorer browser is on the verge of a comeback. Layering on the hipster-irony, Microsoft compares itself to once-passe things like PBR and mustaches, suggesting it’s just another brand that’s so bad, it’s cool again. It also doesn’t hurt that the overall look of the site matches that aesthetic. The Atlantic‘s own mustachio-ed tech man, Alexis Madrigal gave it his approval, calling this accompanying ad "definitely the funniest commercial Microsoft’s ever put out." We agreed, finding the whole thing convincing enough to give our abandoned IE9 a try again. (We still prefer Chrome, by the way.)

But this image comeback isn’t limited to IE. Over the last few days we’ve seen Hotmail ads running on Boing Boing and Jezebel, two blogs that are hip for different reasons. Boing Boing catering to the hippest of Internet lovers and Jezebel reaches a more mainstream but still cool millennial audience. And in general, the overall Microsoft-related press has been kind of good. Windows 8 surprised and excited the tech blogger world, something a Windows browser hasn’t done since Windows 95. The company has some other exciting things going on inside its labs. The other day, It did some Internet good with its Digital Crimes Unit. And, has even designed itself a decent looking logo. Apple’s (maybe) new logo, on the other hand, with its rainbow mish-mash, feels dated.

Which brings us to the other aspect of Microsoft’s renaissance: good timing. The once-hipper than Microsoft foes, Google and Apple haven’t looked so good these days. Google, the once beloved search company, has users uneasy with its Google+ integration, privacy issues and anti-trust concerns. Even Googlers aren’t too sure of Google’s mission, these days. Appl still produces insane-popular gadgets, but no longer wows reviewers like it once did. The new iPad is still the best tablet out there, but it’s not a must-have. Plus, it too has gotten itself into its own privacy messes. It also had the misfortune of acting as the face of the last few months of Foxconn scandal. Though the Foxconn protesters that threatened mass suicide back in January made Microsoft’s XBox, thanks to Mike Daisey and Apple’s financial successes, Apple not Microsoft absorbed most of the bad PR.

Part of this has to do with maturity, we suppose. An early bloomer, Microsoft’s already went through its tech company growing pains. It used to be the evil one, remember? The one accused of monopolistic practices, of buying up the competition, of stifling innovation. But it’s no longer the bully. Google and Apple’s misdeeds have overshadowed the once dominant tech company, and while the other big players make public messes out of