September 2008 - Posts
Q: (from Rob)
What’s the difference between Sofware Assurance (SA) and Upgrde Advantage (UA)? I can’t find any clear statements. Do we still offer UA?
A:
UA became SA when we switched to Licensing 6.0 in 2001. Upgrade Advantage only implied one benefit – upgrade protection. Now that we have Software Assurance – we can focus on multiple benefits including upgrade protection, home use rights, Vista Enterprise, cold server backup, etc. I often stress that people equate SA with upgrade protection because of it’s history, but it is SOOOO much more. Specifically you can’t sell upgrade protection on a product we recently released like Windows Server, so you should lead with a different SA benefit like cold server or training.
Here is a link to all of the SA benefits for the various licensing programs:
https://partner.microsoft.com/download/global/40029941
Q: (from Cathy)
Hello we were wondering if you had any canned demos you could send us on SharePoint for a demo this Thursday?
A:
If you are a registered partner with the Action Pack, you get the Technical Demonstration Toolkit which has a full SharePoint setup with data and script (I use it all of the time)
If you are a Certified or Gold Certified partner, you have the Demo Solution Showcase (or you might have picked one up at WWPC) it also has a SharePoint demo with data and script.
Both of these can be downloaded from partners.microsoft.com based on your partner level:
- Start with the Sales and Marketing tab at the top
- Expand the Sales Demo branch on the left
- You will see secured links for the Demo Showcase and Product Demos (TDT)
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Q: (from Rick)
Nov 11, Phila, No TS2? Not listed... Will be there for the morning SB2... Is that another name for TS2 now?
In the drop down box for other cities I seemed to still have a choice.
I had the feeling they were phasing out TS2... (Well, I go back to when they had box lunches in hotels 10-15 years ago... and have seen the peaks and valleys.)
A:
The rumor that TS2 is being phased out is greatly exaggerated. We've had some difficulties getting this year's events scheduled (BTW, we are returning to hotels for most events)
This resulted in a disconnect in our events listed on www.microsoft.com/events and www.microsoftts2.com which is being resolved. You should find that there is now a TS2 event listed for Nov 11 at the same location the System Builder (SB2) event is being hosted.
Q: (from Alan)
Is there any info available on Hosted Exchange yet? Will I be able to try it out before recommending it to clients? I’d like to see an sbs offering with hosted exchange instead of including exchange server. Just from your description of hosted exchange I think it’s a service I could sell.
A:
You can sign up to test the beta of our BPOS (Business Productivity Online Suite) at:
www.quickstartonlineservices.com
Q: (from Gail)
Wondered if you know of any resources available to a partner looking to grow their managed services businesses. I was thinking this may have been a topic in a previous TS2 and thought I’d pick your brain on it. Also, if you know who else I might ask, that would be GREAT!
A:
Matt Makowicz from Ambition Mission (www.ambitionmission.com)
and
Erick Simpson from Managed Service Provider University (www.mspu.us)
They both were involved in the TS2 discussion around managed services last year and are highly respected in the partner community. They each have several books out, online forums, and offer consulting and training.
As a matter-of-fact, both Erick and Matt have recently released new books:
From Erick: The Best I.T. Service Delivery BOOK EVER! reveals how to deliver Hardware Warranty, Break-Fix, Professional and Managed Services effectively and profitably. No matter which of these service delivery models you practice, you will learn how to maximize processes, efficiencies and customer satisfaction - resulting in higher net profits.
From Matt: A Guide to MARKETING Managed Services You’ve figured out Managed Services (perhaps because you own A Guide to SELLING Managed Services – faster, easier, & for greater profit). Now you can really grow your business by attracting and bringing on NEW customers that don’t come from referrals!
Q: (from Al)
I used to attend the Connections events in the morning before the TS2 events, is there something I can attend now?
A:
In the morning, you have the choice to attend either the TechNet events (http://www.technetevents.com) or System Builder events (http://ts2blogs.com/blogs/ronaldg/archive/2008/08/29/oem-system-builder-events-in-fall-2009.aspx)
I'm still looking forward to seeing you in the afternoon at the regularly scheduled TS2 events (http://www.microsoftts2.com/liveEvents.aspx)