Steve's TS2 Insider

Q: (from Larry)

I have been  asked by our President to recommend 10 things we can do to enhance our support of, and  sales via, the Microsoft channel.  We want to regularize this relationship, and it would seem that anything associated with revenue has to do with partners.

A:

I can provide you simple, infrastructure partner advice on how to strengthen your relationship with Microsoft. To get this process started, here is a list that I composed of the top 10 things a beginning infrastructure partner should do and five more things an experienced partner should do to better utilize Microsoft resources. I hope to be updating this list sometime in July/August.

Top 10 Activities for New Partners:

1. Register/Renew/Review your partner profile
2. Evaluate the Small Business Specialist Community
3. Subscribe to the Microsoft Action Pack
4. Attend partner training at TS2 events and the Partner Learning Center
5. Implement a Ready-to-Go Campaign
6. Install a Demo Showcase/Technology Demonstration Toolkit
7. Get Licensing Training on Open Value
8. MS-GearUp.com for Sales Toolkit & LicensingWise
9. Visit MicrosoftIncentives.com monthly
10. Review regular Local, Partner, and Security Newsletters

Plus 5 Activities for Experienced Partners:

1. Review and pursue a Competency
2. Involve MSFinance.com in your deals
3. Register for Microsoft Partner Event Services support
4. Download and try the Microsoft Business and Technology Assessment Toolkit
5. Engage Competitive Sales Assistance

Q: (from Mark)

We are replacing 4 servers for one of our customers. Can/does the Windows 2003 Server Standard Edition and the SQL Server 2000 Standard Edition transfer to the new server(s) or do I, should we get new licenses (of the current flavor, 2008?)

A:

This is really determined by how the customer originally purchased the server software:

• Was it purchased retail or through volume licensing? If so it can be moved to the new hardware without any additional licensing costs.
• If it was purchased through the OEM program, is it covered by Software Assurance? If so, it can be moved to the new hardware without any additional cost. (This is UNIQUE to server OS’s with SA and does not apply to desktop OS’s.)
• If the software was originally purchased OEM and is not currently covered by Software Assurance, then the software must remain with the original hardware and new server licenses would have to be purchased for the new hardware. This will also force the purchase of new CALs (if the server is 2008 so do the CALs)

Q: (from Emily)

SQL is the only embedded product we do, so I'm not sure this program makes sense for us.  I can purchase retail box for $667, without having to explain an embedded runtime license to the customer.  Am I missing something?

A:

So the partner wants to use SQL behind their custom solution.

If they could use SQL Express Edition, they could bundle SQL for free. No CALs required.

If the partner sees value in offering the SQL Runtime ISV license, they only pay for the CALs; the runtime license is free. But, that means the SQL can only be used with the partner’s application.

If that isn’t the case and the added value of being able to deliver a unified/integrated solution including SQL server, then the partner can sell their solution and resell SQL separately to the customer. Remember CALs need to be included as well.

Q: (from Sam)

…we just got our demo’s from Aastra and Syspine and on the surface looks like a good product but I heard that the May 5^th layoff’s at Microsoft hit the RP team very hard and they might be disconnecting the program? Have you heard anything on this?  We are considering going into the phone business but now we are getting worried about jumping on board and then Microsoft might pull the rug from under us.  Any insight you might have would be much appreciated…  Thanks.

A:

That announcement caught me by surprise as well. Here is the official Microsoft response:

http://blogs.technet.com/rp/archive/2009/05/07/next-chapter-for-response-point.aspx

My advice to you is to research and review the following:

• What is the public position of the hardware and service partner(s) you were looking to engage. What is their position regarding Microsoft’s RP announcement? Do you feel there is community support for RP and your initiative?
• What will the scope of your telephony business be? Small, mid, or enterprise businesses. In other words, was your telephony effort based solely on RP or were you looking to provide a hybrid solution with UC or another vendor’s stack?

I wish I could provide you better insight regarding what was going to happen. As you heard from my SMB Nation presentations, I love this technology and would be sorry to see it fade away. But at the same time, I would be remiss if I didn’t advise you to tread carefully into a new line of business based solely on a single vendor/technology.

A:

An update based on the Response Point town hall June 30th, 2009 (https://training.partner.microsoft.com/plc/details.aspx?systemid=1893111). It appears that Microsoft will continue to support RP 1.0 SP2 and even do some new development on the Chinese language versions. But specific information on future development will not be announced until the Dec 2009 timeframe.

Q: (from Nancy)

I have a customer that just got a new computer (Vista) with Office 2007. I downloaded the template she needs for Office. There are no guidelines for the labels to see if it’s centering. Do you have any suggestions on this?

A:

Here’s my suggestion:

• Click anywhere on any label
• On the Ribbon, Layout tab under the Table Tools
• On the Layout Ribbon, click the View Gridlines button

The fundamental tip that I used here was to look for an appropriate tool on the special tabs added to the ribbon. Always look at the top…

Q: (from Timothy)

We're trying to understand better the licensing structure for the Server/CAL setup and its relation to multiple cores. My understanding is that if I license a product using the Server/CAL structure, I need to have a license for the server, and CALs (device or user) for each client. Now, when I license the server, do number of processors count?

What about multiple cores? I’ve browsed the Microsoft licensing website and the text didn’t mention anything about processors or multiple cores.

If you could provide some clarification, that would be fantastic. Also, if you have a document that states clearly the stance from Microsoft, that would be even better.

A:

You are 90% of the way there - just let me give you two rules that should clear the rest up:

1. For SQL there is either Server/CAL licensing OR Per Processor licensing. If you choose to license via Server/CAL, you do not need to worry about the processor count.
2. If you are doing Per Processor licensing, we count the number of physical processors, not the number of cores. A system with two processors filled with quad cores would be licensed for two not eight processors.

This is where I checked my statements above:

http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/licensing.aspx