Topic: Partner Programs - Page 52

Part of the distributor’s Solutions & Services program, the new sales push is designed to help channel pros capitalize on rising demand among SMBs for a new generation of simpler, more affordable signage and collaboration offerings.

The two-day educational and networking event touched on hot topics like the Internet of Things and and included business continuity lessons learned from Hurricane Harvey.

Called the Wingman Professional Services Program, the new offering is less a strategic pivot into a new revenue source than an effort to help partners get cloud infrastructure practices up and running swiftly.

A first for the company, the move gives members of Microsoft’s CSP program access to a dramatically expanded line of solutions while giving the developers of those solutions access to an entirely new sales channel.

The roughly 30 rigorously vetted partners to earn the new Azure Expert Managed Service Provider designation so far, which include giants like Rackspace and New Signature, are now Microsoft’s go-to options for outsourced Azure administration.

A wide-ranging series of policy and partner program changes instituted this month by North American Channel Chief Rob Cato (pictured) are designed to get the hardware maker back on track to recording consistent market share gains.

Called MSP Institute and composed of webinars, videos, and podcasts, the new educational resource provides advice and training on a variety of business, sales, marketing, and technical topics.

Held last week in Hershey, Pa., the distributor’s Mid-Atlantic Summer Technology Show offered nearly 1,000 attendees a host of meet, greet, and learning opportunities.

Chat users can now leverage remote support sessions.

As the distributor transforms itself to meet the demands of a new era in IT, it’s urgently encouraging its partners to do the same. Last week’s Channel Link conference provided the latest venue for those efforts.