Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2014 introduces slew of changes

Even as a stunned industry digests the news that Microsoft is laying off 18,000 worldwide, 12,500 from the Nokia acquisition made in April, the partner machine moves on. At the recent Worldwide Partner Conference, Microsoft announced a number of moves to become even leaner and meaner.

Phil Sorgen, Corporate Vice President, Worldwide Partner Group, Microsoft, shared on the first day of the event that it will retire the Cloud Accelerate, Cloud Deployment and Azure Circle programmes, replacing them with three new cloud-focused competencies based on performance for Office 365 and Microsoft Azure. The new competencies are:

Small and Midmarket Cloud Solutions: For partners selling Microsoft Office 365 to small and mid-market customers.
Cloud Productivity: For partners deploying Microsoft Office 365 for enterprise customers.
Cloud Platform: For partners who specialize in delivering infrastructure, PaaS and SaaS solutions on Microsoft Azure.

Microsoft is also providing resources to get started on its cloud services. The company has announced Azure Machine Learning University, a portfolio of online self-service learning assets designed to get partners started with Azure ML. Machine Learning University will provide partners with an overview of Azure ML, and walk through the data science life cycle from importing data to building predictive models and deploying in production.

Microsoft is also making it easier for partners to invest more in cloud-related activities. For example, it is enhancing Internal Use Rights (IURs) for Office 365 and Azure, providing between 25% and 200% more IUR licenses depending on the competency level achieved. The company is also launching Signature Cloud Support, a support solution that helps cloud partners better support their customers, in September.

A number of new programmes were announced, including the Microsoft Cloud Solutions Provider programme allows partners to own 100% percent of the customer lifecycle as partners serve as the only contact for all customer needs, including: billing, provisioning, support and, significantly, the ability to sell their own tools, products and services. 

"This new programme provides our partners with complete control, and ensures our mutual customers can rely on their partner to ensure they’re getting the most out of their Microsoft cloud solutions. This program starts with Office 365 and Windows Intune, and will eventually cover all Microsoft cloud services," said Sorgen.