Microsoft Highlights New Ways for Partners, Customers to Embrace Cloud

Microsoft Highlights New Ways for Partners, Customers to Embrace Cloud

by Darryl K. Taft

George R. Brown Convention Center

Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center gets gussied up for the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) 2013.

Microsoft Takes Over

Microsoft takes over downtown Houston as 15,000 partners from all over the world converge on the city for the annual Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC).

Jon Roskill Kicks Off

Jon Roskill, corporate vice president of the worldwide partner group at Microsoft acts as master of ceremonies for the WPC event. At WPC, Roskill introduced a Microsoft study that showed that channel partners selling cloud solutions experience nearly double gross profits and faster growth than those that do not.

Steve Ballmer Honors Partners

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer acknowledged that he was “nervous” having to speak to the company’s partner community, which he deemed one of the most important elements of the company’s go-to-market strategy. Ballmer discussed Microsoft’s devices and services strategy, and the four major opportunities in cloud, big data, social and mobile.

Lead With the Cloud

Ballmer said Microsoft is leading in the enterprise cloud era. Later in the conference, Jon Roskill, corporate vice president of the worldwide partner group, told partners they should “lead with the cloud and close with hybrid.”

Microsoft Attacks Big Data

Microsoft’s big data strategy features several key products and technologies, including Bing, Windows Azure, Hadoop, SQL Server and Excel.

Microsoft’s Tami Reller Talks Windows

Tami Reller, Microsoft’s chief marketing officer and chief financial officer for Windows, tells partners Windows 8.1 will be available to OEMs by late August.

Microsoft, the Channel and the Surface

Tami Reller called Microsoft’s Surface tablet “hands down more productive than an iPad.” She said, “It’s a great tablet for business because it quickly goes from tablet to laptop.” However, there has been some negative reseller reaction because Microsoft’s channel strategy limits Surface reseller authorizations to only 10 large account resellers (LARs), and more channel partners hope to be able to sell the tablets.

Windows 8.1 Set for Fall Release

Microsoft said Windows 8.1 holds key opportunities for partners to build new applications for customers, especially as support for Windows XP is coming to an end.

Windows 8.1 Demos

Jensen Harris, director of program management for the Widows User Experience team, demonstrates Windows 8.1 on a number of devices, including the Acer Iconia W3 shown here.

A Windows Device for Everyone

Nick Parker, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s OEM division, shows Windows 8.1 on a variety of form factors on a variety of devices.

Satya Nadella Talks Cloud

Satya Nadella, president of the server and tools business at Microsoft, speaks about the cloud opportunity for partners.

Microsoft Empowers Dynamic Business

Microsoft can empower a dynamic business powered by Office 365 and Microsoft Dynamics, Nadella said.

Microsoft Enables People-Centric IT

The combination of Microsoft cloud services and on-premise software fosters people-centric IT, Nadella said.

The Microsoft App Model

The combo of Windows Server with Windows Azure and Visual Studio fosters rapid solution development, Nadella said.

Windows Phone Built for Business

A huge billboard in the George R. Brown convention center said that Windows Phone is built for business.

Dell Partners With Microsoft

Dell is a partner with Microsoft in Cloud OS Accelerate, a program to invest more than $100 million to help put thousands of new private and hybrid cloud solutions into the hands of customers.

HP Partners With Microsoft

HP is also a partner with Microsoft in Cloud OS Accelerate, which is aimed at putting thousands of new private and hybrid cloud solutions into the hands of customers.

Cisco Partners With Microsoft

Cisco is a partner with Microsoft in Cloud OS Accelerate as well.

Intel Partners With Microsoft

As a primary supplier of CPUs for Microsoft-powered PCs and devices, Intel is one of Microsoft’s most important partners.

Parallels Partners With Microsoft

Parallels, a hosting and cloud services enablement provider, announced support for a Microsoft Azure Pack for Hosting Providers and updates to a collection of cloud service delivery solutions for Microsoft partners.

Ford Partners With Microsoft

Ford partners with Microsoft on the Ford SYNC in-vehicle infotainment system.

Ford SYNC Up Close

Here’s a look at the Ford SYNC infotainment system inside a new Ford Fusion on the show floor at Microsoft WPC.