wow, seems like we're adding new features to the Microsoft Partner Network site daily, here's one to ck out for sure: http://www.infrastructurepracticebuilder.com/ - whether you are already totally emerged in Core Infrastructure or just beginning, recommend checking out the many resources on this site.

you may be missing out on a Gold Partner exclusive benefit - Advisory hours, ck this link for more information

https://partner.microsoft.com/global/program/programoverview/40012316 

Last week we announced the evolution of the Microsoft Partner Program to the next generation Microsoft Partner Network - a community born from our continued commitment to serve the needs of our partners and to help you reach your full potential.

Today, thousands of partners strengthen our business, and form an active and diverse network in the West Region. We believe the Microsoft advantage shines through the success of partners. Our vision for the Microsoft Partner Network is simple - to provide you with:


Opportunities to strengthen your capabilities.
- Create and enter new markets with early access to the latest technologies.
- Expand your sales and marketing skills.
- Deepen your business and technical expertise through clear learning paths.

Expertise to help you serve your customers better.
- Attain competencies aligned to how your customers buy.
- Extend conversations with your customers through digital marketing and social media.
- Create customer demand through product innovation.
- Connect with customers and other partners through an online marketplace.

Communities that spark innovation and connection.
- Choose the relationship that best serves your business and your customers' needs.
- Collaborate with other partners to drive opportunities. Share and exchange ideas in real time.

Working together, we can continue to focus on creating innovative solutions that drive profitability and sustain competitive advantage.

Check it out at www.microsoft.com/partner !!

Wanted you all to be aware that the long awaited Virtualization competency is now live!  You can access the portal page here.

Check out this PDF on my Skydrive for quick understanding of competencies etc for MSPP (Microsoft Partner Program).

http://cid-e0867f061b7c8e88.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Microsoft%20Partner%20Files

here is example of how a partner is successfully using the Partner Channel Builder program, this profiling tools work! Check this our and consider teaming with this partner too!!

Sabrix is seeking partners for our Trusted Advisor Program.  Program benefits include referral fees, account rep bonuses, marketing support and more.

Sabrix is a leading provider of transaction tax management for companies of all sizes, enabling finance, tax, and IT professionals to achieve accurate, timely, and cost-effective compliance for sales tax, use tax, value-added tax (VAT), excise tax, and other international and industry-specific taxes and fees.

Sabrix Managed Tax Service (Sabrix MTS) delivers an outsourced transaction sales and use tax compliance service to handle tax compliance from start to finish. Sabrix MTS is a powerful combination of an on-demand version of Sabrix's enterprise software and tax research, expert tax professionals, and deep knowledge of transaction tax compliance.

The Sabrix Managed Tax Service integrates seamlessly with your financial and e-commerce systems, working behind the scenes to accurately determine and calculate tax for every financial transaction, eliminating your need to manage tax schedules manually.

Sabrix’s innovative approach to sales and use tax compliance has gained significant momentum in the marketplace, attracting customers across a variety industries, such as manufacturing, financial services, and e-commerce.

 

Check out this link:

https://channelbuilder.partners.extranet.microsoft.com/CB/Opportunities/OpportunityDetailsView.aspx?opportunityid=f81e116b444240509208fc6bdf45e79f&wa=wsignin1.0 

 

The Microsoft Worldwide Partner Group Services team is investing $6M over a two-year period to expand and enhance the Microsoft Partner Online Technical Communities (formerly Managed Newsgroups), which provide free online technical support service to partners via enhanced service level agreements, new offerings, and expanded language capabilities. The Online Technical Communities will also provide a forum where Microsoft partners can search for questions and answers from peers, get tips from community members, and post messages for other partners to read. https://partner.microsoft.com/us/40014662 

 

Windows Vista Online Technical Communities (Managed Newsgroups)

The Worldwide Partner Group recently announced the launch of the Vista Online Technical Communities via the Microsoft Partner Portal (formerly known as Managed Newsgroups), where partners can get technical support from Microsoft engineers and share knowledge with other Partner professionals. This Vista support service is offered at no charge to all partner levels. Microsoft engineers will respond to pre-sales technical support questions within 8 business hours and break-fix support questions within 4 business hours.

https://partner.microsoft.com/us/40054797

It’s that time of year again – time for Microsoft Partner Program reenrollment.  Most partners need to focus on renewing their customer references, which may expire on your anniversary date and impact the status of your competencies in MSPP.  Call us for help at 1-800-SOL-PROV or email mspp-na@microsoft.com.  We’ve also added a new resource this year based on feedback from our partners, the MSPP Experts team. If you need more of a consultative discussion on how to meet the points requirements, what competencies to focus on or just a deeper discussion on the program, reach out to the MSPP Experts team at 877.254.6825 or msppexp@microsoft.com.

 

Below are the steps to renew. If you run into any challenges in the process you can contact the Partner Program Service center at the number below. 

 

If you are qualified         , this process will take about 15 minutes!  To review your status follow the below steps:

1.       Log into your partner profile by visiting https://partner.microsoft.com/ and click the “sign in button”(you will either need to be the primary partner program admin for your organization or have admin rights to view and update your firms status in the program  )If for some reason you are no longer the correct contact please make sure this action is assigned to someone at your company.  If you need to change the primary contact for your firm for the Microsoft partner program, please contact the Regional Service Center (phone below)

2.       Once signed in, if you have admin rights you’ll see the yellow box (View your membership account). Click on this then on Membership Center.

3.       Once in the Membership center you’ll see a note under the “messages” section indicating that your firm is now in the re-enrollment period. This should include a link to start the re-enrollment process.

4.       If you don’t currently have the points required to re-enroll (50 for Certified, 120 for Gold), review the Partner Points summary by clicking on the Membership Center drop down , the Partner Points.  This will show you a summary of your current partner points and the maximum you can achieve in various categories.  Keep in mind that

 

Tip: Based on our analysis, the area that most partners will need to focus is on renewing their customer references. Customer references last approximately 2 years.  This year is the 2 year point since we implemented this requirement in the Partner Program so a bulk of our partners will need to update their references to renew back into the program.

 

Resources:

 

Microsoft Partner Program Hotline (Regional Service Center)- 800-SOLPROV -  For any questions or issues related to the Microsoft Partner Program and Re-Enrollment.

Email Regional Service Center:  MSPP-na@microsoft.com 48 hour response time

 

MSPP Experts: A new resource to provide MSPP competency coaching and guidance as well as answering general MSPP questions.  The Experts will also provide MSPP re-enrollment coaching, tips & tricks for partners: 877.254.6825 or msppexp@microsoft.com

 

Check out this site to see step-by-step demonstration (with audio) on how to get through the Microsoft Partner Program reenrollment.