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Microsoft Changing Channels?

For the 400,000 resellers whose businesses depend on Microsoft’s partner programs, the past year has been spent watching Bill Gates wean himself from the company he built and wondering what the future holds for the world’s biggest technology partner ecosystem. Microsoft’s 400,000 worldwide partners drive about 95 percent of Microsoft’s revenue, according to Michael Speyer, […]

Written By

Sharon Linsenbach

Jun 27, 2008

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For the 400,000
resellers whose businesses depend on Microsoft’s partner programs, the past
year has been spent watching Bill Gates wean himself from the company he built
and wondering what the future holds for the world’s biggest technology partner
ecosystem.

Microsoft’s 400,000 worldwide partners drive about 95 percent of Microsoft’s revenue,
according to Michael Speyer, a senior analyst at Forrester Research.

"It’s
really in the DNA of the company, and it’s in their best interest
to keep the VAR channel stable and keep their resellers supported,"
said Speyer.

With
such an incredible amount of personnel and infrastructure devoted to
maintaining those 400,000 partners, he added, there’s no question the management
team will avoid rocking the channel boat.
"Microsoft has always been and will continue to be very active with
their channel, whether or not Gates is there," said Speyer.

Rick
Bahl, owner of Microsoft partner Quality Systems Solutions, said Gates always
realized how important the channel was for his company but remained
hands-off—preferring to focus on Microsoft’s products rather than on the
go-to-market strategy.

"He’s
always viewed himself as the software architect and the chief evangelist,” said
Bahl. “Certainly he recognized the value of the channel, but I don’t think it
was a significant area of focus for him.”

“Microsoft’s vision has been channel-centric from the beginning,” said Robert Deshaies, vice president of the US Partner Group. “We recognized early on that we needed the partner channel in order to provide the deep value customers need to realize their full business potential. As we move toward the future, we’re committed to evolving the Microsoft Partner Program to deepen our engagement with partners, continue to help them grow their business profitably, and renew our strong commitment to customer satisfaction.”

Industry
experts say Microsoft’s channel really hit its stride with the releases of
Windows 95 and 98. As demand for the operating systems increased and Microsoft
blew its competitors out of the water, the company needed to be able to scale
much more quickly than it could simply by selling directly to consumers and
businesses.

Microsoft Changing Channels?

Sharon Linsenbach

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