The ISV journey, from local to global: New guidance on Microsoft channel opportunities

An ISV can work with Microsoft at many levels, from totally un-managed to a comprehensive worldwide relationship. Across that spectrum, the amount of technical support, sales involvement, and marketing investment from Microsoft varies widely.

For vendors new to the Microsoft channel, picking the right engagement goal with the right expectations is key, says Eromosele Omomhenle, worldwide senior manager for ISV alliances and partner development at Microsoft. He spoke to Microsoft MVP Rick McCutcheon as part of McCutcheon's PartnerTalks series about his strategic outlook on ISV success as well as his career journey at Microsoft.  His current role is with corporate but he began in the Nigeria subsidiary with a focus on the company's blockchain efforts for financial services. In past roles he has led ISV strategy Microsoft's business applications and now oversees the ISV Connect program globally.

Omomhenle works with Microsoft's Global ISVs. It's a level of partnership that many vendors aspire to reach, but few can actually accommodate to meet Microsoft's expectations, he told McCutcheon. There are a range of factors that Microsoft looks at when assessing an ISV for its top tier of partnership. Not surprisingly, the company looks favorably on ISVs that help sell more licenses in key areas like Modern Workplace and business applications, or that help Microsoft compete in strategic industry segments. He explained that beyond industry analysis there are important sales-related questions to answer:

How globally spread is the organization? Can they scale to be a truly global partner? Can they excel in Japan vs EMEA?  How many countries can they support? And, of course, how fluidly are they able to provide assistance to the sales team in different territories? All of those things and many other things help us decide and determine which partners we manage at that global level every year.

Fortunately, there are many other ways to be part of Microsoft's ISV ecosystem, ranging from totally unmanaged to local, field-managed, global, or industry-focused. But beyond signing up as an ISV, a vendor should be focused on improving their visibility with the Microsoft field and corporate around co-sell initiatives. Publishing apps to AppSource is a pre-requisite to be considered eligible for co-sell. But to really be co-sell ready, firms need to provide other details like product collateral, a bill of materials, and sales contacts for all territories in which they plan to sell. Omomhenle explained: