After WPC 2012, Microsoft Dynamics Partners Face Crucial Decisions on Their Channel Future

Based on what we learned at the Worldwide Partner Conference 2012, Microsoft is experiencing its most exciting phase to date in its 37-year history. For Dynamics ERP and CRM partners, "exciting" is just one of the words that might describe the range of changes, challenges, and opportunities that are coming in the 2013 book year.  Microsoft's progress in the cloud and changes to the partner channel have forced Dynamics resellers to reexamine their role in the ecosystem - and the basic assumptions of their business model.

On the one hand, there is the transition from the traditional on-premise delivery model to the delivery of software as a service from the cloud. That is a challenge beyond all previous challenges facing both Microsoft and its partners! On the other hand, the company has looked like a sitting duck for some time now. And the criticism is loud, sharp and persistent. Microsoft is considered sluggish, arrogant and often (much) too late in getting products to attractive new markets, led by a CEO well beyond his sell-by date.

During this edition of the WPC, Microsoft demonstrated convincingly that it has made significant progress in all areas.

WPC 2010 in Washington was the moment when Microsoft radically switched gears from "cloud deterrence" to "accept and participate." Since then, the company's mantra has been "The cloud, we're all in!". Two years later, we can see that the tanker has turned onto the right course and gained considerable speed. If not with concrete product announcements, then certainly with clear roadmaps and product plans. And history has proven more than once that, under these circumstances, very few competitors are ...