How Microsoft partners can leap the chasm to become repeatable IP businesses

Harald Horgen knows business model transformations. The president of Bellevue, Wash.-based The York Group, Horgen has worked with B2B firms since 1993, from small to large, and in recent years has focused on helping companies transition their business models toward cloud-based subscription software and repeatable services.

He will present three sessions at Microsoft Inspire 2017, one of which is Building a repeatable IP business, alongside Microsoft Enterprise Partner Cloud Sales Lead Saurabh Rana. The session is aimed at services partners who want to build out an IP business model that leverages their existing strengths. Horgen will present a checklist that partners need to address, including target markets, sales organization compensation, customer support, and the overall organizational impact of incorporating repeatable IP.

He spoke to MSDynamicsWorld about the strategy, and a few companies that have made the leap successfully.

MSDynamicsWorld.com: Partners seem interested in repeatable IP, but Microsoft seems adamant about it. What's behind that?

Harold Horgen: Microsoft's big push is to drive Azure consumption, and they're implementing lots of strategic initiatives to do that. One is to drive systems integrators and IT consultants to productize their custom IP. If they've done something for one company on a custom basis and if they retain the IP, there are probably other companies that have a similar problem. So, if systems integrators package their IP as a standalone product, and if the application is built on Azure, that will drive Azure consumption.

Where that ties in with Dynamics specifically is that Dynamics 365 is designed to be optimized as a development platform for third-party applications. And those applications could be ...