Why Microsoft Dynamics Partners Look to Large Account Resellers (LARs) for License Guidance, New Business

When Green Beacon Solutions LLC and its partner, PointBridge were trying to reach customers to sell them a bundled solution of both Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online and Microsoft Office 365, they looked to a Microsoft LAR (large account reseller) to help them contact the best potential customers for these combined deals.

And with Dynamics partners looking to re-align their strategy around Microsoft's latest product positioning and sales strategy, like the opportunity to bundle Office 365 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online on the same bill and the same provisioning engine, the added complexity of the deals will bring new challenges.  It also means that both selling and delivering the solution requires an expertise in multiple  platforms, so Dynamics CRM partners have begun teaming up with partners that have expertise in the Office 365 suite.

The Role of LARs

Some Microsoft partners are turning to Microsoft LARs (large account resellers) like SoftwareOne to help them find the right customers for these blended deals, as well as the guidance on the right licensing approach.

"We are very unique," said Pamela MacRae, a business development manager at SoftwareOne. "We solely focus on licensing because it's so complex. We do it for Microsoft, but we also do it for Oracle, Adobe-all the top tier vendors, and then we partner with companies like Green Beacon for Dynamics."

LARs are authorized by Microsoft to sell licenses to mid-size and enterprise accounts through a special volume licensing program that has more generous discounts than Microsoft's standard licensing program. Generally, ...