Will Microsoft’s Dynamics Business Remain Indirect in the Cloud?

This article is adapted from the WPC 2011 Business Report by Dynamics consultancy TerDege.

Microsoft is experiencing the most exciting phase to date in its 36-year history. The transition from the traditional on-premise delivery model to delivering software as a service "from the cloud" is a challenge that transcends all previous challenges! This transition has implications for all conceivable areas of the business - from product development to marketing and from financial results to customer expectations. And not only Microsoft, but also Microsoft Dynamics partners are facing a radical transition!

The Microsoft Dynamics partner community is on the eve of a critical phase. The transition to the cloud means a real turnaround for partners. One for which the right strategic choices must be made at the right time. Moreover, partners must manoeuver extremely carefully in order to stay out of the liquidity trap.

For Microsoft itself, the transition to the cloud also carries many consequences. For example, the company is still looking for the right balance between what it does with partners and what is possible and/or desirable in a direct way. Time will tell whether Microsoft's traditional indirect partner model will remain in force in a stabilized cloud environment.

"We work with a completely indirect model and will therefore never send an invoice to an end customer!" Microsoft top management made this emphatic statement only a few years ago. However, in today's rapidly changing world, nothing is certain any more. For several years, Microsoft has been making motions that tend towards a more direct approach. And fully embracing the cloud seems to indicate that the company is also adopting a direct ...