Managed Solution Unveils New Website: Embracing a Human-First Approach to Technology in the New Year 

blog banner for managed solution's new website launch

Managed Solution Unveils New Website: Embracing a Human-First Approach to Technology in the New Year  

Managed Solution unveils a fresh website on January 17, 2024. This unveiling highlights their dedication to putting people first in the ever-evolving technology sector.

In our ever-evolving digital landscape, staying ahead of the curve is crucial. That's why we are thrilled to announce the launch of our new and improved website in 2024. With a sleek and user-friendly interface, navigating through our services and solutions will be a breeze. If you wish to enhance your digital environment or seek sophisticated tech solutions, our website is your ideal destination.

Managed solution new website launch embarking on better delivery on digital transformation

The Most Exciting Part

Our commitment to your success doesn't stop there. We understand that technology is constantly changing, and so are your needs.

We will continue to dedicate resources to research and development. Ensuring our IT solutions remain up-to-date and tailored to your needs. Our experts are always available to provide personalized help and guidance, ensuring your success in the digital world.

More Than Meets the Eye

We've not only improved aesthetics, but also enriched the functionality and the relevancy of our existing content. As you explore our website, be sure to check out some of our enhanced features and resources: 

Launching our new website is just one of the ways we're supporting our clients in their continuous journey towards digital transformation. At the heart of our operations is our unwavering commitment to people. We believe that technology should be inclusive and accessible to all.

As we move forward in the new year, we will enhance our offerings, embrace new challenges and continue to create IT solutions that empower businesses and individuals alike. Our focus on people has been instrumental in reaching our current position. It will also continue to guide our future. Our goal is to create an IT system that is adaptable, attentive, and open to everyone.

 Stay Updated

In addition to our website, we are excited to bring you a wealth of industry insights and knowledge through our newsletter. When you subscribe to our newsletter, you'll be the first to know about upcoming events, webinars, and workshops that can further enhance your understanding of the ever-evolving IT landscape.

As we embark on this exciting journey into the future, we invite you to stay connected with us. Beyond subscribing to our newsletter, we encourage you to follow us on social and engage with our content. Together, we can drive digital success stories and shape a future where technology empowers and enriches lives. We are grateful for your continued support and look forward to serving you better in the years to come.

LinkedIn  |  X  |  Facebook  |  Instagram

A Comprehensive Guide to Microsoft Security

A Comprehensive Guide to Microsoft Security

 

In today's digital age, cybersecurity has become a crucial aspect of our lives. With more and more businesses and individuals relying on technology, the threat of cyber-attacks has increased significantly.

Cybercriminals are constantly looking for ways to exploit vulnerabilities in software and hardware, steal sensitive information, and disrupt operations. Thankfully, businesses like Microsoft offer incredible tools and resources to keep your organizations data safe.

 

The State of Cybersecurity

 As technology continues to advance at an unprecedented pace, the threat of cybercrime looms larger than ever before. Cyberattacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and the damage they cause can be catastrophic, both financially and reputationally.

In 2024, the cybersecurity landscape is expected to evolve even further, with new threats emerging and existing ones becoming more potent. According to a report by Cybersecurity Ventures, cybercrime is expected to cost the world $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, up from $3 trillion in 2015.

The report also states that ransomware attacks are expected to occur every 11 seconds by 2023. These attacks can be devastating for businesses, as they can result in significant financial losses, downtime, and again, reputational damage.

According to a report by Microsoft, phishing attacks continue to be the most common type of cyberattack, with a 65% increase in phishing attacks in 2022 compared to the previous year. Phishing attacks involve cybercriminals posing as legitimate entities to trick individuals into divulging sensitive information or downloading malware.

Furthermore, this survey by Varonis found that 53% of companies experienced a data breach in 2022 – an increase of 41% since 2021. This statistic underscores the importance of having robust cybersecurity measures, as even the most secure organizations are vulnerable to cyber threats.

Overall, these data points demonstrate the growing threat of cybercrime and the need for individuals and organizations to take proactive measures to protect themselves against these threats.

This is where having a top-notch security system comes in. There is no single "best" cybersecurity platform that works for all organizations, but you can find one that works best for you!

 

Picking the Right Security Technology

Different businesses have different cybersecurity needs based on their size, industry, and types of data and systems they handle. The cybersecurity platform that works best for one organization may not work for another.

There are several leading cybersecurity platforms in the market that offer comprehensive security solutions for businesses of all sizes, and as a partner with hands-on experience, we recommend standardizing on a single platform and using tools that work seamlessly with existing technologies. If a business is leveraging the Microsoft Platform, then Microsoft security tools may just amaze you!

Microsoft has been a leader in the tech industry for over four decades, and its commitment to security is unwavering.

Microsoft security offers a comprehensive cybersecurity platform with advanced threat protection, identity and access management, compliance tools, security automation, and integration with other Microsoft products such as Microsoft 365 and Azure.

The platform also leverages machine learning and AI to provide real-time threat detection and response, helping businesses stay ahead of the latest cyber threats.

Let's take a closer look at some of the features of Microsoft Security and how they can benefit you.

 

Windows Based Protections

Microsoft offers a variety of options that we’ll be looking at today. From built-in technology (i.e. Windows based security features), to licensing opportunities, to cloud options – Microsoft has you covered.

For those already using or considering switching to Microsoft hardware, we’ll start with the security features from Windows 11 to help you dig a little deeper.

 

Microsoft Defender Antivirus

Microsoft Defender Antivirus is Microsoft’s next-generation protection for Windows 11. This built-in feature provides real-time protection against viruses, malware, and other types of malicious software.

It is designed to scan your device automatically and remove any threats that it finds. Microsoft Defender Antivirus uses advanced machine learning algorithms to detect and block malware.

It also has a cloud-based protection system that ensures that your device is always up to date with the latest security patches and definitions.

 

Microsoft Firewall

Microsoft Firewall is made to help prevent criminals, hackers, or malicious software from gaining access to your PC through the internet or a network. It is another built-in feature of Windows 11 that provides advanced security protection.

It monitors inbound and outbound traffic and blocks any unauthorized connections to your device. This tool also provides granular control over which applications can access the internet, which can help prevent malware from spreading.

Additionally, it has an intuitive user interface that makes it easy to configure and manage your firewall settings.

 

Microsoft Defender SmartScreen

Microsoft Defender SmartScreen is another security feature that is built into Windows 11. This feature is geared to protect users from phishing and malware attacks while browsing the web.

SmartScreen works by checking the URLs of websites you visit against a continuously updated list of known malicious sites and downloads. If it detects that a site or download is potentially dangerous, it will display a warning message that advises you against visiting the site or downloading the file.

SmartScreen also uses machine learning algorithms to analyze web pages and files for suspicious behavior, helping to identify new threats that may not yet be on its list of known threats.

 

Licensing Options

If you don’t have Microsoft hardware, fear not! You can still get these incredible technologies through licensing. If you work with a managed services or software provider, be sure to ask them about the following to protect your organization today.

 

Microsoft 365 Defender

Microsoft 365 Defender is a comprehensive security solution that provides advanced protection for Microsoft's cloud-based services, including Microsoft 365 and Azure. It uses AI and machine learning to detect and respond to threats across multiple endpoints, including email, endpoints, and identities.

Microsoft 365 Defender also provides advanced threat protection features such as email filtering, anti-phishing protection, and identity protection. It also has a user-friendly dashboard that provides real-time visibility into your security posture.

 

Cloud Based Security

Microsoft also offers incredibly powerful cloud-based security solutions through Azure for companies who have or are considering migrating their data to the cloud.

 

Azure Defender

Azure Defender is a security solution for organizations that use Microsoft's Azure cloud platform. It provides advanced threat protection for your Azure resources, including virtual machines, containers, and serverless functions.

Azure Defender uses machine learning algorithms to detect and respond to threats across your entire Azure environment. It also provides real-time visibility into your security posture and alerts you to any potential threats.

 

Microsoft Identity Manager

Microsoft Identity Manager is a comprehensive identity and access management solution that helps you manage user identities and access to resources. It provides a centralized management console that makes it easy to manage user identities, roles, and permissions across your organization.

Microsoft Identity Manager also provides advanced authentication features such as multi-factor authentication and conditional access. It also integrates with Microsoft 365 Defender to provide advanced threat protection for your identities.

 

Key Benefits of Microsoft Security

Protect Against Advanced Threats

Microsoft Security offers advanced threat protection for email, endpoints, and cloud-based services such as Microsoft 365 and Azure. This protection helps prevent phishing attacks, malware, and other types of cyber threats that can compromise a business's data and systems.

Identity and Access Management

With the rise of remote work and the cloud, identity and access management have become more critical than ever. Microsoft Security provides a centralized management console through Microsoft Identity Manager that makes it easy to manage user identities, roles, and permissions across an organization, reducing the risk of unauthorized access.

Compliance and Regulatory Requirements

Many industries have specific compliance and regulatory requirements, such as HIPAA in healthcare or PCI-DSS in the financial industry. Microsoft Security helps businesses meet these requirements by providing compliance tools and features, such as data encryption, auditing, and access controls.

Security Automation

Microsoft Security leverages machine learning and AI to provide real-time threat detection and response. This automation helps reduce the workload on IT and security teams, allowing them to focus on higher-level tasks and initiatives.

Integration with Other Microsoft Products

Microsoft Security integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft products, such as Microsoft 365 and Azure. This integration allows businesses to leverage a comprehensive suite of security solutions that work together seamlessly, providing a more holistic approach to cybersecurity.

 

Microsoft Security Success Stories

ASOS

ASOS is a global online fashion and beauty retailer that serves customers in over 240 countries. As a company that handles a vast amount of sensitive customer data, ASOS needed to ensure that its systems and data were secure.

To do this, ASOS implemented Microsoft Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) and Microsoft Cloud App Security. These solutions provided ASOS with comprehensive identity and access management, as well as advanced threat protection for its cloud-based services. As a result, ASOS was able to improve its security posture and protect its customers' data from cyber threats.

M-KOPA

M-KOPA is a Kenyan-based company that provides solar energy to off-grid communities in East Africa. To ensure the security of its customer data and systems, M-KOPA implemented Microsoft Intune and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint.

These solutions provided M-KOPA with a comprehensive mobile device management and endpoint security solution. As a result, M-KOPA was able to reduce the risk of cyber threats and ensure the security of its customer data and systems.

The American Cancer Society

The American Cancer Society is a nonprofit organization that funds cancer research, provides patient support, and advocates for cancer prevention policies. To protect its data and systems, the American Cancer Society implemented Microsoft Azure Information Protection (AIP) and Microsoft Cloud App Security.

These solutions provided the American Cancer Society with comprehensive data protection and advanced threat detection and response capabilities. As a result, the American Cancer Society was able to improve its security posture and protect its data and systems from cyber threats.

Overall, these success stories demonstrate how Microsoft Security solutions can help organizations of all sizes and industries improve their security posture, protect their data and systems, and reduce the risk of cyber threats.

 

Final Notes

Although security is a critical part of your business’ tech infrastructure – you don’t need to be living in fear. Yes, cybercrime is rising and will continue to rise as the digital world grows, but security solutions will continue to grow with it.

By leveraging the power of Microsoft Security, businesses can better defend against cyber-attacks and ensure the security of their most valuable assets,

If you are looking for a reliable and effective security solution, Microsoft Security is a great choice. With its advanced machine learning algorithms, cloud-based protection system, and intuitive-user interface, Microsoft Security provides the security you need to stay protected.

Deploying a new security solution can be difficult, but our team can help. Contact us today to chat with one of our experts and see how easy and painless this process can look like for you!

6 Benefits of Working with a Managed Service Provider

6 Benefits of Working with a Managed Service Provider 

(For small or one-person IT teams) 

 

There is nothing wrong with having a small IT team. When your company is starting out and the caseloads are simple, that small-scale department works well! Benefits of working with a managed service provider.

However, as your company grows, and your IT needs begin to stack up – you might find that working with a Managed Service Provider (MSP) could be a match made in heaven (compared to traditional in-house additions). 

We understand that outsourcing may feel like a big step, so we want to speak to that and shed some light on all the ways that teaming up with an MSP can help you and your team succeed in all things IT!

 

Save Money

You may be surprised to find out that outsourcing usually saves companies money or provides more value for a lower cost. This is primarily because when you outsource, you no longer pay for the expenses associated with hiring a new team member, or members for that matter.

Most Managed service providers offer tiered (silver, gold, platinum) packages that allow you to set a budget that works for you while giving you a larger breadth of talent and support. 

Managed Service Providers can go beyond managed services to save you and your team money. From procurement to security, there are plenty of cost-saving services and software’s that come with the right outsourcing partner.  

Many MSPs (Managed service providers) have procurement experts that can provide you with more affordable and robust licensing opportunities. Furthermore, the right MSP should also be able to help you bolster security measures to ensure that your data and networks are secured.  

The latter being especially important for cost-savings, as Cybersecurity prevention is now estimated to save businesses up to $1.4 million per incident. 

Learn more about the financial benefits of MSPs in our recent article, where we discuss how outsourcing IT can help with cost-savings and potentially boost revenue.

 

Scale Support 

With an MSP you can scale your reach as needed. For example, at Managed Solution, cases are escalated up the ladder until resolved.  

blog post image for managed solutions blog on the 6 benefits of working with a managed service provider.

Meaning that if you get a case that you would like to assign to our team, we will align it with expertise according to its priority level and it will escalate up from there until resolved. 

Another great benefit of working with an MSP, like Managed Solution, is if the MSP you work with is a Microsoft partner – you also get t Microsoft Premier Support as a final escalation for the especially challenging cases that revolve around Microsoft services/ software. 

Furthermore, as your company’s IT needs grow, you will have the support you need to increase your overall service level in real-time. 

Your MSP will monitor your needs and offer guidance on what services should be scaled up or down. Helping to optimize user-satisfaction and cost-effectiveness, simultaneously.

 

Security 

By 2025 humanity’s data will reach 175 zettabytes. We’ll take a quick pause for you to look up zettabytes. There are about 21 zeroes following that 175.  

There is a TON of data available now, and as that pool grows, so too do its attackers. Last year alone global cyberattacks increased by 38%. 

Now more than ever security should be brought to the forefront of business conversations. When considering working with an MSP make sure they are security focused and can offer the abundance of tools and services you can leverage to ensure that your data is protected.  

Another one of the great benefits of working with a Managed Service Provider? Many MSPs offer the markets’ best and most current cybersecurity products and services. These include company-wide training, email two-step factor authentication, and network monitoring.  

Some can also provide software that leverages artificial intelligence to help you detect potential viruses and attacks. Another vital aspect of security is having a solid plan for data backup and disaster recovery, which, you guessed it, MSPs can provide. 

With disaster recovery comes the benefit of minimized downtime which can save companies hundreds of thousands of dollars. An equipped and adept managed service provider can prove to be a vital resource for those worse case scenarios.  

But of course, with the amplified support and governance of your system and technology, the chances of disaster streaking are greatly decreased 

 

Onboarding and Remote Work 

With an MSP, your onboarding process becomes streamlined. You can work with your MSP to acquire, track, and manage technology for new hires as well as employees throughout your company. 

This is all done through a suite of Microsoft technologies including Active Directory, Intune and Autopilot. As a Microsoft partner, we recommend one of the best active directory software on the market, Azure.  

Azure active directory allows companies to manage applications, authentications, devices, domains, maintain governance, identity protection and so much more!  

Beyond Active Directory, if you need support in multiple cities/states, you will need to find a national or international MSP depending on your locations. This way you can ensure that you’re being supported in the correct time zone so that cases are promptly worked to completion. 

 

New Technology 

With technology evolving quickly and constantly, staying up to date on all-things tech can prove to be extremely costly.  

It isn’t always financially viable to invest in single-use technology. However, with an MSP, you can access the latest tech without having to make huge financial investments.  

This is because many MSPs offer procurement services that allow you to harness the latest technology at an affordable price. 

The right MSP should provide you with expertise and guidance as to which technology licenses and opportunities best fit your current and ever-changing needs. 

 

Focus on Tasks You Love 

When you outsource IT you get to be in control of what kind of work you do in your day to day, and how much you do in your day to day. 

You’re more in control than ever when you outsource. When you delegate tasks and projects, you free yourself up to focus on areas that you enjoy more or that matter most to you! 

In our recent case study with Red Door Interactive, Dennis Gonzalez, their sole, lead IT servicer claims that he is now able to spend less time focusing on low-level helpdesk tasks. Saving him both time and stress. 

Now Dennis is able to focus more on overseeing important projects and maintenance of cybersecurity, while also leveraging a large team in support and services. 

If you are considering outsourcing some or all of your IT, but do not know where to start, reach out to us! We are happy to help give you an idea of what an MSP partnership can look like for you.

(more…)

Managed Solution Becomes Microsoft AEP

 San Diego, CA – August 5, 2019 – Managed Solution today announced it has become a Microsoft Authorized Education Partner (AEP), demonstrating its ability to meet Microsoft academic customers’ evolving needs in today’s dynamic business environment. To earn a Microsoft AEP authorization, partners must complete a test to prove their level of academic licensing and market expertise.

The AEP program is designed to train participating re-sellers on Microsoft’s Academic licensing, authorize them to purchase and resell Microsoft Academic licenses, and demonstrate to potential customers that they are approved and knowledgeable academic partners.

“This Microsoft AEP authorization shows our commitment and specialism in the academic IT marketplace and demonstrates our knowledge of Microsoft and its academic products,” said Sean Ferrel, Founder and CEO of Managed Solution. “We hope to accelerate our academic customers’ successes by serving as technology advisers for their IT requirements.”

“By becoming AEPs, partners show themselves to be committed and trained in providing discounted Microsoft academic products to the education market,” said Anthony Salcito, VP of Education for Microsoft Corp.’s Worldwide Public Sector. “This authorization, along with our other education partner initiatives, gives our partners recognition of their areas of expertise and our academic customers the confidence that they are buying from academic IT specialists.”

The Microsoft AEP Program is designed to authorize and equip organizations that deliver academic products and services through the Microsoft platform with the training, resources and support they need to provide their customers with superior experiences and outcomes.

Microsoft puts partners at the center of $4.5 trillion transformation opportunity

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

As written by Judson Althoff on blogs.microsoft.com
As we kick off Microsoft Inspire in Washington, D.C., the world is on the cusp of major technology disruption – and that brings major opportunity. Digital transformation is a wave of business innovation fueled by cloud technologies like the Internet of Things, augmented reality, artificial intelligence and data. Driving our customers’ businesses forward through digital transformation has opened an estimated $4.5 trillion market opportunity.
According to a study by the Harvard Business Review, 86 percent of companies view digital disruption as an opportunity.  Companies across every industry are seeking ways to use digital transformation to empower their employees, better engage with customers, optimize operations and transform their products. Leaders recognize that successful transformation depends on their employees and culture, which is why both are at the heart of the offerings we are announcing today.
Introducing Microsoft 365
Today at our annual partner conference, we unveiled Microsoft 365, a new set of commercial offerings that brings together Office 365, Windows 10, and Enterprise Mobility + Security. Microsoft 365 is a complete, intelligent and secure solution to empower all companies and all workers, recognizing that people are at the heart of digital transformation. It puts people at the center, giving them flexibility to work where and how they want and giving them new ways to collaborate with others — all while protecting company data.
We are introducing two Microsoft 365 offerings today. Microsoft 365 Enterprise is the evolution of our highly successful Secure Productive Enterprise offering, and includes Office 365 Enterprise, Windows 10 Enterprise, and Enterprise Mobility + Security. It’s designed for large organizations and empowers employees to be creative and work together, securely.
Microsoft 365 Business, available in public preview starting August 2, is designed for small- to medium-sized businesses with up to 300 users and integrates Office 365 Business Premium with tailored security and management features from Windows 10 and Enterprise Mobility + Security. It also includes a centralized console for deploying and securing devices and users in one location.
Microsoft 365 represents a fundamental shift in how we will design, build and go to market to address our customers’ needs for a modern workplace.  It’s a more cohesive approach and reflects the shift our partners and our mutual customers are making — from viewing productivity, security and device management as individual workloads to seeking a comprehensive approach to secure productivity. Microsoft 365 is great for partners, too. It represents a significant opportunity to increase deal size, differentiate offerings, and grow their managed services revenue. According to a Forrester Total Economic Impact™ Study (Commissioned Studies conducted by Forrester Consulting), Microsoft 365 Enterprise increases partner revenue opportunity by more than 50 percent versus selling and deploying Office 365 alone.
Applications and Infrastructure
As more and more companies transform, it is important for our partners to think bigger and create faster. To fuel our partners’ success and help meet our goal of a $20 billion cloud run rate by 2018, we are excited to announce with our launch hardware partners, Dell EMC, HPE and Lenovo that Microsoft Azure Stack is now available to order. Azure Stack is an extension of Azure that brings the agility and fast-paced innovation of cloud computing to on-premises environments and enables entirely new hybrid cloud scenarios.
Azure Stack offers a truly consistent hybrid cloud platform, providing an ideal fit for customers who want flexibility without having to build applications in a different way.  From Azure datacenters to the edge of the cloud — whether miles underground in a mine shaft, away at sea on a ship, or on a factory floor dependent on continuous real-time operation — Azure Stack enables modern cloud applications that meet all business and regulatory requirements.  A truly consistent hybrid cloud helps customers execute on their cloud strategy faster in a way that makes the most sense for their business.
Azure Stack extends the Azure ecosystem opportunity by helping partners grow their Azure business and reach a larger addressable market through hybrid cloud scenarios.  Many of our partners have already begun to capitalize on the power of Azure Stack including Rackspace, Tieto and Resello.  Partners can learn more about how to build a successful cloud practice through our Practice Development Playbooks or sharpen their Azure skills through our online trainings here.
Business Applications
I’m excited to announce two new ways Microsoft is helping our partners connect with customers and bring innovative solutions to market.
Last year we piloted a new Azure co-sell program to provide comprehensive sales and marketing support for partners building solutions with Azure.  In its first six months in market, this program helped close more than $1 billion in annual contract value for Azure partners, created $6 billion in Azure partner pipeline opportunity and generated more than 4,500 partner deals.
Azure is the only public cloud providing partners with this incredible benefit through which Microsoft sales reps are paid up to 10 percent of the partner’s annual contract value when they co-sell qualified Azure-based partner solutions.  This means Microsoft is uniquely incenting its sales reps to work hand-in-hand with Azure partners to drive new business together and enabling partners to leverage the Microsoft salesforce to grow their business globally.
To build on this incredible momentum, we are making additional investments to accelerate Azure co-sell over the next 12 months.  We are also creating a new dedicated Channel Manager role that will be 100 percent focused on supporting partners go to market efforts, helping ensure their solutions reach new customers and integrating with our co-sell motion. Together, these represent a quarter of a billion dollar investment that materially increases our partner-dedicated personnel, and adds to Azure co-sell incentives.
We also are making it easier for partners to modernize existing business applications, and build new ones, with a new program we are calling ISV Cloud Embed. Through this new program partners can purchase core Dynamics 365, Power BI, Power Apps and Microsoft Flow capabilities as embeddable “building blocks” at discounts of up to 50 percent. In the same way that partners today build their apps on Microsoft Azure, they can now also use our business applications platform to easily add sales automation, service line and operational backend functionality to their own apps.  This helps lower development overhead and costs by putting our engineering resources to work for them.  Partners receive tiered go to market support and an opportunity to reach Office 365’s 100 million active monthly users and a growing community of Dynamics 365 customers through Microsoft AppSource.
From building on Azure to industry leading co-sell support and new embeddable business application services, no other vendor provides a more comprehensive approach to helping partners accelerate their transformation and their business.
Putting Partners First
Our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more, and our partners bring that mission to life every day with our customers. Our partners employ more than 17 million people around the world, and IDC estimates that Microsoft and its partner ecosystem will garner almost a trillion dollars in revenue in 2017, according to IDC Microsoft Footprint Model 2017.
Together, we are helping companies in every industry grow faster and more efficiently than ever before, through business innovation fueled by cloud technologies like the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, data, and through opportunities like the integration of LinkedIn Sales Navigator with Dynamics 365 and the expanded global Mixed Reality Partner Program announced today. At Microsoft Inspire, executives from KPMG, Schneider Electric, Sephora, Adobe, Track’em and more will demonstrate how they are driving digital transformation in their respective industries. KPMG, for example, is working with us to create the KPMG Digital Solutions Hub and, with KPMG “Clara” on Azure, will be the first of the “Big 4” professional services firms to bring its auditing platform to the public cloud.
However, the transformation our partners drive with customers is not new.  For more than 40 years, we have been a partner-led company, which is proven by fact that we generate more than 95 percent of our business through our robust and constantly evolving partner ecosystem. Today, Microsoft has more than 64,000 cloud partners — more than AWS, Google and Salesforce combined.  Our partners tell us they choose Microsoft because we are more than a technology provider– we are their business partner. Notably, 30 percent of our partners joined our network in the past year, and we are adding more than 6,000 partners each month.  But, we can achieve more together.
To help partners innovate more, go to market faster and connect with the right customers at the right time, we are transforming how we engage with our partner community by bringing our partner-facing roles into one organization.  We have aligned all partner-facing roles to three primary functions: Build-With, Go-To-Market, and Sell-With. This will simplify and optimize our engagement, drive increased collaboration and foster a culture of work that puts our partners first.
Microsoft Inspire will gather more than 17,000 people for our most important partner event of the year. More than 145,000 meetings take place during the event, and past exhibitors have experienced a 30 percent year-over-year sales increase. Tune into the live stream keynotes to hear what the buzz is all about.  In a world where transformation is inevitable, the opportunities for our partners are endless.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Helping partners innovate in business applications

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]As written by James Phillips on community.dynamics.com

At Microsoft Inspire this year, more than 17,000 partners, customers and business leaders will hear our CEO and leadership talk about the critical role our partners play in enabling customers to transform their businesses across industries. Microsoft invests billions annually in innovation to bring the best products to market to support our customers, and to give our partners a set of technology solutions and services they can build their business atop.

This ecosystem of Microsoft Cloud Partners is 64,000 strong – one of the largest in the world. As our partners look to develop or grow their cloud practice we offer them the most comprehensive cloud - spanning Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), application-platform-as-a-service (aPaaS) through leading Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offerings. These services are enterprise ready and have been built from the ground up to work together.

ISV’s have always been able to build on Microsoft Azure. In fact, we have over 35,000 partners already using Azure IaaS and PaaS services for their apps. Increasingly we’re being asked by these partners to make our higher-level cloud services – particularly those that make up our business applications platform – available as embeddable building blocks.

We pioneered this with Power BI – which has been available as a partner-embeddable building block for nearly a year. Since then we’ve watched ISVs take advantage of Power BI Embedded to add powerful business analytics capabilities to their applications.

Now we want to give our partners even more capabilities with our award-winning business application services, such as:

Announcing ISV Cloud Embed

Today we are making it even easier for ISV partners to modernize their existing business applications, and build new ones, with a new program we are calling ISV Cloud Embed. Later this year, we will extend the number of higher-level services available as embeddable “building blocks” to include:

Benefits to ISV Partners

In addition to being able to embed and build atop these new capabilities, partners also receive critical go to market benefits, based on deal volume, to support their business:

ISV Cloud Embed – like all Microsoft partner programs – delivers increased benefits based on usage and deal transaction volume. Go to market support is provided at all tiers. For partners whose apps drive significant consumption, we offer co-selling support from one of the world’s largest enterprise salesforces. Today’s post from Ron Huddleston provides more detail on this aspect of the program.

Getting started

Any ISV that builds qualified, finished applications can participate in ISV Cloud Embed at different levels and benefits based on the partner’s preference. To learn more about the program, please go to the ISV Resource Hub. If you would like to sign-up, there’s a simple online form to get started.

We look forward to seeing you at Inspire this week where we will share more about this program, and we look forward to building with you in the coming months.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]