With the CSP , Microsoft has finally set up cloud in a way that most partners want to sell it and in a way that customers seem to want to buy it .
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The opportunity ahead for Microsoft is vast , but to seize it , we must focus clearly , move faster , and continue to transform .” So said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on his appointment as CEO , but he could just as well have been referring to the company ’ s Cloud Solution Provider ( CSP ) programme .
Introduced in 2014 , the CSP programme enables Microsoft partners to sell Microsoft Office 365 along with other cloud applications such as Microsoft Azure , Dynamics CRM Online , Enterprise Mobility Suite and Microsoft Intune under one bill .
One of the big news items at Microsoft ’ s 2015 Worldwide Partner Conference ( WPC ) was the introduction of new rules regarding its CSP programme , delivering a platform for partners to own the end-to-end customer engagement by enabling them to directly provision , bill , and support Microsoft Cloud Services for their customers .
Although Microsoft has historically offered the Advisor and Open cloud programmes , the CSP programme was a substantial move towards enabling the channel , and changed the way Microsoft interacts with the majority of its partners on the products that it considers most strategic to its future .
Microsoft states that in a cloud-based world , partners want to own the customer relationship , service the complete customer lifecycle and attach partner services . To this end , it says that its CSP programme enables partners to set the price , the terms and directly bill customers , directly provision and manage subscriptions , and be the first point of contact for customer support .
Partners have always had concerns that Microsoft would use a direct billing relationship to upsell and cross-sell services to their customers , cutting the partner out . Controlling the customer billing therefore is an important issue for many partners . Having the bill to the customer go directly from the partner to the customer , rather than from Microsoft to the customer , means that partners have much greater control of the margin . It ’ s not all roses for the partners though – responsibility for customer support now resides with the partner , whereas in the past this was something which was handled by Microsoft .
As Scott Bekker writes on Redmond Channel Partner , “ With the CSP , Microsoft has finally set up cloud in a way that most partners want to sell it and in a way that customers seem to want to buy it .”
Due to Microsoft ’ s size , as well as the ubiquity of its product portfolio , experts predict partner participation as well as its attendant revenue to grow rapidly , and indeed there has been a substantial partner take-up , aided no doubt by the scale of the rollout – Microsoft has made the programme available in over 130 countries globally .
Prominent CSP signups so far have included the likes of major global market players like Ingram Micro , Crayon , Synnex , Insight and many others , testifying to the depth and recognition of the programme .
First Distribution is now joining those esteemed companies , proudly bringing cloud channel enablement to Africa at long last .
Exciting times for channel partners await .
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With the CSP , Microsoft has finally set up cloud in a way that most partners want to sell it and in a way that customers seem to want to buy it .
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Set the price , the terms and directly bill customers
Directly provision and manage subscriptions
Be the first point of contact for customer support
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13 | www . firstdistribution . co . za