FD Insights Issue 4 | Page 39

2013 will be a key year for virtualisation expansion beyond midmarket into larger small businesses. Smaller firms will actually be investing more in advanced servers to help support virtualisation initiatives, even as they reduce the number of total servers they operate. 6 – IDC Next Steps 1. Build your skills to deliver virtualisation and cloud solutions. Use the Partner Learning Plan tool to build a plan that meets your needs. You can leverage the partner learning paths and follow the recommended training plans or create your own custom plan across various Microsoft solutions and Microsoft Partner Network competencies. To get started, visit: http://aka.ms/smblearningpath 2. Generate new business for your organisation and send the attached email to all your customers who are on old versions of Windows Server or Small Business Server 2003. 1 Resources: Build Your Skills: ? Partner Learning Center: http://aka.ms/smblearningpath ? MPN: https://mspartner.microsoft.com/en/us/pages/solutions /microsoft-windows-server-2012.aspx ? OEM Training Zone: http://www.oemtrainingzone.com/Pages/resources.aspx ?SelectedCategory=Windows+Server+2012 Tell The Story: ? Campaign Materials on Partner Marketing Center: http://aka.ms/pmcAheadoftheGame SMB Server Opportunity, AMI-Partners, February 19, 2013. 2 AMI WW Market Opportunity Model: 2012-2017. Includes SaaS/IaaS/Related spending, but excludes web hosting. 3SpiceWorks Survey: Windows Server 2012: SMB Adoption, Usage and Attitudes, May 2013. 4Federal Emergency Management Agency, fema.gov. 5 Spiceworks State of SMB Report, “SMB IT Spending: How IT Pros are Creating and Managing 2013 Budgets”, December 2012. 6 IDC, Worldwide SMB 2013 Predictions: Impact 7 of Changing Priorities, Preferences, and Challenges, March 2013, IDC #240196. Source for vSphere features and pricing: http://www.vmware.com/products/datacentervirtualization/vsphere/compare-kits.html.