What a week. Another full-on few days. We launched Partnering for the Future on Wednesday with some press folks. Quite a bit of coverage on the SaaS and BT partnership since. Check out Steve's blog for more.

 What's is all about?

Through Partnering for the Future, Microsoft’s aim is twofold: to ensure existing partners are aware of and ready for the significant and compelling market opportunity opening up for software vendors as new channels for software distribution emerge. But secondly, to ensure it is an attractive vendor with which to partner, thereby attracting a new stable of partners who may deliver Microsoft solutions in a new way, or embed Microsoft software as an ingredient of a service they already provide.

Karl Noakes, director of channel development at Microsoft Ltd., said: “Over the next three years developments in the internet will change the way we do business. To succeed in this new environment, Microsoft needs to evolve its approach to partnering. The first and critical step of our Partnering for the Future initiative is to begin building a business that can enable a much wider range of partners to deliver Web 2.0-based innovation for their customers. This will ensure they’re fully equipped to profit as much as possible from the changes we’re seeing in the technology industry. By encouraging our partners to capitalise on emerging services such as advertising-based software, subscription/on-demand software, and software offered as a value-add to existing services, we hope to increase their profitability and further their ability to remain competitive in the changing technology world.”