I have just returned from our annual Partner Conference, this year held in new Orleans.  There were a lot of big announcements covering our core offerings so I was delighted to hear Online Services being mentioned in the same speeches as Windows 7 and Office 2010.

We have been listening to what partners want and this was reflected in several new features being launched that enable partners to assist and manage their customers who trial and buy the Business Productivity Online Suite.

Two key features are now available as part of the newly announced Microsoft Partner Network:

· Partner Order on Behalf. Partners can now place Microsoft Online Services orders on behalf of their customers. The feature allows partners to initiate trials, specify the services and quantities they recommend for their customers, pre-configure orders for their customers to complete, and ensure they are the Partner of Record for their customers’ trials and orders placed in the system.

Part of this functionality is made possible by the creation of a custom url which can be integrated into web advertising, email shots and other marketing that provides a link through to a pre-populated form on the site.

· Partner Commerce Dashboard. The new Partner Commerce Dashboard provides a consolidated view of Microsoft Online Services orders and commerce, such as the status of trials and subscriptions, for customers that have the partner specified as their Partner of Record. Partners can work within the Commerce Dashboard or export the information to Excel to be imported into a CRM system.

Microsoft Online Services also announced Q4 availability of Delegated Administration for partners. Customers will be able to delegate administrative privileges to partners for some tasks in the Microsoft Online Services Administration Center.

Also announced for Q4 rollout is a new partner Distributor Model and integration of partner information on customer invoices. More information about the new partner program and features will be available through Quickstart for Microsoft Online Services.

Announcement of these features highlights the importance of partners to Microsoft Online Services. Since the Microsoft Online Services Partner Program was announced at WPC08, more than 5,000 partners have enrolled in the program. Additionally, 4 of 5 orders for the Business Productivity Online Suite have come through Partners, and Partners have built more than 100 custom solutions exclusively for Microsoft Online Services. Examples of these solutions are available via the Solutions Showcase.

We also launched our Online Services Accelerated partner programme which I will cover in a separate blog.

If you were not able to make the conference you can still access the content and view all the key notes here:  www.digitalwpc.com