So, here we are in Bellevue, WA. It's the time of year again for the WW Hosting Summit. Our groups annual event where we focus on connecting our great community of hosting partners with the exec's and industry leaders who focus on the Software + Services business.

The focus this year will be on how we can help the hosting business to move up the value chain and how we can get our partners to identify new channels to increase their reach. Sounds interesting? I think it's not just interesting but a huge necessity if we look at what's happening in the hosting business today.

The agenda looks very promising with a mix of MS execs and industry peers both from the analyst community and hosting providers it should provide some great insights to the some 300 hosters that will be joining us over the next 3 days.

Personally I'm keen to enage with the small group of dedicated partners in our SaaS Incubation Center program. Since the launch in 2006 this group has slowly expanded and has helped a significant number of ISVs in the move to a Software as a Service business model, especially on the sales and go-to marketing side of their business. The experience has learned us that a fair share of the ISVs are particularly fighting with the marketing and sales challenges of the new business they enter. Since the event is closed and invite only I will continue to post the highlights and findings from the event over the next couple of days. STAY TUNED!