The Elite Web Optimization Event

Microsoft and the Microsoft Champion Hosting Partners present the Elite Web Optimization Event:  We currently have four events scheduled to take place in December with Applied Innovations (Ft. Lauderdale, Florida – 8Dec09), Navisite (Cambridge, Massachusetts -9Dec09), Peer1 (Atlanta, Georgia -11Dec09) and SoftLayer (Los Colinas, Texas - 15Dec09).

Come spend a day with us to explore the Microsoft Windows Web Platform and the many managed hosting services provided by our hosting partners.

During this event, we’ll review what’s new in the Microsoft Web Platform and tools, the interoperability improvements in the Microsoft Web platform and the value that managed hosting can add to your project/business.

We will discuss:

• MS Web Platform – IIS management Console, Hyper – V and the Dynamic Data Center, SQL Server 2008 Web Edition, IISMedia Services3.0
• MS Interoperability – PHP on Windows, Web-PI, PHP Drivers in MS SQL Server 2008
• MS Web Tools – Visual Studio, Expression, Silverlight
• Hosting Partner services
• WebsiteSpark Program
• The Great PHP on Windows Contest
• Microsoft Partner Evangelism Initiative

Attendees at each event will be entered into a drawing to win great prizes such as a copy of Windows 7, an Xbox 360 Elite, a ZuneHD and more!

Marriott Fort Lauderdale
6650 N Andrews Ave
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309
December 8th, 2009 9:00AM-6:00PM
Register at: http://microsoftandappliedi.eventbrite.com/

New England Research and Development Center (NERD)
1 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02142
December 9th, 10:00AM-6:00PM 2009
Register at: http://microsoftandnavisite.eventbrite.com

Microsoft Alpharetta office
1125 Sanctuary Parkway Suite 300
Alpharetta, Georgia 30004
December 11th 2009 9:00AM – 6:00PM
Register at: http://www.peer1.com/contact/index_ewoe.php

Microsoft Las Colinas office
7000 N. State Hwy 161
Irving, TX 75039
December 15th 2009 9:00AM – 6:00PM
Register at: http://microsoftandsoftlayer.eventbrite.com/

Partner Learning News 10Nov09

Is Windows Azure Right for Your Partner Business?

We’ve all heard about the industry shift to the Cloud, but are you jumpstarting your Windows Azure business to be a part of it?

If you are a Microsoft Partner, specifically a system integrator who builds custom developed solutions, then you are cordially invited to attend our next ProDev Partner Briefing.  You will not just hear the usual, but you will hear new insights and points of views from Microsoft’s well-known industry experts and a perspective from a leading edge partner company on what the Windows Azure opportunity means for your organization. We will demonstrate how you will be able to change the face of your business and introduce new revenue streams for building solutions for our customers.

Seating is limited, so register now by clicking on a city “near you” below.

Optionally call 1-877-MSEVENTS or visit http://msevents.microsoft.com and provide the event ID.

For more information on this event and other partner communications subscribe to the Partner Evangelism team blog here.

Partners Come See Us at PDC

If you are coming to the PDC we would love to see you!

Please come and drop by our boot (Booth # MPS08).   Several of the members of the US DPE Evangelism team will be on hand along with members of the US Solution Partners team.  We will also have several of our partners talking about how they have used Microsoft technology to build really cool solutions and they will be explaining about interesting opportunities we have for partners to participate in local and online Software Communities.   Also, we would be delighted to catch up with you and update you on our latest programs. 

We will have tickets to a special party for our partners on Wednesday night.  For those of you who attended PDC last year, you will remember that we do know how to throw a party and yes, it will be a lot of fun again.

Please look for the us.  This is the sign that will be at the top of our booth.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Does Your Business Qualify for WebsiteSpark Benefits?

On Thursday, September 24^th Microsoft launched the WebsiteSpark Program. WebsiteSpark provides Web developers and designers with Microsoft software and solutions, as well as the training, support and market exposure they need to jump-start their web development and help their businesses succeed. The WebsiteSpark Program also helps drive new business opportunities by connecting Web professionals and hosters with an ecosystem of customers, partners and other professionals with complementary technologies.

Web development and design companies with up to 10 employees and owners can participate in the WebsiteSpark Program for three years with no up-front cost. There is only a $100 program offering fee, payable at exit, with no other costs or obligations. For complete details of the program visit the WebsiteSpark website.

Coupled with the WebsiteSpark announcement, we also announced the next release of the Web Platform Installer and Windows Web Application Gallery (2.0 RTM). If you haven't tried the Web Platform Installer, take it for a test drive yourself. Especially on a clean installation, see how easy it is to install and configure the Microsoft Web Platform from scratch. Also be sure to install some or all of the IIS Extensions including the IIS SEO Toolkit to see the full functionality of the platform. Install one or more of the applications from the Windows Web Application Gallery to get a feel for the experience and how it automatically pulls in the platform dependencies for the applications your choose.

Earn a Chance to win an Xbox 360 In Time for Christmas

We just completed our first Partner Challenge of the fiscal year earlier this week and gave away several very nice prizes.  Congratulations to our 3 lucky winners!

• John Pattison – Info et Cetera Consulting 
• Chunlei Wu - Fujitsu America
• Nicole Cain – American Technology Services

Yesterday we posted the 2nd of 4 challenges planned for our current fiscal year.  If you haven't taken the challenge yet, it is a great way for you to discover new online properties that will help you better navigate Microsoft's partner relationship while challenging you to learn more about several Microsoft technologies to hit the market soon. By correctly answering 3 questions, you'll qualify for a chance to win a great prize. We had outstanding participation last year and hope that you will take a minute to play today and throughout the year.

Take the challenge today at http://blogs.msdn.com/usdevpartners/pages/Microsoft-Partner-Challenge-FY10.aspx

Share Your Expertise as a Microsoft Ambassador

Microsoft’s U.S. Developer and Platform Evangelism organization recently launched the Microsoft Ambassador program (details below) to help our partner’s highlight their success in driving the early adoption of new and emerging application platform technology within their organization or their customer accounts. The ultimate goal of the program is to help partner “Ambassador’s” amplify their Microsoft success stories online and to connect them with opportunities to present at local, regional and national events.

The DNA of a successful Ambassador is a technology enthusiasts with a passion for public speaking, is active in the online and offline technology community, and is recognized within their organization as a thought leader and driver for early adoption of emerging technology. The Ambassador program is all about helping partners grow their business and individuals grow their careers.

If you are not a member of Microsoft’s exclusive MVP or Regional Director Program and are interested in becoming an Ambassador today, please send us an email per the instructions listed below.

Microsoft Ambassador Program

(This program is currently offered for U.S. partners only)

Do you want to show off the great innovations that you and your team have delivered? Then become a Microsoft Ambassador and tell your story on video, in person, and online.

The Microsoft Ambassador program highlights partner successes using our technologies. We want to showcase your unique products, increase your industry visibility, and recognize the hard work of your team. This will strengthen your company’s relationship with Microsoft, enhance your professional career, and can even improve your bottom line.

As a Microsoft Ambassador, you’ll gain greater access to product teams through live monthly calls. You’ll also be connected with the Developer and Platform Evangelism team who will help match you with opportunities to share your real-world expertise.

Videos are one the easiest and best ways to promote yourself and your company – in less than a year, our videos of partner stories have generated more than a quarter of a million views … in addition to generating positive buzz, these videos have produced tangible results for our partners, including follow-on case studies – even new customers. Shoot them yourself or we’ll shoot them with you. Depending on the subject matter and intended audience, we’ll help find the best home for your videos and screencasts, whether that’s Channel 9, msdev.com, or YouTube.

There are also opportunities to present in person. From local user groups to regional launch events – maybe even our Professional Developer Conference or Worldwide Partner Conference – depending on your area of expertise, we’ll help get you in front of the right audience.

And don’t forget blogging. Whenever you blog about your success with our technologies, let your evangelist know, so that we can read it, tweet it, share it with other Microsoft people, and maybe even blog about it. Let us help you build your readership.

We’re especially interested in your successes building on Windows 7 and Windows Azure.

So if you are proud of the work your team has done innovating on the Microsoft platform – and if you want to benefit from deeper Microsoft connections and greater industry exposure – then become a Microsoft Ambassador and share your expertise!

To join, send us an email and tell us why you’d like to be a Microsoft Ambassador. Be sure to include:

• Name
• Title/Role
• Company you work for
• Preferred email
• Preferred phone number
• Links to your blog, twitter, Facebook, Linked-In, podcast, video, user groups, etc. where you talk about your successes building on our platform and share your expertise
• Which of the following technologies would you consider yourself to be more of a Subject Matter Expert?
  • NET 4
  • Azure
  • Office14
  • SharePoint
  • Silverlight
  • SQL Server 2008
  • Windows 7
• Please note whether you have worked with Windows 7 and Azure. We are especially interested in working with Ambassadors for these programs.

“Hello World!” Azure App In 37-Minutes

In mid-November, Microsoft will launch Windows Azure around the world.  In preparation for the big event, Tony Bailey, Senior Marketing Manager, Breadth Solution Partners recently took on the challenge of building his first Windows Azure application.  After getting his “hello world” single web page published, Bailey created the Publishing_webpage_to_Azure_basic document to help guide customers through the steps necessary in creating and publishing a “Hello World” page leveraging Windows Azure.  Bailey states that “After getting my Azure Invitation code, my stopwatch record for completing the doc steps is 37 minutes.”  Now let's see how good you really are: let's see how fast you can get your single "hello world" web page up on Azure - here's the how-to doc – if you like the doc pass it on.

Attendees at this year’s Microsoft Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles, November 17-19 will have plenty of opportunity to learn more about Windows Azure and the Azure Services Platform.  For a current list of Azure sessions click here.  And if you haven’t yet registered, register by October 13 and save $300.

For additional training content related to Windows Azure, visit MSDev, where Microsoft is offering training for solution providers.

Partner Learning News 28Sept09

Partner Training Priorities:

Virtualization

See our course listings for additional Virtualization training.

Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2

See our course listings for additional Office Communications Server 2007 R2 training.

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007

Coming Soon: SharePoint Server 2010 Ignite for Implementers and Developers is coming to a city near you starting in November. Be on the lookout for future communications with more details.

See our course listings for additional Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 training.

Microsoft Dynamics GP

See our course listings for additional Microsoft Dynamics training.

Business Readiness: Sales & Marketing

Join the Windows 7 Loadfest

This in-person event is for accelerated partners interested in Optimized Desktop messaging. In addition to upgrading your computer, you’ll receive all the materials needed to host your very own Windows 7 Launch event for your company or customers. A separate Windows 7 Loadfest for small- and medium-sized business partners is coming soon. Once in the Partner Learning Center course description, click on the register button for a complete list of cities and dates.

Due to high demand, Partners are limited to 2 seats per company per city.

PDC 2009 Early Bird Discount Ends September 15th

If you’re a developer, architect or technology leader involved in making strategic technology decisions, this is the conference you need to attend to stay ahead of the curve and get a head start on planning your company’s product and technology investments.

If you register by September 15, you’ll receive $500 USD off the regular conference pass price.

ABOUT THE PDC

The Professional Developers Conference (PDC) is the definitive developer event focused on the technical strategy of the Microsoft developer platform.  Attendees come from around the world to learn about the future of Microsoft developer technology directly from the people who make it happen.  If you’re a developer, architect or technology leader involved in making strategic technology decisions for your company or organization, the PDC is for you.

Since 1991, the PDC has been the epicenter of Microsoft’s biggest platform announcements, including Microsoft .NET, Windows® XP, Windows Vista® and Windows 7®. This year, you’ll hear more details about our services platform, Windows®, the Web, devices, and our next generation of developer tools.

WHAT YOU’LL GET AT THE PDC

• Microsoft’s vision and roadmap for the future of developer technology.  PDC is where our biggest names make the biggest announcements.  Keynoters Ray Ozzie and Bob Muglia will share their vision for developer technology at PDC09.  More keynoters still to be announced!
• Deep, technical content delivered by Microsoft’s technology leaders.  At the PDC, you’ll have the unique opportunity to learn directly from the people who conceived and built the latest Microsoft developer platform technologies and tools.  Much of what’s featured at the PDC has yet to be released, and as a result, session content comes in ‘hot’ and is published all the way up to the event date.  Subscribe to the New Sessions RSS to stay on top of published sessions.

• Hands-on access to the latest developer technologies and over 1,000 Microsoft product and technology experts available to answer your questions.  The PDC isn’t just about keynotes and sessions – it’s an opportunity for you to get hands-on access to the latest technologies, have your questions answered by Microsoft program managers and developers and plan the features and architecture to support your product and business goals.

• Unique networking opportunities with leading-edge developers and technology leaders just like you. You’ll be among your tribe at PDC09, and we’ve planned a number of special events and places for you to take advantage of the opportunity to connect with and learn from attendees that share your technology interests and business challenges.

New to the PDC? Learn more about the big announcements from last year and experience the PDC08 online via Channel 9.

Innovation/Showcase on Windows 7

 “Windows 7 is what a modern managed desktop should be. It helps us increase productivity, reduce costs, and provide enhanced desktop security”

- Doug Miller, Practice Architect, CDW

Join us at Microsoft’s Windows 7 Innovation Showcase where you can explore how Windows 7 delivers ‘the new efficiency” by growing your business through cost savings, productivity and innovation!  Register today to see what Innovation can do for you!

Areas covered include:

· Address top seven business values of Windows 7 that enterprise customers care about

· Take advantage of the advancements in the Windows 7 user experience to make your application more compelling to users

and your users more productive in the tasks they care about

· Dive into the business scenarios and technical details of Multi-Touch and the Sensor and Location API on Windows 7

· Ease of Migrating to Windows 7

Innovation/Showcase on Internet Explorer 8 and Silverlight 3

Join us at Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8 and Silverlight 3 Innovation Showcase where you can learn how IE8 & SL3

features deliver the best web experience for your users.  Register today to see what Innovation can do for you!

During this showcase we will discuss how you can Expand your Business Reach with Internet Explorer 8 and

Build a Line-of-Business Applications with Silverlight 3 and Expression Studio 3.

Who Should Attend:

Solution Architects, CIO’s, CTO’s, Development Managers, Lead Developers, Business Decision Makers

Windows Azure and the Partner Opportunity

Alas, we were finally able to carve out some time to pull together a recording of Mike Werner’s Azure webcast.  Mike, a Senior Platform Strategy Advisor focused on Microsoft’s Cloud Services Platform, does an outstanding job introducing these technologies and discussing how the Azure Services Platform applies to the partner business. If you are looking to grow your business to include Azure services offerings you’ll want to make sure you, as well as everyone on your team, sits through this presentation, at least once.

The video is also available on Channel 9.

The 2009 Client and Services Platform - Live Webcast for Microsoft Dev Partners

Microsoft Partners face more challenges today than ever.  With restrictions on IT budgets and a simultaneous demand for higher levels of service, there has never been a better time for partners to refocus on the fundamental value opportunities presented by Microsoft’s platform architecture and strategic roadmap.  Please join us for the Live Meeting presentations listed below where we will be discussing how Partners can align themselves with our platform to add greater value today and prepare themselves for new business opportunities coming in the near future.

If you attended our ProDev Partner Briefing this past spring, this is a repeat session with updated content.  I hope you can join us.