This article is sponsored by Microsoft.
If you’re an independent software vendor (ISV) looking to scale your business to the next level, here’s everything you need to know on how to become a part of Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) but also all the advantages of becoming one. For small and medium-sized organisations, being a Microsoft Partner helps drive experimentation, innovation and expansion, with benefits increasing over time. (A Microsoft Partner is an independent company that offers Microsoft-related products or services to its consumer base.)
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There’s a long list of benefits to being a Microsoft Partner
Being a Microsoft Partner has many advantages. For one, your organisation can get all the necessary training, online technical support from Microsoft at no cost and you will be rewarded with discounts on tools applicable for your business.
Watch the video to see how Microsoft translates its philosophy ‘one size doesn’t fit all’, to tailor its solutions to meet the unique needs of its partners. Some of the benefits offered specifically for ISVs or application builders helps you make money as quickly as possible! (Isn’t this exactly what you need?)
Before we get to the advantages of a membership, here are three simple steps to get you enrolled for the Microsoft Partner Network membership.
Create a Microsoft Windows Live ID account if you don’t already have one and sign in to the Partner Membership Centre.
Agree to the Microsoft Partner Program terms and conditions.
Tell Microsoft about you and your company by filling in the details for individual and organisation profiles.
Maximise the potential of your business by being part of the MPN
As an ISV, being part of MPN will give you an opportunity to make yourself known to thousands of potential customers through listings in Microsoft online marketplaces. As a registered member, you also get access to all the desired resources and tools to help you generate new business and set your company apart from the competition and get a fair chance of strengthening your staff experience.
As a Microsoft Partner, here’s how you can leverage benefits of the Microsoft Partner Network to build software and take these solutions to the market and get instant access to Microsoft’s catalogue of tools at every step of your journey:
Expand your reach
The Microsoft Partner Network is made up of hundreds of thousands of technology companies all over the world. And being part of this network means that you get to connect with like-minded companies, collaborate to win new customers, and build strategic and commercial alliances that will make your company more successful and more profitable. As an ISV or an app-builder, by becoming a member of the MPN, you will be able to connect with:
Distributors and resellers who can sell your app to their customers
Managed service providers who can include your app in their portfolio of offerings
Technology partners who offer complimentary products, services, and applications
Technology partners who provide middleware or building blocks for you to integrate into your offerings
In other words, you will be able to scale and expand your footprint more easily!
Icertis, a contract management software solutions company, has discovered several benefits to being a member of the Microsoft Partner Network. “The Microsoft eco-system helps amplify the benefits that partners and customers are already seeing with a solution like Icertis Contract Management,” says Jay Banerjee, GM & Head of Microsoft Business at Icertis. He adds: “Being a managed Microsoft cloud partner has allowed Icertis to achieve impressive growth metrics as a result of strategic business opportunities presented to us through the Microsoft Partner Network. As Microsoft continues to drive enterprise technology business, partners like us have a lot of runway to grow our global business.”
Your one-stop guide for all your marketing needs
If you’ve developed an app and are wondering how to promote it, it’s time to leave your worries behind. Microsoft can help with all the right marketing resources, from getting insights into how cloud customers make purchases to assessing your marketing readiness, you will get all the go-to market materials as part of the MPN.
This collection of ISV Go to Market materials will help you promote apps built on Microsoft cloud platforms. Be it getting started with Marketing and Digital Marketing, or tips to help you drive conversation with customers and generating leads, this is the only guide you will ever need.
Transform your idea into a great business with the Microsoft Action Pack
So how do you begin, build, and grow your Microsoft practice in today’s cloud-first mobile-first world?
The answer is simple – Subscribe to the Microsoft Action Pack (MAP). You will be able to leverage some great resources tailor-made for your business.
Living up to its name, Action Pack comes with the dynamic utilities of Windows 10 Enterprise, Office 365 E3, Enterprise Mobility Suite, a monthly credit for Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online Professional*, and more – all for a minimum cost! So this means you get to test your ideas, get comfortable with Microsoft solutions and platforms, and finally make the jump to the cloud when you are ready.
Other features, which will benefit you, include:
Personalised technical support, with access to telephone support for presales, technical, and deployment issues related to Microsoft cloud services.
Specialised training guidance, such as learning paths with a curriculum of more than 2,000 training courses about selling, configuring, and implementing Microsoft products and services.
Three Visual Studio Professional subscriptions
Campaigns, through access to Partner Marketing Center materials for Microsoft products and services.
Explaining how Microsoft Action Pack has helped advance his business, Stephen Hall, CEO of District Computers, a full-service IT consulting agency, says, “Hands down, not thinking twice, subscribing to Microsoft Action Pack is the best thing we did when we were beginning and growing our business.”
To further encourage startups and ISVs like you gain advantage from Microsoft Action Pack and jumpstart your journey to profitability, Microsoft is offering an exclusive discount on MAPS. For a limited period, you can avail a 50 per cent discount on the subscription. YourStory readers can avail this discount by filling up the form (link at the bottom of the story) and get a special promo code!
Use the promo code and sign up for MAPS.
Sign up for Microsoft Action Pack Subscription (MAPS).
A host of other benefits
A number of other advantages offered by MPN allows you to:
Efficiently deploy and manage apps on Microsoft Cloud
Receive training to become a recognised expert
Earn sales incentives, promotions, product offers, and special offers for products and services to help your business
Display prominently in online marketplaces and stores
Discover unlimited Signature Cloud Support from Microsoft engineers to grow and develop your business
Build credibility with existing or new customers with a direct connection to Microsoft.
Better predict and prepare for technology advances with timely alerts through RSS feeds and the Registered Member newsletter.
Don’t wait to sign up and get your individual queries answered by the experts at MPN.
In the next article in the series, we will tell you more about what Partners can do with Microsoft Azure and how earning Microsoft Cloud competencies can boost growth.
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