Microsoft Partners Uproar, Cloud Sales Commission Cuts

Some partners are so angry about having their fees cut that they're prepared to sell competing products, like Google Apps. One partner told CRN he's planning to change his business to be less dependent on Microsoft partner fees. (source infra)

Microsoft Partners In Uproar Over Cloud Sales Commission Cuts: "Even partners that don't have a direct financial stake in the Advisor EA Deploy program told CRN the fee cuts are a troubling sign. "Microsoft has been preaching that the cloud was going to level the playing field [for partners], but nothing is going to stop them from cutting margins," said one disillusioned partner who has been selling Microsoft cloud services since the Business Online Productivity Suite was launched in 2008. "The channel needs consistency, but Microsoft has changed the payout and commission structure four times in two years," said another disgruntled partner. "How can a partner build a go-to-market model around a payout plan that keeps changing?"..."

Microsoft's late fixing Windows, but ahead on the cloud | Microsoft windows - InfoWorld: "... The point is that the center of computing has already moved to the cloud, and which device you use is becoming secondary to the computing experience. Microsoft, compared to all other members of the old guard, is in the best position to be a huge player in cloud computing ... The challenge for Microsoft is to pull all those cloud offerings into coherent, customizable packages that make sense for customers. Currently, just finding information about them requires surfing dozens of Microsoft websites. Of course, Microsoft partners will need to play a role in pulling together those solutions as well, and as usual there are rough edges in many of Microsoft's offerings that will need to ironed out...."

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