Microsoft launches support services for partners

Seeking to empower partners with greater pre-sales support,
Microsoft introduced new services for certified and gold partners. These services
are benefits of the Microsoft Partner Program (MSPP), which adds to the suite of
services being offered to partners in the country.

As part of this program, Microsoft will offer no charge
Pre-Sales Technical Support (PTS) as a core benefit to all Certified Partners and
also offer Technical Service Coordination (TSC) teams as a dedicated resource to
Microsoft Gold Certified Partners. Additionally, the vendor is also launching its
Independent Software Vendors (ISV) Advisory Service, a phone and email-based
consultation service developed to ISVs with dedicated support. It delivers
abroad range of development advice while helping partners more effectively build
and support solutions for their customers.

"The program has been designed to assist our partners in
India facilitate new business opportunities by providing them quick, easy and
free technical support to gather market information on software, configuration
options and other technical issues they may confront while engaging with
customers. We believe it will allow them to anticipate and troubleshoot
customers
technical issues in a timely, effective and proactive manner," said Manish
Sinha, MD-Asia-Pacific Customer Service & Support, Microsoft.

Free Pre-Sales Technical Support (PTS) will be available to
all Microsoft Certified Partners who will now have access to phone based
pre-sales specialists from Microsoft. PTS teams will provide partners latest
information on competitive software offerings, problem troubleshooting, licensing
issues, configuration options and compatibility information among others
benefits.

Technical Service Coordination (TSC) teams will proactively
provide Microsoft Gold Certified partners with service packs, updates, security
fixes and hot fixes. TSC teams will also assist in identifying and delivering
technical solutions across the entire business engagement cycle from pre-sales to
ongoing maintenance.

Independent Software Vendors (ISV) Advisory service provides
ISV partners with support resources and tools to help build better applications
and market them more quickly by building a more direct collaborative
relationship with Microsoft.

Also, with an aim to extend its reach to consumers beyond the
metros, Microsoft Home & Entertainment Division (HED) announced the extension
of its field sales team to reach out to over 26 cities across India under its
pan India initiative' Project Vistaar'. With its rollout, Microsoft HED will
now have new 20 more direct field sales representatives in 26cities.

This expansion will entail creating an on-ground team of 34
personnel for managing the channel partners and ensuring their skills readiness
for HED products. The vendor will now have direct field presence across the
regions of North, South, East and West India.

"Under this project, a network of 20 Vistaar champs is
being created to mange each of these regions. These champs will serve to be key
contact points for partners in a particular region and will be committed to
enable the channel partners to gain the technical and sales orientation while
retailing the Microsoft HED range," said Mohit Anand, Manger
Home&Entertainment Division, Microsoft.

DQc News Bureau