Microsoft is holding its annual Worldwide Partner Conference, although now it has been renamed as Microsoft Inspire, with a focus on being ‘partner first’. The event’s keynote set the tone this morning for five major announcements from Microsoft leading into what is anticipated to be an exciting week for the tech giant and its partners.
Microsoft 365
Spearheading today’s announcements, Microsoft 365 was revealed as the next step towards a ‘modern workplace’. Taking a cue from the bundle of its productivity applications, how partners are able to purchase one of two Microsoft 365 solutions that combines software, management, and security options.
- Microsoft 365 Enterprise includes Office 365 Enterprise, Windows 10 Enterprise, and Enterprise Mobility + Security and is offered in two plans – Microsoft 365 E3 and Microsoft 365 E5. Both plans provide customers with a complete set of productivity and security capabilities, while Microsoft 365 E5 provides the latest and most advanced innovations in security, compliance, analytics, and collaboration.
- Microsoft 365 Business is designed for small-to-medium sized businesses (SMB) and includes Office 365 Business Premium, security and management features for Office apps and Windows 10 devices, upgrade rights to Windows 10, and a centralized IT console. It will be available in public preview starting August 2.
Not only does bundling Microsoft 365 provide a cheaper alternative, but it makes more sense when building a workplace environment that is cohesive across applications and devices.
Dynamics 365
With the growth of Dynamics 365 at 81% during its fiscal third quarter earlier this year, Microsoft announced today that Dynamics 365 apps and LinkedIn integrations are now generally available. This includes LinkedIn Sales Navigator and Dynamics 365 for Sales The new Dynamics 365 for Talent and Dynamics 365 for Retail solutions will be released by the end of the month and more Sales and Marketing apps are now available for the Dynamics 365 Insider program reports RCP.
Azure Stack
Azure Stack has also been successful in its fiscal third quarter with a growth of 93%. So Microsoft announced that it is now available for hardware partners HPE, Dell, EMC, and Lenovo. Microsoft’s hybrid cloud platform. According to the announcement, Cisco and Huawei will be joining the list ‘soon’.
ISV Cloud Embed
In an effort to make app development for the modern workplace easier, Microsoft revealed the ISV Cloud Embed for ISV partners. App developers can create off Microsoft provided building blocks from its business platform and even build on top of their unique IP. Partners will also be able to showcase their apps on Microsoft AppSource.
Co-Sell Investment
To top off the list of announcements, Microsoft has decided to make a “material investment” in its partner’s apps. By hiring channel manager positions, the Azure co-sell program will encourage sales of partner and support the profit efforts of partners through its salespeople.
More information is to come throughout the week of Microsoft Inspire, so keep an eye on OnMSFT for further news.
