Microsoft Australia focusing on the SMB space in Australia

Many in Australia are concerned that Microsoft are not understanding the needs of resellers in the SMB space. Some have made brash claims that MS simply don t care. I can tell you from the meetings I ve had inside Microsoft that those comments are extremely misguided. Most of the work I do inside Microsoft is covered under NDA and I can t talk too much about it, however this is one thing that I specifically wanted to get out to the community so I sought permission to report it here.

On June 26th when most business were busy focusing on closing out sales, Microsoft Australia took over 30 people out of the office and invited key distributors to spend the day meeting with 6 partners in the smaller end of the SMB space. The aim was to get a better understanding of what the registered partners needed from Microsoft and how Microsoft could help better in the future. Holding an event like this is not a minor undertaking either in terms of cost or organisation. I applaud Microsoft for taking the bull by the horns and seeking to address the concerns that the community has expressed.

If you think that Microsoft don t get us and our needs, then I d like to say that you will be proven wrong over the coming 12 months. Sure they can t change the world overnight, but the commitment from the team and the way they hope to make life better for the smaller SMB resellers is key.

The photo below gives you an idea of how the partners (sitting in the front row) were outnumbered by the Microsoft team 🙂 You might recognise a few familiar faces and some not so familiar, which is one of the key things that Microsoft wanted from this the desire to talk to resellers that they had not talked to before.

If you have some specific point you want to raise with Microsoft Australia in the SMB space then feel free to email me and I ll link you up with the relevant contacts inside.