It’s a shame really. Microsoft some time back now announced this great new initiative to build a decent SMB focused Phone system that would integrate the way SMB’s needed it and at a price point we could afford. Then just as the product was gaining market share and user acceptance, they announced cut backs to the Response Point team effectively gutting the product. Well last week, Microsoft finally announced that yes – the thing we all expected had arrived. Response Point is dead. Cancelled. No longer available.
Too bad for those customers who believed in the product and paid hard earned $$ for it.
Too bad for those resellers who invested learning, installing and selling the product to their customers as the trusted advisor.
Too bad for those OEM’s that invested even more in the product to make it what it was.
Microsoft – when you things like this you erode the trust. The trust that we’ve worked so hard to build with out clients. The trust that we have in you to deliver products that suit our clients requirements. The faith we have in you to listen to our needs and build products to suit our market.
Personally – I was not affected too much by this decision, but that does not mean I don’t have concerns about how my biggest single vendor is treating the SMB space. Unfortunately – I wonder if they are listening. This type of decision is like the EBS one. One that was made so high up the food chain as to be totally removed from the faces of the people it affects. That’s a shame.
Microsoft – bit by bit you erode the faith that we resellers have in you. When will you realise that you’ve used up all that good will and that there are no resellers for you to talk to anymore… or maybe that’s the point. Maybe you want to move us all on so you can transition to the cloud where you don’t need resellers anymore… whatever your plans, one thing is for sure… you’re not communicating them to us clearly at all.
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