The documentation angle begs the more opportunistic question: Could you imagine a gold partner who actually specialized in SharePoint for mergers ?
Of course if Microsoft’s standard features addressed our unique requirements there would be no extended network of gold partners
That doesn't mean every Microsoft Gold Partner is a slick car salesman with an ECAL sticker...It comes from a D-I-Y perspective that we don't need Gold Partners or even internal IT to work around those missing pieces