Deployment takes Partners...One Word - Partners It is up to the Microsoft partner ecosystem to help customers understand the possibilities...Adoption will continue. Partners will continue to fill gaps
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
The Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference is one of the biggest annual hi-tech conferences in the world, it is run by Microsoft, for Microsoft Partners
This is where partners come in
Contrary to what Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, said at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in Los Angeles … Paper Still Matters...Partners have a significant opportunity too
Hint: Partners are the Secret Sauce...However, there is work to do, there are products to ship and there will be (as always) a need for partners to fill in the gaps. A key point for partners -- Gaps are Opportunities
The partners that are doing this today have a leg up. There will be many more partner opportunities to extend their solution expertise with SharePoint as the foundation
My Guesses and a Few Questions that come to mind: Yammer and Skype -- VOIP calls for Customer Service, Between Employees, between customers and partners and so much more
Good News - Partners Still Matter Microsoft is making it easier