Inside Track 97: Partners slam Microsoft?s record on support

Small solution providers voice concerns at Inside Track 97 over the software vendor?s levels of support and service

Microsoft faced fresh accusations of channel neglect from its smaller partners at Inside Track 97, after claims that they were being overlooked by the software giant.

The third annual solution providers forum, held in Birmingham, was intended to inform partners about the software developer?s strategy. But dealers used the meeting to hit out at the support they received from Microsoft.

Mark Thomas, sales consultant at Computerland, said: ?Microsoft used to maintain good links with the channel. Nowadays we don?t have an account manager and we rarely have any direct contact with Microsoft itself. We don?t feel anything can replace the direct involvement that we still get from Novell. It?s like Microsoft is too big to bother.?

Andy Grover, technical director at systems integrator Information Support, argued that the revenue from software sales is too small to pay for the infrastructure necessary to provide extensive support. ?Microsoft is bent on evangelising about customer care and services, but we?re just not getting enough money through the door to generate the customer care,? he said.

But Microsoft UK deputy managing director Neil Holloway said: ?Over the past 12 months we?ve invested more than ever before in the smaller player.?

He admitted, however, that by cutting the number of account managers, the company had moved away from one-to-one relationships with channel partners. ?Rather than train one person how to use Exchange, in order to cut operating costs we might get 20 partners together and teach them at the same time.?

Speaking at Inside Track 97, Microsoft UK managing director David Svendsen focused on the opportunities in the internet/intranet market. He urged resellers to ?talk intranet to customers? and reminded them that ?every software sale generates seven times that amount in service revenue?.

Memphis bell tolls for dealers as software giant gets closer to electronic distribution

Microsoft has revealed that its operating system upgrade, Memphis, will ship by the end of the year as the software developer makes its first moves into electronic software distribution.

Rich Tong, VP of marketing and personal systems at MS, said Memphis was a ?Windows/browser merge product?. The upgrade to Windows 95 will have Internet Explorer 4 built into the operating system. Users will browse around their desktop, network or the Web, treating all documents as identical, regardless of where they are located.

But Memphis has raised fears in the channel because it allows users to self-upgrade from the internet. Users are given access to MS products so they can download the software themselves.

UK deputy MD Neil Holloway admitted MS was ?committed to third-party distribution?, but he insisted it would take a softly softly approach to phasing in electronic software distribution because of channel fears.

Microsoft has not released details, but the pricing of Memphis is expected to be similar to Windows 95. Memphis will be available in the fourth quarter of 1997.

• Microsoft has appointed two more delivery service partners in its realignment of its partnerships. Actebis Computers and Enta join Datrontech, Ideal Hardware and Osmosis Technologies.