Microsoft calls for patience over deal registration delays

Extra time needed to ensure good experience for LARs, says software giant

Microsoft has urged its large account reseller (LAR) partners to bear with it as it works to ensure there are no further delays to the launch of deal registration for volume licensing deals.

The ability to register deals forms a key part of Microsoft's revamped LAR programme, which will launch on 1 October.

However, due to teething problems with the tools, the deal registration launch date has been pushed back to December, with some partners resigned to further delays.

One, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "Neither Partner Sales Exchange (PSX) or CHIP [the associated payment system] work and we have received very few payments.

"The system appears to have been designed for use by smaller resellers on small engagements. It has not been designed for multi-region customers and LARs and there is still a long way to go to meet that requirement."

Edward Hyde, channel sales manager at Microsoft, said he expected deal registration to be fully online by December, but stressed its development was a complex process involving numerous parties.

Hyde said: "[The new LAR programme] has been two years in the making and we are really keen to ensure that deal registration is a good experience."

He added: "We may well be the last major vendor to introduce deal registration. It will allow the LAR to confidently demonstrate value to the customer knowing that when the sale comes to fruition, they will be rewarded even if the business is placed with another LAR."

Under a temporary workaround to ensure LARs are paid on time, Microsoft will use a hybrid of the old and new models whereby the LAR who transacts the deal will bag both the sell and transact fees.

Another LAR, who also talked on the condition of anonymity, was more sympathetic about the delays. "When you have had 15 years of one system and you are moving to another, there are going to be some challenges. Integrating systems that rely heavily on getting payments on time is a complex business."