Smaller Microsoft partners voice MPN concerns

Some resellers continue to harbour concerns that mechanics of new-look partner programme favour bigger firms

Smaller Microsoft partners have called on the vendor to relax rules that prevent them counting staff towards multiple competencies.

Under the new-look Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) that was brought in a year ago, partners must have four trained staff to achieve Gold status on any one of 38 competencies. Partners cannot allocate staff to more than one competency.

Some 600 UK partners have now obtained at least one Gold competency. This compares with the 1,250 Gold partners that operated under the previous regime.

A year on, and partners ChannelWeb caught up with said they continue to harbour concerns that the mechanics of the new regime favour larger partners.

Steve Hennessy, sales manager at Computerworld, admitted he had mixed thoughts on the scheme.

"The new programme does mean you have an extra badge you can attach to yourself if you are a specialist pitching in for virtualisation or server uplift projects," he said. "But it does give an advantage to larger companies. I would like Microsoft to say if you only have 10 technical staff, we won't stop you using them towards multiple competencies."

Cliff Fox, managing director of SICL, agreed with Hennessy, adding that the fact the exams had been simplified tips the balance further towards large, less-skilled resellers.

"You only have to hold the basic (MCP) level of exam now," he said. "This means a larger employer with a lower skill level can appear better than a smaller one with a higher level of skill. I can see why Microsoft changed it, and we are on board, but the net result is that it favours larger firms."

Janet Gibbons (pictured), director of partner strategy and programmes at Microsoft, said there are no immediate plans to allow staff to obtain multiple competencies.

"I hear their concerns but the new programme does mean that smaller partners can compete with really big partners as a competency can be achieved with only four staff. Before, Gold was more of an indication of size and now it is more of a level playing field," she added.

Asked why the rules could not be relaxed, she said: "You could end up with a partner with multiple Gold competencies and only four staff, and that would not send the right message to the customer base."