Microsoft to develop LAR communication tools

Vendor claims it tries to ensure partners are updated before customers, despite the channel having "many moving parts"

Microsoft is looking to develop the use of its own Lync software to communicate with its large account reseller (LAR) channel.

Speaking to ChannelWeb, Edward Hyde, Microsoft's LAR channel director, conceded that there were "many moving parts" in the LAR channel, ranging from the type of products available, to the size of companies with which the vendor deals, but insisted its communication strategy still makes life easier for LARs.

He said: "We have a range of technology and different ways of licensing, but at least it is all Microsoft and [within] the same organisation. If you are trying to put together a solution for a customer that involved half a dozen types of technology sourced from six different vendors, that does bring a level of complexity."

In March, the vendor introduced a price hike in the LAR channel to bring pricing in line with continental Europe. Hyde added that announcements such as these are carefully timed so that customers do not know before their channel partners.

He said: "Sometimes, we have to keep [LAR channel updates] under wraps until the last minute, but what I have always wanted to achieve is that the LAR knows about changes before the customer does [from Microsoft's direct sales team], and we time our announcements very carefully with our internal announcements."

As part of its efforts to communicate effectively with all areas of the LAR channel, Hyde said that communication via its own Lync software may feature more heavily in announcements that do not require personal meetings.

Hyde added: "I would really like to see more [Lync] federation. It is so immediate and all about choice. Since we [first] could, we have run online meetings; it is a key resource for us to work with the channel, and brings us greater flexibility."