Microsoft readies the channel ahead of Office launch

Vendor sets itself a number of channel training targets, and claims resellers can enjoy competitive Office 365 margins

Microsoft has set itself a series of targets designed to ready the channel for the imminent launch of its new Office offering, which resellers believe will encourage customers to upgrade to newer operating systems.

The vendor claims to have started its process of reseller training through its distribution partners ahead of the product's general availability release, which is set for later in this quarter.

Microsoft remained tight-lipped on the specific launch date, but Office products have been available to resellers since 1 December via volume licensing agreements only.

The software giant could not reveal how many new Office licences have been sold since the December launch, but unveiled a series of channel targets it has set to ensure VARs are up to speed on the new product.

By the end of its financial year in June, Microsoft hopes to have reached 7,500 resellers through its distribution partners in order to ensure they are ready to sell Office. The vendor says it has already reached 3,000 resellers and is on target to meet its goal.

On top of this, it is hoping to meet with 1,700 partners through distribution boot camps held across the country, and also aims to get more of its resellers certified, with the launch of two new accreditations for resellers.

It claims to have already trained 200 small businesses on its new Office 365 competency, and hopes to double this by its fiscal year end. Microsoft's new sales specialist accreditation has also been achieved by more than 200 partners, it claims.

The new Office products are compatible only with Windows 7 and Windows 8 systems, a move which Microsoft claimed enables users to get the most out of the products as they are optimised for newer versions of the OS.

Richard Gibbons, software manager at VAR Bechtle, claimed its compatibility with newer OSes has had a mixed reaction from customers.

"We are having conversations with people about upgrading from XP, and [the new Office] is pushing them towards Windows 7 or Windows 8," he said. "This makes some customers angry, but when [others] ask what the reason is for upgrading from XP, using the new Office is a very good [one]."

Office will be available to buy direct from Microsoft's website, but Janet Gibbons, the vendor's partner strategy and programme leader, assured its resellers that margins are still competitive, especially for its Office 365 offering.

She said: "There are still normal incentives on on-premise Office, and we still have very competitive Online Advisor fees for Office 365. Resellers can enjoy 12 per cent of the first-year value of a sale and about four per cent recurring thereafter. Depending on the number of seats, there are accelerators to earn more, up to a total of 23 per cent."

Gibbons added that Microsoft does not currently have any details on if or when the channel can get its hands on its Surface Pro tablet device, despite calls from resellers to take the product out to the channel as soon as possible.