Microsoft WPC is no more - meet Microsoft Inspire

New name 'better represents what this event provides', Microsoft says

Microsoft has scrapped the Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) name, in favour of "Microsoft Inspire", which the vendor claims "better represents what this event provides".

WPC has been going in its current form since the early 2000s and is the global gathering for thousands of Microsoft partners, usually in North America. In recent years it has been held in Houston, Washington DC, Orlando and Toronto. Next year, it's due to return to Washington DC.

In a blog post, Microsoft's global channel chief Gavriella Schuster said that the new name, Microsoft Inspire, "will continue to be the great conference our partners have grown to love, but with a new name that reflects how Microsoft and our partner community inspire each other to innovate and deliver powerful new solutions to customers. The name Microsoft Inspire better represents what this event provides."

Schuster took the opportunity to talk up the progress she claims Microsoft has made in its partner community. Just yesterday Microsoft announced the availability of a number of free, or heavily discounted, Azure training courses.

Schuster said she is "humbled at the strength of our partner community" and added "together, we can create a powerful ripple effect that can be felt around the world".

"Just a year ago, we had 3,500 partners transacting through our Cloud Solution Provider programme. Today, that number is up over 20,000. We've also seen more partners transforming their businesses to take advantage of cloud opportunities by earning cloud competencies.

"In fact, the number of partners with a gold or silver cloud competency has increased 86 per cent year over year. What's more, partners are recognising the value of becoming an expert in multiple cloud solutions. Year on year we have seen a 53 per cent increase in the number of partners with three or more cloud competencies, positioning these partners as true leaders."

StuartFenton, CEO of Microsoft partner QuantiQ, welcomed the new name.

He told CRN: "WPC has always been the strongest and most useful of Microsoft's conferences where the tone and messaging from the top is loudest and most effective. The ability to engage Microsoft at every level and meet other partners with ease can be inspirational and transformational. The branding was always quite flat and the new brand, while perhaps a marketing exercise, works for me."