Microsoft, Cisco Get 'Special' Channel Champs Honors

That's because these two vendors garnered the three special awards granted as part of this year's CRN Channel Champions research study. Vendors appearing in at least three product categories were eligible for these awards. Those with the highest average scores in technical criteria, program and support criteria, and financial criteria were crowned as special champions.

Microsoft captured the highest average scores for program and sales support and financial criteria, but Cisco denied the software vendor the triple crown by walking away with top ratings overall for technical criteria. What's more, Cisco was a close second in program and support criteria.

It was the same story in financial criteria, in which solution providers rated their profitability potential associated with specific vendors' products. Microsoft took honors here, but Cisco finished close behind. Moreover, it was an extremely tight race in the technical category, where Hewlett-Packard edged out Microsoft to finish second behind Cisco.

Solution providers say they have seen a marked change in the way Microsoft has partnered with them over the past year.

"Of all partners I deal with, Microsoft is head and shoulders above the rest," said Bob Knott, president of Subject, Wills & Co., a Microsoft Gold solution provider based in Oak Brook, Ill. "They are making a more strategic impact in our business than other vendors. Other vendors aren't doing a bad job, it's just that Microsoft is really starting to get it with us."

He cited Microsoft's performance management initiative, which allows SMB customers to use the vendor's Business Scorecard Manager technology and Office suite to create a high-end tool at an affordable price.

"That's something Microsoft helped us put together and execute," Knott said.

Other solution providers say they, too, benefit from the fact that Microsoft doesn't have a service organization and therefore must rely on partners to sell and implement solutions.

Jim Simpson, president and CEO of MSI Systems Integrators, an Omaha, Neb., solution provider, said that Microsoft over a year ago began funding two of the his company's technology enablement centers.

"We have nine MSI Technology Enablement Centers. Two of those we've worked with Microsoft and call them Vision Centers," Simpson said. "They have given us some MDF to have their software available in those centers to do proof of concept, proof of technology."

While that has yielded new Microsoft services business for MSI, Simpson said not being able to participate in Microsoft product sales is a sticking point.

"[The] challenge with Microsoft is that unless you are a LAR, you can't participate directly in the product sale," he said. "So it's more of a services solutions play with someone else getting the product component. That's a challenge for us."

Cisco solution providers, too, said services, not products, add most to their bottom lines when partnering with the vendor.

Martin Gendell, principal at Apogee Technology Services, a Cisco and Microsoft solution provider in Alexandria, Va., said he wasn't surprised that Cisco won the highest average technical criteria award.

"That mirrors what we see in the market. Their technology is very sound," he said.

Still, Cisco's technical prowess may be a bit of overkill in the SMB market, and Gendell hopes Cisco will continue to focus more on refining its technology for this market.

"Sometimes the technology is so sound that it doesn't always meet the needs of SMB customers because it has a lot of features they are not willing to pay for," Gendell said.