Microsoft Hopes To Tap Insider For Channel Chief Post

Microsoft

Sparks said he is working to finalize the appointment, which he pledged will be a sign of "Microsoft's continued enthusiasm and support of our investments in the channel."

"When you are looking at senior-level people, you have to take them out of something critical they are doing as well," Sparks said. "We have to make sure we do this right. Certainly we have made sure that continuity is a critical factor [as well as visibility in the marketplace."

Microsoft channel chief Rosa Garcia unexpectedly accepted a new position late Friday as general manager of Microsoft Spain.

Garcia, who is stepping aside after five months as general manager of partner sales and marketing, will accept her new position effective Aug. 1.

Sparks said the Aug. 1 date will allow Garcia to work closely with the new channel chief to ensure a smooth transition.

Garcia, a native of Madrid, said the top job at Microsoft's Spanish subsidiary was too great an opportunity to pass up. "After seven years working in the United States and learning a lot, it was a great opportunity to come back home to an opportunity that only happens once in a lifetime," she said.

Sparks stressed that Microsoft's commitment to solution providers is stronger than ever. He said he is confident solution providers will be impressed by new investments the software giant is making in the channel.

Sparks, however, conceded that Microsoft "has done a bad job of being really open with how much we consider the channel to be a core asset of Microsoft." He promised Microsoft will do a better job of communicating the importance of its solution provider channel.

"There is no other way for us to sell than the channel, and there is no other way for technology adoption and architecture and evangelism other than the channel. And that is a finite statement," he said.

Sparks said the recent Microsoft promotional mailings that pitch steep discounts on Windows XP and Office XP to SMB customers that buy from direct marketers CDW Computer Centers and PC Connection were misinterpreted by solution providers. "That was bad communication on our part," he said. "This is absolutely a promotion that all solution providers, local, across geographies and national in scope, can partake in.

"We are open to working with everyone," he added. "Unfortunately, it kind of raised something that is really not true in the market. ... It is a misperception in the market at the moment.

"We have the deepest, deepest commitment to the channel," said Sparks. "We will continue to have that. ... If nothing else we are all about creating great business opportunities for partners. At the end of the day, they are the people that deliver to the marketplace. We have no other sales force."