Partners: Microsoft's Small Business Strategy Needs Clarity

"You have to look at how easily they're letting in new members. When a program like this gets too big, the value of saying Small Business Specialist gets smaller and smaller, because the partners aren't differentiated," said Jennifer Mazzanti, president of eMazzanti Technologies, Hoboken, N.J.

"I've noticed that a lot more people are using the SBSC designation, and from a marketing perspective, the more there are, the less impact the designation has," added Mazzanti.

Other partners disagree with the notion that the SBSC could eventually become an area of channel conflict. Matt Makowicz, president of Endeavor Technologies, a Somerset, N.J.-based solution provider, says the small business market is large enough that SBSC partners won't end up competing with each other anytime soon.

"There are so many businesses out there, you could have 50,000 small business specialists and the market still wouldn't be saturated," said Makowicz. "Having SBSC status is certainly isn't the only way partners can differentiate themselves. It will get to the point where it will be a requirement to do business with a small business customer."

Jeff Middleton, a small business consultant and founder of SBSMigration.com, says that in addition to giving partners an opportunity for better engagement with Microsoft's outbound team, the SBSC program allows partners that haven't achieved Certified or Gold status to be recognized as something more than a reseller.

However, Middleton adds that the SBS program doesn't necessarily drive skill sets or high value return, because Microsoft hasn't invested the same resources in SBSC as it has in Gold and Certified partners.

Black Warrior's Rue agrees that Microsoft needs to boost its investment in the SBSC, because unlike the vendor's other designations and certifications, there's a general lack of awareness of what SBSC solution providers can bring, even in the channel.

"People know what Gold and Certified means, but SBSC doesn't carry the same cachet. The value proposition of the SBSC logo needs a bump from Microsoft, both in the marketplace and with consumers," Rue said.

That's part of the plan, says Ligman, noting that Microsoft will spend $2 billion in FY2008 on partner training and support, a healthy portion of which will trickle down to the SBSC program.

Vlad Mazek, a Microsoft Exchange MVP and Small Business Specialist based in Orlando, Fla., says Microsoft's efforts to raise the profile of the SBSC designation are paying off in the form of higher levels of expertise in the other levels of its channel program.

"I think the progression will be that successful SBSC members will emerge into the higher levels of the program. The long term picture is that SBSC establishes a baseline from which you can grow even if you're a one-person shop," said Mazek.