Microsoft Pledges $500 Million In Channel Support

The investment will go toward partner marketing and support, technical sales readiness and engagement programs.

The news was announced Friday morning by Allison Watson, the newly named vice president of Microsoft's worldwide partner sales and marketing group. Watson steps into the role of Microsoft channel chief following Rosa Garcia, who moves on to be the general manager of Microsoft Spain.

The company says the investment is a 50 percent increase over last year's figure and is indicative of Microsoft's renewed emphasis on partner relationships and cooperation.

Executives say the $500 million dollar investment will begin in July 2003 and will roll out in several phases over the next two years. Among the new additions that will be funded by the money:

• About 20 percent of the money will go to an increase in field headcount, raising the number of partner account managers, partner technical specialists, and partner tele-sales representatives who work directly with partners and customers. It also includes a $4 million investment in training for partner account managers.
• Nearly 30 percent of the money will go to partner readiness programs, which will include new Web-based tools such as the eLearning Center to help in partner education and training.
• Additional funds will go to increasing partner support programs, including private newsgroups like the "Microsoft For Partners" newsgroups and phone support for partners worldwide. It will also include a new online chat called the "Online Concierge For Certified Partners" to let them communicate with technical support administrators and resources.
• Close to 3,000 Microsoft partners and more than 600 Microsoft executives from around the world are expected to attend this weekend's Fusion conference, which is being held in the Los Angeles Convention Center.