Allison Watson On The New And Improved Microsoft

VB: What was the state of Microsoft's indirect sales when you took over as channel chief two years ago?

Watson: When I took over, the partnering business at Microsoft was at a historical, all-time low. Our partners really couldn't get help to run the Microsoft businesses that they had for the previous decade. We were slow and confused in our ability to respond to any request that came in from a partner. Our field and corporate headquarters teams were not compensated or given goals around making the partner business run well.

VB: When did it start to change?

Watson: It all came together in a single moment with a story from a partner named Frank Fernandez. He wrote a compelling e-mail, a simple e-mail, that said, "Hey, Microsoft, I'm trying to do a deal and I need help." And it's a story of bounced phone calls to different field offices and 1-800 numbers and beyond. And it was a fairly long attempt by a very faithful partner to win that business, and it resulted in an eventual loss of that key customer. That e-mail circulated through Microsoft, and we used it as a defining moment to form the vision for the new partner program that we are rolling out this year. We created an internal campaign called "Working on Behalf of Frank Fernandez." So we collected stories and feedback from thousands of other partners, and decided we needed a common framework for our partners. We introduced the concept of aligning all our investments into one partner business cycle. We upped our investment in the channel and then, with Steve Ballmer's support, instituted an executive compensation plan that allowed every business inside Microsoft to contribute to the channel's success.

VB: What was the hardest task for you in transforming Microsoft's channel business and partner program?

Watson: There were two challenges to reworking the channel business and forming one partner program framework for the entire company. The first was our field sales organization, and the second was our internal product groups. The field organization was easier because they were so incredibly passionate from the beginning. This is where the birth of the Microsoft partner "competencies" occurred.

VB: Was there a moment or an event that occurred when you felt like the new strategy had gelled and partners were getting the vision?

Watson: Absolutely, yes. It was our partner conference in Toronto this summer. I thought the best-case scenario would be that partners would tell us they believed us but they were still taking a wait-and-see approach to the program and strategy.