So, Microsoft changes the name of its partner program and then jettisons its leader, Allison Watson, in favor of Jonathan Roskill. For serial e-mailer and RCPU legend Peter, things could be going better with the new Microsoft Partner Network:
"I thought it was time to look at renewing our partnership agreement, so I logged onto our Microsoft partner space. Even though we have seen no measurable value from participating in the Microsoft Partner Program as a Certified (certifiable?) Member, I thought we'd hang in there!
I was quite stunned to find that all our historical Microsoft client reference information has been deleted by Microsoft. It's like we never existed. I spoke to some support girl in the Philippines who basically said there's no way to get it back. It's Microsoft policy. Bad luck.
All our people's certifications have expired, too (sure, we knew this was coming, but it's still a shock when it happens).
I have been unable to figure out who is running the certification training, although there are probably several outfits that provide some kind of training services. The Philippines girl said, 'Your people just have to sit the new exams, and everything will be good.'
So, the bottom line is, even thought we are experts in our discipline, we are not qualified to re-enroll in the Microsoft Network Program (or whatever it's called this week). I feel like we've been totally wiped out for no good reason.
So, good luck to Roskill sorting out this mess..."
You know, Peter, it's funny. We've heard more negative whispers about the MPP -- sorry, MPN -- since the Worldwide Partner Conference than we'd heard in a really long time before that. That's obviously not an indictment of Mr. Roskill, who is just getting started in his role. But the whole change to MPN from MPP, the shifting of classifications, Microsoft's cloud arm-twisting and maybe even the departure of Allison Watson seem to have made people nervous, if not a big aggravated. Let us know how things play out. The Partner Network has always been a strength for Microsoft; the company can ill afford to let it slide.
Posted by Lee Pender on 08/12/2010 at 1:23 PM0 comments
(Imagine the voice of one of those monster-truck commercial announcers.) Tuesday, TUESDAY, Tuesday! It's Microsoft's biggest Patch Tuesday (deep, guttural voice here) EVER! Redmond is revving up six important patches and eight (loud emphasis) CRITICAL PATCHES. You've never seen anything like this! Fourteen huge patches fixing (echo effect) 34 vulnerabilities! That's Tuesday, August 10, at the DCU Center in Worcester! Get your tickets now online or by calling...
Sorry, I got carried away there. Anyway, big Patch Tuesday tomorrow.
Posted by Lee Pender on 08/09/2010 at 1:23 PM1 comments
Not since John Hinckley took a shot at President Reagan in 1981 has Jodie Foster been at the epicenter of such scandal... Wait, what? It's not Jodie Foster? It's Jodie Fisher? Oh, she's Pam from The Office, right? No, that's Jenna Fischer? Well, who on earth is this Jodie Fisher, then?
As you probably know by now, she's the woman who accused ex-HP CEO Mark Hurd of sexual harassment, even though there evidently was no sexual harassment (according to HP) --or even any sex (according to Fisher). (There was, however, a settlement between Hurd and Fisher.)
Fisher, who had roles in such classic films as Intimate Obsession and Body of Influence, was just employed by HP to meet and greet CEOs...or something like that. For some reason, though, Hurd evidently found it necessary to keep his relationship (such as it was) with Fisher a secret -- going so far as to fudge expense reports in the process. (Really, Mark? Expense reports? That is such an amateur move. It's very mailroom of you, if there are mailrooms in companies anymore. Couldn't you have come up with something more creative? Honestly...)
For her part, Fisher just feels awful about the whole thing and says that she never meant to get Hurd fired. (Draw your own conclusions as to what she wanted the result of her sexual-harassment claim to be if it didn't have anything to do with Hurd losing his job.) Hurd is, no doubt, somewhat nonplussed about the situation, and HP isn't feeling so great either -- at least in a financial sense.
So, with the scandal mostly done and dusted, and Hurd headed down to the local unemployment office, who can pick up the pieces and put HP back together again? Speculation is rampant, but RCPU has one answer: Your editor -- Me. Lee Pender.
Oh, yes. I'm the man for HP. Sure, I've never been a CEO, but I've got all the qualifications HP is looking for. For instance, I...
- Am not Carly Fiorina, and that's still the No. 1 pre-requisite for becoming HP CEO, as far as I can tell
- Don't watch reality TV or movies with names like Intimate Obsession and didn't know who Jodie Fisher was until this morning (hey, I took Friday off last week)
- Don't fake expense reports (in part because I don't really travel for business anymore, but still...)
- Have never been accused of sexual harassment (although I hope that I'm not tempting fate by typing that)
- Am accustomed to working for organizations that mostly go by initials only (CRN, CIO, RCP, RCPU... I even went to school at TCU and married at PhD from BC)
- Don't have a degree beyond BS (make your own joke here) but am married to a PhD, as mentioned above
- Have owned several HP printers
- Am willing to live in California, although I'd prefer Southern to Northern (but that's negotiable, maybe)
Hey, HP, what's the worst that could happen? Your stock price might tank? Already happening. I could be completely incompetent as CEO? Highly likely, but at least I wouldn't bring (much) scandal to the office or, as mentioned before, be Carly Fiorina. I could create brand confusion by changing the name of the company from HP to LP? Hang on, I've revealed too much...
On second thought, though, my work here at RCPU is probably too important for me to abandon. What would our readers do without this kind of hard-hitting, insightful commentary hitting their in-boxes three times per week? So, HP, I am entering, and then immediately withdrawing, my candidacy to become your next CEO. However, if you want to discuss a multi-million-dollar consulting deal with me, you can reach me, as always, at [email protected].
Who do you think the next CEO of HP should be? Should it be you? Make your case at [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on 08/09/2010 at 1:23 PM3 comments
Let's see here... "Streamlining communications," "standards-based unified communications products," "a broad base of hardware and software products..." Yeah, it's the standard UC drivel. But there is some news here: Polycom is going to develop UC applications for Microsoft Communications Server 14 (and beyond!).
Posted by Lee Pender on 08/09/2010 at 1:23 PM0 comments
In the tablet and smart phone era, the old-school desktop lives. HP came out with a new one this week, the HP Pro 3130. At $569 and loaded with features and storage, it's a solid option for smaller companies looking to upgrade from decade-old machines.
It's content creation that keeps desktops alive and kicking in a world of tiny, content-consumption devices, says Kirk Godkin, manager, Americas Business PCs, at HP.
"The way desktops remain relevant is you need devices for content creation," Godkin told RCPU in a phone chat recently. "What we will continue to see is that the client in those infrastructures will continue to be a desktop. When we compare this 3130 to a five-year-old PC, it's going to generate 350 percent faster than your old PC. If you're running XP, you're running a PC that's eight years old. Eight years ago, we were walking around with pagers."
Posted by Lee Pender on 08/04/2010 at 1:23 PM0 comments
As the leaves fall and the college football season starts to get serious, Office for Mac 2011 will arrive. We can't wait -- for the leaves and the football, that is. Your editor doesn't have a Mac (anymore).
Posted by Lee Pender on 08/04/2010 at 1:23 PM0 comments
For nearly a decade, the Microsoft Partner Program, as it was known, was synonymous with Allison Watson, its popular and accomplished leader. Then, right before this year's Worldwide Partner Conference, Microsoft moved Watson out of her post.
With just one week to prepare for the WPC, Watson's replacement, Jonathan Roskill, was suddenly on stage last month in Washington, D.C., serving as the new face of what is now the Microsoft Partner Network and attempting to calm the fears of many members of Microsoft's massive channel.
How well did he do? It's still too early to say. But there's no question that as Microsoft reshapes its partner program and transitions (or, in some cases, drags) partners toward the cloud, Roskill will face what might be the most daunting on-the-job training of his career. With 600,000-plus members, the Microsoft Partner Network effectively represents Microsoft's sales force, and there is grumbling within the ranks about some of Redmond's recent changes and proclamations. Â
In the August issue of RCP the magazine, Scott Bekker and Jeff Schwartz look at the biggest challenges facing Roskill, how he can manage them and what partners should expect from him. The transitioning MPN and cloud technologies figure heavily into the list, as you might imagine.
Microsoft generally has a pretty good track record of appointing executives, and big changes in leadership are not at all unusual in the company. That's part of the reason why Watson's tenure -- a relatively lengthy eight years -- and her departure were both something of a surprise.
She had the opportunity to get settled into a position as few Microsoft honchos can, and her shift away from the MPN has left Roskill with a tough act to follow. In fact, he'll have to lead, not follow, if he's going to succeed in his new post. The old warning about living in "interesting times" seems very appropriate right now. We'll have to see just how interesting things get for partners and for Roskill.
What's your take on new leadership in the MPN? Send it to [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on 08/04/2010 at 1:23 PM0 comments
Redmond is hoping that this version will be a little more complete than the last and that folks will take it a little more seriously than they've taken security offerings from Microsoft in the past.
Posted by Lee Pender on 07/22/2010 at 1:23 PM0 comments
Apparently Active Directory isn't automating everything it should be automating, at least according to one survey. Maybe it's just taking the summer off...
Posted by Lee Pender on 07/22/2010 at 1:23 PM0 comments
That USB vulnerability that Microsoft hasn't yet patched is actually turning out to be a pretty big deal.
That's because malware isn't just for PCs and servers anymore. This worm is hitting big control systems that are critical parts of companies' infrastructures, and this week it nailed German electronics giant Siemens and caused all kinds of trouble. (In an interesting little side note, apparently the password for the Siemens system the malware struck has been available on the Internet for years. Wow, who knew that would ever lead to a problem?)
Up-to-date antivirus software should catch and remedy the vulnerability, apparently, but Microsoft is still working on a patch to fix the hole. In the meantime, Redmond has dropped a little "fix-it" workaround that's...well, a bit severe. In fact, it makes Windows darn near impossible to use. (Open source and Mac fans, hold your jokes please -- or send them to [email protected] if you're so inclined.)
Thus far, Asia seems to have borne the brunt of the problems related to this nasty little industrial worm. We don't have much more to say about it other than that it's a real mess for some folks and that we hope that you won't have to deal with it. Oh, and Microsoft -- please hurry up with that patch.
Posted by Lee Pender on 07/22/2010 at 1:23 PM0 comments
Dear Readers,Â
As most (maybe all) of you probably know by now, I am a complete buffoon when it comes to using Microsoft Outlook. I recently sent many of you an e-mail about a story I'm working on. Unfortunately, this was my first attempt (ever!) at a mass e-mail, and I thoroughly botched it. When I sent the mail, I put your addresses in the "To" line. That, I have learned, was a huge mistake. I now understand the importance of the "Bcc" line in Outlook. I don't plan on sending any more mass e-mails, but I will keep this in mind for the future.
On the plus side, you all know each other now (sort of), and I've connected with some readers I haven't heard from in ages. I doubt that anyone who received my mail will forget me anytime soon. (Is it really true that there's no such thing as bad publicity? BP should be on the phone trying to recruit me anytime now.) Plus, I've already had some excellent responses to my request for stories about software audit nightmares. (Send your tales to [email protected]. I promise not to copy them to anybody else.) I really, sincerely apologize for my ridiculous (but honest) screw up, and I hope that I haven't caused you any problems. Please continue to communicate with me -- I am now wise in the ways of e-mail and will not be a nuisance again.
Thanks,
Lee  Â
Posted by Lee Pender on 07/22/2010 at 1:23 PM2 comments
Microsoft got the loot years ago. By establishing Windows as the dominant operating system for both consumers and the enterprise, Redmond effectively locked the vast majority of users into its technology and has never really let go.
That hasn't been the case for mobile technology, obviously. Microsoft's mobile platform might have the word "Windows" in it, but that label doesn't carry much weight when it's floating around in somebody's pocket as opposed to running a PC or server.
This week, Microsoft said that Windows Phone 7, its fairly desperate attempt to achieve relevance in the mobile market, has reached technical preview stage. That means that developers and reviewers are receiving prototypes of devices running the operating system. Thus far, reviews have been mixed. Some have been more positive than others, and most have acknowledged that Microsoft is, at least, trying to start afresh in the mobile-OS game.
Not everybody is on board with that view, though. We don't often link to InfoWorld here, but we couldn't help but notice that a reviewer there ripped into Windows Phone 7 like a cheetah tearing open the guts of a gazelle.
Still, InfoWorld is a bit of an outlier in this case. Most experts seem to think that Windows Phone 7 is OK, maybe not half bad. And that's the problem. Pretty much every observer outside of Redmond says that Microsoft is still behind Google and Apple in terms of mobile functionality. Plus, Microsoft is now in the relatively unfamiliar position of having to play as an underdog in a hypercompetitive market.
Thus far, nobody has indicated that Windows Phone 7 is anything close to the type of revolutionary, eye-grabbing, can't-resist monster that Microsoft needs it to be if the company is going to go for mobile gold. The new platform is...alright, nothing more. And that likely won't be enough to pull Microsoft very far up the mobile standings.
Windows 7 might not be a disaster, but it is an example of the type of company Microsoft really is. It's an enterprise-focused company that struggles mightily with consumer innovation. It's entering a market that moves at hyper speed with an OS that's already behind everybody else's. And it's mostly incapable of using pure technology to seriously penetrate markets it doesn't already dominate. Microsoft is a PC company in a smart-phone world, metaphorically speaking. For now, that's OK -- especially for partners. (After all, IBM still sells mainframes.)
But if Microsoft wants to be a mobile player, it's going to have to figure out how to be a few things it has never been outside of its core product areas -- innovative, cool and ahead of the competition. Windows Phone 7, while an improvement over Windows Mobile, isn't the first step in that journey. It's more like speeding up a treadmill than actually moving forward.
What's your take on the future of Microsoft's mobile business? What good reason can you think of for buying a Windows Phone 7 phone? Send your thoughts to [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on 07/21/2010 at 1:23 PM15 comments