Central Region LAR Readiness Update - April Edition

Hello Central Region Partners!

The Central Region Managed Partner Team in partnership with the Readiness Team will use this BLOG to post Central Region and National Readiness events and resources.  With so many areas for you to find training opportunities, both in person and on-line, the Central Region Readiness team will provide updates on the readiness efforts happening within the region. Identifying the right resources for enablement is very important to us as we engage with our joint customers. 

*Please find the most recent update of MSFT Partner Readiness and visit the Central Region LAR Readiness Site for more information!

Readiness Focus Areas – Click on these Links

• Top H2 Priorities for Central Region
• Central Region LAR Readiness Opportunities
• National LAR Readiness Opportunities
• Self-Paced Training and Readiness Resources

 

For questions please reach out to your Microsoft LAR Contact.

Region LAR PAM Team:

• CDW:   Christina Carl; ccarl@microsoft.com (Midwest, Heartland), Tanya Cwiakala (tcwiaka@microsoft.com) (North Central, South Central)
• Dell:  Scott Riphenburg; scottrip@microsoft.com
• SHI:  Ed Citro; edcitro@microsoft.com
• SoftwareONE and Softmart:  Darryl Williams: darrylwil@microsoft.com
• Insight, Zones & En Pointe: Susan Turzinski: susanpet@microsoft.com
• Softchoice and PC Connection:  Lance Stovall:  lstovall@microsoft.com

 

Top H2 Priorities for Central Region – Enablement Opportunities

• Keep up with Net New EA Momentum – Customer Targets for EA Agreements and continue to position EAP/ECI Opportunities to your Customers.
• Maximize ALL of the True Up and EA Add-On Opportunities – Up Sell and Cross Sell Your Customers to help Close the Gap!  Customer Call Down Activity.
• Keep OTRRR as “Top of Mind” – Rigor and Execution on T-36. Keep Monetizing and Push to Get Renewals in early.  Engage the MSFT Teams Early and Often!
• New Select Business – Excellent money making opportunity in H2 – Leverage Select Empowerment through
  your MSFT Account Manager.
• Office 365 Promo – ALL EA Customers are a Targets

 

Central Region LAR Readiness Opportunities

• Central Region LAR Sales/Licensing Web Cast Series – Delivered by MSFT Sales SpecialistTeam
  • End of Year Selling Opportunities – Closing Out H2 – April 10^th and 15^th    
  • Windows Server 2012/Systems Center/ECI– April 24^th and 26^th
  • H2 Close Out – Selling Opportunities and MSFT Operational Excellence – May 1^st and 2^nd

*Invitations will be sent through the Central Region LAR PAM Team

**Dates and Topics are subject to change

LAR Enablement Toolkit

Microsoft Sales Data Repository for LAR Partners to help understand product positioning, customer focus and how to make “The Pitch” to our joint customers.

*Available through your Regional LAR PAM

 

 

National LAR Readiness Opportunities

 

FY13 Monthly LAR Sales and Licensing Synch	April  6th – SQL Server 2012 May  4th – Closing Q4	Licensing Sync Registration
Microsoft Worldwide Events Calendar	“Find  an Event Near You!”	Events Calendar Link
Windows Intune	“Manage  and Secure Your PCs & Mobile devices from the Cloud”	Webcast
All Products and Solutions	Microsoft  product pages, engineering guidance, trial software downloads, learning  paths, and much more	Microsoft product pages

March Product Training

 

In-Person Training, Live Webcasts, and Partner Calls

Connect with your local team
April 19	Central Region Partner Call
Microsoft Dynamics	Find classroom training for Dynamics products on PartnerSource
April 2	Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Enterprise Academy - Step 2: Level 200 Industry - Manufacturing
April 9	Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 Top 10 Demo Tools and Tips
April 11	Dynamics GP 2013 Web Client Installation and Configuration
April 15	Chalk talk on Development and Customization in Dynamics NAV 2013
April 16	Managing multi-forest infrastructure using Configuration Manager 2012
April 17	Microsoft Dynamics Road to Repeatability Call: April
April 24	Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011: Implementing Claims-Based Authentication and Internet-Facing Deployment (IFD)
April 24	Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace—position your organization to sell today the way people are looking to buy today!
April 25	Microsoft Dynamics CRM Service Update: User Interface new features
April 29	Chalk talk on troubleshooting Dynamics CRM IFD issues
April 30	Microsoft Dynamics CRM Applications on Windows 8 – Best Practices
Microsoft Lync Server
April 8	Practice Accelerator for Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Enterprise Voice
Microsoft Office & Office 365
April 4	Office 365 Technical Ignite: Introduction to Office 365
April 4	Microsoft Online Services Advisor Incentives Call
April 4	Chalk Talk for Office 365 : Plan and Configure Hybrid Coexistence
April 9	Microsoft Office 365 Momentum Workshop: Office 365 Rich Coexistence with Microsoft Exchange Server
April 15	Practice Accelerator for Microsoft Office 365
April 29	Practice Accelerator for Microsoft Office 365
Microsoft SharePoint
April 18	Chalk talk on SharePoint Server Architecture
April 22	The New App Model in SharePoint 2013
Microsoft SQL Server
April 5	Microsoft SQL Server 2012: AlwaysOn Fundamentals
April 8	Introduction to BIG DATA
April 11	ChalkTalk : Full Text Search Discussion
April 19	Microsoft SQL Server 2012: ColumnStore Index Deep Dive
April 22	Practice Accelerator for Business Intelligence
April 23	The New SharePoint : Overview for IT Pro
Microsoft System Center / Private Cloud
April 8	Practice Accelerator for Datacenter Consolidation & Migration
April 15	Practice Accelerator for Optimized Desktop
April 22	Practice Accelerator for Datacenter Management
Windows 8
April 4	Windows 8: Controlling Access with AppLocker
April 9	Windows 8: Lab #5 - Process Lifetime Management -C#
April 16	Windows 8: Lab #5 - Process Lifetime Management -JavaScript
April 18	Windows 8: Sideloading a Windows 8 App
April 23	Windows 8: Lab #6 - Settings and Preferences - C#
April 26	Chalk Talk for Desktop Deployment for Windows 8
April 29	Practice Accelerator Flexible Workstyle for Windows 8
April 30	Windows 8: Lab # 6: Settings and Preferences -JavaScript
Windows Azure
April 10	Connecting a Paas Application to an Iaas Application
April 10	Identity and Access Control in the Cloud with Windows Azure
April 11	Introduction to Windows Azure Virtual Machines
April 17	Chalk Talk : Q&A on Cost effective applications on Azure
April 17	Building and Publishing ASP.NET Applications with Windows Azure Web Sites and Visual Studio 2012
April 24	Debugging Applications in Windows Azure
April 25	Introduction to Windows Azure Virtual Machines (Linux)
Windows Server 2012
April 9	SMB Samurai Server Webcast Series: Web Application Platform
April 29	SMB Samurai Server Webcast Series: Virtual Desktop Infrastructure
April 30	How Domain Controller Cloning Works in Windows Server 2012

 

 

Self-Paced Training and Readiness Resources

• Gear Up - www.ms-gearup.com

Sales and Licensing Advisors	A single-page, downloadable reference providing  prescriptive conversational guidance concerning Microsoft products and  solutions
eToolkit	Online sales reference guide containing essential baseline  information of Microsoft products, sales, licensing and services.
LicenseWise	Provides comprehensive, up-to-date product and licensing  information to help simplify the creation of customized quote generation

• Important Readiness Resources

Training Hot Sheet – “U.S. Partner Training Hot Sheet – March 2013”

United States MS Partner Network – “Partner Learning Center” - On the first and third Friday of each  month, the U.S. Partner Team delivers a newsletter for U.S.-based members of  the Microsoft Partner Network.

Microsoft Learning Plans/Stay Informed – ”How to Stay Informed as a Microsoft U.S. Partner:  Email, Online, Social Media, and Blogs”

Partner Quick Reference Stay Informed – “No-cost and  low-cost options for training yourself and your organization about Microsoft  products and technologies”

MSFT Product Launch – “How to Prepare for Upcoming Microsoft Product Releases”

Sales Specialist + Tech Pre-sales  - Technical Sales Specialist site now  includes BI, Communications, CRM, ERP and Private Cloud/Virtualization

U.S. Partner Learning Portal  – “Features product-related content,  Connects partners to membership and support, and Provides timely  business-building opportunities”

 

• Microsoft Partner Network Self-Paced Training Options

Microsoft Products	Training Title - Link	Location
All	Microsoft Licensing Overview	Online
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012	Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Courses and Assessments	Online
Microsoft dynamics CRM 2011	Opening Keynote: Microsoft Dynamics AX Technical Conference 2011	Online
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011