To formulate a business strategy that will help to increase the mindshare of enterprise partners group : Microsoft India Ltd., Bangalore

Abstract

Microsoft is the "messiah" of the software ecosystem, Microsoft-ism as a religion has a worldwide acceptance, Microsoft has grown very fast, experiencing a growth of II % over last year creating a massive amount of network effect among its users. One of the secrets to Micr0soft's success is its early realization that it can drive demand for its products by creating a community of closely knitted third party vendors who will build hardware and software for Microsoft OSs and applications. By sharing technical know-how and resources with partners, Microsoft ensures that customer needs are efficiently met. A Whopping 96% of the Microsoft business is done through partners, Even among customers to whom it sells directly - typically the large enterprises the company relies heavily on partners to make the sale and to provide the after-sale services. Partners being a very important piece of the Microsoft ecospace, holds a great share in the organization's strategic moves, Great leadership and a strong, agile organization arc very essential to Microsoft's future success, It is important to evangelize partners to obtain a greater pie of their mindshare, With the ever growing competition, partner recruitment and enablement are the most important avenues that Microsoft has to step upon. Microsoft is positioned in the topmost quadrant in the roc Leadership Grid for Independent Software Vendor Program2 Currently its major competitors are IBM, Sun, Oracle and HP. IT infrastructure plays the role of a powerful business enabler in an emerging economy. It helps to improve an organization's business processes, helps to focus on the organization's goals and helps to serve their customers better and faster. Issues like scalability, availability, reliability and changing technologies makes the choice of the right IT infrastructure a major challenge. Getting the best products/technology and the best service providers helps to reduce the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). Partners serve this ultra-important task by providing instant support and customizability to the end customers. Pal1ners benefit from the recognition and support that Microsoft offers, Microsoft indulge. Itself in opportunity identification and partner enablement heavily. Strong, reliable and trusted partners help to find ways to reduce cost and maximize the potential of Microsoft technologies. The total revenue derived from Microsoft Partnership Programs has grown at 17% over the last year, also there has been a worldwide increase in server and tools revenue by 15% over the last year