What I've Learned? Microsoft's Massive SMC Partner Business?

Welcoming Susan Tommy's Corner

Ultimate Guide to Partnering? ?welcomes?Susan Tommy , an Alliances Leader, and avid student, with a fresh perspective on "Successful Partnering" Susan shares her learnings and what she has learned in this weekly corner which will become part of our weekly newsletter.

What I've Learned from Episode 178 - Unleashing Partner Business Growth with Microsoft's President of SMC & Digital.

In this Ultimate Guide to Partnering episode, you will meet fellow Canadian, Kevin Peesker , President of Worldwide SMC and Digital Sales at Microsoft.

Microsoft’s Small, Medium, Corporate (SMC), and Digital team is comprised of 7,000 people that are responsible for 90% of Microsoft’s customers, representing $60B USD in revenue. Microsoft’s SMC ecosystem of 90,000+ partners is critical to help drive growth and innovation for small and medium-sized businesses.?

Microsoft’s sales teams are aligned and structured to serve each customer segment and deliver value at scale. The Enterprise team serves the largest and most complex customers (~11,000), while the SMC and SMB teams address small and mid-sized customers' unique needs.

To ‘think global and act local,’ Kevin’s team leverages digital programs and resources to ensure local impact when helping customers with digital transformations.?In addition, the SMC team has aligned digital sales, go-to-market, sales, and partner teams from end to end.?As a partner located anywhere in the world, you will have a breadth of Microsoft resources and a consistent approach to bringing solutions to customers. ?

Throughout his 30 years in the tech industry, Kevin has seen many economic highs and lows.?He notes that post-pandemic, there has never been a greater need for businesses to embrace technology to drive agility and pivot to changing market conditions.?He has seen accelerated digital transformation across all industries as more C-level executives want to know how technology can create more efficiencies to meet customer needs.

Moore’s Law refers to the observation that the number of transistors on a microchip double roughly every two years, resulting in a rapid increase in computing power and a decrease in the cost of technology.?This framework helps understand how rapid advancements in Cloud and AI disrupt the business world and create opportunities for Microsoft partners with specific capabilities and expertise to create value for customers.

Finally, Kevin shares what he has seen from the best partners time and time again.?Microsoft partners that know who they are, and what they do well, and build long-term customer relationships thrive post-pandemic.?

Listen to this episode here or read the transcript here.

SUSAN’s NOTES

Overview of SMC + Digital Team

WW SMC + Digital Sales = 7000 ees (partner-led, partner assisted); $60B in revenue; 90% of customers WW- digital-first approach

-???????90K partner orgs

-???????Leverage tech, global reach, and local impact -> digital transformation

-???????ENT = 11K globally (public sector; F100 corporate customers)

GTM + Sales for SMC = Small, Midsized, Corporate accounts, (Lower Enterprise, MM, SMB)

-???????Purpose focused, everyone to achieve more

SMC GTM strategy

-???????Re-org, realignment in all geographies to serve customers

-???????SMC with global lens -> country, digital sales and marketing, partner ecosystem for GTM end to end

-???????Geos -> segments….GTM motions are the same no matter where you are; soln areas MW, Azure, BApps (best ways to GTM/solution plays), corporate and SMB to GTM with each solution area.

How to prepare for rapid transformation

-???????Perspective; lots of things changing; Moore’s Law

-???????Highs and lows, change to how we work; demand for technology moving to cloud timelines accelerated

-???????Inflation, energy, impact more industries -> expansion, now have to adjust; happiness, grief can transform the mind. Learning and progress are made.

-???????Companies that embrace the cloud, and built capabilities – came out ahead/leadership

-???????Expertise in high demand globally….AI (hype to reality) – next wave of innovation

What are customers saying?

-???????YP – Young President's org in Chicago, 120+ CEOs

-???????AI and impact on their businesses CIO, Digital -> customer level CEOs to understand technology in operational efficiencies

-???????Innovate or get left behind

Types of Microsoft Partners Impact

1.??GSIs – specializations/industries

2.?National Partners – customer outcomes

3.?Small – data, security, MW – be specific

4.?Large distributors – whole tech stack

Microsoft is adaptive to different types of partners -> helping with digital assets – how to get info and win together.

Partner Centre, MP -> help to engage with MSFT sales

-???????GTM how to serve; Azure Infa, certifications/Azure -> trust and alignment – show us how you do it

Four Things the Best Partners Do!

1.??Think about long-term value for customers

2.?Know who they are, what they do, and what they want to be.?Don’t have to be all things (what makes you stand out) -> what is changing post-pandemic. Those with unique differentiators are thriving

3.?Think about how to succeed for today and the future -> companies come and go, -> agility is needed to do more with less

4.?Embodies values, respect, integrity, and accountability -> trust

How to work with Microsoft – align with Nicole Denzen’s team

-???????managed partners have a dedicated PDM

-???????Advice -> do the best job you can do at any job; understand what you want to do; resilience

-???????Cloud -> Cdn team figured it out early; rapidly upskilling

You can also watch this episode on YouTube

On becoming “The Ultimate Partner”

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