Microsoft Partner Program – please read on for partner competency updates....

Please find some useful information on the recent Microsoft Partner Programme competency updates launched 30^th May 08. As well as updates to existing competencies there are also three new competencies. Please look through the below to see which apply to you – at the bottom of this post you will find some guidance we have put together on how these updates may affect you.

New Competency Updates

Business Intelligence - For partners adopting the Microsoft Business Intelligence (BI) end-to-end strategy – covering Performance Management and BI Platform (SQL). Two existing specialisations are merging together to form the new Business Intelligence competency - Business Intelligence Platform specialisation & Performance Management specialisation.

Unified Communications - For partners offering solutions based on Microsoft’s unified communications technologies, including Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft Office Communications Server.This new competency is being created by transitioning and updating the requirements of two existing specialisations and adding a third: Instant Messaging (IM) and Presence specialisation, Messaging specialisation, and NEW Voice specialisation.

Hosting - The new Hosting Solutions competency is being created through transitioning the Hosting Solutions specialisation within the Advanced Infrastructure Solutions competency to the Hosting Solutions competency.

Updates to Competencies

Business Process & Integration - Microsoft is changing the name of the Business Process and Integration competency to the SOA and Business Process competency. By renaming the competency is aligned closely to the manner in which the marketplace and customers think about these capabilities.

Microsoft Business Solutions - Microsoft is reducing the exam requirements necessary in order to more closely match the business requirements of a partner's Solution Provider Agreement (SPA) and CRM Software Advisor (CSA) agreements. In addition, the SPA and CRM requirements are also changing.

Guidance on how these new competencies affect partners

• You will be automatically migrated to the new competencies if you were part of the former specialisations.
• The next time you sign into the Microsoft Partner Programme after May 30, your membership status will reflect the change.
• You will retain access to most of the resources you held in their current specialisations until your anniversary date.
• If re-enrolling in the Unified Communications competency after May 30, 2008, you will need to meet the updated exam requirements for the IM and Presence and/or Messaging specialisations.
• If re-enrolling in the Hosting Solutions competency after May 30, 2008, you will need to employ or contract with two people who have passed Exam 70-501: Windows Server® 2003 Hosted Environments – Configuring and Managing, in addition to the existing requirements for the current Hosting Solutions specialisation.