If you’re a Microsoft partner but not a Tech Data partner, it’s likely you’re starting to feel under the pump right around now. Even a little hot under the collar as a range of critical Microsoft NCE (New Commerce Experience) deadlines approach, and you are at risk of missing them because you don’t understand the ramifications. And perhaps a bit insecure as you see other Microsoft partners go out and conquer the new NCE challenges with knowledge and confidence.
It’s not a great way to feel, which is why we’ve taken a very proactive approach to empower our partners with everything they need to know to make the most of Microsoft NCE.
We’re your competitive advantage
Tech Data is one of the world’s leading cloud providers. And we take our responsibility to our partners and their customers very seriously. That’s why we’ve gone out of our way (and perhaps even gone a little overboard) to make sure all our partners are equipped to talk about and do business under Microsoft’s game changing NCE. And to enable their customers to leverage the opportunities it offers to save – if they act now.
We jumped into action from the very first day Microsoft announced their New Commerce Experience. Why? The NCE changes are significant, and it’s important that partners understand them so they can ‘do right’ by their customers and their own businesses.
So, what have we done to make doing NCE business more straightforward for our partners?
We’ve dissected and demystified NCE
First up, we’ve trained our internal Microsoft team, so they not only understand NCE, but can explain the commercial and licensing intricacies to our partner community.
We’ve developed plain-language information, focussing on clearly explaining the changes, why they’ve happened, what you need to do – and by when - to get the best outcome for your business and your customers.
We’ve published this content on our website and shared it as blogs and thought leadership articles. And we’ve made sure to focus on timelines, so our partners know the do-or-die dates upfront. You can check out some of this content here, here, and here.
We’ve delivered educational webinars (months before anyone else, we might add!) to take our partners through the changes and share information through ‘ask the experts’ question and answer sessions. In fact, we presented our first ‘how to webinar’ just a week and a half after NCE was officially announced. So, while some other distribution partners are only now delivering their first webinars, and some are still stalled at the gate, we’re well underway. Our webinar initiative has played a critical role in equipping our partners to answer both the hard and the easy questions posed by their Microsoft customers and help them take financial advantage of the limited time seat-based offers and more. And just quietly, we’ve even had Microsoft employees sit in on our explainer webinars.
And lastly, we’ve launched our own online, module based NCE training courses. We’ve developed and produced these courses at Tech Data (we even did the voiceovers!). They cover everything from why NCE was introduced, what it changes, the new purchasing options, driving growth, the timelines, understanding the risks and benefits and more! We even offer official training badges to partners who complete all modules.
But if you’re not a Tech Data partner, don’t despair – we will be making the training available to everyone (even our competitors) through our YouTube channel in a couple of months.
Knowledge is power – get yours here
It’s true that we have a vested interest in your success with Microsoft NCE. However, the bottom line is that if you don’t succeed, then neither do we.
If you have to front up to a customer and feel ill-prepared to answer their concerns, or provide smart, strategic advice on new licensing, then you’re on the back foot from the outset. And your lack of knowledge offers an opportunity for another better-prepared and ambitious partner to get a foot in the customer’s door and then close it firmly in your face. (Which is pretty damned annoying given all the years and effort you’ve likely committed to your customer relationships).
Here at Tech Data, we’re proud to invest in our relationships – with our suppliers and our partners. We like to lead by example, and we’re prepared to put in the time and effort to help you succeed.
We’re NCE like that.