Tech Journal Microsoft Inspire: A Showcase for Success Within Today’s Cloud Marketplace
By Elliott Baretz / 18 Sep 2019 / Topics: Microsoft Azure
By Elliott Baretz / 18 Sep 2019 / Topics: Microsoft Azure
Along the way, they have recast their partner ecosystem so that it can more effectively service today’s cloud-first marketplace. In a blog post from February by Microsoft Corporate VP, One Commercial Partner (OCP), Gavriella Schuster indicates that the number of partners transacting through their Cloud Solution Provider program (CSP) has increased to 52 percent, serving more than 2 million customers. To be sure, these impressive numbers represent just the beginning of a new chapter in the Microsoft OCP story -- one that was highlighted during this year’s recent Microsoft Inspire Conference.
Inspire is Microsoft’s annual conference for its partner community.
At Inspire, partners learn about Microsoft’s roadmap for the upcoming year, share best practices and experience the latest product innovations. This year, Inspire was no exception.
Microsoft’s thought leadership in partner-deployed cloud services was on full display, with an invigorated focus on building a fully integrated, Microsoft-supported partner ecosystem. There were updates surrounding the Azure migration motion that showed Microsoft’s continued attention to increasing reach and growing capabilities within the cloud. They also announced the general availability of Microsoft security competency’s five new advanced specializations that, according to Microsoft’s announcement, will allow partners to demonstrate deep knowledge, extensive experience and proven success in implementing their capabilities beyond a gold competency level.
The number of partners transacting through their Cloud Service Provider (CSP) program has increased to 52 percent.
Microsoft also launched the Azure Migration program to assist with common risks and issues that many partners face when migrating workloads to the Azure cloud platform. Moreover, Microsoft has introduced two additional programs: Azure AI Accelerate, to empower partners to more quickly bring AI solutions to market, and Azure Lighthouse, which enables partners to view, manage and deliver differentiated Azure managed services at scale, across all customers.
The partner-deployed solutions within Azure are a beneficial move for both Microsoft and its customers.
Azure Lighthouse stands apart as “the first time Microsoft has architected a solution at this scale with partners and for partners,” according to one Microsoft ISV in the annual Inspire press release. This renewed focus on partner-deployed solutions within the Azure infrastructure is a beneficial move both for Microsoft and its customers.
Microsoft is placing an increased emphasis on building a cloud environment that is easy to provision and migrate, and encourages continued innovation and growth supported by the Azure cloud infrastructure. This revitalized commitment to partners and the environments they operate in benefits customers by increasing the number of options available for maximizing their investments made in Azure.
As Microsoft continues to expand its commitment to the cloud, Insight is keeping up, featuring a number of powerful innovations within our cloud marketplace. A one-stop, subscription marketplace for clients to acquire and manage their Microsoft Azure and 365 portfolios, the platform is now also introducing solutions and services from other Microsoft partners.
This is amazing news for existing and future Insight clients who need both infrastructure-as-a-service and software-as-a-service solutions for small, medium and enterprise-class businesses, all acquired and managed through a single point. This speeds up critical decision making by allowing business owners to better understand their overall cloud usage and consumption.
Beyond the enhanced marketplace functions, Insight also provides cloud-based monitoring capabilities. Azure charges for services based on consumption, similar to the pricing model of utilities such as water or electricity. This pay-as-you-go pricing model, coupled with easy acquisition and management of complementary services, allows each Insight client to save on the capital that would have been required for more traditional “on-premise” alternatives. Insight's added monitoring functionality allows clients to protect their financial gains by helping them monitor and manage consumption workloads at a granular level – preventing overage or rogue spending.
As the cloud marketplace continues to grow along with the evolution of Microsoft’s partners, it is the client who stands to gain the most. At Insight, we stand committed to leading the way during this new era, helping our clients transform, grow and succeed.
Former National Director of Microsoft Business (2019–2022), Insight
Over the last twenty years, Elliott has had an accomplished career within the technology sector; particularly within the Microsoft ecosystem. As a sales and marketing executive, he’s led global, national and local teams with great success — leading to company and industry recognition such as the MC/Icon Award, the Communicator Award and the Business Marketing Association Tower Award.
