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Microsoft Announces Increased Support and Services

Posted on: Sunday, 11 July 2004, 06:00 CDT

TORONTO, July 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Today at Microsoft(R) Worldwide Partner Conference 2004, Rick Devenuti, corporate vice president of Microsoft Services and IT at Microsoft Corp. , announced the launch of Microsoft Services Partner Advantage, the newest global service offering for industry partners. Designed to meet the unique service needs of the Microsoft partner community, the Microsoft Services Partner Advantage offering provides scalable and customized support plans including direct access to Microsoft tools and internal resources that enable partners to efficiently develop on, deploy and support Microsoft products and technologies.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO )

To provide Microsoft partners with more predictable and consistent support, the Microsoft Services Partner Advantage offering includes a suite of support, consulting and development services designed to meet the technological and budgetary needs of partners currently registered with the Microsoft Partner Program, ultimately supporting them in driving more value for their customers. Microsoft Services Partner Advantage will be offered in phased global availability and in three cost-effective plans for registered partners:

-- Microsoft Services Partner Advantage Standard Plan is a prepackaged

service option that is coordinated by a pooled team of phone-based

services resources and offers online resources, problem resolution

support and proactive services designed to cover a partner's

foundational support needs.

-- Microsoft Services Partner Advantage Plus Plan is a more inclusive,

customizable service option designed to meet a partner's comprehensive

support needs. It includes proactive consulting services, workshops,

problem resolution support, service delivery planning and online

resources -- all managed by a designated services resource.

-- Microsoft Services Partner Advantage Business Solutions Plan is a

Microsoft Services Partner Advantage offering exclusively created to

serve the individual needs of Microsoft Business Solutions partners

located in the United States and Canada. This fixed-price, prepackaged

service plan offers designated Microsoft Business Solutions services

account management with in-depth experience, technical services

advisory hours, loyalty and support usage reports, and access to the

Microsoft Business Solutions Consultant Resource Center, in addition to

training and technical support benefits with a guaranteed response

time.

"The goal of the Microsoft Services Partner Advantage offering is to strengthen partner advocacy within Microsoft, creating open channels of communication between partners and Microsoft technical experts," Devenuti said. "Our goal is to support our partners in order to drive more value to customers."

"By leveraging Microsoft Services Partner Advantage support benefits, Capgemini has a direct line to Microsoft that helped us increase our overall service to customers throughout the entire cycle from sales to deployment," said Deanne Handron, global alliance executive of Capgemini. "And with the existing partner support offerings, including Presales Technical Support, we receive a service that offers technical expertise, product know-how and competitive intelligence during the sales process."

Microsoft Services Partner Advantage is the newest addition to the benefits of partner support offerings currently available through the Microsoft Partner Program. Others include the following:

-- Technical Service Coordination (TSC). Microsoft Services Partner

Advantage extends access to the TSC, which in the past was available to

Gold Certified Partners only, across the entire partner community. TSCs

are partners' direct link to Microsoft and assist in escalating urgent

support needs assisting with in-depth support-related questions such as

assistance on security-related issues and new product readiness.

-- Managed newsgroups, Professional Support five Packs, Business Critical

Support and Concierge Services are also available at no extra charge to

registered, Certified and Gold Partners and can be utilized for

everything from troubleshooting and incident resolution to best-

practice sharing and server-down assistance.

-- Presales Technical Support (PTS). Partners can utilize the expertise

available via this service for competitive software information,

troubleshooting, compatibility issues and licensing. Certified Partners

and Gold Certified Partners have unlimited use of this service at no

extra charge.

About Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference

Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference provides Microsoft's partner community with access to key marketing and business strategies, leadership, and information regarding specific customer solutions designed to help partners succeed in the marketplace. Along with informative learning opportunities covering sales, marketing, services and technology, the Worldwide Partner Conference is an ideal setting for partners to garner valuable knowledge from their peers and from Microsoft. More information can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/partner/events/wwpartnerconference/ .

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

NOTE: Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGOAP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

Microsoft Corp.

CONTACT: Kami Lohry, +1-503-443-7000, or kamil@wagged.com; or RapidResponse Team, +1-503-443-7070, or rrt@wagged.com, both of Waggener Edstrom,for Microsoft Corp.

Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/

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