Yesterday we hosted an Azure community call for Aussie partners.

Agenda:

• News
• Training & Events
• ExpressRoute with guest Nick Ward
• Partner Opportunity
• Q&A

Slides are below. The team can be contacted on azureau@microsoft.com

Adding a cloud practice to your business requires much more planning than adding a product or service. It is a journey that will impact many areas of your traditional operations, as well as the priorities of the leaders responsible for them. It will encompass new thinking by your leadership team beginning with the company value proposition to your customers. It will also impact how you deliver that value proposition in your services delivery, sales, and marketing operations.

The Business Model Transformation Workshop is a one-day workshop designed specifically for senior management teams of Microsoft partners who want to understand how to design a cloud practice to deliver expected profit, and how to chart a path to guide your company through the transition.

Major topics covered in this workshop are:

• The impact Cloud based offerings will have on existing partner business models.
• Aligning your business value proposition with the new Cloud paradigm.
• Creating a financial pro forma plan that quantifies the potential cloud opportunities based on your competencies.
• Incorporating new customer expectations and buying behaviours into your marketing and sales strategy and execution model.
• Creating an action plan for change that aligns your organization around the value proposition of Cloud Services.

If you are interested in understanding the economic and business model implications of operating a cloud based practice, the Business Model Transformation is the ideal starting point.

• Who should attend: Two senior people, such as CEO; Sales Leader or Services Delivery Leader
• When: 30 May 2013
• Where: Microsoft, 1 Epping Road, North Ryde
• Timing: 8:30 am – 5:30 pm
• Workshop Purpose: Development of your specific business plan that will allow you to enhance or integrate your Cloud solutions into your current business model.
• Cost: Complimentary

Attendees should bring their laptop.

Register now>

For the launch of Windows Azure in Australia, we hired a sky writer to write Azure in the skies above Sydney. Funnily enough, reading the Twitter stream, most people in the city thought it was a new brand of perfume being launched.

I had no idea at the time that I would be the new Partner Strategy & Marketing Manager driving Azure adoption amongst Australia’s partners. If you have, or planning to build a business on Azure, this blog is for you. I’ll include resources, things I learn being new to role and hopefully receive some feedback from you on what is going well and where we need to improve.