Microsoft Corporation India Pvt. Ltd. today announced the Small Business Specialist program, a unique initiative to create greater business opportunities for partners that specialize in providing solutions and services to the small-business segment. Partners who enroll into the program will have access to training and resources specifically designed for them – including marketing materials and special promotional offers. Microsoft plans to recruit, enable and activate 100 small business specialist partners, across top 13 cities in the next 10 to 12 months. To reach out to system integrators, VARs, system builders and the retail channel Microsoft is organizing a 3 city event, called ‘Small business is big business’. This is a worldwide initiative which Microsoft is now rolling out in India. The cities being covered are Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai.   

The partners will also gain increased visibility via preferred placement in the Microsoft Resource Directory and the Small Business Partner Finder (located on the Microsoft Small Business Center website). Additionally the partner will also get access to the exclusive Small and Medium Business Specialist Private Managed Newsgroups. The newsgroups offer break-fix support in international English for Microsoft Office, Microsoft Small Business Server 2003, Exchange Server, Windows Server, and Windows XP. Depending on the partnership level, Small and Medium Business Specialists will also be entitled to Registered Member Benefits, Certified Partner Benefits or Gold Certified Partner Benefits.   

Commenting on the occasion of the launch, Mr. Rajeev Mittal, Group  Director, Small and Medium Solutions and Partners (SMS&P) Group, said, “We are committed to helping small businesses around the world be more efficient and better serve their customers through the use of technology. While we have been offering solutions that have been custom-made for small businesses, Small Business Specialist Program, is a significant step that will help our partners, create greater opportunities to address the needs of customers in this segment. The program will not only help partners differentiate themselves as small business solution experts, but will also enable small business customers to quickly identify technology partners best suited to support them.”      

Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Rajni Kant, CEO, E-Soft Solutions, Delhi, said, “We are delighted to participate in Microsoft’s Small Business Specialist Program. We have been working with small-business customers for a long time, and we were looking for opportunities to gain a better understanding of our client and prospects, as well as help small businesses to be more efficient. Small Business Specialist Program will help us achieve this as well as deliver innovative solutions and services to the small business segment. This special designation will also be instrumental in helping us reach our full potential by creating more visibility, opportunity and demand in the small business segment and getting broader recognition among customers as small-business experts, thus helping us expand our customer base. As a result of the Small Business Specialist designation, we hope to see a significant increase in our revenues.”

The Small Business Specialist Program will add value to the full spectrum of partners that service the small-business segment including the following: ·       Registered Members. The new offering is optimized for Registered Members that have demonstrated their expertise and are looking for Microsoft to recognize their skills and unique business models tailored specifically for small-business customers. It also establishes a logo partners can leverage and unique marketing benefits. 

·       Certified and Gold Certified Partners. For Certified and Gold Certified Microsoft partners that already serve small businesses, this designation will help further differentiate their solution specialty to the small-business market.  ·        System Builders. Being designated a Small Business Specialist will offer system builders the opportunity to highlight their expertise in building PC and server systems that are based on Microsoft technologies in order to deliver products and services that are customized for the small-business segment. Registered system builders that join the Small Business Specialist Program will be provided with a clear road map for moving up to the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Hardware Solutions Competency with a System Builder specialization at the Certified or Gold Certified levels as their hardware sales grow. 

Sourced From: Text 100 Public Relations Consultancy

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