Optimized Desktop: Two New Partner Offerings
Many customers have depended on Windows XP for nearly 10 years. During that time, business and technology have changed dramatically. Today’s customers face unprecedented budget challenges. They are focused on efficiency, productivity, and cost savings. Microsoft’s latest technology release of Windows® 7 and the soon to be released Microsoft® Office 2010 encourage customers to reconsider their client computing environment. The challenges of today’s business environment necessitate that IT deliver on the promise to make people more efficient and more productive—wherever they are—while simultaneously managing and reducing costs.
Microsoft has designed the Optimized Desktop campaign to increase market momentum by accelerating the customer deployment of the Windows® 7 Enterprise operating system, Microsoft® Office Professional Plus 2010, Internet Explorer® 8, and the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP). To help customers better understand and build confidence around the migration process to the Optimized Desktop, we recommend they complete an early deployment project to initiate their exploration and determine their potential productivity, efficiency, and cost benefits.
The Offers and Goals
Microsoft has developed two engagement offerings that partners and MCS can deliver. These offerings help prove the value of the Optimized Desktop and motivate customers to improve their client computing environments. The offerings are: Proof Of Concept Jumpstart and Production Pilot Jumpstart. Funding for these offerings is available through June 30, 2011.
Proof of Concept Jumpstart This offering helps the IT department assess the solution in a non-production environment. This enables customers to understand and gain confidence with the concepts, tools, and techniques before installing the products and migrating the desktop in a production environment.
- 10 day engagement
- Deploy Windows 7, IE8, App-V, and Office 2010
- Funding support for PoC Jumpstart is available through:
Office Software Assurance Benefits for Desktop Deployment Planning Service (DDPS) – 10-day voucher
For additional information, Microsoft Partners can visit the Microsoft Connect site for PoC Jumpstart: https://connect.microsoft.com/pocjumpstart.
Production Pilot Jumpstart This offering helps customers conduct an in-depth discovery of requirements and test criteria through a multi-phased pilot that represents a production environment of 500 desktop users. The offering helps customers avoid potential challenges and minimize risk and time spent before rolling out new desktop solutions across the organization.
- 10 weeks, fixed scope and fixed price to deploy 500 seats in production
- Deploy Windows 7, IE8, App-V, and Office 2010
For additional information Microsoft Partners can visit the Microsoft Connect site for the Production Pilot Jumpstart https://connect.microsoft.com/pilotjumpstart.
Sales Scenarios
The following scenarios offer opportunities for customer engagement:
- Currently deployed on Windows® XP or Windows Vista®
- Currently deployed on Microsoft® Office 2007 or earlier
- Expiring Enterprise Agreements
- Enterprise Agreements without Windows Software Assurance
- Enterprise Agreements without Office Software Assurance
- New agreements: Customers without rights to Microsoft® Office 2010
- Upgrade from Windows® 7 Pro to Windows® 7 Enterprise SKU
- Committed to Windows Software Assurance & MDOP but not deployed
- Exploring VDI solution
Additional MPN Resources: Microsoft Partners Only
- MPN webcast for Microsoft Partners only: Demonstrating the Value of Optimized Desktop through Jumpstart Deployment Offerings – Proof of Concept and Production Pilot
- New, sales, marketing and training content for Windows 7 Services Partners
- Microsoft Office System Resources
- Optimized Desktop Campaign in the Partner Marketing Center
In addition, managed partners have access to the Partner Solution Plan Activation Kit (PSP Membership Only). We are introducing the new Optimized Desktop Partner Solution Plan Activation Kit (PSP Membership Only) and have updated the Virtualization Activation Kit (PSP Membership Only) to include materials supporting the recent Desktop Virtualization launch. (http://www.desktopvirtualizationhour.com/).
We expect these offerings to help Partners drive follow-on services opportunities, including desktop planning and deployment, application compatibility, image engineering, virtualization, and configuration management. Act now and take advantage of these great offerings to grow your business and improve your customer’s computing environment while achieving cost savings!
