The Partner Program Is Out Of Control

The Microsoft Partner program needs to simplify and streamline itself. Becoming a partner used to be a simple process with simple rules. Now there are  “bonus points” and other marketing tactics that make the program feel like a frequent flyer program. Partnerships are about marketing, but one day I won’t be surprised if someone calls to tell me I only need 2 more ‘partner points’ to get preferred ‘gold parking’ at the local Microsoft field office.

I just want software licenses.

I don’t have time to read the constant stream of emails, and I haven’t had the time the last two months to answer the numerous phone calls. Everyone who calls is pleasant and tries to be helpful, but no one can explain some of the deep voodoo in the system.

Take this one example…

I hold an MCSD certification. The SD stands for ‘solution developer’. To earn an MCSD I had to take certification exams covering programming tools and programming languages. The computers in the basement of the partner program science lab have analyzed my certification transcript and have decided I'm qualified for a single competency: the “Advanced Infrastructure Solutions” competency. This competency is for those who specialize in Active Directory and Exchange Server.

I installed Exchange once. I installed Biztalk once, too. Those were two of my proudest software installation moments ever.

I hope the program will offer less fluff, provide more licenses, and fix the wacky backend software.