Microsoft partners will focus on customer needs, not Ballmer's

Microsoft partners say they will take note of Steve Ballmer's cloud-focused keynote at the Worldwide Partner conference in the US overnight, but their real focus was around fulfilling customer needs.

Kicking off the annual conference, which expects a record 9,500 partners this year, Steve Ballmer thanked partners for their efforts in the past and explained where he sees their efforts in the future: "if you don't want to move to the cloud, we're not your folks."

He said the cloud "makes us reinvent our business models, but it's a change that's inevitable." And he said the world of tomorrow is a "world of smart cloud talking to smart devices".

Ben Shapiro, general manager at Sharepoint specialist OBS said that being a Microsoft partner is about being relevant to customers - not "whether you want to be a partner".

He said cloud is an "integral part of where his customers are moving," and so the company has made changes to the business which includes developing a separate division to focus on it.

"It's really clear that cloud will play a part in the client's requirement. We've spend quite a bit of energy and resource focusing on cloud," he said. "[But] the on-premise side of the business is absolutely active.

"Customers want hybrid solutions - it's not about one or the other," he said.

"When a big ship like Microsoft moves its going to add momentum to the industry," he said. 

Microsoft gold certified partner, Wayne Small, founder of Correct Solutions, said despite Ballmer's speech today, Microsoft still sees room for on-premise solutions - following its announcement of two new versions of the Small Business Server (SBS).

"They're releasing two versions of SBS, one of those is linked into the cloud, the other is more standard.

"In releasing these two versions they're seeing the market is there. Yes [Microsoft's] all in for the cloud but at the same time, [the vendor is] releasing these two versions."

Small said there's room for the cloud in the small business space but "I'm not changing my business to be totally focused on the cloud. I'm cautious," he said.

Principal of Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS) specialist CI Information Technology, Henry Craven, said customers want a "hybrid model" and that channel partners have to "change their business model".

"Steve Ballmer says we're going to have to change our business model and you really do need to change your business model," he said. 

He said he is in the process of making changes to his business but wasn't able to give further detail.

But, he said he has "always" been about "doing the best for the client" which means if he finds another suitable vendor for his customers then he would also follow that path. 

"I don't think the partners see Microsoft as leading the way into the cloud," he said.