Goodbye WPC: Gavriella Schuster reveals new name for Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference

Microsoft has seen an almost six-fold increase in the number of partners transacting through its Cloud Solutions Provider program, the company reported as it revealed the new name of its global partner conference, Microsoft Inspire.

Gavriella Schuster, Microsoft corporate vice president for worldwide partner group, wrote in a blog post that the new name for the conference would “reflect how Microsoft and our partner community inspire each other to innovate and deliver powerful new solutions to customers”.

This year's WPC marked a record in attendance of Australian delegates, with more than 250 Australian partners making the journey to Toronto.

Microsoft is no stranger to rebranding its conferences. In 2015, the local business unit bid farewell to the TechEd brand after two decades in Australia, and relaunched the technical conference as 'Ignite'.

In her blog, Schuster went on to describe the channel's transformation, quoting an expected US$2.2 trillion investment in digital transformation initiatives by 2019.

She expressed excitement for the year ahead and pointed to the growing partner numbers making transactions through the company’s cloud businesses. “Just a year ago, we had 3,500 partners transacting through our Cloud Solution Provider program. Today, that number is up over 20,000,” she wrote.

The partner group VP also revealed a substantial increase in the number of partners holding the vendor’s accreditations.

“In fact, the number of partners with a gold or silver cloud competency has increased 86 percent year over year. What’s more, partners are recognising the value of becoming an expert in multiple cloud solutions,” she said.

Schuster said year-on-year the company had observed a 53 percent increase in the number of partners with three or more cloud competencies.

The blog post also encouraged partners to stay abreast of the latest accreditations in new technologies, so as to pave the way for opportunities in the years ahead.

“Digital transformation is occurring across industries in businesses of all sizes. It’s shifting IT from the back office to the front office, and leaders outside IT departments are starting to infuse technology into every aspect of their business,” Schuster wrote.

“This leads to new revenue streams, greater efficiencies, and more competitive advantages. In this new economy, every business is becoming a digital business. The revolution has created unprecedented opportunities for Microsoft and our partners to help customers realise their full potential.”