Go-To-Market Announcement Australia

Transcription

1 Go-To-Market Announcement Australia OVERARCHING MESSAGES: Since launching in 2011, Office 365 has gone from strength to strength to become the fastest growing commercial product in Microsoft s history experiencing triple digit growth in the last quarter in the commercial space, and in the consumer space, growing to more than 3.5 million subscribers*. Locally, we have seen a dramatic uptake and demand for Office 365 as customers embrace features and benefits that enable their employees to communicate, share and collaborate in new and fresh ways, be productive on the go, and have accesss to the latest tools via an always up to date service. As our customers, and the broader industry, have evolved to embrace the cloud, so have their preferences around the way they buy and license Office 365, reflected in a desire for more choice and flexibility. In response to this evolving market dynamic, we continue to bring new options and license types to market that will enable our commercial customers to purchase Office 365 in the way that best suits their needs. On April 2, 2014 we made Office 365 available via an Open License Agreement through Microsoft resellers and via retail partners who support Electronic Software Distribution (ESD). As of 29 August 2014 customers will now have the added choice of purchasing Office 365 through the Microsoft Online Portal which is available direct to customer or through Microsoft resellers. Q: What are you announcing today? A: We are announcing that effective 29 August 2014, we are introducing additional ways for our SMB customers (businesses with 250 PCs or less) to buy Office 365. Customers will now have the added choice of purchasing Office 365 through the Microsoft Online Portal. The Microsoft Online Portal will be available direct to customers via Office.com or through Microsoft resellers. Q: Why are you announcing these new channels? A: Locally, we have seen a dramatic uptake and demand for Office 365 as customers embrace features and benefits that enable their employees to communicate, share and collaborate in new and fresh ways, be productive on the go, and have access to the latest tools via an always up to date service. As our customers, and the broader industry, have evolved to embrace the cloud, so have their preferences around the way they buy and license Office 365, reflected in a desire for more choice and flexibility. TELSTRA Q: What does this mean for your exclusive relationship with Telstra? A: Telstra remains an important and valued partner to Microsoft and will continue to sell Office 365 via T-Suite. Telstra was the first syndication partner in the world to launch both BPOS and Office 365, and was one of Microsoft s most successful Syndication Partner globally in We look forward to our continued partnership. Q: Will you be appointing any other syndication partners in Australia? A: We have nothing to announce. Telstra continues to be an important strategic partner to Microsoft with broad reach across the Australian SMB customer base and leading fixed and wireless networks. We look forward to continuing this relationship to ensure that T-Suite maintains and even excels its growth path.

2 Q: Was Microsoft unhappy with Telstra as a partner on the Office 365? Why have you ended the agreement with Telstra? A: Telstra and Microsoft enjoy a solid partnership across a range of products and services ranging from handsets to Office 365 software. While they may have broadened the number of partners that are able to sell Office 365, they certainly have not ended their relationship with Telstra. As to the whys of this announcement Telstra would need to defer to Microsoft for comment. Again, Telstra and Microsoft enjoy a solid partnership and we continue to fully support Office 365 as a very strong business productivity service. Q: Given the new channels, why would customers choose to buy / reseller choose to resell Office365 through Telstra? There are still strong incentives for customers to purchase Office365 through Telstra including flexible subscription models, access to our unique sales offers and technical support, dedicated partner support and the scope to integrate broader cloud services PRICING & AVAILABILITY Q: When will the new channels be available? A: As of 02 April 2014, customers can purchase Office 365 via an Open License Agreement. On 29 August 2014, we will also make Office 365 available through the Microsoft Online Portal. Open License and the Microsoft Online Portal will be available through Microsoft resellers. Q: What is the pricing for the Microsoft Online Portal that you re announcing today? A: We will be releasing pricing via the Microsoft Online Portal on 29 August Q: Will Microsoft be charging GST on plans sold via the Microsoft Online Portal? A: An Australian Tax Office ruling late last year means that telephony services provided within Australia are subject to Goods and Services Tax (GST). As a result, the Small Business, Small Business Premium, Midsize Business, E1, E3, E4, E3 Nonprofit, A3, A4, G1, G3, G4, and Lync Online Standalone plans where Lync Voice or Voic services are provided are subject to the 10% GST charge on the full value of the SKU. SUPPORT Q: Where can customers and partners go for technical support or help with the commerce platform? A: There is a single support hotline for Office365 customers/partners in Australia. The number is Customers and partners purchasing through Telstra should continue to contact TSUITE. MICROSOFT OPEN Q: What specific details can you provide about Office 365 Open can you provide an example of how this works? With the new open model, Office 365 is sold in a traditional reseller model where partners purchase Office 365 subscriptions from distributors and resell them. Partners can manage their margins when selling services with Office 365. The customer sees the Office 365 service as part of the total bill from the partner, not a separate bill from Microsoft. This model is how partners are used to selling Office through Open agreements, so the process will be easily understood and executed while enabling partners to leverage their existing CRM systems and pay their sales force through their current commission model. Q: How much do partners pay for Office 365? What is their margin if they resell at list price? A: We will be sharing more details, including the price partners pay, 30 days before the launch. Q: What SKUs will be available via Distribution? A: The following offers are available via Open (as at Aug ):

3 Exchange Online Plan 1 Open Exchange Online Plan 2 Open Exchange Online Plan 2 Open Faculty Exchange Online Plan 2 Open Student Exchange Online Protection Open Lync Online Plan 1 Open Lync Online Plan 2 Open O365 Pro Plus Open O365 ProPlus Open for Faculty O365 ProPlus Open for Students Office 365 Midsize Business Open Office 365 Plan A3 Open Faculty Office 365 Plan A3 Open Students Office 365 Plan A4 Open Faculty Office 365 Plan A4 Open Students Office 365 Plan E1 Archiving Office 365 Plan E1 Open Office 365 Plan E3 Open Office 365 Plan E4 Open OneDriveBusiness w/officeonlineopen Proj Online w Proj Pro O365 Open Proj Online w ProjPro O365 Open Fac Project Online Open Project Online Open for Faculty Project Online Open for Students ProjOnline w ProjPro O365 Open Stud SharePoint Online Plan 1 Open SharePoint Online Plan 2 Open Visio Pro for O365 Open Faculty Visio Pro for O365 Open Students Visio Pro for Office 365 Open Yammer Enterprise Open Please note that Nonprofit SKUs and Kiosk SKUs are not available via Open. Q: Why are you introducing this now? A: The Open Licensing model was launched in the rest of the World in With this announcement we are moving Australia to be aligned with the global go-to-market model. Q: How will Office 365 Open grow revenue for partners? A: Office 365 Open allows existing partners to build recurring revenue streams by selling online services using their existing systems and sales motions. By owning the customer bill, partners can easily package Office 365 subscription with their customer service offerings, including deployment and manage services to support their transition to the cloud. Q: How does this compare with Google? A: There is no comparison. We have the broadest and strongest set of partners in the industry, and there really is no comparison. Microsoft Online Portal Q: What is the Microsoft Online Portal? A: Customers are able to subscribe to Office 365 directly on a Microsoft Online Portal. This portal is hosted on Q: What office 365 SKUs are offered on the Microsoft Online Portal?

4 A: All Office 365 SKUs are available on either a monthly or annual basis. Q: Does this mean that Microsoft is now competing with partners? A: No, customers who purchase via their partners are still able to sign-up on the Microsoft Online Portal. These partners are called Advisors and they earn Partner of Record fees. Q: How can partners earn Partner of Record fees? A: Partners assist customers purchasing Microsoft Online Services through the Microsoft Online Portal (MOP). They ensure customers are informed and supported throughout the sales process. For Partners to earn Advisor Incentives, the customer must make a purchase and designate the advising Partner as the Partner of Record (POR) for each Online Service advised and purchased. A customer may designate one Partner for one or more Online Services purchased. Once a Partner has been associated as POR to the sale, the Partner will begin earning incentives. If the POR is a Cloud Accelerate Partner, the Partner may also earn Accelerators on Office 365 and Windows Intune, as described in a subsequent section. No Accelerators are available for CRM Online through the Online Services Advisor Incentives. A customer can add a POR at the time of purchase or at a later date. More information regarding changing PORs can be found in the FY14 Online Services Advisor Incentives Execution Guide. If POR association occurs 90 days after the sale, Partner will not earn the Sell incentives, only the Manage incentives on the seats recorded for that sale. Q: How much can partners earn on the advisor model? Q: What is the differences between Open Office 365 and Office via the Microsoft Online Portal? A: Under Open, customers sign up for a Volume Licensing Agreement and pay for the products up-front a year in advance. Partners charge a margin on their buy-price and they bill the customer.

5 When signing up via the Microsoft Online Portal, customers have the option to pay monthly or annually. Customers are billed by Microsoft directly and can pay either by credit card or by direct transfer. Partners are paid a Partner of Record fee. OFFICE 365 AT RETAIL Q: Will Microsoft Australia be announcing Full Packaged Product today? A: Microsoft will not launch Office 365 Full Packaged Product in Australia. However, we will make the Small Business Premium available to retail partners as an Electronic Software Distribution delivery. Q: What does this mean for customers? A: Customers who want to attach Office 365 when they purchase their PCs from retail, will be able to do this at retail stores who support ESD Q: What does this mean for retail partners? A: Partners are able to upsell to Office 365 at the time that the customer is purchasing their hardware. Partners monetise the transaction by putting a margin on-top of their buy-price. TENANT TRANSITIONS Q: What is tenant transition? A: Tenant transition is the rare occurrence when a customer wishes to transfer their O365 subscription service from one channel to another (e.g., from syndication to direct or direct to syndication), usually for the purposes of trying to take advantage of service variations. Q: What service variations might lead to a desire to transition a tenant? A: Some customers may wish to switch from direct to syndication in order to take advantage of a bundle of productivity/network services unique to a particular operator service provider. Conversely, a customer may wish to switch from syndication to direct in order to add non-syndication Microsoft services, such as InTune or CRM Online in order to get them on the same tenant as O365 (Note: It is possible to subscribe to CRM Online and InTune at any time by using a separate tenant ID than a customer s O365 ID). Q: Is tenant transition supported by Microsoft? A: O365 does not currently have an automated transition capability. Q: Is there a way to transition manually? A: Yes. In those occurrences where a customer wishes to transition their tenant to another channel provider, a customer may do so themselves or with partner assistance. Microsoft does not fund these transitions. The customer may make the choice to either a) Retrieve data ( , files, etc.) from the service but not reimport or b) Retrieve data from the service and thereafter reimport some or all of that data into the new subscription service. Also note, the existing MODRD (domain) will not be immediately re-usable as it does not get deprovisioned from the system for 6 months after cancellation, thus a customer will have to choose a new tenant name at this time. Q: What are the pros and cons of not reimporting? A: This is by far the easiest, cheapest option. A customer begins a new subscription but data and configuration are not migrated. For smaller businesses, this is typically not much of a problem and thus this option (vs. attempting to import past data) is usually optimal for cost savings purposes. Q: What are the pros and cons of a data migration?

6 A: With this option, a customer can keep their legacy files and s on the cloud service by migrating them to the new tenant themselves or with third party assistance. Although possible, this is technically challenging and expensive. Microsoft does not provide documentation or best practice instructions. Q: Will other MSFT online services be sold through syndication in the future? A: Yes. Microsoft continually adds new services and features to the syndication channel. Recent examples are Yammer, Project and RMS. Microsoft may add other online services in the future, which will be announced in a timely manner to partners and customers. ON PARTNERS Q: How will Office 365 Open grow revenue for partners? A: Office 365 Open allows existing partners to build recurring revenue streams by selling online services using their existing systems and sales motions. By owning the customer bill, partners can easily package Office 365 subscription with their customer service offerings, including deployment and manage services to support their transition to the cloud. Q: Are partners making any money in the cloud? A: Absolutely. Office 365 creates new growth opportunities for partners to reach more customers, deliver more complete services and unlock new business. Q: Since you launched Office 365, there have been upset partners who feel they can t make money with Office 365. Are you cannibalising your partners with Office 365? A: No. Microsoft is and always has been a company that is fully invested in its partner ecosystem our partners account for 95 percent of the company s overall revenue. We offer a clear path to success for partners and invest deeply in the partner ecosystem. Office 365 enables partners to reach millions of customers more easily, to deliver more complete services and to unlock new business opportunities. Q: Do you expect that the current partner base will move away from Telstra and focus on Microsoft s Online Portal or even the Open channel? A: With the introduction of these new channels, we are offering our customers and partner s choice. Each of the channels to market have distinct advantages and disadvantages. It is important that our partners understand the nuances of the various programs on offer and take advantage of the channel that best suits them. Telstra has for the last four years helped Microsoft to build a very healthy channel community. Those relationships are still alive and well and we expect that they will stand the test of time. Q: I sell on-premises solutions to customers. How do I start selling cloud solutions like Office 365? A: We know many customers expect IT providers to offer cloud options. To stay competitive, Office 365 allows any partner to build a recurring revenue stream by 1) implementing a low touch centralised sales and service model 2) acquiring new customers in remote locations 3) sell annuity priced bundles to include services 4) additional device opportunities and 5) expand the conversation to sell other cloud solutions. To help partners be successful with selling Cloud solutions, Microsoft will update our Cloud Training program. This step by step guide will help partners transition their business to the cloud. For more information and to enrol, visit