Partners Get Commissions on Microsoft-Hosted Services

How partners will play in the new world of software plus services became much clearer at Microsoft’s 2008 Worldwide Partner Conference in July, when the company announced prices and partner commissions for selling Microsoft-hosted services. Partners who currently do not provide hosted services could find that commissions on the Microsoft services provide additional income, while others will find themselves in competition with the company, particularly at the low end. Competitive pricing, as low as US$2 per month for some services, also signals to online competitors, such as Google, that Microsoft will compete seriously in the market for hosted applications and services.

The Case for Hosted Services

In Mar. 2008, Microsoft announced the components of its hosted services offering for businesses of all sizes, Microsoft Online Standard, which will begin to roll out in fall 2008. These services offer customers access to instances of Exchange, SharePoint, and Communications Server that are running in Microsoft data centers, rather than on the customers’ local networks.