Industry Partners Get Testing Environment

Microsoft has recently expanded the Microsoft Partner Solutions Center (MPSC), increasing the total area by 50% and moving it to a new building. MPSC is a technology laboratory that brings key hardware and software companies and their customers together with solutions providers and systems integrators to develop complex, multivendor solutions based on Microsoft platforms. Although the solutions that emerge from the MPSC are custom projects, they build Microsoft’s portfolio in important sectors, such as the application service provider (ASP), wireless data, and broadband communications markets. The MPSC also gives Microsoft hands-on experience with some of the most complex integration projects available, offering insight into future market requirements and demands.

Microsoft’s partners, who help fund the MPSC and supply much of the US$50 million in hardware that it contains, get an opportunity to show off their wares to large customers, and to test their prototypes under demanding, real-world situations. Some partners even realize revenue from MPSC-related activities: the solutions that emerge from the MPSC specify the vendor products and configurations the customer should use.