Microsoft’s European Licensing pricing increase

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Andy

as previously blogged Follow up to Microsofts Euro Pricing Change Microsoft announced a while back that on the 1st May they would let partners and distributors know the impact of their decision to bring the UK into line with the Euro. True to their word they sent out emails saying that on 1st July the following price increases would be likely to take effect on their licensing programs (exact changes are subject to exchange rate fluctuation between now and June 1st):

Microsoft SPLA – 33.4%

Microsoft OPEN – 7.5%

Microsoft  Open Value Subscription – 33.4%

Microsoft SELECT – 24.6%

Microsoft  EA / EAS – 26.7%

Microsoft  ISV Royalty – 33.4%

There will be no pricing increase for Academic programs in relation to this announcement however there may be a variance on a monthly basis based on other factors.

I initially forecast a licensing increase of between 20 – 35%, dropping it to 20 – 27% based on the exchange rate at that time.  Well I’m sorry to say I was right the first time despite a lot of people saying it would only be single figures.  I also only slightly under estimated Open Licensing at 6%.

To be fair to Microsoft, they have announced a commitment to an ongoing policy applied to maintain alignment across all 5 none Euro EU/EFTA currencies but they have failed to provide any specifics on how and when they will do that.

What does this mean to the partner or customer?

As a reseller of Microsoft Licences I would position yourself now to encourage those customers who are speaking to you about licensing to expedite their purchasing process ensuring that they are in a position to buy before 1st July.  Anyone in a licensing program before then will be locked in at the current prices until the end of their agreement with Microsoft.

Licensing is region specific, even when the costs go up in the UK you won’t be able to look elsewhere to purchase as they will not be valid for the customer.  I recently had a call from a customer in England who wanted to purchase an Open license for his servers in South Africa, unfortunately my advice to him was to buy from a South African Microsoft Partner.

Customers should always purchase through Microsoft Partners who use an Authorised Microsoft Distributor, this not only gives you fully legal licensing but a speedy service and full support from Microsoft regarding your purchase.  You may find Microsoft licensing much cheaper from some internet websites, if you can buy it much cheaper from them than a Microsoft Partner the chances of that license being legal is very slim indeed.  After 1st July 2012 you will see a dramatic increase in all licenses purchased on the above licensing programs. (OEM and Full Packaged Product are also not affected).

NCI do sell Licensing online AND purchase from a Microsoft Authorised Distributor, to check out the current prices visit our online shop

So now it seems Microsoft have made the EU fair and equal to all, all that is except the other major developed countries in the world.  Canada, US, Australia and many more countries still have disparity yet no announcements have been made to equalise them with Europe.  Being a small UK business myself I don’t get global price lists so I can only report on what my fellow business friends around the world tell me.  Canada is more expensive than the US, as is Australia.  Now that the EU is in line together it wouldn’t surprise me that the EU was more expensive than the US too – is that fair?. The number one question that Microsoft needs to answer is when is the Euro going to be adjusted in line with the U.S Dollar? When are we going to have one fair global price?.

With most if not all of the software in these programs being downloads only there are no shipping costs and manufacture costs are the same no matter where in the world the software is made.   You can’t blame taxes, taxes are added on top of whatever Microsoft and the distributors charge. I am wondering why Microsoft felt the need to make just one portion of the world equal and didn’t start on their own doorstep.

 

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Microsoft’s new Small Business Competency requirements

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Andy

The requirements for Microsoft’s new Small Business Competency have been announced by Eric Ligman on his blog http://blogs.msdn.com/b/mssmallbiz/archive/2012/04/26/what-are-the-requirements-to-earn-the-microsoft-partner-network-small-business-competency.aspx

All credit to Eric and the Microsoft Partner team for creating a solution for the Small Business Partners that brings them in to the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) but is the criteria good for the partner or MPN as a whole? The criteria is below

To earn the Microsoft Partner Network Silver Small Business Competency, you will need to achieve the following:

  • Exam Credentials:
    • 1 MCP must pass 2 exams:
      • Required: 70-323 – Administering Office 365
      • And another exam from:
        • 70-321 – Deploying Office 365
        • 70-680 – TS: Windows 7, Configuring
        • 70-169 – TS: Windows Small Business Server 2011, Configuring
  • Business Assessments:
    • Sign and complete: MOSPA (Microsoft Online Services Provider Agreement)+ Assessment
      • Training
      • Assessment
    • 1 person must complete Licensing assessment
    • 1 person must complete Business focused small business assessment
  • Evidence:
    • Must have 3 submitted customer references
  • Fees:
    • $1,850 (based on country)

To earn the Microsoft Partner Network Gold Small Business Competency, you will need to achieve the following:

  • Exam Credentials:
    • 1 MCP must pass 2 exams from:
      • 70-321 – Deploying Office 365
      • 70-323 – Administering Office 365
      • 70-680 – TS: Windows 7, Configuring
    • 1 MCP must pass 2 exams from:
      • 70-321 – Deploying Office 365
      • 70-323 – Administering Office 365
      • 70-169 – TS: Windows Small Business Server 2011, Configuring
      • 70-680 – TS: Windows 7, Configuring
      • 70-642 – TS: Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure, Configuring
  • Revenue Requirements:
    • Meet a minimum revenue requirement (after renewal date after October 2013)
      • The revenue requirements differs per geography
  • Business Assessments:
    • Sign and complete: MOSPA (Microsoft Online Services Provider Agreement)+ Assessment
    • 1 person must complete Licensing assessment
    • 2 people must complete Business focused small business assessment
  • Evidence:
    • Must have 5 submitted customer references
    • CSAT Index
  • Fees:
    • $3,800 (based on country)

Based purely on the facts at hand I am shocked into wondering why when Microsoft made such a massive deal about getting rid of the Gold Partner badge in the old Partner model. They said it was because there were too many partners with it and it was too easy to get.  Do they think that by reducing the amount of people who need Microsoft qualifications in order to achieve this new Small Business competency they are doing a good thing?  Surely it is going to flood the MPN with people with a Gold Competency. Pity our customers don’t have the in depth knowledge of what is involved in getting each competency, not that they should really care as an ice cream factory or a shoe seller, they just see the words “GOLD” and think the partner must be good. Good at what though?

In defence of every current Microsoft Partner with a Gold Competency:

As a Microsoft Partner with 3 Gold Competencies and only 28 staff, I can safely say I have invested heavily in MPN, and work hard to prove the company skills to my customers.  Every other partner who has a Gold Competency has done exactly the same, unfortunately Microsoft have not gone direct to any customer, bar the information on their websites and Pinpoint, to let customers know the difference between any of the competencies, all the customer sees and (think) they understand is the Gold bit.

By watering down the amount of people who need to be qualified for just one competency you will immediately see a larger demand for that competency by nature.  Even larger businesses who don’t want to go to the effort of getting staff qualified regularly can now get similiar benefits all be it a reduction in Microsoft licenses to 30 (15 for Silver) and at the same financial cost as before.  The cost to train and qualify staff every 2 years is significant for any business let alone a one person company who is trying to make a living.

NCI for example, as said earlier, have 28 staff.  currently with 3 Gold Competencies I have had to invest in 12 staff to be qualified in a variety of exams related to those 3 competencies (I also have 4 Silver Competencies).  I pay the $3800 fee and complete all the Business Assessments and Revenue requirements asked of me.  Should I so wish I can abandon all of that and just get 2 people qualified in Office 365 and still be able to run my business on the amount of licenses Microsoft will give me, be supported by an account manager and get all the pre-sales advice I would ever want.  My customers wouldn’t know any different, they will still see the shiny words “GOLD”

So as a Small Business Server Microsoft Most Valuable Professional, (SBS MVP), a valued contributor to the SMB Community am I wrong to put the values of the bigger business or SMB over the smaller guys? Well there are 2 sides to every story.  I am 100% behind SMB businesses whether you are the sole person in the company, have a few staff or are one of the bigger boys who have grown over the years.  Is this competency right for you?

The SMB Partner

People start businesses for different reasons.  Some start for lifestyle reasons and tend to stay small but happy, arranging their workload to suit family life and budget.  Others start to grow, profit, and sell like a commodity and they sell when they feel they will get the right price for the effort they have put in.  There are always a variety of businesses who are in between who for reasons known to them are where they are now. All this leads to choice, you can decide for yourselves.

The financial aspects of this competency have to be considered.  This is the same fee that all the companies with a Silver or Gold Competency now pay so you may expect the same benefits.  Well they are nearly the same with the exception of the amount of Microsoft Licenses you get for your money with Gold being reduced to 30 (15 for Silver).  Is that fair? well as a small business with 28 staff why do I need 100 licenses?  As a two person company what are you going to do with 30 licenses? (15 licenses for Silver).  The Action pack available to registered partners gives 10 licenses for a lot of products and at a much lower cost of around $400.  Does that still meet your needs? How much do you make from Cloud services?  Will it even pay for one exam let alone the competency fee itself?

This is the Small Business Competency right?  do all your customers use Office 365? in fact, do the majority of your customers use Office 365?  Well I can safely say I do have Office 365 customers now, but they are definately in the minority despite the message I appear to be getting from Microsoft marketing to convert them all.  Given that the majority of SMB’s are still on premise why create a requirement to pass Office 365 exams to get the competency? oh yes, Microsoft is leading with the cloud, thats right.  If Microsoft was leading with washing machines would you be jumping in to sell your customers those too? and why call it the Small Business competency and not the Office 365 competency?

Given that a requirement for Silver is exam “70 – 323 Administering Office 365″ and that the final stages are in place for this competency to go live,  I looked with interest what effort Microsoft has gone to in order for my staff to prepare for the exam and find:

Learning Plans and Classroom Training

There is no classroom training currently available.

Microsoft E-Learning

There is no Microsoft E-Learning training currently available.

Microsoft Press Books

There are no Microsoft Press books currently available.

On further investigation I have been passed links from a trusted friend that may help you gain the information you need to help you along the way – remember that knowledge is key to providing the best service you can so utilise all the resources you can find

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/hh699847

https://partner.microsoft.com/40114791?msp_id=practiceaccelerator then click on the Office 365 link for all available global sessions (future)

http://community.office365.com/en-us/default.aspx

What has also been announced is that now the Small Business Competency has been defined and about to go live, what will become of those who can’t afford to, or are unwilling to invest in it? Is this the end of the Small Business Specialist Community (SBSC)? Unfortunately YES.  The SBS Community complete with the beloved Blue Badge will come to an end 12 months after the SB competency goes live.  Action packs will still be available for registered partners, and you don’t need to be a part of SBSC to get the action pack.  User groups may need to rely solely on self funding when the SBSC ends if they don’t already.

So how does a one man IT business who can hardly afford to pay his own way in life get on the Microsoft step ladder now?  I don’t have the answers, and I can’t speak on behalf of Microsoft but if I could I imagine they would say get the Silver Competency (ommiting the find $1850, waste the other 14 licenses you’ll be entitled to, spend time and money on training and qualifications for a solution you may not even be selling)

So if you are thinking about obtaining this competency my advice, go for it.  spend the 1st year working out if having a silver or gold badge has benefited your business over and above the value you have paid for it, and look back to this year as a registered partner and compare.  If it helps you grow, great.  If it saves you money, great.  If neither, you can always decide not to renew, question is will there be anything left for you to go to then.

For Microsoft

I have questions for you that all current SBSC Partners would like to hear answers for.

1. For those not aiming for the competency, what is left for them? Is Microsoft really abandoning a vast part of their business customers?

2. Why do Microsoft feel the pricing in line with every other competency is fair when the benefits are reduced?

3. Why did you invest so much time and effort into MPN and replace the flooded “Gold” old Partner model when you are just about to flood MPN with “Gold”

4. Why did you more than double the prices to achieve “Gold” from the old Partner model to concentrate on those partners willing to invest in people and training only to water the whole thing down again?

My opinions haven’t changed all the way through this process.  I have had one to one calls and meetings with Microsoft Executives and expressed my concerns over the last year and they haven’t wavered from their course so I’m writing this blog in the full knowledge I must of course be totally wrong.

I would be interested to know your opinions, are you aiming towards this competency and if so what benefits you think you’ll get compared to the other 29 competencies out there.

 

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Falkland Islands, a place like no other

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Andy

Here in good old England we go about our daily lives enjoying or hating the convenience that society has thrown upon us.  The pressures of living in a modern society take their toll, drawing us all into a routine that for the most part is acceptable.  My world before this month revolved around IT, computers a daily part of my working and private day, now my days are full of pleasant memories of other things.

Imagine a world were a maximum speed limit on all the roads is 40 mph, a place with no crime and where, as a stranger, you can walk down the road and be waved and smiled at by people in their houses.  Imagine watching dolphins and seals playing off shore and penguins walking in line across the beach. Imagine hiking across the mountains and seeing first hand how people lived 30 years ago when they were at war.

 

You really don’t need to imagine, the place exists and is a part of Britain.  I was recently lucky enough to revisit the Falkland Islands after 30 years and can honestly say it has changed my view on life.  I went as a war veteran and came back a changed man with a vision. A vision to return one day and help keep the islands a happy, crime free place.

The Falkland Islanders themselves are really nice people with amazing stories to tell.  Whether they lived through the war or not, every person on the islands is only too happy to make you welcome and to explain their way of life on the islands, and each story is part of a fantastic lifestyle picture that would take pride of place in any gallery.

For the most part the islanders don’t want or need for anything.  Fresh fruit and in date crisps at affordable prices are the 2 things people said when I asked the question.  Internet access that is reliable, of a reasonable speed and affordable is another that I would say everyone on the islands craves for.

Most of the roads on the islands didn’t even exist 30 years ago but Camp (anywhere outside of Stanley) has settlements and farms sited in distant locations all over the islands.  The people of Goose Green for example drove their landrovers 9 hours across the hills and boggy tracks in order to pick up their children from boarding school in Stanley and to stock up on supplies, then had another 9 hours drive back.  18 hours to get from home to town and back is the same as it took me to fly from England to the Falkland Islands, a distance of 7850 miles.

Stanley, the main city on the islands has spectacular views of the maritime areas as well as the mountains and in all weathers has something different to offer to visitors.  Alongside convenience stores, churches, museums and houses with the Union Jack painted on the roof there are public houses, cafe’s and gift shops all around the harbour.  One of the gift shops is run by a lovely young lady called Sian.  Sian is one of the very few women who won’t ever get away with lying about her age, she was born during the Falklands War 30 years ago under the British Flag.

Now some of my readers may want to correct me when I call it the Falklands War, war was never declared.  I am told by all rights it was the Falklands Conflict.  I’m sorry, I’m writing this article, I was there on HMS Hermes 30 years ago and people I knew died and others I watched die because of military action, I’ll call it what I like and give my respects to the families and friends of the soldiers, sailors and airmen who never returned.

Thanks to the never ending generosity of the local people my 2 weeks on the islands were a none stop tour of battlefields, wildlife, social events and nature walks.  I owe a great deal to all the people who drove us on and off road for days on end so we could pay our respects to the fallen and to those who invited us into their homes and fed us even though they had never met us before in their lives.

I’m going to stay in touch with the people on the islands.  In just 2 weeks I made many friends, most of whom I admire very much for how they have coped with occupation and others who are just such nice people.  We had a party near the end of our trip to thank the islanders for their hospitality.  All those who attended, and many who couldn’t, I would just like to say you are a credit to the islands, and to Britain as a whole.

The number one person who made our trip so memorable was Ellen at the Lodge.  Without her never ending contacts, generosity and understanding it simply wouldn’t have been the same.  Ellen works for South Atlantic Medalholders Association (SAMA 1982) http://www.sama82.org.uk/ who encouraged and arranged the trip for the veterans and assisted in the funding of the flights and accomodation.

I plan on raising money for SAMA to help other veterans of the war return to the islands and pay their respects to those we left behind, also to help the schools on the islands get better IT facilities.  One way is to ask for donations in return for uncopyrighted photographs of my trip which can be seen at http://flic.kr/s/aHsjzoeKqK

The Falkland Islands.  Why do Argentina want the Islands?  all I can say is visit and you’ll come away thinking why isn’t the rest of the world fighting for the islands too.  Forget oil, minerals, meaningless historic arguements and look at lifestyle and you’ll understand.  The British people are in my opinion way more patriotic to the UK than many people actually in the UK and they love their lifestyles.  Veteran or not you won’t find a place like the Falkland Islands anywhere else on the planet that you can fall in love with the moment you land.

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Creating a link with a Falkland Island’s School

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Sarah

Over Easter Andy Trish returned to the Falkland Islands for a reunion. During the trip he had the opportunity to visit the children in Goose Green Primary School.  This school was like no other he’d ever seen, it had 4 pupils! (and we thought Cornish Schools were small!)  The teacher even lives in the school!

Goose Green school

Goose Green school

These children will go there full time until around the age of 9, they will then have to board at the main school in Port Stanley until they are of school leaving age.  Some of the children came from Chile so have to learn English from a very young age.  In order to gain further education they can then go to college and University in England, paid for by the Falklands Government.

Falklands veterans visit Goose Green school

As it was close to Easter Andy and his friends turned up with Easter eggs for the children, which they devoured on the spot, luxuries such as chocolate are extremely expensive in the Falklands.

At the time of the Falklands War there were no roads from Goose Green to Port Stanley, only tracks.  The parents of the children who boarded drove those tracks across the mountains there and back which took 18 hours to bring their children home.

Andy also visited the boarding school in Port Stanley.  He talked to the boarding children who love the companionship of their friends and adore the islands. They all argue over who lives in the best place on the islands!

Falklands veterans at Stanley boarding school April 2012

Falklands veterans at Port Stanley boarding school April 2012

The children challenged Andy and his friends to a  game of football, but due to age the veterans couldn’t handle the pace and were beat 2-1!

Get in touch with the school

If any school would like to learn more about the children on the Falkland Islands or would like to write to the children please email andy@ncitech.co.uk

Andy will be raising money for the schools on the islands by selling photos of his trip in order to improve their IT. The photos can be viewed at http://flic.kr/s/aHsjzoeKqK 

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30 years on – The Falkland Islands

Posted on March 25, 2012 by Andy

The last couple of years for me has been very moving.  Deviating from my life in IT I have been very involved in reliving my past.

What seems just a short while ago is actually 2/3rds of my life that has flown by since my friends and I were called back from leave to go for a nice little sail heading South.  Many of us didn’t realise how far South we would end up and that there would be traumas along the way.

This year is the 30th Anniversary of the Falklands War, a conflict that ended the lives of so many in just 74 days and affected the lives of many more for ever. To commemorate I am heading South again in a weeks time with one of those friends from 30 years ago and a couple more from my old ship will be joining us later on.  I’ve been watching the TV documentaries, reading the online posts and the press and somehow none of it adds up to how I remember it.

A documentary on TV last week showed the story of the brave RAF crew who flew a Vulcan bomber to the islands to blow up the runway.  They should be very proud of themselves, at the time they didn’t know if they would return or not and the lack of fuel could have changed the outcome for them returning home.  A good documentary but not how I remember it. On TV there were lines of aircraft blowing up, how did that happen when the bombs missed? only one partially hit the runway and even that was repaired with no disruption to flying within hours. A second bombing mission completely missed.  The RAF play a vital role in our defence so don’t take this as I’m being overly critical, it’s just things are being portrayed now in a different light to reality.

The bomb runs at Port Stanley

I’m not a hero, I didn’t save my ship single handedly or suffer horrific burns.  My friends and I just did our jobs and we did them the best we knew how.  We took life threatening risks in weather you would never dream could get so bad but that was just day to day stuff that we got on with without questioning why.  We saw things that we wouldn’t ever like to see again and thanked god we were the lucky ones. Imagine being at sea, heading into the unknown and the weather just keeps getting worse, at times it felt wrong that nature would do this to us when we had our people to save.

on the Deck of HMS Hermes, Falklands 82

 

Humour in the face of danger also kept us sane and has kept us smiling whilst thinking back on it for all these years.  I really should apologise to my great friend Alan Sparkes but I just can’t bring myself to do it.  If I hadn’t organised his “birthday surprise” and got all the lads involved then we wouldn’t have had that experience and we wouldn’t be laughing about it 30 years later.  You won’t have read about this in the published Falklands War books or magazines and you may not approve but remember, we were still kids and had as much chance of coming home, or not as our enemy.

Sparkeys birthday started off in the normal way, 3 hours sleep, breakfast, on watch and working.  He was patrolling the hangar of H.M.S. Hermes ensuring everything was shipshape during the rough weather we were going through and found some loose aircraft lashings that we had planted earlier.  The lads in position we grabbed him, lashed him to the deck and then covered him in 50 different types of aircraft grease from head to toe.  Suitably surprised we let him go and off he went to get showered.  Unfortunately for Alan, half way through his shower with graphite grease, and many more unpleasant and uncomfortable greases still reaching places you wouldn’t want your best friend to know about, action stations was piped across the ships broadcast.  Poor Alan slid his way from the shower cubicles through the ship grasping a towel and his kit making his way to his action station praying to god he could get dressed before the enemy arrived.  Cold, damp and greasy he stood his station like a trooper. He did try to get me back on my birthday a few days later, it didn’t work out anywhere near as memorable as his birthday though :)

Humour on board was reaching a peak when you would have thought we were all scared of war, we weren’t.  We understood the risks, we were to see the horrors when the injured were flown on board to be treated and shipped home.  But before that we were going to have fun.

I remember one of the guys (chosen well in advance) was to win a competition to fly in a harrier. He never realised that the one he had won was a single seater so with no flying lessons he won the 2nd most gullible war hero of the trip. the 1st must have been the guy who won the opportunity to be the splash boat target bosun.  His job was going to be to guide the harriers into the target being towed by long ropes behind the ship so they could blow it up for practice.  He was to be standing on it at the time.

There were loads of us who had our 19th birthdays in the South Atlantic, mine was surrounded with memories I have never had since or will again.  My brothers ship, H.M.S. Antelope arrived in the area the day before my birthday, the day after my birthday it was attacked and hit, unexploded bombs blew the ship apart later that night and it was weeks before I knew if I would ever see him again.  My cousins ship H.M.S. Broadsword was also hit 3 days after my birthday but went on to save 170 of H.M.S. Coventry’s crew.  Happy 19th Birthday.

Just a couple of years ago one of the lads who I sailed with told me he was organising a reunion for a select few and would I like to be there.  Mr Winter I owe you big time for getting us all together again.  It may have been just a few drinks but it was like being on the ship again only 28 years older.  Now I’m helping organise yearly reunions were all my friends from H.M.S Hermes and their partners get together and have fun, take the mickey out of each other and rejoice the fact Mr Sparkes has finally managed to wash off that last bit of grease (his wife is quite pleased too).

So are the Falkland Islands British?  Damn right they are in my opinion.  They are inhabited by people who are of British sovereignty who’s parents have died on the islands before them.  Argentina have never had settlers on the islands, only small groups of their armed forces. No civilian population was expelled from the Falkland Islands on 3 January 1833.  An Argentine military garrison had been sent to the Falkland Islands three months earlier in an attempt to impose Argentine sovereignty over British sovereign territory. The United Kingdom immediately protested and later expelled the Argentine military garrison on 3 January 1833.

The civilian population, who had previously sought and received British permission to reside on the Islands, were encouraged to remain. The majority voluntarily chose to do so. In 1833, the territorial borders of the Republic of Argentina did not include the geographical southern half of its present form, nor any territory in the Falkland Islands, Antarctica, or South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The land which now forms the Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego, of which the Republic of Argentina purportedly claims the Falkland Islands forms a part, did not itself form part of the Republic of Argentina until approximately half a century after 1833, by which time the current Falkland Islands people had lived and raised two generations on the Islands. British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands dates back to 1765, some years before the Republic of Argentina even existed.

Oil? that is why Argentina want the Falkland Islands, no other reason. It is closer to them than us, that is why they think they should own it.

So despite all of that I am going back to the islands.  I have a suitcase of crosses for the graves and intend to visit all the memorials.  I have gifts for the islanders and plenty of space on my camera cards for the billions of photo’s I intend to take.  I got over the instant reactions when I heard the action stations sounds on TV many years ago, I also have no ill feelings towards the Argentinian people, after all they were young too and did the job they were paid to do.  For me the Falklands war wasn’t something I ever want to forget, it was an experience that brought me friends I will always be close to and want to help.

So now I prepare for a 17 hour flight to sit with the penguins, seals, and the very brave population of British islands that are being contested again.

 

 

 

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Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2012

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Andy

Another year on and NCI are preparing for an intensive week of networking, meetings with Vendors and other partners and business changing developments at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) 2012 being held in Toronto, Canada in July.

This is now the 8th WPC I personally have been to, every year since NCI started trading and this year will be as important as each one before.  The WPC is held in different locations each year adding variety to the social aspects of the conference as well as catering for the ever growing army of Microsoft Partners who attend. It is expected that 15,000 partners from all over the world will travel to Toronto for the conference with over 500 from the UK alone.

So what does WPC mean to NCI? 

Each and every event provides the valuable information that helps change the business focus for the following year.  Despite a global recession, every year since trading NCI has managed to grow in terms of staff, turnover and profit and WPC has been at the forefront of the business decisions made each year. 

Why should every partner go to WPC?

 Imagine a city that pours ideas from every crevice, every building for miles around and each waking moment is spent networking with people who can help you grow your business.  Large or small the advantages for each Microsoft focused business far exceed the cost of sending someone for the week. Though not cheap to travel half way across the world, pay for accomodation and an entry fee,  you would never be able to gain the information and drive you get anywhere else, not even the online broadcasts direct from WPC.

So what can you do there?

  • one to one and group meetings with Microsoft, vendors and other partners
  • technical training sessions on a whole variety of Microsoft products
  • Keynotes with the Microsoft Execs
  • the opportunity to attend a whole variety of executive briefings
  • socialise with your peers and Microsoft at extremely well planned evening entertainment
  • visit the solution innovation center and get demos of the latest releases from a whole variety of vendors.
  • win big prizes just for giving feedback on your days.
  • give back to people less advantaged by helping out at the day of giving
  • explore a wonderful city whilst making friends and business colleagues that can change your life.
  • pick up an award or two and live like a star.

If you are a one man business or a global operation consider what WPC 2012 can do for you, I hope to meet you there so we can grow together.

 

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Going solar….

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Sarah

Today we’re having solar panels installed on the roof of Waterside House!  Being an IT company we have a very high demand for electricity, which not only costs a lot, isn’t very environmentally friendly, so in a bid to reduce our costs and also promote green computing we will be using solar power! These panels should contribute about 50% of the electricity we consume, however on a sunny day these solar panels will be able to power the whole of the NCI office, that includes our server room, PCs, monitors, lights and even the kettle (and we drink a lot of coffee!)
Here’s a few piccies of the install so far….

NCI Solar Panels   NCI Solar Panels

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Follow up to Microsofts Euro pricing change

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Andy

My last blog post caused a little stir in the Microsoft community so I thought it best to clarify on some specifics regarding Microsofts decision to align pricing with the Euro.

Having spoken to Microsoft partners who are in the (Small and Medium Business) SMB space and also some Enterprise partners it is evident that customers will be affected in different ways but ALL customers will be affected in some way.

Because of the relevance of this to NCIs customers I felt the need to follow up with more information on what, how and when the changes are going to take place.

Now when I say the word Microsoft you may think of the global software giant as a monolith, a massive unmoveable mountain of stone with faceless characters but you would be very wrong.  The Microsoft I know is full of people that are dedicated to their company and jobs in which Microsoft Partners play a very large part.  Each and every person in Microsoft is the face of the company and they care very much about what we think and will fight internally for any changes that we feel need to happen if we can see anything wrong from the outside.  Unfortunately for the UK this pricing change is going to happen but it isn’t out of Microsoft trying to make more profit (for those Microsoft haters) because the prise rise in the UK is going to be countered by price drops in other EU countries leaving Microsoft no better off.

So what exactly is this increase going to be?  Well as suggested in my last blog post, having analysed the exchange rates I stick to my guns and reckon that it will mean at least a 20% price hike in the UK but would drop my upper limit to 27% as things stand.  Of course this all relies on the Euro not going into freefall and disintegrating completely – which with the dire financial obligations of many Euro countries could still happen. Actual pricing amounts will be announced in May.

The software that won’t be affected is Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and Full Packaged Product (FPP), these are supplied with the hardware pre-installed or purchased from retail stores.  Open License will/may not/might be affected and if it is would be only slightly, single digit figures of around 6% all the way down to no change at all.

All other business Volume Licences will be affected (Academic Volume Licences remain unchanged). Open Value, Open Value Subscription, Select, Select Plus, Enterprise Agreements and Enterprise Subscriptions, SPLA and online pricing will all see at least double digit increases unless of course the Euro gets very strong very quick. Existing agreements will be price honoured so if you are looking to renew then you will benefit from doing so before July 1st even if it means renewing earlier than planned.

Customers with existing Enterprise Agreements or Enterprise Subscription Agreements have pricing set for existing products at the point of signing for the term of the agreement. This means that on 1st July this pricing will not be affected. If you wish to add additional technologies to these agreements, in order to offer price protection you may wish to consider adding them prior to 1st July 2012 to mitigate the effect of the unified pricing. Existing EA or ESA customers may also wish to look at the timings of their agreements, which Microsoft may consider on a case by case basis.

This is also the case with Open Value/Open Value Subscription – where companywide customers will get price protection for the duration of the agreement. It also applies to Office 365 E SKU customers who have a 12 month price protection from when they take out their agreement.

So what affect will this have on each and every business in the UK? In my opinion when the prices of the Volume Licenses are increased disproportionately with the Open License the larger transactions that customers prefer to pay for over lets say a 3 year period will make them think again on how much they are paying for the privilege and what they get for their money in terms of software assurance. In the UK I predict an increase of sales of Open Licenses directly proportioned with a decrease in the sales of Volume Licensing sales specifically in the SMB space. In Switzerland where they are likely to see a 29% drop in prices on the Volume Licensing this will reverse my prediction in that country creating more sales of Microsoft volume licenses then Open License.

Having seen many comments from Open Source lovers about change from Microsoft to free software and you won’t need to worry about the increase I wholeheartedly disagree.  Open source software is great but it has its place and the Microsoft portfolio is not the thing that it stacks up to.  Open source is free, for the basics, as soon as you want it to do something different you’ll have to buy addons.  Not only that but the support for Microsoft products is vast, the kid next door knows Microsoft but ask them what open source software they know and you’ll see glared eyes or $$$$$$$.

So where do I see Microsoft going with this?  What I really hope will happen is Microsoft look at this as the first stage of equality globally.  Australia, Canada and Europe pay a lot more than the US for the very same software despite it now being delivered through a download in “the cloud” is that fair?  Just as it isn’t fair that the UK pay less than say Germany or Switzerland, Microsoft as a global company needs to equalise it’s pricing globally and base it all on the dollar $.  That is the US $ conversion in the money market not the “lets just make the $ sign into a GBP £ as a lot of US companies do.

Also I really don’t understand why Microsoft Licensing needs to be regionalised (other than the pricing disparities).  After all the software is delivered through the internet with software codes stored in “the cloud”. Microsoft should allow all partners to sell globally without having entities in each of the regions, “the cloud” is, after all, what Microsoft promote so heavily. Of course the Licensing paperwork will need to be changed to reflect a fair and equal society for all and maybe made less complicated which is a task in itself. Maybe one way to protect the distributors would be for Microsoft to create a policy of buy locally, sell globally.

I back up my statement in my last post. When prices are increased dramatically (and double digit is pretty dramatic) then piracy will creep in and Microsoft need to have campaigns ready to warn off those normally law abiding companies from straying.  I strongly believe in businesses being legal when it comes to software compliance, the penalties are just not worth taking the risk for.

Current Microsoft Open License and FPP pricing is available through our online shop for businesses and academic establishments, for all other agreements don’t hesitate to call the guys and girls at NCI who will help you understand the complexities of Microsoft Licensing.

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a pricing decision that could be a life changer

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Andy

This week in the UK I’ve been hearing about how our great country may lose its triple A rating.  I’ve listened to business owners who are suffering from higher supply costs whilst losing custom despite not raising their prices. A 2nd recession may not be official but look around and some people are struggling.

Attending a webcast from my favourite vendor today left me slightly stunned as to the timing of their latest announcement and if they really are making decisions that will not cause more harm to their company than good.

Microsoft as many of you know are my favourite vendor.  They have provided us with the groundwork to grow NCI with their products and no other company has invested in a joint relationship with such vigour.  Saying that, one of the reasons the partnership works so well is if I tell them there is an issue with any part of what they do, they listen.  NCI may be small fry in the big world of IT in terms of company size and turnover but Microsoft know if we say something is wrong we can prove it and normally offer a solution.

I have no solution to their latest decision other than, “don’t do it”.

The webcast today was to explain Microsofts decision to bring into line the cost of Microsoft Licensing in the UK with the Euro.  Rumour had it that a price rise was going to happen but the severity of it hasn’t yet been realised by partners.  Customers won’t be affected until July and Microsoft Partners won’t know by how much until potentially May but it is expected to mean a 20% to 35% rise in the cost of Microsoft Licensing in the UK.

My American friends need not worry, no changes for you (that I am aware of) and my Swiss friends, well you are actually going to see a significant price drop if all goes to plan – unfortunately I don’t have any Swiss friends so I can’t celebrate with you.

So Microsoft Corp, thank you for your official line of “We are doing it to bring all the countries in line with the Euro” It really eases the pain.  You chose the right moment too, we’ll wave goodbye to AAA and join the US in our downgrade making our countries equal too (except your much bigger and have much more debt).  The poor lady who made the announcements on the webcast today was so professional but you just knew she had dreaded doing it, thanks on behalf of her Corp.

I hope additional resources are being budgeted for in your piracy division, you’ll need to invest in the UK.

In conclusion there are three things that this massive price hike is going to do for Microsoft in the UK.

  1. speed up the process of UK businesses folding
  2. promote piracy
  3. cause grief to the staff at Microsoft UK who do a fantastic job but have to follow the company line.

Will it do any good?  I’ll leave you to decide on that one.

 

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NCI School Technology Show

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Sarah

NCI School Technology Show

After our exciting trip to BETT and taking in all the amazing new technologies for the school market, we are thrilled to announce that we will be hosting our own technology show!  On 20th June at the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth, there will be a buzz in the air!  We’ve invited leading IT companies from across the country who will be having exhibition stands to showcase their new products and will also be performing demonstrations and presentations throughout the day.

It’s still early days of planning, but it’s very exciting!  All the schools that we’ve spoken to are looking forward to it.  We’ll be putting together a schedule of demos and presentations so people can pop in as and when they like.

Find out more on our School Technology Show Page….

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