It's been really interesting being down here in Redomond at the Executive Partner Summit (EPS) Americas - yesterday there was a lot of talk about roadmaps and the concept of "consumerization" which I wrote about yesterday - Microsoft Executive Partner Summit (EPS) of the Americas - Day 1.
Today, it was great hearing from both Brad Callahan (VP, North American Services) and Alison Watson (Corporate Vice President, Worldwide Partner Group) about the ongoing opportunity that "we" (Microsoft & imason) have together. Nearly everyone I've spoken to hear (both at Microsoft and from other Microsoft partners) is talking about the challenging times, plan Bs, cost cutting, general anxiety, stalled deals, and a few are just plain out calling it a recession.
What's exciting though, and both Callahan and Watson pointed it out, is that it's a great time to be in "our" (Microsoft and imason) position. From an imason perspective:
- We've invested over the past 10 years in a superb partnership with Microsoft
- Microsoft has the platform "in market" that really allows us to demonstrate to customers the opportunity to drive competitive advantage and cost reductions for customers.
- We have the solutions experience (both across Employee-facing and Customer-facing solutions) to "make it real" for our customers
- We have a fantastic team of seasoned consultants.
In short, the times ahead will be tough, be we're well-positioned to take advantage of the turmoil. I'm looking forward to tackling this one head on!