Partners Speak to Microsoft’s Rodney Clark Departure and New Requirements Controversy
Our MSPs weigh in on Clark’s sudden exit, and the shakeups and challenges the new NCE program has presented.
May 18, 2022
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“In the past, Rodney had said this job at Microsoft was a “destination role” and “dream job.” In the past we all may have felt the same in our careers. Something changed for him and the fact he is willing to leave vs holding on is a testament to his ability to be a good leader no matter the why.
“It looks like Microsoft is making some big changes that have, and will continue to upset the apple cart. Change is part of growth. Microsoft’s changes are a pain, but will help all the Microsoft partners get customers to the best place within the ecosystem. I like that the Microsoft Partner Network will become the Microsoft Cloud Partner Program and will be focused: Azure data and artificial intelligence, Azure infrastructure, Azure digital and app innovation, business applications, “modern work” and security.
“We all should be focused on the same, with no real barrier to entry to being a computer company or MSP leads to confusion. Unlike my plumber and electrician who must be licensed, MSP’s can just open and start working. This leaves large gaps that customers don’t understand in offerings.
“So you see, if Microsoft makes changes like this we all have to move with it. Customers will understand the changes and increases in cost when we have large companies like Microsoft pushing the changes. We are excited to see who will be leading this change. July at the partner conference we should find out who that is going to be. I will go ahead and throw my name into the hat.”
“Microsoft has completely lost sight of the people who have helped make MS – the SMB businesses and those who serve them. Cisco never figured out the SMB market and could only buy companies who did.
“MS was really good for so many years….then THIS (the MS licensing crap that is completely MSP ignorant).”
“The Microsoft NCE model and partner incentives are focused on long term relationships and growth. I would think that there was probably a high-end customer license switching from partner to partner than straight turnover with the older partner program.
“It would seem that the NCE changes that Rodney oversaw were not so much directed at smaller MSP models that built a practice around managing Microsoft services, as much as it was designed to drive change in the market and the way end users are managing cloud services.
“Cloud service providers and all-in-one cloud providers may offer more volume opportunities for Microsoft services, but the majority of companies in the SMB and midsize markets are communicating differently today.
“As we move more to cloud and real time communication mediums and media platforms, we will see more communication options in the market. Microsoft is attempting to lock down business to stave off the coming downward trend of our reliance on Microsoft in the business market. We are seeing more and more clients moving to Google, AWS and others to host their cloud services.
“There are more ways for consumers and businesses to communicate today than what allowed Microsoft to dominate the market in the past. A number of small to medium businesses are opting out of traditional email and business office communication methods.
“At recent Channel events, I do recall Rodney making a strong pitch for moving support and other services to the cloud and having partners such as Sherweb, PAX8 and Intermedia. That is important to understand as both of these hosted cloud and communication providers do more than just hosted email.
“I would not be surprised if Rodney ends up at a hosted cloud communications provider or Microsoft Cloud partner growing their market strategy as a result of his past experiences with Microsoft in cloud, communication and IOT services. All communication growth areas.”
“This happens every few years – Microsoft finds ways to trim down the Certified Partner Community. While this is good for many partners that do maintain high levels of certifications, many of the Registered or Silver Partners will struggle.
“I do hope that Microsoft looks at the community it has tried so hard to build, and realize this new program really hurts the community of Microsoft Partners.”
“It’s a shame to see him go. Rodney has been very helpful to the channel and in assisting organizations grow their Microsoft partnerships. It will be now on Microsoft to bring in someone who can be a voice and to bring direction with the new announced changes. The future will be interesting on several fronts.”
“Microsoft still has one of the best channel programs in the industry. The only people who do it better are channel-only vendors (Huntress, for example). But, truthfully, most don’t have the scale and reach of Microsoft.
“That being said, NCE was a tough pill to swallow for many partners. The transition to Microsoft Cloud Partner will weigh heavily on net new sales, and not existing business. This will affect MSPs who aren’t growing at the channel’s standard pace, potentially leaving them behind in terms of incentives.
“The scale channel (SMBs) is definitely where a lot of the most vulnerable partners play – specifically those still on break/fix and/or VAR business models.”
“We are sorry to see Rodney leave Microsoft as he was very supportive of the partners and the partner channel. However, he was under tremendous pressure with the launch of the new NCE program and changes to the partner program. We are still very positive regarding Microsoft’s support for their partners.”
“We are sorry to see Rodney leave Microsoft as he was very supportive of the partners and the partner channel. However, he was under tremendous pressure with the launch of the new NCE program and changes to the partner program. We are still very positive regarding Microsoft’s support for their partners.”
The channel is abuzz with the news of Rodney Clark unexpectedly exiting Microsoft as global channel chief. Microsoft’s corporate vice president for global partner solutions Nick Parker, to whom Clark reports, revealed the unexpected news on Monday.
A longtime Microsoft company veteran, Clark took over as the company’s channel chief last year, replacing Gavriella Schuster. Clark shared news of his planned departure on his LinkedIn profile.
Exits and Angst
Clark’s departure understandably rocked the channel a bit, especially considering he doesn’t yet have a replacement lined up. The announcement also highlights the controversy surrounding Microsoft and its channel challenges amid the recent rollout of its New Commerce Experience for Microsoft 365.
As a refresher, the tech giant pushed back the date when legacy subscriptions for Microsoft 365 and other big packages have to be bought through the New Commerce Experience. This rather abrupt switch indefinitely delayed the final phase of the plan to move Azure purchases to NCE.
Addressing Partner Pain Points
Microsoft’s Tyler Bryson
At last month’s Channel Partners Conference & Expo, Tyler Bryson, Microsoft corporate vice president of global partner solutions, U.S., addressed the challenges and partners’ hesitancy to accept them.
We know change is hard.” He went on to emphasize: “This is not the removal of benefits for anyone. This is about starting, in October, a means for our partners to really start to differentiate themselves in our six course solution areas.”
Bryson also underscored that the company has created the new program to enable growth for the company and its partners.
“There’s so much more to do together,” he said. “Left to right, we have six $10 billion businesses now that our partners can designate themselves as ready for market. And that’s what we want to do, is open up those routes to market for you.”
Outcomes, My Dear Watson
Microsoft’s Rodrigo Kede Lima
At the Ingram Micro Cloud Summit 2022 event this week, Microsoft Corporate Vice President and President for Latin America Rodrigo Kede Lima addressed these changes.
“Microsoft has dramatically changed over the past few years. It went from a product company, to what I call an outcome company. So we are a company now that wants to solve complex business problems for our customers. We are a company that wants to help our customers to address huge market opportunities.”
Lima also addressed the fact that Microsoft has shifted from being a product company to an outcome company.
“Our aim, truly, is to be trusted business advisers who help solve complex business problems. We want to help customers capture the market opportunity to do that.”
With the news of Clark’s departure, we asked partners to share their insights on the exit, and how that factors into their perception of the program switcheroo.
Click through the gallery above to see what they had to say.
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