WPC 2013 Sessions

When up against big competitors, they don’t come much bigger than IBM.  With their recognized thought leadership in the industry,   their broad portfolio that covers a wide variety of functionality and platforms, their ability to scale to the large and complex, and their support for a broad set of practices and development life cycles, they are indeed a mighty competitor.  Which are all good reasons for us to understand them better, so we can disrupt them and win!  In this session, we’ll walk through SWOT comparisons, hear about successes and create an informed story that will help you win.

Providing effective Microsoft Visual Studio customer solutions for key technical challenges can require the right partner-to-partner team that reaches beyond your own organization. This session is a connecting point that provides application lifecycle management (ALM) partners, Visual Studio Industry Partner (VSIP) Program partners, and the Microsoft sales field the opportunity to engage in mutually beneficial solution-selling opportunities around key technical sales roadblocks with Visual Studio. Topics include enabling bring-your-own-device (BYOD) testing, keyword-driven automation, formal requirements management, and enabling third-party ALM system integration.

The application development industry has dramatically evolved over the last three years. With the rise of mobile, social, and cloud, traditional methods of app creation can no longer meet the needs of businesses and end users. Come hear a discussion about the next version of Microsoft Visual Studio—the world’s best end-to-end suite of developer tools—and learn how you can empower development teams, IT, and businesses with the right tools to build rich, modern apps. Discover how to grow your business in the areas of application testing, agile development, quality enablement, and the convergence of development teams and IT operations. This is the kickoff session for the application lifecycle management and software development track and an absolute must-attend session to set up the rest of your WPC experience.

There's no longer any question about the future of cloud computing. Yet many Microsoft partners aren't sure how to transform their business models to pursue this rapidly changing IT market shift. There are fundamental differences in marketing, selling, and delivering solutions, as well as differences internally, such as HR, training, and compensation, that partners must address. Join IDC and cloud-specialist partner NewLease to get an update on the cloud opportunity, and learn about the things that change when you move to a cloud business model. You will walk away with a blueprint of how to begin the transformation to succeed in the cloud.

The four disciplines of execution (4DX) is a simple, repeatable, and proven formula for executing on your most important strategic priorities in the midst of the whirlwind. By following The four disciplines--focusing on the wildly important; acting on lead measures; keeping a compelling scoreboard; and creating a cadence of accountability--leaders can produce breakthrough results, even when executing the strategy requires a significant change in behavior from their teams. 4DX is not theory. It is a proven set of practices that have been tested and refined by hundreds of organizations and thousands of teams over many years. When a company or an individual adheres to these disciplines, they achieve superb results--regardless of the goal. 4DX represents a new way of thinking and working that is essential to thriving in today's competitive climate.

From the introduction of the Microsoft Partner Network, it has been clear that Microsoft wants partners to specialize, declare their core competencies, and distinguish themselves in those disciplines. This, of course, raises the question of what to do with customers who have needs outside those competencies. The best and most powerful answer to that question is “partnering.” Align yourself with other practices that have specialized in whatever competencies your customer requires. But effective partner-to-partner relationships require thorough and careful evaluation of each other’s strengths, business practices, track record, and much more. In this session, long-time International Association of Microsoft Channel Partners (IAMCP) US board member and IT channel veteran Howard M. Cohen shares 30 years of partnering experience building successful projects, new client relationships, and mutual success with other partners, Microsoft, and other members of the Microsoft partner ecosystem.

The social revolution is brewing in the enterprise today. Mobile technologies, business velocity, collaborative engagement, advanced analytics, and unified communications are converging to deliver the promise of enterprise social success. Organizations that miss this paradigm shift from transactional systems to engagement systems will face dire consequences. How can you ensure that enterprise social technologies will be embraced and adoption will be sustainable? Join industry thought leader Dux Raymond Sy in this interactive session as he shares how you can positively transform your organization and lead the enterprise social revolution. You’ll learn how to apply practical steps to drive culture change and effective techniques to promote sustainable adoption with enterprise social technologies in your organization.

Cloud computing is reshaping corporate strategic thinking and implementation. This is demanding a new mindset to match the new skill set that technology companies are taking to market. Businesses are having to reinvent themselves and adapt to change in their environments--change that raises the risk and threat of unknowns or the misunderstood. Businesses need technologists who can talk real subject matter and help navigate them through cloud technology. Information data security is the number-one concern in the minds of business decision makers, when it comes to buying into the new cloud generation of technology. Get answers to your customers’ leading concerns over security and data in the cloud. This presentation is aimed to empower you with the knowledge to build your own service or product discussions with business executives who are confronting their security concerns around cloud adoption.

The rapid growth of cloud shows continued expansion. Industry estimates suggest the worldwide market exceeds US$109 billion and growing. But just adopting a cloud environment isn’t enough. To reap the full benefits, businesses must transform business processes and closely monitor compliance and tax risks. An increase of cost and complexity is inevitably a major challenge to cloud implementation, in part because of some common misconceptions and hype surrounding cloud. Cloud is not simply a “buy, bolt on, and go” solution. Rather, it requires organizations to fundamentally transform the way they procure, manage, and use their IT applications and services, which in turn drives up the cost and complexity of implementation. In addition, cloud offerings may be subject to transactional (ex., sales tax, value-added tax) and income taxes. This session will discuss how system integrators, independent software vendors (ISVs), and resellers identify their tax liability and compliance obligation.

The public cloud market is growing at a 21 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) and will reach US$103 billion in 2017. Microsoft is investing in its Cloud Solutions to capture a significant share of this market, but the success of Microsoft’s partners is at a tipping point; those that align with and invest with Microsoft now will be able to capitalize on the company’s huge installed base as it converts to the cloud. In this session, Technology Business Research Inc.’s Software Practice Director Stuart Williams will walk through the cloud vendor landscape with a focus on opportunity and risk for Microsoft partners. This presentation will show where Microsoft stands in relation to other cloud vendors, and how Microsoft partners are making money by selling Microsoft Cloud Solutions. Session attendees will gain a clear idea of where and how they should invest their resources to capitalize on the cloud opportunity.