Microsoft Partners invade Washington
The annual Microsoft Worldwide Partner conference was held in Washington, D.C. While U.S. President Barack Obama ran the U.S. from the Whitehouse, former president Bill Clinton dropped by the event to address channel partners.
Learn more about this year’s Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in this CDN slide show.
By Paolo Del Nibletto, CDN
The Channel Is No. 1The channel has always been No. 1 with Microsoft and its commitment to partners, which continued at the event with enhancements to its Partner Network program. This Washington Capitals’ hockey jersey was at a World Cup viewing venue set up by Microsoft to accommodate the many partners who wished to view the match. Spain won its first ever World Cup by defeating the Netherlands 1 – 0.
Canadian partners jam the Hard Rock CafeAbout 450 Canadian-based channel partners attended the Worldwide Partner Conference and most of them packed the Hard Rock Cafe to enjoy the annual Canadian party hosted by Microsoft Canada. The Canadian party is usually the highlight of the event
Partner to partner collaborationThe really cool thing about the Microsoft Partner Network is that it embraces all types of partners even competing companies such as Tech Data Canada and Synnex Canada. Pictured here with Jean Julian of Victrix is Greg Myers of Tech Data and Mike Gazdic of Synnex. There were many new partner opportunities at the conference.
Great Big Sea rocks the Canada partyCanadian musical artists Great Big Sea really know how to put on a show and they did exactly that at the Canadian party at the Hard Rock Cafe in Washington. Many solution providers are fans of the band and they were on cloud nine watching Great Big Sea perform. Microsoft also took a big leap into the cloud.
Microsoft gets personal with the cloudThe Canada party was all a buzz about Microsoft’s cloud commitment. Pictured here are Microsoft Canada executives Rochelle Coleman, Gladstone Grant, and Stephanie Brown.
Microsoft outlined a new approach to the cloud on a personal and commercial level.
Biggest Canadian attendanceThis year’s Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference was the most attended ever, with more than 9,000 business partners from around the world and about 450 from Canada. Both are conference records. One of the more interesting new business opportunities for partners that came from the event was Intune.
Old home weekThe Microsoft Partner Conference brings back a lot of alumni such as Derick Wong of Ingram Micro Canada. Wong worked a long time at Microsoft Canada before joining Ingram. He is pictured here with Mark Snider, president of Ingram Micro Canada.
The unforgettable Allison WatsonThis year’s conference would be Allison Watson’s last in the role of worldwide channel chief. Watson dropped by the Canada party and interacted with many Canadian solution providers including Dave Steeves of Steeves & Associates pictured here with Microsoft Canada president Eric Gales.
For more on Allison Watson’s replacement Jon Roskill click here
The hostess with the mostessThe host of the Canada party at the Microsoft Partner Conference was the Canadian channel chief Corinne Sharp, pictured here with Unis Lumin co-founder Mauro Lollo. Sharp has worked hard to position Canadian partners for the lucrative cloud opportunity in the market place. She was also named one of CDN’s 20 top Women executives in the Canadian IT channel.
The After PartyA handful of key Canadian Microsoft solution providers such as CMS Consulting, EnvisionIT, Habanero and others entertained conference attendees including Washington Police, pictured here with HP Canada’s Alano Medonte and David Gauthier, well into the night. A great time was had by all.
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