While it’s not necessarily ‘pure’ outsourcing, but rather “crowdsourcing”, I really like a site called CrowdSPRING. Chances are, you can probably get some tasks done for cheaper, but, I always appreciated how you can tap into the collective wisdom of crowds….When I needed one logo done, I received upwards of 50-100 entries for my consideration. Of course, there are some ‘downsides’ to crowdsourcing, particularly from the stance of the creative, who ‘could’ work endless hours on a project, only to find out that they get nothing because they weren’t chosen as the winner.

Thanks for your blog post, Mason….heading back over to listen to that podcast now,
Howie

A perfect example is a database. A company wants to keep track of something. A database is the ideal way to do this. But does anyone at that company understand enough about database design to implement the database, design the forms and reports to make it easy enough for the clerks in the company to use, and then train the clerks?

The result is Microsoft’s partnering philosophy. If you will set up your company to take Microsofts basic software and make it work as the final customer wants, then Microsoft wants to work with you, will supply you with support and leads, give you all kinds of advantages.

The alternative in the IT industry is to do your own thing, perhaps in competition with Microsoft. History tends to say that this isn’t all that wise.

The authors fo this book are experts in working with Microsoft. In this book they give you the whole scoop, including the bad points (Suppose the customer really should use Linux!).
Rating: 5 / 5

Dinsmore and O’Connor begin this book by telling you why you should partner with Microsoft. Next, the authors detail the core attributes of Microsoft’s culture, organization and strategy, and explain the position of Microsoft’s partners in its ecosystem. Then, they build on the responsible understanding of the ecosystem by elucidating the principles of partnering with Microsoft. The authors next focus on the partnering tactics that successful ISVs employ vis-a-vis Microsoft. Dinsmore and O’Connor continue by focusing on the partnering tactics that successful services firms employ vis-a-vis Microsoft. In addition, the authors focus on the partnering tactics that successful resellers employ vis-a-vis Microsoft. Finally, they advance the tactics implicit earlier in the book; that is: how to leverage other Microsoft partners not only to improve your relationship with the company, but to accentuate your firm’s success by working productively with other partners in Microsoft’s Partner Ecosystem.

With the preceding in mind, the authors have done an excellent job of helping your firm come to terms with Microsoft, to assess and mitigate the risks of partnering, and to pursue and realize the rewards of partnering with this globally successful company. At the end of the day, only by understanding what makes Microsoft tick and how the company thinks and behaves, can your firm be a successful Microsoft partner.

Rating: 5 / 5

I did like how the author starts out by talking about how Microsoft views the partner ecosystem. The author compares the Microsoft partner ecosystem to other big software/hardware makers such as Oracle, Sun, Apple, and IBM. With a partner driven model, these chapters helped frame how good we have it in the Microsoft ecosystem.

The book contains sections on how different types of partners can be successful with Microsoft. The author compares working with the Microsoft corporate office versus the field sales teams. I found this very beneficial in how I prioritize my time investing with Microsoft personnel. I work for a services partner so the software partner, reseller partner, and hardware partner chapters were not very beneficial to me. However, those chapters may be a good reference for future use.

I found the book to be a slow read compared to the last dozen business books I’ve ready this year. Perhaps it was because I’ve been doing this type of work for years. I also became weary of how the author repeatedly told the reader he was going to answer a question in a future chapter. By the time I read the later chapter, I didn’t go back and cross reference the question. Am I supposed to be doing that?

Despite some concerns with the book, this is a must read for any professional working for a Microsoft partner; especially in a sales role.

Rating: 3 / 5