- Welcome to the Microsoft Partner Innovation Vodcast.
I'm your host, Jennifer Zarate.
And in today's Top of Mind,
I'm joined by vice president
of Global ISV Sales, Casey McGee.
Great to see you, Casey
- It's good to be here with you in person, Jennifer
- And it's great to be in person too.
So obviously the world has changed dramatically
over the past two years
in that there's been countless innovation
driven across the Microsoft partner ecosystem
and there's even greater agility, nuance
and opportunity than ever before.
Can you talk a bit about the transformation
of ISVs that your witnessing take place
across the ecosystem and what that means for partners today?
- Yeah, you bet.
So Microsoft was founded 47 years ago.
From the very first day of our existence as a company,
we were a partner focused company.
And so I love that about our rich history.
Now, if you look back, let's say 10, 15 years ago,
ISVs were software developers that we looked to as customers
who bought our developer tools, right?
So Visual Studio,
really building their software with our tools.
Important aspect of our relationship,
but I don't think captured the full essence
of what we're doing.
Now, if you look 8 to 10 years ago,
our pitch to those ISVs was,
"We have a platform we want you to build on top of,"
at the time it was Windows Server, it was SQL.
Also important aspects of our partnership
but ultimately I don't think that really captured
the essence of what we could do together.
If you look at what we're doing today,
we're really focused on offering both
the technical platform in the Microsoft cloud
and the business platform.
So really helping drive business growth for that ISV.
And so I'm excited about the potential
that we have still to address
these incredible customer challenges and opportunities
with the tech that we build with these partners.
- Now, as we see ISVs continue to evolve,
what are some of the natural challenges
that you think are arising for our ISV partners
and what are some of the ways that Microsoft
is thinking towards that future
to help support an ever-changing environment and demands?
- Even before COVID, you'd say that things
like changing customer requirements and expectations,
keeping employees happy and productive,
these were challenges that we worked with
our ISV partners with to help solve for customers.
Now, if you look at these last two years,
they've changed things dramatically.
So how people work, how people show up
to solve other customer problems.
These are all kind of new dimensions
to some of the same challenges.
Now, returning back to work in a new normal,
you know, we're actually providing
the platform for collaboration,
providing the platform for scale and innovation.
And so really, I think it's partnering with these companies
to make sure they have what they need
to continue to scale and grow.
- And really focusing on
what we do best here at Microsoft,
highlighting that differentiated value.
- That's right.
- So I think a natural question to move into
is what value solutions are you hoping to see
for the channel and our partners moving forward
from all of this change in momentum?
Are there any natural strengths here that stand out to you?
- Yeah, so I'll start with our focus on industry.
So we made a significant bet almost 10 years ago
to really invest both in the people
that understand industry from our perspective
and the solutions that resonate most.
And so I think number one,
I'm looking for the two companies
so Microsoft and our partners to work together
to understand what's important by industry,
so that's the first.
And you know, what is important to a healthcare company
is very different from what'S important to a retail company,
so that's number one.
Number two, it's looking at
how do we leverage the breadth of the ecosystem?
So when we meet with a company like an ISV
or meet with a services partner,
they have their own ecosystems that they work with.
And so understanding how to leverage
the power of that ecosystem is just so critical.
- And can you share a bit more
about how Microsoft is reapproaching or evolving
its work with ISVs going into fiscal year 2023?
- Yeah, great.
Two big areas of focus.
Let me start with making sure all of our ISVs
have access to the technical depth
whether that's through our digital engines,
whether that's through engagement with engineering,
really being there to support
their development efforts on the Microsoft cloud.
So first and foremost, making sure that the tech is there
and ready to empower their innovation.
The second on the co-sell and go to market side,
really opening up new channels
whether that's through partners, through marketplace
or with our direct sellers
to provide them a path to new customer growth.
Those are two big pushes for us in FY23
- All the more to get excited about, right?
- That's right.
- Now let's talk about what partners can look forward to
at this year's Microsoft Inspire.
- Yeah, great.
So if you look at the Microsoft cloud, right?
So we've talked about Azure in the past,
we've talked about Teams, the power of the Microsoft cloud
as it connects to our industry solutions,
I'm really excited about that.
So whether it's Judson or Nick or Rodney,
really talking about how do we unlock
the power of the Microsoft cloud.
That's number one.
Number two, these new programs that we're launching for FY23
are very focused on delivering customer growth
through our partner channel.
And so really,
how do we provide better incentives through our marketplace?
How do we provide better co-sell incentives
to ensure that our sellers see the value in partnering?
All of that translates into new growth
for our ISV ecosystem.
- Excellent.
Well, Casey, thank you so much for taking the time
to speak with me today.
- Yeah, Thank you, Jennifer.
- And to all of you for tuning in to today's Top of Mind
on the Microsoft Partner Innovation Vodcast,
I'm Jennifer Zarate.
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