Partner Readiness Space - Beta

Release Timeline     Upgrade to RC     Migration Path     RC Feedback     Resources

Windows 7 RC availability begins April 30!   Now is the time to get ready and prepare to give your customers an early heads up.

Call to Action:

·        Download RC within your own environment beginning April 30^th

·        Email attached customer ready communication to your customers beginning April 30^th (DO NOT DISTRIBUTE PRIOR TO APRIL 30^TH – SEE AVAILABILITY BELOW)

Note: Sending this communication prior to April 30^th will result in dissatisfaction among customers as RC downloads will not yet be available.

Windows 7 Availability

·        4/30  - RC Availability to managed Beta programs including MSDN and TechNet subscribers, Connect Beta testers, and TAP customers

·        5/5 – Availability through the Customer Preview Program. Anyone can download the RC build through this program.

·        TBD – RTM availability has not been set yet. See timing guidance below.

As with the Beta, customers will be able to download Windows 7 RC online from Windows.com, TechNet and MSDN.  There will be no limits on the number of keys provided or the number of Windows 7 downloads supported.  RC downloads will be available at least through June 2009. 

Windows 7 Release Timeline, including RTM guidance?

In talking about the delivery of Windows 7 and when we expect to achieve the next milestones in the product release, it’s important to talk about the key milestones, and the goals and principles that we plan to achieve at each stage; then you as the partner can be the judge as to whether we achieved the goal of each milestone, the quality of the product, and when you believe we will release the product.

• PDC (Professional Developers Conference). The first major milestone was the release at PDC of the Milestone 3 (M3) build of Windows 7.  The goal at this point was to provide a product that was platform complete and reliable to release to the developer (ISV) and IHV ecosystem and enable them to start preparing their applications and hardware for Windows 7.   The feedback was very positive.

• Beta.  In the January timeframe, the goal was to provide a product that performed well, was reliable and was feature complete, so that we could share it with a broad set of end users and IT professionals, providing them with a first look at the upcoming OS and allowing them to factor Windows 7 into their deployment and migration planning.  It is estimated that 2.8M customers installed and used Windows 7 Beta. The customer reception has been very positive.   Customer feedback and beta testing results are the key factor in defining the timing of the next milestone. 

• RC (Release Candidate).  Our next release, Windows 7 RC, will be available beginning April 30th.  The goal for the RC is to deliver a very high quality product that demonstrates our aspiration on the quality of the final RTM version.   With RC our goal is to get broad evaluation from IT Professionals and businesses testing it in their environments.

• RTM.  The final engineering milestone is the release to manufacturing (RTM).  This release is typically 3-5 months after the RC.  We believe the product is very high quality and to date have received very positive feedback.  This might result in RTM delivery before the 3-5 months timeframe.  But ultimately you'll decide the quality and assess the delivery once you download and use the RC.  Customer and partner feedback will determine how quickly we release after RC. The released version of Windows 7 will typically be made available to our Windows Volume Licensing customers 2-3 weeks after RTM.

Why should partners and customers upgrade to Windows 7 RC?

·        First, to experience the latest that Windows 7 has to offer.  Several new features, including XP VPC, are available in the RC build of Windows 7.  Also, users will experience continued improvements in overall system performance and polish.

·        Second, for those using a Beta version of Windows 7, it is important to migrate to Windows 7 RC to avoid the timebomb that is build into Windows 7 Beta.  That timebomb will activate on 7/1/2009.   Two weeks before the timebomb activates (on 6/17), users will begin receiving frequent notifications about the timebomb.  When the timebomb activates, users will experience frequent notifications and forced reboots.

Please advise your customers who are using the Windows 7 Beta to migrate to Windows 7 RC to avoid the timebomb.  It is imperative that everyone running Windows 7 Beta move to RC, when available.  Note that all Beta customers who registered for a key will receive several e-mails notifying them of the timebomb and encouraging them to move to Windows 7 RC.  (Windows 7 RC also has a built-in timebomb, but this will not activate until 3/1/2010.)

What is the recommended path to migrate to Windows 7 RC?

The recommended path to migrate to Windows 7 RC depends on what operating system you are currently running:

In all of these scenarios, the Windows Easy Transfer tool can be used make it easier to restore files and settings after a clean install.

 How will Microsoft collect and use feedback from Windows 7 RC?

The “Send Feedback” feature isn’t in Windows 7 RC, because we’re at a later stage of the software development process. With this release, we’re focused on verifying that all the changes and fixes we made based on the Beta tests and feedback are working correctly. We do that by gathering the automatically generated information (called telemetry) that your PC sends us when you use Windows 7 RC.  Telemetry provides information about when your computer hangs, crashes or has performance issues, and it lets us know what applications or devices you were using when you experienced problems.  It is important that we get this data from thousands of different hardware configurations in order to complete Windows 7.  This will help us confirm that the fixes we included based on Beta feedback work on a wide range of hardware, and identify any new problems. 

Where can I get Windows 7 materials?

-        Windows 7 MSPP Site

-        Windows 7 Customer Site

-        Windows 7 Shop

The purpose of this session will be for Exchange consultants to get a deep dive of Exchange 2010. We'll look at all the new features and functions of Exchange 2010. We will allow plenty of time for Q & A so that you will be prepared to have deep conversations with customers. I will also provide links to customer ready content.

Live Meeting:

https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/microsoft/meet/tedwill

Sorry for the confusion on this.  After I sent this out to you, I was updated that this event will be offered on 5/18. 

WVC30PAL

Values of Windows 7 Professional + Virtual Windows XP for Partners

RL FY09 Q4 5/18/2009 8:00 AM

https://training.partner.microsoft.com/plc/details.aspx?publisher=12&delivery=265655

2 Virtualization Academy Live Partner Readiness events:

"Desktop Virtualization: Providing Your Customers with Clear Guidance" with Alexander Rublowsky (WVC47AL)

"Future of Virtual PC" with Fei Lu and Brett Polen (WVC45AL)

WVC45AL            https://training.partner.microsoft.com/plc/details.aspx?publisher=12&delivery=266632

WVC45AL2          https://training.partner.microsoft.com/plc/details.aspx?publisher=12&delivery=266633

Microsoft Windows^® 7 Partner Readiness Day - Virtual Event

Event Agenda

Keynote Details

Registration

Please join us for the Microsoft Windows 7 Virtual Partner Readiness Day on May 7^th, 2009

At this FREE virtual event you will have the opportunity to learn about Windows 7, the next-generation operating system from Microsoft. You can take advantage of the readiness and marketing tools made available specifically for partners to help prepare for Windows 7 business opportunities.

Virtual Location: www.WindowsPartnerReadinessDay.com

Day: Thursday, May 7, 2009

Time: 8:00 a.m. - 2:45 p.m. (PST)

Registration: This event is FREE. Register today to reserve your spot.

All registrants will be notified the day prior with the live feed link to the event.

Windows 7 Partner Readiness Day will provide the resources you need to become a Windows 7 expert and help better prepare you for customer conversations. Microsoft executives and product experts will be on hand to answer all your questions and to provide you with a look at the following Microsoft product strategies:

· Industry trends and how Windows 7 will affect the marketplace

· The business opportunities that Windows 7 brings for partners

· An overview of the key steps and programs to get ready for Windows 7

Register today for the Windows 7 Virtual Partner Readiness Day!

BTS19AAL: Unlock the Information Assets on the Mainframe through BizTalk Host Integration Server

Presented by Paul Larsen and Syed Rasheed

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

8:30-10:00am Pacific Time

Click here to calculate your local time

PLC Registration Link for Partners

Internal Microsoft Link – not yet available

Level:  200

Partner Type:  Enterprise Software Advisor, Regional Solution Partner, Systems Integrator, Value Added Reseller, Value Added Provider

Partner Role:  Implementer, Marketing, Sales

For many companies, there are strong business imperatives to leverage past IT investments, and nowhere is this more applicable than in unlocking the enormous corporate value bound up in the mainframe and its resources. In order to effectively leverage these investments for increased value, mainframe-based technology, applications and information stores need to be integrated with the distributed IT systems to much broader user base and business scenarios.

BI63PAL: Learn More SharePoint and Create More Opportunities for Your BI Practice

Presented by Nic Smith and Pej Javaheri

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

8:30-10:00am Pacific Time

Click here to calculate your local time

PLC Registration Link for Partners

Internal Microsoft Link

Level:  200

Partner Type:  Authorized Education Reseller, CPLS, Enterprise Software Advisor, Independent Software Vendor, Large Account Reseller, Systems Integrator, Value Added Reseller, Value Added Provider

Partner Role:  Architect, Developer, Exec/Owner, Implementer, Marketing, Sales

Learn how the SharePoint business productivity platform and all its capabilities can open new opportunities for your Business Intelligence business.  In this webcast for all partners but BI Partners in specific Senior Product Managers from Microsoft HQ in Redmond from the BI and SharePoint teams will discuss and demonstrate the SharePoint capabilities, how Microsoft BI truly becomes a “BI for the masses” when delivered through SharePoint and how to take advantage of upsell/cross sell opportunities and scenarios to the hundreds of thousands of SharePoint seats already sold to customers across Latin America.  We want to make your business strong.  We would be pleased with your attendance.

BI62PAL: SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services Overview

Presented by Sabrena McBride

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

5:00-6:00pm Pacific Time

Click here to calculate your local time

PLC Registration Link for Partners

Internal Microsoft Link

Level:  200

Partner Type:  Independent Software Vendor, Large Account Reseller, Managed (Field Managed Service Partner), Regional Solution Partner, System Builder, Systems Integrator, Value Added Reseller, Value Added Provider

Partner Role:  Developer, Exec/Owner, Implementer, Sales

Attend this webcast to learn more about SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services, a comprehensive platform for authoring, management and delivery of rich, interactive reports to the entire enterprise. While the session will provide a high level overview of Reporting Services in general, emphasis will be on introducing you to some of the key new capabilities that will be available with the next release of Reporting Services. You will also have the opportunity to see Reporting Services 2008 in action. In particular you will learn how the new report authoring environments will empower more users - both developers and business users - within the organization to enrich reports leveraging innovative report layout capabilities and new powerful visualizations.

BizTalk Server Landing Page (NEW)

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SQL Server 2008

Labcast: Updating Your Skills to Microsoft SQL Server 2008 (Technical, 1 Day)

Partnercast: How to Sell SQL 2008 to Small and Medium Business Customers (Sales, 8 minutes)

Partnercast: SQL Server 2008: How SQL Server Saves Customers Money ! (Part 4) (Sales, 6 minutes)

Web Seminar Series: SQL Server 2008 – 70-432 Exam Prep Web Seminar Series: TS Exam Implementation and Maintenance (Technical, 6-part)

Web Seminar Series: SQL Server 2008 – 70-448 Exam Prep Web Seminar Series: TS Exam: Business Intelligence Development and Maintenance (Technical, 6-part)

Web Seminar Series: SQL Server 2008 - 70-452 Exam Prep Web Seminar Series: PRO Exam: Designing a Business Intelligence Infrastructure Using Microsoft SQL Server 2008 (Technical, 6-part)

Click here for more Sales and Technical SQL Server Training