REDMOND, Wash. — May 19, 2008 —Beginning today, customers of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 with a qualified Volume Licensing Software Assurance enrollment can benefit from SharePoint Deployment Planning Services (SDPS), a new, partner-delivered offering designed to help customers successfully plan their deployment of SharePoint. Microsoft Corp., which is now concluding a pilot of SDPS, developed the offering in response to the remarkable reception and growth of SharePoint, the robust, multifaceted productivity platform.
SharePoint Deployment Planning Services (SDPS), a new, partner-delivered offering designed to help customers successfully plan their deployment of SharePoint, offers customers a one-, three-, five-, 10- or 15-day deployment planning service, based on their individual Software Assurance (SA) benefit level. Redmond, Wash., May 19, 2008.
“Customers told us they got the most out of SharePoint when they brought in a SharePoint Certified Consultant in the early stages to help with deployment planning,” said Tom Rizzo, director of SharePoint at Microsoft. “SDPS is a great matchup between our customers and our partners, because the customers win twice: They get deployment planning to help ensure the best possible results on the SharePoint platform, but also an added value for their investment in Software Assurance.”
“The SDPS engagement put us ahead of the game,” said Dorothy A. Chuday, senior policy analyst at the Internal Revenue Service. “We are learning how to use the technology and actually building a solution using the program. We now have a demo to show to the rest of our business units, making it easier for others to see the value.”
SDPS introduces a host of new knowledge offerings to the SharePoint partner community for customers’ benefit. These tools include SharePoint Deployment Plan Templates, Architecture Design Guidance Documents, and SharePoint server farm deployment guidance.
Microsoft partners that currently have Microsoft Competencies in Information Worker Portals and Collaboration, Enterprise Content Management, or Search specializations can now advance their skills and become certified to participate in the SDPS offering. In return, these partners will be reimbursed by Microsoft to deliver SharePoint deployment planning consultation to customers. In addition, SDPS-certified partners will be able to participate in a new online community that Microsoft has established to enable collaboration and information sharing among partners on SharePoint deployment best practices. Partners can get more details and register to be an SDPS provider at http://www.microsoftsdps.com.
“There’s incredible interest in SharePoint,” said Peter Menadue, general manager of Application Integration for Dimension Data PLC, which participated in the SDPS pilot. “SDPS has driven good initial engagements with clients around SharePoint, and it’s been valuable to build our business.”
SDPS is part of a quarterly update to Microsoft Software Assurance, a comprehensive maintenance program that provides customers with access to the latest technology and productivity benefits such as product updates, training, support and services.
SDPS is available now. More information on SDPS can be found at https://www.microsoft.com/licensing/sa/default.mspx.
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