Unique Opportunity To Get Microsoft Gold Certified

Opportunity Summary

We have a version control application for sale, which is Microsoft certified and referenced and will thus qualify the purchaser to Microsoft Gold ISV Competency status under the stricter new Microsoft Partner Network rules that have just been rolled out.

The application itself is a little basic, but essentially mounts a hierarchical file system with source control onto a SQL Server database. The main value of the proposition is in qualifying for the new Gold ISV Competency. It was effectively developed as a proof of concept to understand the new requirements.

Becoming a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner has always been very difficult, requiring a large number of staff to pass exams and customers to give references, and posing a continual management burden and expense. Microsoft just raised the stakes, by making it significantly harder to reach the Gold level – many existing partners are unable to renew, the requirements have shot much higher, and most of the simpler certifications (e.g. MCSE) have been retired from eligibility. Along with the requirements becoming much more involved, there’s also a significant increase in the level of benefits, and the opportunities are also amplified as significantly fewer partners are able to hit the grade.

The ISV Competency has always been an attractive vehicle for Microsoft Gold Certification, as it allows software to be tested in place of your staff. The downside is really the cost and complexity of the sotware certifications (done via Veritest), which can be significant (though good value in relation to the benefits). Our source control application passes the required ISV certifications and references / CSAT, and we’ll underwrite 3 years full compliance with the Microsoft Partner Program requirements and terms.

The benefits of Microsoft Gold Competency status are significant, and include :

(1) The power of logo, and the prestige and credibility that it bestows. Many firms will only deal with Gold Partners, and we certainly noticed an instant effect in terms of marketing and tender responses. You also get flags and plaques to show off your new status.
(2) Sales leads referred from the local Microsoft territory.
(3) An internal-use software package nominally worth over £2 million, including hundreds of copies of most Microsoft applications, 35 MSDN Premium subscriptions (worth £3K each) and even MBS solutions. You can basically rely on slashing your software budget down to zero.
(4) A free PR bureau, subsidised marketing.
(5) Free use of Microsoft presenters and offices for client events.
(6) Bundled technical support and training resources.
(7) The benefits of a direct, well-connected contact at Microsoft, who will help you to form a joint business plan.
(8) Free Exchange, Office Live and Azure application hosting.
(9) Numerous other benefits at all levels to help you grow your business.

We are a Gold Partner IT consultancy ourselves, and get real value from it.

This is an amazing and unique opportunity, and we’re looking for $10K – a fraction of the cost of doing it yourself. We may be amenable to annual or monthly payments in return for a small premium - say $325 per month over 36 months. The certification records could be transferred within 2 weeks.