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Hello Windows users,
 Microsoft announced this week that it has created a new worldwide services organization that will integrate Microsoft Consulting Services (MCS) and Product Support Services (PSS). With this change, Microsoft expects that it will be better positioned to provide more integrated consulting and support services for its enterprise customers. This new services organization will be led by Robert McDowell, who becomes the company's vice president of worldwide services.
"We are committing to a deeper, more intimate relationship with our key customers and partners," McDowell said. "With the new Microsoft® .NET Enterprise Servers, Microsoft has stepped up and delivered the best products for global-class e-business; the time is right for us to focus on delivering the level of consulting and support required by that marketplace."
Microsoft's consulting and support team of professionals has grown steadily over the past several years at a rate of more than 20 percent annually and will continue to grow, an indication of the company's increasingly strategic role in the enterprise. Today, nearly one-third of Microsoft employees are focused on services (more than 4,000 consultants in MCS and 9,000 support professionals in PSS). The skill and scope of Microsoft's services professionals have also grown to meet the needs of a wide range of customer solutions, with an emphasis on those based on new products early in the adoption life cycle.
Microsoft's partner model has not changed: Microsoft remains firmly committed to partners to ensure that joint customers have choice and confidence in the skill and experience available to build and support their solutions. Microsoft expects the changes it announced to increase the business for partners, as they will expand the overall market opportunity, particularly for mission-critical solutions based on products such as the BizTalk™ server and the .NET Enterprise Servers.
"Success in e-business is not just the result of choosing the right product; it requires an entire team committed to a customer solution, and services are an essential part of that solution," McDowell said. "Microsoft, together with its strong alliance of partners, is committed to helping customers achieve great value from Microsoft technologies. Even when we are in the prime position, as we were with the United Kingdom Gateway project, we will continue to rely on the expertise of our partners to deliver complete enterprise solutions."
More information can be obtained by contacting a local Microsoft Consulting Services office or by visiting the Microsoft Consulting Services Web site.
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28 April 2001, Vol 4 No. 17
