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Why Microsoft Dynamics Partners Look to LARs

10/19/2011 9:00:00 AM

This is an article reprint of the same name from MSDynamicsWorld.com that was written by Linda Rosencrance and published October 6, 2011.

When Green Beacon Solutions and its partner, PointBridge were trying to reach customers to sell them a bundled solution of both Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online and Microsoft Office 365, they looked to a Microsoft LAR (Large Account Reseller) to help them contact the best potential customers for these combined deals.

And with Dynamics partners looking to re-align their strategy around Microsoft's latest product positioning and sales strategy, like the opportunity to bundle Office 365 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online on the same bill and the same provisioning engine, the added complexity of the deals will bring new challenges. It also means that both selling and delivering the solution requires an expertise in multiple platforms, so Dynamics CRM partners have begun teaming up with partners that have expertise in the Office 365 suite.

The Role of LARs

Some Microsoft partners are turning to Microsoft LARs like SoftwareOne to help them find the right customers for these blended deals, as well as the guidance on the right licensing approach.

"We are very unique," said Pamela MacRae, a business development manager at SoftwareOne. "We solely focus on licensing because it's so complex. We do it for Microsoft, but we also do it for Oracle, Adobe-all the top-tier vendors, and then we partner with companies like Green Beacon for Dynamics."

LARs are authorized by Microsoft to sell licenses to mid-size and enterprise accounts through a special volume licensing program that has more generous discounts than Microsoft's standard licensing program. Generally, LARs work with customer accounts that have 250 or more desktops or users.

So rather than be what most LARs try to be, which is a jack-of-all-trades covering licensing and software implementation services, MacRae said SoftwareOne chooses to be an expert in a particular area.

Touching Multiple Microsoft Solutions (like Office 365 and Dynamics CRM)

MacRae said SoftwareOne is in a very unique position because the company talks to its clients about a number of different things so it's a very natural progression to talk about moving to the cloud and doing some things online, whether it's for CRM or Office 365 or both.

Selling Office 365 and CRM Online helps the systems integrators because it's an opportunity to help smaller as well as larger clients figure out the best possible solutions for their companies, according to Debra Pfundstein, Channel Development Manager at SoftwareOne.

"The opportunity is there to be able to work with a service provider or systems integrator that provides both the opportunity to deliver those on-prem solutions as a headquarter model as well as a cloud-based solution for what could be multiple offices or multiple locations or even mobile workforces," she said.

MacRae said SoftwareOne plays a trusted advisor role with its clients. "If that means we're bringing leads to Green Beacon because we've uncovered service opportunities that we do not provide then that's just a win for everyone involved," she said. "For Green Beacon it's considered leads, for us it's considered a solution set to help our client not just have licenses and not just chance solutions but to have them properly implemented."

Growing Cloud Interest

"There's absolutely a tremendous amount of interest in moving to the cloud," MacRae says. "I would say more [companies] feel comfortable starting off with CRM because they're used to what's already been out there in the market, for example Salesforce.com as opposed to moving some of their desktop applications where they feel like they're moving a little bit of control."

"So our methodology is that we help educate them on what they have for licenses, what their entitlement is and help them understand the pros and cons of the different licensing avenues that they can take," she said. "Then it generally will free up some of their IT budget to work with partners for a very successful implementation. It will help them reduce cost tremendously, and eliminate any type of compliance risk. So whether it's working with someone like Green Beacon Solutions, ultimately we want to have our clienst have a very successful implementation and at the end of the day, we're one of the links within that chain of a full implementation."

How a LAR Engages with Microsoft Customers

According to MacRae, there are a couple of different ways SoftwareOne would engage with a Microsoft customer or prospect looking at their license situation.

"Either I'm talking to some of our clients about their licensing, and their overall strategy of what they're trying to accomplish this year, and we'll assist them by breaking things down by project and help them proactively manage all of their assets on the software side," MacRae said. Then after the customers discuss some of the business issues they're faced with and some of the technology solutions they're considering, SoftwareOne will introduce them to companies like Green Beacon Solutions to help solve their problems, she said.

"The other way is, say Green Beacon is working with a client on implementing an [enterprise resource planning] ERP system, or a [customer relationship management] CRM system, or some type of business intelligence," MacRae said. "And when they're doing a project, chances are they're going to need some type of licensing of software to help them with that project. Even if it's on the back end for SQL or Windows or something else. That's where SoftwareOne would then be pulled into the picture to say: 'OK, again let's make sure as you look at this entire project and that you're also addressing your licensing needs, so that you're not overpaying, you're not over licensing, and you're in line with all of the items you need for this to be completely successful."

MacRae said SoftwareOne also works with customers to ensure that their IT staffs are trained, by introducing training partners and to ensure that their end users are utilizing the software correctly.

"And we just continue to work with them because after one project is completed, generally there's another one," she said.

Focus on Licenses, Not Services

MacRae said Microsoft partners like working with SoftwareOne because the company has a non-compete business model.

"When we work with our partners, again this is very unique to our business, if our partner introduces us into an account and if the customer chooses the lower category of an open license agreement through Microsoft rather than an enterprise agreement at that point the VAR can do it, so we let them," she said. "That's when we push back to the partner, and say, 'You know if you'd like to license this we'll literally back off.' We're just there in the background to support them. So that is one of the risks that SoftwareOne takes, but we look at it as building our partnership. At the end of the day, we want the client to have a good implementation."

Although there are 12 other resellers in the US with the LARs designation, SoftwareOne is the only LAR that uses that approach, said Pfundstein. Other resellers that have the same LARs designation as SoftwareOne also offer services.

"So most partners will choose us - it's to their benefit to choose us - over one of our competitors, because we're never going to compete with them," she said. "We're always going to push them out in front of us, from a services perspective."