Study Reveals Microsoft Partner Ecosystem Revenues of $580 Billion in 2010

REDMOND, Wash., March 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, global research firm IDC issued a new white paper which estimates that members of the worldwide Microsoft ecosystem generated local revenues for themselves of $580 billion in 2010, up from $537 billion in 2009 and $475 billion in 2007. This demonstrates strong revenue growth when total worldwide IT spending increased less than half a percent, and validates the substantial opportunities and benefits available through the Microsoft Partner Network, the program that equips Microsoft partners with training, resources and support they need to successfully compete in today's marketplace while allowing customers to easily identify the right partner for their technology needs.

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Through the Microsoft Partner Network https://partner.microsoft.com, partners can extend their market reach for greater opportunities and profitability while delivering innovative solutions to help customers achieve their business goals. The IDC study estimates that for every dollar of revenue made by Microsoft Corp. in 2009, local members of the Microsoft ecosystem generated revenues for themselves of $8.70. In an additional study on Microsoft Core Infrastructure Optimization, IDC found that partners that invested in more difficult or a greater number of Microsoft competencies enjoyed 68 percent larger deals and 28 percent more revenue per employee, compared with partners that invested less.

"The Microsoft Partner Network has allowed us to extend and grow our business by delivering innovative solutions to our customers," said Tom Chew, national general manager of Slalom Consulting. "Over the past year, we've increased revenue 45 percent and built strong momentum with Microsoft technologies around cloud services, business intelligence, portals and collaboration, dynamics, and unified communications. As a Microsoft partner, we've been able to differentiate Slalom and grow rapidly in an extremely challenging business landscape."

"Microsoft and its partners make a significant impact on the global economy," said Darren Bibby, program vice president for IDC Software Channels and Alliances Research. "Microsoft does an excellent job of providing great products for partners to work with, as well as effective sales, marketing and training resources. And the number of Microsoft partners working together is growing. The result is that the Microsoft ecosystem has achieved impressive results and has a very bright future."

The Microsoft-commissioned IDC report reveals that the modifications made to the Microsoft Partner Network equip Microsoft partners with the training, resources and support they need to be well-positioned in the competitive IT marketplace, both with the current lineup of Microsoft products and in the cloud. Cloud-based solutions offer Microsoft partners the opportunity to grow by extending their current businesses via cloud infrastructure-as-a-service (private and/or public), software-as-a-service (Microsoft Business Productivity Online Standard Suite and/or Office 365), platform-as-a-service (Windows Azure) or a hybrid combined with on-premise solutions. Microsoft's cloud offerings are based on products customers already use and that partners have already built their businesses around.

According to the IDC study, implementation of cloud computing is forecast to add more than $800 billion in net new business revenues to worldwide economies over the next three years, helping explain why Microsoft has made cloud computing one of its top business priorities.

"As business models continue to change, the Microsoft Partner Network allows partners to quickly and easily identify other partners with the right skill sets to meet their business needs, so Microsoft partners are set up to compete and drive profits now and in the future," said Jon Roskill, corporate vice president of the Worldwide Partner Group at Microsoft. "The data provided in IDC's study reflect the fact that the opportunities available to partners will have them poised for success now and in the future."

The IDC research paper illustrates how partner-to-partner activity within the Microsoft Partner Network has increased, both on a per-partner basis and as a whole. In a study of the International Association of Microsoft Channel Partners, IDC found that the value of partner-to-partner activities within the community rose from $6.8 billion in 2007 to $10.1 billion in 2009. Among other reasons, more partners were able to work together to differentiate themselves and shorten their time to market, increasing their reach and extending their capabilities to capture additional and larger customer opportunities.

More information about joining the Microsoft Partners Network is available at https://partner.microsoft.com, and the IDC white paper, commissioned by Microsoft, can be viewed at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/partnernetwork/docs/IDC_WP_0211.pdf.

About Microsoft's Partner Network

Microsoft invests in the success of its partner channel and approximately 640,000 organizations make up Microsoft's partner ecosystem. Partners have been instrumental to Microsoft's success over its 33-year history, and they have come to rely on Microsoft for the products, technology, tools and resources that enable them to create profitable and unique businesses. Additional information on the Microsoft Partner Network is available at https://partner.microsoft.com.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

SOURCE Microsoft Corp.