Microsoft, its partners, and the ‘last-mile problem’

Microsoft has always had an interesting relationship with its channel partners. For many years, there has been a bit of a demilitarized relationship between it and the software providers and the consultants that sell and implement software for Microsoft. Like many industries, Microsoft has a “last-mile problem.”The company can develop the product, but it’s that last delivery mile that can be hard to manage. Early on, Microsoft had a tiered program where better partners were ca