Planning Services Introduction
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This document provides information on Microsoft's Software Assurance Planning Services program. It discusses the benefits of planning services engagements for partners, including turnkey resources, guidance for deliverables, and opportunities to build expertise and win follow-on business. It outlines seven planning services offerings that align with Microsoft products and technologies, and describes the engagements, deliverables, and requirements for each offering. The document also provides details on partner and consultant eligibility, initiating engagements with customers, and resources available to support the program.
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Planning Services Introduction
- 1. Introduction Software Assurance Planning Services
- 2. Agenda 2 Why Planning Services? Offerings, Engagements, & Deliverables Getting Started Resources
- 4. 4 Get turnkey resources and delivery guidance to help you provide in-depth planning engagements, improve and scale practices, and open more business opportunities while getting paid by Microsoft.
- 5. Planning Services Overview 5 Covers a broad range of Microsoft products, services, and solutions
- 6. Customer Opportunity (Worldwide) Planning Services engagements are on the rise Who’s eligible? Number of days based on volume of eligible products Example calculation 3,500 Office Pro Plus (3,500 points) +50 Windows Server Ent. (2,500 points) +600 Visio Standard (600 points) 6,600 Applications/Server points = 10 days
- 7. Customers Ready to Deploy 64% of customers expect to deploy 32% of customers are evaluating deployment options Only 4% of customers not deploying (reasons vary, e.g. lack of clarity, business/technical decision maker sign-off, budget)
- 8. Planning Services engagements contribute to Partner pipelines 81% of Partners either win or are likely to win follow-on business 12% of Partners await a customer decision Follow-on Business 1 58%2 23% 3 11% 4 1% 5 2% 6 5% Future Spend
- 9. Leverage program to build expertise and practice: Best practices delivery content to guide you through an engagement Customizable sales and technical presentations, documents, and templates Access to product deployment reference materials Turnkey Resources for Repeatable Engagements 9
- 11. SharePoint Create a deployment plan for Office and/or Windows or initiate an Office 365 FastTrack planning engagement Get guidance and hands- on training on migrating applications and data to Microsoft Azure Get fundamental analysis, understand processes and procedures to optimize your datacenter Evaluate and plan your Exchange and Lync deployment, or perform an Office 365 FastTrack planning engagement Build an effective deployment plan, or deliver an Office 365 FastTrack planning engagement Get help assessing and planning for deploying or migrating content to SQL Server, or implementing Dynamics CRM Gain analysis and process-focused approach to develop deployment plans for Visual Studio Team Foundation Server Planning Services Offerings
- 12. Each of the 7 offerings align to a product or group of products and technologies Some offerings have multiple engagements Offerings provide engagements of varying lengths Each engagement has a different purpose and related content Refer to specific engagement delivery guides for details Understanding Offerings & Engagements 12
- 13. Planning Services Vouchers Customers use the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) to access Software Assurance benefits and create Planning Services vouchers 13
- 14. All Planning Services engagements should end with a presentation of the engagement findings and recommendations – your final deliverable to your customer and Microsoft Use the presentation template(s) provided by each offering as a starting point.
- 15. Identifies customer’s business goals Outlines consultant’s research and findings Highlights customer’s objectives & goals Provides an overview of next-step partner recommendations Deliverable Requirements Note: Separate deliverables are required in cases where multiple engagements are being performed
- 17. Partner Eligibility Planning Services Partner eligibility requirements: 17 Organization must enroll in the Microsoft Partner Network and Planning Services Program enrollment is specific to the Planning Services offering (e.g. DDPS, PVDPS, etc.) Partner must possess Microsoft competency associated with specific offering Consultants must possess one or more certifications associated with offering competencies Check the specific delivery guides for additional recommendations.
- 18. Initiating an Engagement Existing Relationship Customer Initiated Microsoft Managed Cold Call LAR Relationship Unmanaged SIs, or managed SIs that have relationships with LARs can work with LARs to help make customer connection Advertise Planning Services to all customers as an offering If customer is eligible, discuss using vouchers, otherwise charge them a standard rate Strategize with your PAM or customer AM Advertise Planning Services support Ensure profile information appears correctly in Planning Services Provider Directory Talk to existing customers you know have Software Assurance (SA)
- 19. Resources
- 20. Resources 20 Training/Guidance, Tools and Sites Description SA Planning Services Partner Portal Planning Services partner portal includes information on the value of the benefit, “how-to” resources for selling and delivering by Planning Services, required deliverables, process templates and resources. Partner Eligibility Requirements Complete list of the certifications, by each Planning Services offering, that must be obtained by a partner organization and its consultants in order to become approved as a provider. SA Planning Services Online Enrollment MPN site where qualified partners can enroll online in the Planning Services offering for which their organization is eligible. SA Planning Services Customer Web Site Customer-facing site on www.microsoft.com where customers can learn about their SA benefits including Planning Services. Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) Customer-facing volume licensing portal where qualified customers access their SA benefits; used by the SA Benefits Manager to create and assign PS vouchers. Frequently Asked Questions List of the top questions and answers about Software Assurance Planning Services. Contact Us Contact the help aliases for each of the Planning Services offerings.
- 21. Thank you 21
Editor's Notes
- Software Assurance Planning Services provide on-site expertise to help customers plan their next Microsoft technologies deployment. Deployment planning consultants help customers evaluate how best to deploy an array of Microsoft solutions on-premises, in the cloud, or in hybrid environments. This presentation will provide a general introduction to the Planning Services program for Microsoft Partners and consultants interested in delivering this unique Software Assurance benefit to customers. Other presentations in this series will focus more specifically on delivering Planning Services engagements and Program Policies.
- Over the next 15 minutes or so, we’ll examine why Planning Services are a valuable benefit to customers and Partners alike, the included offerings, engagements, and deliverables, and how to get started delivering Planning Services to your customers.
- Let’s begin with an examination of Planning Services and its benefits to customers and Partners.
- Planning Services provides turnkey resources and delivery guidance to help qualified Microsoft Partners deliver in-depth planning engagements for customers. These engagements work to reduce the cost and complexity of new software deployment, while allowing partners to improve and scale their practices and realize new business opportunities—all while getting paid by Microsoft.
- Planning Services offerings cover a broad range of specific Microsoft product sets. These offerings accelerate customer deployments by helping customers understand the value of acquired Microsoft technologies and removing any ambiguity around how to deploy them. Planning Services engagements may include briefings, demonstrations, infrastructure assessment activities and/or in-depth discussions to help customers evaluate how Microsoft products and services may support their organization. In addition to addressing key implementation questions and concerns, Planning Services can also help guide the use of other Software Assurance benefits. Perhaps most importantly, Planning Services helps partners grow their customer base and Microsoft expertise. The deployment, upgrade, or migration plan you develop will likely lead to follow-on service opportunities for your business.
- Microsoft data shows the majority of enterprise customers currently have Planning Services days available to them. With customer demand doubling every 18 months, this represents a huge opportunity for Microsoft Partners. There are three primary reasons customers engage Planning Services. First, customers who have already made the decision to deploy want to assure the job gets done right and add best practice efficiencies to the roll out. Other customers need assistance evaluating what types of software solutions are available, including clarifying the requirements necessary for their unique business goals and requirements. And finally, there are those customers in search of a technical subject matter expert who can provide planning assistance and help check current assumptions. To find out if your customer is eligible for Planning Services, contact your customer’s procurement department. LAR-managed partners may also wish to network with their designated Microsoft contact.
- Planning Services engagements have a significant impact on customer deployment. In fact, 96% of customers who complete a Planning Services engagement expect to deploy or are evaluating available options. This gives partners the opportunity to create win-win scenarios with customers who are poised to deploy within the next year. You can showcase your expertise and help your customers envision their chosen solution. Your customers gain value with accelerated deployments, while you gain insights into their current and future needs.
- The large number of likely deployments translates directly into follow-on business for you. Fully 81% of Partners walk out of the engagement knowing they have won—or are likely to win—deployment and services business. At the time of invoicing, 12% report that it’s simply too soon to tell, while only 7% of Partners report they are unlikely to or did not win follow-on business.
- To help partners scale these engagements to as many customers as possible, Microsoft developed a set of ready-made materials and delivery guidance for efficient, repeatable engagements. These materials provide helpful references and documentation, as well as facilitate the delivery of compelling on-site workshops that require less preparation and delivery time.
- Let’s take a closer look at some of the specifics behind the Planning Services offerings, engagements, and deliverables.
- There are currently seven Planning Services offerings. These include: Desktop Deployment Planning Services (DDPS) to help customers evaluate and create a deployment plan for Windows, Office, or to perform an Office 365 FastTrack Planning Engagement. SharePoint Deployment Planning Services (SDPS) to help customers plan an effective deployment or migration plan for Microsoft SharePoint or deliver an Office 365 FastTrack Planning Engagement. Lync and Exchange Deployment Planning Services (L&EDPS) to help customers evaluate and plan a Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft Lync implementation, or perform an Office 365 FastTrack planning engagement Private Cloud, Management and Virtualization Planning Services PVDPS) to provide customers with the fundamental analysis, business case, process, and technical procedures needed to optimize the datacenter. Developer Tools Deployment Planning Services (DTDPS) to provide customers the rigorous analysis and process-focused approach to develop deployment plans for Visual Studio Team Foundation Server or Visual Studio Test Tools. SQL Server Deployment Planning Services (SSDPS) to provide customers in-depth assessment and planning for deploying or migrating content to SQL Server, SQL Server upgrade or SQL Server BI solution. SSDPS can also be used to deliver the new Implementing Dynamics CRM engagement. Public Cloud, Microsoft Azure Deployment Planning Services offers customers hands-on training and guidance on migrating applications and data to Microsoft Azure. As offerings change over time, please check the Planning Services website regularly for any updates and additions http://microsoftdps.com
- As you can see, each of the 7 offerings is focused on a particular product or group of products and technologies. Engagements vary in length between 1, 3, 5, 10, and 15-day engagements, with some offerings containing multiple engagements. Though you must use a separate Planning Services voucher for each engagement, offering-specific vouchers can be combined to create custom duration engagements up to a total of 15 days. For example, a 1-day DDPS and 3-day DDPS offering voucher could be combined into a 4-day custom length Windows 8 and Office 2013 Deployment Planning engagement (not to exceed 15-days). It’s also important to note that each engagement differs in its breadth of scope, depth of delivery materials, and required deliverables. Please check the planning services engagement types found on the Planning Services Partner Portal for more information regarding what is considered to be in and out of scope, as well as recommended durations for each delivery. Alternatively, you may wish to review the online Planning Services FAQ or the Policy presentation that is a part of this training series. A link to the Planning Services Partner Portal is included in the Resources section of this presentation.
- As mentioned, the Planning Services program provides customers with access to consultants using a voucher based system. Through the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC), customers can turn their Planning Services days into redeemable partner vouchers. VLSC customers can create a voucher and then assign it to an internal IT project owner. Once the voucher assignee selects a qualified partner, the designated partner can reserve the voucher in the Voucher Validation and Reservation (VVR) system. After the engagement is delivered, the partner redeems the voucher and uploads the deliverable in VVR. Microsoft is then invoiced and pays for the engagement through the Regional Service Center (RSC). More information on this process, including detailed training videos, is available on the Planning Services section of the Microsoft Partner Network.
- Every planning services engagement ends with a plan or proposal outlining the customer’s goals, business requirements, the findings of your assessment, and next step recommendations. This plan is then presented to the customer and to Microsoft. To make this process easier, Microsoft provides different sets of deliverable templates specific to each engagement. Whether you use Microsoft’s templates or your own, the important thing to remember is each engagement must result in an actionable customer deliverable.
- An acceptable Planning Services deliverable will align directly to the products supported through each offering and identify the customer’s top-level business goals and requirements for the deployment in question. The consultant will then document their research and findings and recommend the appropriate follow-up actions for the customer. The final presentation should include the following: Summary of what you did during the engagement Summary of what you found during the engagement. This would include… Problem and Solution Statement Recap Notable Current State Items Found Requirements Assumptions Constraints and Issues / Risks The final presentation should also include a summary of your recommendations And CLEARLY ACTIONABLE next steps. These are often the perfect lead-in to follow-on work and the opportunity to describe your custom offerings. If your engagement includes writing a solution concept then you should also present a high level diagram of the concept and be prepared to discuss the details. Remember, if multiple Planning Services engagements are delivered at once, you must produce a separate customer deliverable for each one. For example, if you need to provide the customer with a custom BI planning session using SharePoint Deployment Planning Service (SDPS), and the SQL Server Deployment Planning Services (SSDPS) vouchers, you will need to present separate deliverables when invoicing Microsoft.
- Now let’s look at a couple of tips for getting started with Planning Services deliveries.
- Before you can deliver a Planning Services engagement, your organization must meet the eligibility requirements of the program. First, you must enroll in the Microsoft Partner Network and Planning Services program. Your enrollment in Planning Services must be specific to the Planning Services offering you expect to deliver. Your company must possess the required Microsoft competency for the offering and your consultants must possess one or more certifications associated with that competency. For more information, refer to the partner eligibility and online enrollment links at the end of this presentation.
- To begin the conversation around a possible Planning Services engagement, start by reaching out to your customers you know have Software Assurance. You should also ensure Planning Services is included in your Microsoft Partner profile. Some partners even choose to advertise their Planning Services offerings in company communications. Of course, it’s always a good idea to strategize with your Partner Account Manager or customer Account Manager.
- Now that you have a basic understanding of the Planning Services program, here are some resources to help you learn about and deliver Planning Services engagements on your own.
- These are just some of the valuable resources available on the Planning Services Partner Portal. For full access to these links, please download the complete presentation file. If you have questions specific to a particular Planning Services offering, click the “Contact Us” link to access the email help alias for each PS type.
- Thank you for taking the time to view this presentation. We trust it was valuable to you and invite you to view the other two presentations in this series—Delivering a Planning Services Engagement and Program Policies. We wish you the best in delivering Microsoft Software Assurance Planning Services to your customers.