Delivers Business Value For You And Your Customers - A whitepaper by Windows 7 Professional

1. Windows 7
Delivers Business
Value For You And
Your Customers
Windows® 7 delivers value
for you and your small
and mid-size customers by
helping you:
• Expand and enhance your
customer service offerings
• Provide customer service
faster and more efficiently
• Offer new, high-value
solutions addressing critical
customer challenges
• Optimize the performance
of solution offerings critical
to your customer’s business

2. We have worked closely with partners like you to understand what makes you successful and how you can
use Windows 7 to provide new and improved services to customers in the current challenging business
environment.
What Challenges Are Partners Like You Facing?
Demands on value added IT services providers are increasing. Small and mid-sized customers’ needs are
increasingly sophisticated:
• They have more workers on the road or in remote offices
• They increasingly rely on data that must be secured
• Some want to leverage IT to change the way they do business
• However, the current economic crisis makes them think twice about IT investments
Your Customers Trust You to Help Them Make the Right
Technology Decisions.
Many of your peers, our valued partners, have shared how they are addressing the evolving needs of their
customers. To meet these client needs and to improve their own business, partners are focusing on three
business priorities:
SMB Customer Needs Partner Business Priorities
• Customers increasingly expect more 1. Continuously improve customer service and
service for less money deliver it more efficiently—including removing any
barriers to service delivery and sales
• Customers have more workers on the 2. Level the playing field for your SMB customers
road or in remote offices by delivering high-value, enterprise class solutions
• Customers increasingly rely upon data to their critical IT challenges, including remote
that must be secured support, data security and backup, and more
• Some customers aspire to use IT to 3. Build the right foundation for business critical
change the way they do business CRM, ERP, and collaboration solution offerings—
including Microsoft Dynamics™, SharePoint®,
and Exchange.
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3. How Will Windows 7 Help You Address Your Business Priorities?
Working with our partners—ranging from those who offer a broad set of IT services to solution specialists—
we have identified five common challenges to achieving these business priorities.
This whitepaper provides you with a demonstration of how partners plan to use the new functionality in
Windows 7 to address each of these challenges and achieve business priorities. These challenges illustrate
the different ways that Windows 7 can create value for you and your customers. To see how Windows 7
can help you improve your SMB offering, please turn to the challenges listed that are particularly relevant
to your business:
Partner Business Value to Your
Business Priority Challenge Value to Customers Business
1. Continuously A) Reduce time for • Better service for less Improve margins by
Improve: Provide problem resolution money providing higher-quality
better and more services faster
B) Supply • Faster time to
efficient customer uninterrupted LOB
service application use via problem resolution and
Windows XP Mode* less worker downtime
2. Level the Playing C) Keep remote and • Receive high-value, Open up new, higher-
Field: Deliver high mobile workers enterprise-class services margin revenue
connected and
value, enterprise- productive targeted at addressing streams
class solutions small business and mid-
to critical SMB D) Help ensure the market needs
challenges security of
customer data
and provide off-site
backup services
3. Build the Right E) Offer a stable • A more stable, secure, Improve margins
Foundation: and reliable IT and productive desktop from reduced support
environment for
Ensure optimal environment for mission burden
the solution
performance for services you critical solutions
solution offerings Expand customer
provide
• Newest OS technology usage of the range
(and all its benefits) with of solutions you offer
legacy compatibility
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4. SMB Partner Challenge #1
Continuously Improve: Reduce Helpdesk Calls
and Accelerate Problem Resolution
My customers rely on me to help them with
their day-to-day IT problems. The faster I can
identify and resolve their issues, the better for
them – and for me.
How Does this Provide Value to My Customers?
Small to mid-size businesses without an IT department rely on external help with their daily issues involving
hardware and software. The more time that is spent fixing problems, the more their productivity suffers,
and the more frustrated they get. Business owners expect their IT partners to:
• Minimize the system downtime by reducing the time required to resolve the problem
• Reduce problems by automating trouble shooting and repair
• Empower users to solve the most basic problems independently
• Focus on higher value IT services to address their core business concerns
Find these resources at https://partner.microsoft.com/windows7
What Value does this Bring to Partners Like Me?
Reduce the cost of customer service by decreasing the time needed to provide it through faster
problem diagnosis and remote maintenance.
Strengthen relationships with customers by providing faster and better helpdesk services, leading
to loyal customers who are more receptive to doing additional business with you.
Improve your company’s margins by generating opportunities to:
• Free up expensive technical staff to work on higher value projects
• Increase the number of customers each member of your organization can support
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5. “Helpdesk support is labor intensive. It’s necessary, but not high value.
Decreasing helpdesk calls means more margin for me.
It would be great if we could rapidly reduce this time.
Functionality like the Problem Steps Recorder could help us reduce our time
to identify problem discovery by 50%. Most of the time, fixing the problem is
the easy part; the hard part is determining what the problem is because the
user usually forgets a step.”
- U.S. VAR, Tim Freeze, UniComData Inc.
How Does Windows 7 Enable Me To Improve
Helpdesk Effectiveness?
Windows® 7 provides better tools to improve monitoring, self-repairing,
SMB Partner Challenge #1
trouble-shooting, and recovery of IT client environments:
Features driving incremental margins: Continuously Improve:
• Problem Steps Recorder: Records events leading up to a customer Reduce Helpdesk
problem, which are then reproduced and sent to the helpdesk,
Calls andAccelerate
improving diagnosis capabilities—saving you time
• Action Center: Provides a central location for notifications and
Problem Resolution
troubleshooting, where users can fix basic problems—saving you time
• Windows Troubleshooting Platform: Automatically detects and attempts Windows 7 Enables
to repair problems, such as display or networking issues—you can extend a Better Solution
the platform with your own troubleshooting packs
Windows 7 provides
Service enhancing features
tools that make helpdesk
• Windows Recovery Environment and Startup Repair: services more efficient
Provides an environment for detecting and repairing errors when and productive, enabling
Windows 7 fails to boot better service to the IT
customer and additional
business opportunities for
the IT partner.
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6. SMB Partner Challenge #2
Continuously Improve: Ensure Uninterrupted
Line-Of-Business Applications
My customers can enjoy
the benefits of Windows® 7,
knowing that their line-of-
business applications will work.
That’s a big part of what they
base their decision for or
against a new OS on.
How Does this Provide Value to My Customers?
Customers upgrading to gain the benefits of Windows 7 need to be assured that they can still run their LOB
applications. Business owners have invested significant capital in their software. Windows 7 allows them
to have an up-to-date desktop environment while maintaining critical LOB applications without the cost of
buying new software. Owners increasingly expect their IT partners to:
• Ensure uninterrupted access to critical line-of-business applications
• Provide a seamless transition to the new operating system
• Reduce barriers in maintaining previous software investments
Find these resources at https://partner.microsoft.com/windows7
What Value does this Bring to Partners Like Me?
Increase your ability to sell Windows 7 and related products and services by removing a major barrier
to the OS upgrade. Microsoft has worked with many software partners to ensure application compatibility.
For custom and/or legacy LOB applications, Windows XP Mode provides a safety net for applications that
don’t run on Windows 7.
Strengthen relationships with customers by sending a clear message that you understand their concerns
about the investments they’ve made in their business software and that you’re providing a solution that takes
that into account and ensures continued use.
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7. “Windows XP Mode is huge. If the LOB application doesn’t work, there is
not a lot I can do as a partner. Recommending and selling OS upgrades and
then having LOB applications not work on the new OS does nothing to build
trust with the customer. ”
- U.S. VAR, A. Weber, ABT Consulting
Opens gateway to new revenue streams by:
Providing a conversation starter about a new server for the virtualization
of the LOB server, as well as virtualization related services
“If I didn’t have to worry about the compatibility of an LOB application,
I could easily set up SharePoint services, and help them upgrade their OS.
Depending on the labor, hardware and licensing, it could add up to as much
as $5,000 in sales.”
- U.S. VAR, Michael Finley, Aristocrat Computer Services
SMB Partner Challenge #2
How Does Windows 7 Enable Uninterrupted Continuously Improve:
User Productivity? Ensure Uninterrupted
Line-of-Business
Windows® 7 Professional and Ultimate help you to ensure your clients
compatibility for their LOB applications
Applications
Feature driving additional revenue:
• Windows XP Mode*: Provides the ability to run “legacy” LOB applications in Windows 7 Enables
a virtual Windows XP environment— you can extend your scope of services a Better Solution
by enabling and setting up Windows XP Mode
Windows 7 has been
Service enhancing feature:
pre-tested to ensure
• Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT): compatibility with an
Assesses application compatibility with Windows 7 extensive array of LOB
applications; a virtualized
*Windows XP Mode requires either OEM pre-installation or post-purchase installation of Windows
Windows XP Mode further
XP Mode (which runs on Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate) and a virtualization technology such ensures compatibility
as Windows Virtual PC. Both Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC can be downloaded with many productivity
from www.windows.com/business/downloads. For more information on system requirements, application currently
go to www.microsoft.com/virtual-pc.
running on Windows XP.
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8. SMB Partner Challenge #3
Delivering Enterprise Class Solutions: Keep Remote
and Mobile Workers Connected and Productive
My customers often work
remotely and they need the
same excellent support for
their branch offices and
mobile users that I provide
them in their home office.
How Does this Provide Value to My Customers?
Supporting mobility is increasingly a requirement for small and mid-sized businesses. Business owners and
managers need to know their employees can be productive working from home, in a branch office or on
the road, no matter what network they’re working from. They increasingly expect their IT partners to help:
• Ensure easier access to corporate resources and data no matter what network they’re on
• Ensure mobile and remote office users receive the same level of data backup and security
• Increase mobile and remote office user uptime and productivity
• Ensure robust connections to critical line-of-business applications
Find these resources at https://partner.microsoft.com/windows7
What Value does this Bring to Partners Like Me?
Increase efficiency for supporting remote and mobile users by ensuring you have more effective connections
to them. This will cut down on support time and cost, and remove the need to send valued employees
on-site to diagnose minor issues.
Strengthen relationships with customers with superior support, leading to loyal clients who are more
receptive to doing additional business.
Create new revenue streams by ensuring reliable connections are in place between remote and mobile
workers and their central offices, enabling you to:
• Sell additional server and mobile infrastructure
• Sell additional support services and network services and equipment for remote and mobile users
• Expand remote backup / business continuity services for remote and mobile users
• Expand solutions sales to remote and mobile users for access to LOB applications
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9. “With Windows 7 we are able to better support our clients’ satellite offices. Because of
VPN Reconnect the connection is stable and constant, we are able to provide remote
support to our client [this way], which saves us time and resources and we can deal with
most support tickets online. [It also helps us] retain those clients that have satellite offices
rather than those satellite offices being contracted out to a competitor or a local company.”
- U.K. VAR, Ryan Newman, Scootek
“Removing mobile connection problems could save as much as 5 hours a month per
client. It may not seem like a lot, but when those issues happen it’s painful for the
customers because they get irritated, and it’s painful for us because it is challenging
to diagnose their problem remotely.”
- U.S. VAR, Robin Saacks, TimAc Solutions
How Does Windows 7 Help Me Sell Remote
Support Services and Keep Customers Connected?
Windows® 7 allows you to more effectively and efficiently support your customers’
mobile and remote workers by automating and streamlining common connectivity
tasks. Windows 7 also integrates tools that on previous operating systems required SMB Partner Challenge #3
costly add-ins or time-consuming help desk support:
Features driving additional revenue: Delivering Enterprise
• DirectAccess on Windows 7 Ultimate and VPN Reconnect: Enable mobile Class Solutions: Keep
PCs to connect to the core network and stay connected—providing server Remote and Mobile
and mobile infrastructure sales opportunities
Workers Connected
• Device Stage: Create a personalized experience between a consumer’s
mobile device and their computer; facilitate finding and using devices on and Productive
different networks—leading to increased mobile device, infrastructure
hardware and software sales, as well as service opportunities
Windows 7 Enables
Service enhancing features: a Better Solution
• BranchCache™ on Windows 7 Ultimate: Improve the experience of users
in branch and home offices by caching content from the core network for Windows 7 enables higher
quicker local access levels of productivity and
• Location Aware Printing and Networking: Remembers users’ printer and enterprise-class access and
network settings from one network to the next without having to reconfigure support for customers with
• Network Connection Wizard: Allow users to quickly connect to and configure distributed locations, net-
network connections through an easy user interface works and PCs.
• Windows 7 provides support for connecting to mobile broadband networks,
such as HPSA
• Domain Join: Windows 7 Professional is the first Windows SKU to offer domain connectability
• HomeGroup: Makes it easier to connect to computers in networks that don’t
have servers
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10. SMB Partner Challenge #4
Delivering Enterprise Class Solutions: Protect
Your Customer’s Data and Provide Backup Services
My number one priority is the security
of my clients’ data. Backup is a critical
service for me to provide because of the
assurance my client derives from it.
How Does this Provide Value to My Customers?
Customers are increasingly aware of how critical data is to their business. Business owners and
managers need to know that their data is secure, backed up, and restorable. They increasingly expect
their IT partners to help:
• Ensure that data is fully backed up effortlessly and consistently
• Ensure that data can be recovered quickly if a loss occurs
• Proactively provide solutions to ensure that sensitive corporate data is protected against both
internal and external theft
• Ensure that regulatory compliance is met
Find these resources at https://partner.microsoft.com/windows7
What Value does this Bring to Partners Like Me?
Build trust and strengthen relationships with customers by helping them avoid catastrophic data
theft or, if data is accidentally lost, quickly recovering it. Proactive support leads to loyal customers more
receptive to discussing additional services.
Create new revenue streams via data protection and backup features, leading to the opportunity to sell
additional supporting hardware and services to your customers:
• New and incremental hosted backup and business continuity services providing recurring revenue
• Additional data storage and archiving services in your data center
• Recovery services when data is lost
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11. “There are so many solutions out there, and getting a backup solution that is easy to use
is a challenge. If the data backup solution is built into the OS, like Advanced Backup,
it’s helpful. If you can charge $500 to set up backup, and if we can do it in 15 minutes
instead of 2 hours, we make a great margin, or we can return value back to the customer.
We look for solutions like this to drive exponential growth. It also allows us to develop the
relationship with the customer more quickly by demonstrating that we are proactive.”
- U.S. VAR, Bill Bach, Goldstar Software Inc.
“Having the backup conversation indicates that we are being proactive and we have
their best interest in mind. When you have people’s best interests in mind they will not
leave you. Growing our remote backup business has been a focal point for us, because
it’s a lucrative business model. For a typical customer with 25PCs and a server, we can
make a few hundred dollars a month. It’s insurance, they can set it and forget it.”
- U.S. VAR, Tim Freeze, UniComData Inc.
How Does Windows 7 Help Me Provide Data SMB Partner Challenge #4
Protection, Backup And Business Continuity? Delivering Enterprise
Windows® 7 allows you to more effectively and robustly protect your customers’
Class Solutions:
data from theft or accidental loss through new encryption technology, advanced Protect Customer’s
backup features, and the ability to restore previous versions of files: Data and Provide
Features driving additional revenue: Backup Services
• Advanced Backup: Helps ensure more effective, consistent, and easy to
manage backups by customer employees—increasing the opportunity to sell
Windows Server® 2008, related infrastructure, and recurring backup services Windows 7 Enables
a Better Solution
• BitLocker™, BitLocker to Go™, and Encrypted File System on Windows 7
Ultimate: Helps stop data theft through encrypting files, entire volumes, and
Windows 7 enables more
portable storage devices (i.e., USB drives)—you can increase your scope of robust data protection
services with initial setup and recovery of lost data and security and allows
Service Enhancing Feature: customers to be more
confident that their data
• Restore Previous Versions: Takes snapshots of files that users can restore
is safer and securely
in case they accidentally delete a file or it becomes corrupt
backed up.
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12. SMB Partner Challenge #5
Provide The Right Foundation For Your
Solution Offerings
My customers depend on me to work
with them to transform the way they
do business with the solutions we
provide, and to ensure the right
supporting technology is in place.
How Does this Provide Value to My Customers?
Mid-market customers are increasingly looking to ERP, CRM, and productivity solutions, including Microsoft
Dynamics® and SharePoint®, to streamline their business. However, solution applications work optimally
on a stable and reliable desktop environment. Therefore, owners increasingly expect their IT partners to:
• Proactively provide the most stable and reliable desktop environment for their solutions applications
• Provide effective and timely backup
• Minimize IT environment disruptions
• Ensure productivity of mobile and remote workers by enabling them to have more secure and
consistent access to solution applications
Find these resources at https://partner.microsoft.com/windows7
What Value does this Bring to Partners Like Me?
Strengthen relationships with customers by ensuring they have most stable and reliable desktop environment
for their solutions applications, including Microsoft Dynamics, SharePoint, and unified communications
Gain customers’ trust by protecting solutions based data, leading to increased openness for new
IT investments.
Create new revenue streams by enabling new and expanded solution installations and the supporting
infrastructure services:
• Expand solutions sales for remote and mobile users, who may not be currently employing them due to limited
network connectivity
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13. • Additional support services for remote and mobile users
• Expand remote backup / business continuity services to help secure LOB data
and sell Windows Server® 2008
“The quality of VPN over broadband has been a challenge with Microsoft
Dynamics, so the ability to stabilize VPN would be critical to ensure a stable
working environment for remote workers.”
- U.S. VAR, Jacob Alifrangis, BrainDonors
“Data backup is critical. If your files are electronic, that data better be secure
and backed up off-site. I am the first call if someone has a data issue with
our Dynamics solution. That’s why backup is the first thing I check when I go
onsite. Remote data backup services could also help contribute to an addi-
tional revenue stream.”
- U.S. VAR, A. Weber, ABT Consulting
SMB Partner Challenge #5
How Does Windows 7 Help Me Create Provide the Right
This Environment? Foundation for Your
Solution Offerings
Windows® 7 allows you to provide the backup solutions and remote access to
help ensure that LOB applications will be highly secure and accessible to all via
the following features: Windows 7 Enables
Features driving additional revenue: a Better Solution
• DirectAccess (Windows 7 Ultimate) and VPN Reconnect: Enables Windows 7 provides the
mobile PCs to connect to the core network and stay connected– an right foundation for solutions
opportunity to sell solutions licenses to new users applications through
• Advanced Backup: Ensures more effective, consistent, and easy to manage advanced backup services
backups by customer employees—increasing the opportunity to sell Windows and uninterrupted
Server 2008, related infrastructure, and recurring backup services connectivity to remote
offices and mobile workers.
Service enhancing features:
• Encrypted FileSystem and BitLocker™ on Windows 7 Ultimate:
Encrypts file contents to protect against data theft
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14. Windows 7 helps you to improve the way you serve your SMB customers, delivering business value for you and
for them. New functionality allows you to:
• Provide more efficient support, thus improving your margins
• Create fresh revenue streams via new features in the OS
• Strengthen your role as a trusted advisor to your customers, making them more loyal and open to new sales
opportunities
Windows 7 Enables You to Achieve Your Priorities and
Recognize Clear Business Value:
Improved New
Challenge Accomplished Customer Increased Higher Revenue
Business Priority with Windows 7 Relationships Sales Margns Streams
1. Continuously A) Reduce time for
Improve: Provide problem resolution
better and more
efficient customer B) Supply uninterrupted
service LOB application use
via Windows XP Mode
2. Level the Playing C) Keep remote and
Field: Deliver high mobile workers
value, enterprise- connected and
class solutions productive
to critical SMB
challenges
3. Build the Right D) Help ensure the security
Foundation: of customer data and
Ensure optimal provide off-site
performance for backup services
solution offerings
E) Offer a stable and
reliable IT environment
for the solution
services you provide
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15. How can I learn more?
It’s easy to learn more about how Windows 7 can benefit your business. Microsoft has provided
additional information, sales materials, and input from other partners on their partner web site:
https://partner.microsoft.com/windows7
*Windows XP Mode requires either OEM pre-installation or post-purchase installation of Windows XP Mode (which runs on
Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate) and a virtualization technology such as Windows Virtual PC. Both Windows XP Mode
and Windows Virtual PC can be downloaded from www.windows.com/business/downloads. For more information on system
requirements, go to www.microsoft.com/virtual-pc.
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Part No. 099-94973