There is no question that Office 365 is a massive success for Microsoft, and that it is disrupting the entire productivity software category. Nowhere is that more evident than in the SMB customer segment. Adoption of Office 365 by SMBs is already off the charts and even seems to be accelerating lately. However, as is often the case when a new, disruptive technology comes along, partners can be left wondering “What’s in it for me?” and “How do I take advantage of this massive change?”
As a long-time veteran in the SMB space, both as a channel partner and in various roles in Microsoft, Dave Waldrop has spent quite a bit of time thinking about these questions and discussing them with partners, customers and other industry experts. The good news is that there are some relatively simple ways for partners to turn Office 365 into an efficient and economically viable business model for themselves and their customers.
In Harry’s three-part blog “How to Make Money from Office 365,” he identifies a number of key ways for SMB partners to evolve their business model and generate additional revenue from Office 365, including service. Harry covers a lot of ground in the series, but the most exciting opportunity is what he calls “application layering”. Office 365, while a great product, is missing some key functionality that SMB customers need. Filling in these gaps with applications represents a good, simple way for partners to increase their Office 365-related revenue. That’s why Dave left Microsoft about a year ago to lead attachedpps. They have built a set of subscription-based apps that are tightly integrated with Office 365 and Outlook, and enable partners to layer in key functionality around managing customers and growing sales.
If you are ready to start making more money by adding apps to Office 365, you should check out attachedapps. Click here to join their partner program.
