Microsoft changes channel strategy

Microsoft says it's going to devote more business development resources to resellers of its Dynamics enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications which bring in new customers and sell vertical industry applications that run with the Dynamics software, reports Channel Web.

"We're going to take a different approach going forward," says Chris Caren, Microsoft Dynamics GM of product management and marketing, at the company's Convergence 2009 conference in New Orleans. "It's a more proactive and more selective approach to how we use the channel."

Caren says the change is part of a move away from selling its ERP applications (Dynamics AX, GP, NAV and SL) on a horizontal basis through any reseller that wanted to carry the products to a greater focus on vertical markets, particularly retail, manufacturing, distribution, professional services and the public sector.

HP's release of HP Quality Centre is designed to help IT organisations achieve greater success in their application modernisation projects through better management of the application life cycle, reports MB.com.

The new offerings help customers lower costs through delivery via HP software-as-a-service, allowing customers to get up and running quickly while reducing or eliminating software and hardware capital expenditures.

HP Quality Centre 10.0 manages complex, enterprise-wide initiatives, including those that span many applications and globally distributed teams.

Jive Software has unveiled its first enterprise-class, social business software application suite entitled Jive SBS 3.0, says Intranet Journal.

Jive SBS 3.0 is a suite of social business applications that is built for Global 2000 companies. It allows teams of people from inside and outside the enterprise to connect, communicate, and collaborate, reducing the cost, time and risk involved in producing business results.

Dave Hersh, CEO of Jive, says: "The bad economy is driving executives to invest in new ways of getting business done. Social business software is the first new application category to appear in over a decade that delivers a real breakthrough in cost, productivity, and competitive advantage.”