In line with the changes to the overall Partner Programme, SBSC is going to evolve. Some of this vision was shared by Andrea Russell at the PALs meeting last week in Houston. As this is in draft form I can’t really say too much about it other than it seeks to take into account the different things we do as Partners with a number of "specialisations" or "routes" to become an SBSC Partner. We currently have 2, which are the network infrastructure and system builder side. From what I’ve seen it will better fit what we are doing and overall I like it. One of the PALs role will be to provide input into this. This is also coupled with the fact that 2 new server products will be released later on this year namely SBS 2008 and EBS 2008. There are new exams on the way, which people like Mark Crall and others are working on. I don’t know the timeframes for this but as soon as I do I’ll post it up here. There will be a "grace period" to get re-certified but that period has not yet been fixed but it would be interesting to hear what people think that period should be?
Technorati Tags: SBSC PAL
Posted
by vijay on Sunday, July 13th, 2008
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July 14th, 2008 at 4:10 am
Truthfully - whatever the grace period is set to, you’ll find some partners suggest it is “not enough time” as they approach the deadline without having re-certified!
The specialisation track for SBSC is a welcome addition - hopefully it will be a step towards helping elevate those SBSC partners who engage with Microsoft and the Community above those other partners who just see the “blue badge” as another pretty certification logo to add to their stationary.
July 14th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
I agree with Rick that people will moan whatever grace period is set. Personally I think a 12 month grace period would be fare. It could easily take that long to fully get to grips with the new products and it also ties in with the renewal process linked to the current SBSC cert.
Nick