On Friday, March 15, the latest issue of the U.S. Partner News was delivered to your inbox. The version you received was tailored to your business type and role; all training-related items sent to all partners are published below. This issue’s role-based training recommendations cover the Data Platform competency, which revolves around Microsoft SQL Server.
Training resources
March Partner Training Calendar
Use the Hot Sheet to register for in-person training, live webcasts, and partner calls taking place in March. These training activities can help you understand the latest Microsoft product features, take advantage of new business opportunities, and meet competency requirements. April's calendar will be published by March 20, so you can plan ahead.
New Spring Training Sweepstakes: Windows Server 2012, Microsoft System Center 2012
Receive automatic prize drawing entries when you take any of our featured Windows Server 2012, Microsoft SQL Server 2012, Microsoft System Center 2012, or Windows Intune training. There are courses for every role, and we are giving away $100 American Express gift cards and Dr. Dre Beats headphones. Read the official rules.
Starting March 25: Get Your MCSA for Windows Server 2012
Prepare for the Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) exam 70-417 for Windows Server 2012 in the evenings. A new certification program offering from Microsoft and the IAMCP lets you take prep classes live online in the evenings and get lab time on Saturdays. Register by March 18 to receive the class materials in time for the March 25 class start date.
90 Days to MCSA Program—Free Certification Prep Tools for Windows Server and SQL Server
The Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) certification validates your foundation of core technical skills and prepares you for a sustainable IT career. Use the free certification prep tools and take the 90-day challenge to move your IT career to the cloud.
20 Days of 20 Ways: Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, and Windows Azure
Keith Mayer and his fellow IT Pro Technical Evangelists have a series of articles to help you get started with migrating and deploying Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, Windows Azure, and System Center 2012 SP1.
March 19 Hands-on Lab: Windows 8—Implementing Searching and Sharing in Your App
Join Technical Evangelist Jeff Brand for this Hands-on Labs Online (HOLO) training event and learn how to implement searching and sharing in your Windows 8 app using JavaScript. All HOLO events begin with a live presentation followed by time to work on virtual lab exercises.
March 20 Hands-on Lab—Training with Windows Azure
Join Technical Evangelist Yung Chou for this Hands-on Labs Online (HOLO) training event where you will learn how to connect a PaaS application to an IaaS application with a virtual network.
April 29–May 3: Practice Accelerator for Windows 8 and the Flexible Workstyle
Register for the new Practice Accelerator Flexible Workstyle for Windows 8. Organizations need to allow users access to corporate information via a broad range of technologies and platform, and to address scenarios such as bring your own device. Get reusable tools and best practices to develop an effective strategy to maximize productivity and delight the user.
Using SkyDrive with Your Windows 8 Apps
Jerry Nixon and Harrison Hoffman from the SkyDrive team discuss how developers can utilize SkyDrive for their Windows 8 apps. Tune in as they discuss the best use scenarios for SkyDrive as well as comparisons to Windows Azure.
April 9–10: Sales Success System Training in Boston
The Sales Success System from Ninety Five 5 will help you develop a sales success plan for your territory and accounts, create demand, structure more effective conversations with customers, and improve how you communicate customer value. Space is limited.
April 9–12 in Mason, Ohio: Lync 2013 Technical Ignite Training
This workshop is for partners who are proficient in Microsoft Lync Server 2010 and want to stay ahead of the market. It includes presentations that cover a wide variety of Lync topics, both on-premises and online, and hands-on labs that create an interactive Lync experience.
April 9–11 in Miami, Florida: Microsoft Exchange, Office, and Office 365 Ignite Workshop
This workshop has been designed as deep technical training for IT implementers and Exchange administrators who either develop, design, or deploy for their organizations or customers. It is offered free of cost. Use registration code O15PARTMIA.
April 11–12: Sales Success System Training in Chicago
The Sales Success System from Ninety Five 5 will help you develop a sales success plan for your territory and accounts, create demand, structure more effective conversations with customers, and improve how you communicate customer value. Space is limited.
TechNet Radio: Provisioning Storage for I/O-Intensive Applications on Windows Azure
Blain Barton and Don Noonan show you how to provision storage for I/O-intensive applications on Windows Azure such as SQL Server. Don demos how he took a SQL Server workload and moved that to a Windows Azure Virtual Machine. You'll also get tips for planning your project: workload size vs. performance, separate storage accounts, and the disk management console.
TechNet Radio: ITProGuru vs. Hyper-V Replica
Dan Stolts welcomes Clyde Johnson from the Boston Area Windows Server User Group to TechNet Radio to discuss and demo Hyper-V Replica included in Windows Server 2012. Tune in as they give an overview of what Hyper-V Replica is, why it's important for businesses as a disaster recovery solution, and how to get started implementing this free service in your IT environment.
TechNet Radio: Deploying Windows Server 2012 Using the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit
Blain Barton welcomes Microsoft Deployment MVP Rhonda Layfield to the TechNet Radio show to kick off a three-part series about tools you can use to deploy Windows Server 2012. In part 1, they discuss what's new in the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2012 Update 1.
Microsoft DevRadio: Practical Azure with Jim O'Neil—Worker Roles
Web Roles are the public face of your application and get the user's attention, but it's the Worker Role that does the less glamorous heavy-lifting by carrying out all the background processing and managing database and data storage interaction.
Microsoft DevRadio: Roaming Your Windows 8 App Data
Jerry Nixon welcomes Dan Somrack and Dave Bennett to DevRadio to talk about why you would want to roam your Windows 8 app data, and how to do it.
Microsoft DevRadio: Using Windows Azure to Build Back-End Services for Windows 8 Apps—Part 2
Technical Evangelists Peter Laudati, Brian Hitney, and Andrew Duthie show you how to deploy the OData Service for a Windows 8 app to Windows Azure and outline the advantages and disadvantages to building back-end services using this approach.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Enterprise Academy
You are invited to Atlanta, Georgia, April 22–26 or Chicago, Illinois, May 20–24 to attend the newly developed Microsoft Dynamics CRM Enterprise Academy. This instructor-led training provides a 200-level Functional CRM foundation and 300-level Advanced Development and Advanced Infrastructure content for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011.
Windows 8 Application Developer Starter Kit for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012
Discover what the Windows Application Developer starter kit offers to help developers build beautiful touch-first applications for Windows 8 that enhance the agility of Microsoft Dynamics AX. In this on-demand webcast, we'll take a walk through a day in the life of a developer building a Windows 8 companion app for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. You'll learn best-practices design patterns focused around usability, integration, and security.
April 2 in Chicago, Illinois: Demo2win Workshop
Come to Demo2Win to learn the tactics and receive the tools you need to give you the edge and improve your close rate. Learn how the 80/20 rule applies to your presentations and move from good to great in the eyes of your prospects. This is the only offering of this course planned for the next several months.
April 3 in Chicago, Illinois: Discovery2win Workshop
Come to Discovery2Win and get the tools you need to improve your sales process. Walk into your next customer presentation confident you will be able to explain the value the prospect is looking for you to deliver. This is the only offering of this course planned for the next several months.
March 28 Webcast for Customers: Using Microsoft Dynamics ERP to Compete and Grow
In today's competitive environment, you need more than a backward-looking system of record to be successful. Learn how Microsoft Dynamics ERP can address your business challenges. Join the discussion to see a solution that's proactive and predictive, with built-in workflows that guide your employees forward through their work.
Microsoft Dynamics ERP On-Demand Webcast Library
Encourage your customers to take advantage of the Microsoft Dynamics ERP library of on-demand webcasts that focus on the different ways Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions can help them organize, expand, and advance their business.
Featured training – Data Platform
Earning the Data Platform competency, or simply meeting the requirements, can help you deepen your team’s Microsoft SQL Server expertise and showcase your ability to develop and deploy database solutions.
- Training for Business DecisionMakers and Training Professionals
April 8: Practice Accelerator for Data Center Consolidation and Migration - Build Your Data Platform Learning Plan
- Data Platform Learning Path
- Competency Benefits
- Silver Competency Requirements
- Gold Competency Requirements
Training for IT Professionals
- April 8: Practice Accelerator for Data Center Consolidation and Migration
- Modernizing Your Enterprise with Hybrid IT
- Rapid Data Exploration with Microsoft Excel 2013
- Mission Critical—Blazing Fast Performance: ColumnStore Indexes
- Build Your Data Platform Learning Plan
- Data Platform Learning Path
Training for Developers
- SQL Server 2012 Core Presentation
- SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn Availability Groups
- SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn Failover Clustering and Reliability
- Introducing SQL Server 2012 Cloud-Ready Information Platform
- Build Your Data Platform Learning Plan
- Data Platform Learning Path
Training for Sales and Marketing Roles
- SQL Server 2012 and the New World of Data
- SQL Server 2012 for Private Cloud
- Breakthrough Insights with SQL Server 2012
- Transforming the Data Center with Cloud OS
- Build Your Data Platform Learning Plan
- Data Platform Learning Path