April 9, 2024
Long View’s mission is to create a space where our team can have healthy lives and prosperous careers. For us, it all comes back to our people. We couldn’t be more proud of the accomplishment of winning Microsoft Partner of the Year for 2019. In that spirit, we wanted to talk to some of our great Microsoft consultants to get their unique perspectives on what winning Partner of the Year means to them, and why they’ve chosen to focus on Microsoft solutions with Long View.
How long have you been at Long View?
I have been at Long View for 12 years, beginning in a Service Desk role in 2007.
How long have you been an MS specialist?
I moved over to the Licensing Practice in 2010. At first, I was in an Inside Sales and Operational role, supporting our client facing Licensing Specialists, who I joined in 2016.
What has made you continue working with Microsoft products for that time?
Microsoft is one of the biggest and most strategic partners not only for Long View, but also our customers. Because the Microsoft product line up covers such a range of technologies, and the programs to acquire these products are constantly changing, I find being a resource with a deep knowledge of Microsoft licensing is always in demand and allows me to continuously grow and expand my skillset.
What do you think will be the biggest focus for Microsoft technologies in the next few years?
Since cloud and subscription products have become more prevalent in recent years, the licensing models have had to evolve as well. I believe we will see a continued focus on modernizing the licensing vehicles and platforms available to customers to better fit the cloud first focus. Of course with these changes come added complexities, especially as I see more customers requiring hybrid licensing solutions to best leverage the range of offerings to suit their business requirements while optimizing their software investments.
Winning Partner of the Year was a huge accomplishment that is thanks to the hard work of our team, like you. What would you say was your contribution to PotY?
I was one of the first P-CEs (or Partner Commercial Executives) worldwide, back when the program was launched by Microsoft 3 years ago. This was part of the original Canadian pilot group, when there were only 10 Licensing P-sellers across the country. We now have three licensing P-Sellers within Long View, and our expertise in licensing programs and on-line solution offerings allows the Microsoft salesforce to scale. We are also able to empower our licensing experts with the latest knowledge and updates, made available to us through these additional P-Seller resource channels.
Where do we go from PotY?
Obviously we’d like a repeat! To get there, I see Long View continuing to grow the team that made us successful. We have a wealth of technical resources of course, but even within our Licensing Practice we have so many talented people, from the P-CEs and Licensing Specialists, to our Software Asset Management & Optimization Experts. Growing our Microsoft revenue from $45,000,000 in 2014 to well over $200,000,000 in our FY2019 has allowed us to bring on some extremely talented and specialized resources to provide additional value to our customers. I only see it continuing to grow over the next few years as we add on more resources.
Do you have a favourite project or an accomplishment that you’re most proud of?
The relaunch of our Cloud Solution Provider with CSP Essentials year was a huge success for Long View. CSP is a big focus for Microsoft right now, and this solution really showcases our strengths as an organization, from our Licensing team as well as our Site Managers, Global Service Desk, OneCloud team, and Digital Architects. It’s truly a team effort and it’s been exciting to see it all come together.