“Redknee’s extensive relationship with Microsoft has enabled us to accelerate our ability to expand our footprint with Tier 1 service providers as well as enter into new markets,” said Lucas Skoczkowski, CEO of Redknee. “The recent launch of Redknee and Microsoft’s integrated solution to North American Tier 1 operators demonstrates the value that our end-to-end, cloud-based converged billing and customer-care solution is delivering to the market.”

Redknee isn’t alone. The growing “mashable ecosystem” was now driving innovation and generating new business opportunities for the ecosystem’s partners on its own, and in some cases these opportunities put customers’ interests and the interests of the ecosystem partners ahead of Microsoft’s.

When asked about a recent European deployment at one of the providers in the Orange group, Ernest Margitta, VP Marketing, stated, “We wouldn’t be there without Microsoft.” According to Margitta, Microsoft, which was engaged in a CRM opportunity around Microsoft Dynamics, understood the provider’s focus and priority on product catalog. Being familiar with and able to pitch its ecosystem partner’s offerings, Microsoft directly positioned Tribold ahead of its own Dynamics deployment. Within about a week Tribold received a new, signed order from the communications provider.

“Tribold has been working with Microsoft since the company was founded in 2003 and is extremely pleased to have attained Gold Certified status in the Microsoft Partner Program for the fifth consecutive year,” added Margitta. “Building on the Microsoft platform allows Tribold to focus exclusively on the Enterprise Product Management solution and leverage the $8.7 billion Microsoft annual R&D investment. It also ensures we can pass on lower Total Cost of Ownership TCO to our customers. A great example of how that benefits our customers is Tribold's recent Product Business Intelligence product, which was designed, built on SQL Server 2012 and deployed to our global customer base in record time.”

Microsoft’s unique partnership approach won it a distinguished 2012 CommIT Award for Best Ecosystem at Management World in Dublin, Ireland, this May. The decision was based on a myriad of factors, but ultimately the final verdict was decided by the votes of the esteemed Judges Panel, comprised of service providers and analysts from around the globe. Among the criteria evaluated was the size of Microsoft’s investment in its ecosystem and the surrounding metrics that indicated how the ecosystem is able to thrive with and without the company’s direct involvement. But one of the key differentiators of Microsoft’s approach was that instead of consolidating the market through acquisition, it expanded the marketplace by fueling opportunities and innovation for its members, enabling Microsoft, its partners and its ecosystem to collectively thrive.

Microsoft in the News

At the same time Microsoft has been making headlines with investments and acquisitions in several key areas, hinting at where the company may be heading. Most recently, it announced the acquisition of enterprise social networking company Yammer. While the $1.2 billion purchase price paled in comparison with the $8.5 billion acquisition of Skype, it clearly underscored Microsoft’s focus on enterprise-market, social network and cloud technologies. When taken into consideration with the rest of Microsoft’s growing portfolio of partners and solutions, it positions the company as a force to be reckoned with in the here and now, and even more so as the technologies and market continue to evolve.

And lest not forget the devices. Microsoft’s leading gaming and home entertainment gateway, Xbox, provides a rich multimedia platform for games, movies, telephony, and OTT apps, and the Windows Phone provides a complete and integrated mobile Microsoft experience. While they’ve faced their challenges and seemingly insurmountable competition from Apple and Android, these devices give Microsoft additional delivery platforms and compounded value proposition to all those who are leveraging Microsoft solutions or want to tap into its audience, the significance of which should not be understated, as everyone from HBO to Netflix—not to mention communications and entertainment providers such as AT&T, Canal+, Comcast, Sky, Telus, Verizon, and Vodafone—is eager to capitalize on Xbox’s 30 million-plus subscribers in over 35 countries.