Microsoft will launch a portal website aimed at business
managers in midmarket companies.
The portal carries the working name Customer Connection Centre,
or C3, and will offer customers personalised information such as
details on licenses and services purchased from Microsoft as well
as more generic content including business tips and tricks, said
Steven Guggenheimer, a vice-president in Microsoft's Small and
Midmarket Solutions & Partner Group (SMS&P).
A website for business managers would fill a void in
Microsoft's existing website offerings. The company is in the
process of a global introduction of a website for small business
customers called the Small Business Centre and publishes the
Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) website for developers and
Microsoft TechNet site for technology professionals.
"We think that our midmarket customers ultimately would like
something like that," Guggenheimer said. "In the business
community, we don't have something for the business managers who
aren't the technology folks."
Microsoft defines the midmarket as companies with between 50 and
1,000 employees. Larger companies typically have their own account
manager at Microsoft who can provide information.
Plans for the Customer Connection Centre are still in the early
stages and Guggenheimer could not provide a launch date.
Joris Evers writes for IDG News Service