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market strategy: where to sell their products, what they need to acquire to
complement their portfolios, and what they need to shed or put on the back burner.
This discussion guide provides guidance for Microsoft field sales representatives to
discuss customer concerns about server and cloud environment management and
how solutions from Microsoft can help address those concerns. This document
provides information and facts to help field sales representatives compete
effectively against IBM Data Center and Cloud Management solutions. Use this
guide to:
Initiate sales conversations with technical decision makers (TDMs) and business
decision makers (BDMs) to identify sales opportunities.
Understand key messages and strategies for positioning Microsoft Hyper-V
and Microsoft System Center.
Sell Microsoft System Center against IBM Cloud Management Solutions.
Use this discussion guide in conversations with:
TDMs: Information Technology (IT) Administrators, IT Managers (IT
Implementers), VP of IT, Director of Technology, Director of IT, and Chief
Architect
BDMs: President, CEO, Chairman, and COO
Their rich portfolio allows them to successfully compete in tactical sales with point
solutions and in strategic sales as IT preferred partners. Their typical operating
mode is not to innovate directly but to determine the next direction in which to take
the market and to acquire either the innovators that are spearheading the trends
or the specialists that will help them increase their customer base. The mega
vendors have the money and the market presence to push current and nextgeneration products. Consequently, they must base their strategies on the
management of their product portfolios and on the effective diffusion of their
2014 Microsoft Corporation | Confidential | For Microsoft Internal Use Only
Microsoft Server
Weakness
Opportunity
Threats
CA owns a solid
CA has difficulty
portfolio based on
encapsulating a
strategic acquisitions good and solid
and an ability to
portfolio into a
capitalize on them.
clear strategic
Its solutions are
marketing
innovative depending message.
on product and
portfolio; its strength
lies with the
combination of
products and their
integration across the
IT management
portfolio.
The current strength o f The portfolio as a
HPs IT management whole appears a
portfolio is the
bit dusty and is
application
not really
performance
supported by a
management solution. strong marketing
vision.
Reminiscing about
past strategies
such as BAC and
others does not
help.
CA has a clear
opportunity to
accompany customers
evolving from
traditional IT
over the years
using its multiple
3 | IBM Cloud & Smarter
capabilities,
Nimsoft to large Infrastructure: Preparing
enterprise solutions.
New ITOM Market
for the
Strategy
8)
IBM: About
C O M P E T I T V E SI T
U AT I ON
CU S T O M E R L OC
K- I N
Compete
Understanding the Scenarios
Description
Customer has little IBM software installed or is
unhappy with their existing portfolio of IBM
management software
Greenfield cloud opportunity
What to Expect
IBM will leverage their brand strength and
potentially any hardware relationships.
They will likely utilize IBM Global Services or the
help of a channel partner to perform any upfront
consulting.
IBM will likely leverage their CxO relationships.
Compete with a full System Center Suite stack,
specifically focusing on the completeness of
Microsoft vision.
Embrace
Understanding the Scenarios
Description
Customer has installed some IBM ITOM tools.
Does the customer see this as a natural extension
of their existing IBM tools?
What to Expect
The key battle to focus on will be between IBM
Service Delivery Manager and Microsoft
Orchestrator. If IBM is positioning Service
Automation Manager or SmartCloud Provisioning,
2014 Microsoft Corporation | Confidential | For Microsoft Internal Use Only
Surround
Understanding the Scenarios
Description
Customer has made the decision to build out the
IBM Service Delivery Manager or Service
Automation Manager or SmartCloud Provisioning.
What to Expect
If the customer has selected Service Automation
Manager or SmartCloud Provisioning, then they will
likely need other cloud management tools such as
configuration management, change management,
release management, and financial management.
O | Handling Objections
Q. We already have IBM ITOM software to manage our
physical infrastructure.
A. IBM has some long established tools in ITOM.
However, Microsoft is far better aligned and
strategically positioned to deliver the requirements of
a comprehensive cloud management platform (CMP)
5 | Resources
Refer to additional System Center 2012 R2 resources
System Center 2012 R2 on TechNet
Download and evaluate System Center 2012 R2
System Center marketplace
Check out our blogs
System Center 2012 R2
Read the System Center 2012 R2 Datasheet
Read the System Center 2012 R2 White Paper
See how System Center 2012 R2 Configuration
Manager and Windows Intune helps manage users and
their devices
Benefits and capabilities
System Center solutions
Virtual Labs: System Center 2012 R2
System Center 2012 R2 Cloud & Datacenter
Management
System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager
System Center 2012 R2 Endpoint Protection