{"id":1666,"date":"2014-07-15T10:30:00","date_gmt":"2014-07-15T10:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mswinblog.trafficmanager.net\/business\/2014\/07\/15\/wpc-2014-partnering-to-win-in-the-mobile-era\/"},"modified":"2022-07-20T08:27:50","modified_gmt":"2022-07-20T15:27:50","slug":"wpc-2014-partnering-to-win-in-the-mobile-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/microsoft-365\/blog\/2014\/07\/15\/wpc-2014-partnering-to-win-in-the-mobile-era\/","title":{"rendered":"WPC 2014: Partnering to win in the mobile era"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today, we are at Microsoft\u2019s Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) in Washington, D.C. This is one of my favorite events of the year because it gives us an opportunity to connect with our partners and gather invaluable feedback on their experiences working with us, our platform and productivity scenarios. It\u2019s also a unique opportunity for our partners to come together and share how they are using Microsoft technologies to create innovative solutions.<\/p>\n

This year is an important one for WPC, following a lot of big changes across our company and across the industry. The conversations I have been having with partners lately have largely centered on mobility. The rise of mobility is presenting businesses, from small organizations to large enterprises, with a lot of new and innovative opportunities \u2013 and along with that, many complex challenges. Our partners are rising to the occasion; and to support them, enabling mobility and mobile scenarios has been a top priority for the company \u2013 and undoubtedly for the Windows and Windows Phone business specifically. This is why we are continuing to make investments in several key areas, including business-ready devices, mobile productivity services, line of business apps and enterprise-grade management systems, all which enable new mobile scenarios.<\/p>\n

Interesting partner stories always surface at WPC and one that I am really excited about this year is iRiS Software Systems and InterKnowlogy<\/a> (finalist for Windows 8 app developer partner of the year). Both are working together to help luxury hotel company, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group<\/a> reimagine the customer experience at its worldwide properties. Mandarin Oriental has piloted Microsoft Surface Pro tablets in four of its award-winning locations in London, Washington DC, Las Vegas and Tokyo. The in-room tablets feature a custom Windows 8.1 Start screen and immersive touch apps that allow guests to quickly and easily request hotel services such as housekeeping, laundry and in-room dining. They chose Windows for this solution for a few reasons, one being that they can quickly and easily wipe the tablet with our Remote Wipe functionality.<\/p>\n

Also at WPC, we\u2019re working with our OEM partners to ensure that they have the knowledge and access to the right technology resources to support their customers\u2019 business needs. With that in mind, I want to share with you a couple of exciting partner announcements:<\/p>\n