Microsoft · Partner marketing

Creating $42M in additional revenue for Microsoft

Optimising and executing an innovative, agile partner programme.

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$42M

Additional revenue in 5 months

$6.7M

Revenue from Asian partners

+23%

Projects per employee

+27%

Throughput efficiency

The challenge

Indigo Slate, a Seattle-based marketing agency, has been working as an extended marketing team for Microsoft for 17 years. They saw an opportunity to provide Microsoft with a novel concept that could help tackle some of the obstacles Microsoft encountered in generating accelerated pipeline with their partners. In February 2024, Indigo Slate introduced the concept for ‘Partner Marketing as a Service’ (PMaaS), an agile programme designed to generate solution-oriented demand and lead generation campaigns with partners and providing them with market intelligence within a 8-week sprint. The programme was based on pre-defined modules (GTM strategy and integrated marketing campaign, market intelligence, ABM, social, webinars and live events). Approved by Microsoft, preparations for the roll-out began mid-February.

I joined the team in June 2024, stepping in for the Programme Director/Global Partner Marketing Director during a longer, health-related leave of absence. Despite the programme’s initiation in February, several challenges persisted, especially a lower-than-expected efficiency and slow growth of the pipeline. Additionally, there was a lack of a partner buy-in, mainly because the concept of PMaaS was not fully understood. The onboarding team struggled to align partners with an 8-week agile collaboration process. Crucially, there were also resources still missing in key geographies such as China and Japan, which was vital for Microsoft’s growth plan for FY 24/25.

At this critical juncture, I took charge of a team of 20 marketers to address the delays in the programme roll-out and ramp up pipeline acceleration.

The approach

We introduced a RACI-based ownership model, re-defined the intake process with new guidelines and playbooks to give partners a clear understanding of expectations and rules of engagement.

Strategic process optimisation

To address these operational challenges, I led a comprehensive evaluation of the entire PMaaS service delivery chain, including partner communication protocols and Microsoft’s nomination process.

Establishing clear governance and standards

I implemented a RACI-based ownership model to clarify roles and responsibilities across all stakeholders.

This was complemented by a re-designed intake process featuring detailed guidelines and playbooks providing partners with transparent expectations and clear engagement protocols.

Optimising the Information Ecosystem

Concurrently, I conducted an end-to-end analysis of the information flow across Indigo Slate, partner organisations, and Microsoft touchpoints.

Through strategic capacity planning initiatives, I established a framework for enhanced pipeline throughput and process acceleration, ultimately achieving improved project-per-employee ratios.

Scaling through innovation

To support multilingual scalability and operational efficiency, I introduced AI-powered video content that articulated key program benefits and prerequisites.

This innovation significantly reduced the intake team’s administrative burden while maintaining consistent messaging across markets.

I also developed standardised templates and collaboration frameworks within the PMaaS Marketing team, driving greater predictability in resource allocation and utilisation.

Executive alignment and strategic expansion

All initiatives were vetted and approved through weekly governance meetings with senior leadership and Microsoft stakeholders, ensuring strategic alignment throughout implementation.

This collaborative approach enabled the development of a specialized program for 20 high-priority Asian Microsoft partners, centred on webinar-driven campaigns as a proven lead generation methodology within the programme.

Demonstrating value and impact

Programme successes were showcased at Microsoft partner summits and featured on Microsoft’s partner portal, effectively communicating achievements and progress to both Microsoft leadership and the broader partner ecosystem.

The impact

We generated $42M in additional revenue within 5 months and secured $6.7M through collaboration with 20 Asian partners (Vietnam, Singapore, India, China) in a special programme within PMaaS, with campaigns specifically designed around webinar and live events.