"With Azure, you've won an empty bucket... and the right to fill it with gold." - James Marshall, Azure Partner Success Manager, Microsoft
Microsoft Mentors8 Huhti 2025

"With Azure, you've won an empty bucket... and the right to fill it with gold." - James Marshall, Azure Partner Success Manager, Microsoft

"With Azure, you've won an empty bucket... and the right to fill it with gold."

That line from James Marshall stuck with me.

Because it perfectly sums up how different selling Azure is compared to traditional IT services.

In the old model? You won a deal, delivered the solution, and moved on.

In Azure? Winning the deal is just the start. You’ve won the right to go deeper — to fill that bucket with value, consumption, and impact.

💡 But here’s the catch: most partners are only filling that bucket a quarter full.

They do the first migration… maybe a DR plan… and stop there. Then it’s on to the next shiny new customer.

James and I dug into:

  • Why partners stall after the first project

  • The mindset shift from acquisition to expansion

  • How the best are using specialization, standardization, and data to scale

  • The “Rule of 78” and why Q1 is way more important than Q4

  • Why GenAI will follow the same journey infra engineers did with Azure

🔁 This episode was packed with insight for Microsoft Partners — especially those growing Azure practices in CSP.

If you’re building buckets and wondering how to fill them — or how to stop losing revenue through the holes — this one’s for you.


Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(45)

How Intercity Built a Microsoft-First MSP Through Acquisition

How Intercity Built a Microsoft-First MSP Through Acquisition

A conversation on acquiring Microsoft capability, integrating culture, protecting people, and turning M&A into a real strategic advantage. Buying Microsoft capability is the easy headline. Building a ...

28 Touko 1h 9min

How Chorus Grew from a Bedroom Startup into a Multi-Pillar Microsoft Business

How Chorus Grew from a Bedroom Startup into a Multi-Pillar Microsoft Business

Most businesses don’t fail because they start badly. They fail because they stop adapting. That’s what makes this conversation with Mark Taylor, Founder and CTO of Chorus, such a useful one. Mark didn...

29 Huhti 58min

How Mark Taylor Built Chorus Through Every Major Microsoft Shift

How Mark Taylor Built Chorus Through Every Major Microsoft Shift

What does it take to build a Microsoft business that lasts nearly 27 years?In this episode of Microsoft Mentors, we sit down with Mark Taylor, Founder and CTO of Chorus, to explore how the business gr...

28 Huhti 1min

From Active Directory to AI Agents: Luke Elston on the New Shape of Microsoft Security

From Active Directory to AI Agents: Luke Elston on the New Shape of Microsoft Security

How has Microsoft security evolved from the world of Active Directory and infrastructure into one defined by AI, data security, and non-human identities? In this episode of Microsoft Mentors, Oli sit...

22 Huhti 1h

How Margaret Totten Built, Sold, and Rebuilt in the Microsoft Ecosystem

How Margaret Totten Built, Sold, and Rebuilt in the Microsoft Ecosystem

What does it really look like to build a business in the Microsoft ecosystem, sell it, and then do it all again? In this episode of Microsoft Mentors, Oli sits down with Mags Totten, CRO at Yavrio and...

15 Huhti 56min

How Great Founders See What’s Coming Next

How Great Founders See What’s Coming Next

“I can usually see what’s coming… just before it starts to come.”That ability to spot what’s next before the market catches up is what separates good operators from great founders.In this episode of M...

14 Huhti 1min

Inside Microsoft’s AI Evolution: Alex Pearce on Copilot, Frontier, and What Comes Next

Inside Microsoft’s AI Evolution: Alex Pearce on Copilot, Frontier, and What Comes Next

What does Microsoft’s AI story actually look like now, once you get beyond the surface-level Copilot conversation? In this episode of Microsoft Mentors, Oli sits down with Alex Pearce, Chief Strategis...

8 Huhti 55min

Why Microsoft Partners Win (or Lose) on Talent

Why Microsoft Partners Win (or Lose) on Talent

Most Microsoft Partners don’t have a demand problem.They have a talent problem.In this episode of Microsoft Mentors, Oli and Alex break down what’s really driving growth (and friction) inside the Micr...

7 Huhti 53s