February 18, 2025 • 28 mins
What does it take to succeed in the Microsoft ecosystem through collaboration and strategic partnerships?
In this episode of IAMCP Profiles in Partnership, hosts Anthony Carrano and Rudy Rodriguez are joined by Imran Mahmood, founder and CEO of KAISPE. Imran shares his insights on building strong partnerships and how they’ve played a pivotal role in his company’s success, particularly in the world of Microsoft technologies. From addressing challenges in document management to collaborating with the right partners, Imran’s story offers valuable lessons for any organization looking to thrive in today’s competitive tech landscape.
Throughout this episode, Anthony, Rudy, and Imran discuss:
- The Importance of Partner Collaboration: Imran dives into the value of collaborating within the Microsoft ecosystem, sharing how strategic partnerships help fill skill gaps and drive mutual growth. He emphasizes how essential it is to trust your partners and align on goals to create win-win scenarios for all involved.
- Customer Success and Revenue Growth: Imran shares how KAISPE’s partnership with an expert in SharePoint led to the delivery of a high-quality solution, exceeding customer expectations and boosting revenue. The success story highlights the critical role of strong communication and the right partnership in achieving client satisfaction and business growth.
- Building Community Through IAMCP: Imran discusses how being part of IAMCP has enabled KAISPE to connect with like-minded partners and expand its business. He underscores the importance of a collaborative network in the Microsoft ecosystem and encourages others to leverage IAMCP’s resources for partner success.
- KAISPE Academy’s Mission: Imran introduces KAISPE Academy, a community service initiative dedicated to providing underserved individuals with tech education in Microsoft technologies. He invites partners to get involved and help scale this important mission, which empowers the next generation of tech talent.
- Inspiring Future Tech Leaders: The episode concludes with a conversation about KAISPE Academy’s commitment to training youth in Microsoft Power Platform, Azure, Open AI, and more. Imran highlights how education is key to shaping the future of tech and encourages listeners to support this noble effort.
This episode is a must-listen for anyone seeking to understand the power of partnerships in the Microsoft ecosystem, and how they can drive both business success and positive social impact. Imran’s experience and advice will inspire you to rethink your approach to collaboration, customer relationships, and community-building in the tech space.
Listener Links / Resources
Imran Mahmood LinkedIn: LinkedIn
Company URL: KAISPE Website
Company LinkedIn: KAISPE LinkedIn
Vendor Portal (SaaS)
Website
Field Service App (PaaS)
Website
Purchase Requisition App (PaaS)
Website
Show Hosts:
Anthony Carrano LinkedIn, Managing Partner at Dunamis Marketing
Rudy Rodriguez LinkedIn, Managing Partner at Dunamis Marketing<
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Anthony Carrano (00:05):
Welcome to the IAMCP Profiles and Partnership,
the podcast that showcases howMicrosoft partners and IAMCP
members boost their business bycollaborating with other members
and partners. I'm your co host,Anthony Carrano. And in each
episode, I'll be talking to someof the most innovative and
successful partners in theMicrosoft ecosystem. The
(00:26):
International Association ofMicrosoft Channel Partners,
otherwise known as IAMCP, is acommunity of Microsoft partners
who help each other grow andthrive. Members can find and
connect with other partnerslocally and globally and access
exclusive resources andopportunities.
Whether you're looking for newcustomers, new markets, or new
solutions, IAMCP can help youachieve your goals. We'll hear
(00:50):
their stories, learn from theirexperiences, and discover the
best practices and strategiesthey use to increase customer
loyalty and grow revenues.Whether you're a new partner or
an established one, you'll findvaluable insights and
inspiration in this podcast. Wehope you enjoy this podcast and
find it useful and inspiring. Ifyou do, please subscribe, rate,
and review us on your favoritepodcast platform.
(01:12):
And don't forget to follow us onsocial media and connect with us
on our website,www.profilesinpartnership.com,
where you can find moreinformation, resources, and
opportunities to partner forsuccess. Thank you for
listening, and now let's getstarted with today's episode.
But before we dive into ourinterview, let me ask you a few
(01:33):
questions. As a Microsoftpartner and member of the IAMCP,
how are you developing yourpartner relationships to achieve
your business goals? And whatcriteria do you use to select
the right partner?
Finding the right partner can bechallenging, but can also be
very rewarding. In fact,according to a channel
profitability study, Microsoftpartners derive margins 19%
(01:57):
higher than the next closestcompetitor. That's a huge
difference, and it shows thepower of partnering. So how do
you leverage the Microsoftpartner network and IAMCP to
support your partnerships? Andhow do you ensure success for
your customer?
These are some of the questionswe'll explore in this podcast
with the help of our guest, arecent P2P Award ISV nominee
(02:19):
who's also an expert inpartnering. He'll share stories,
challenges, and successes, andgive you practical tips and
advice on how to partner forsuccess. Are you ready to join
us on this journey? Then staytuned because we have a great
show for you today. Our guest isImran Mahmood, the CEO at
KAISPE, an ISV and ConsultingService Provider with a strong
(02:40):
focus on delivering softwareservices and solutions using
Microsoft Azure, DynamicsBusiness Apps, and the Power
Platform. Let's hear what he hasto say.
Welcome, Imran, to the podcasttoday. Really appreciate you
joining us.
Imran Mahmood (02:55):
Anthony, thank you so much for inviting me in
this podcast. I reallyappreciate that.
Anthony Carrano (03:00):
Excellent. Excellent. Why don't we start
off? Why don't you tell us alittle bit about yourself and
the role in the company?
Imran Mahmood (03:06):
Yeah. Sure. My name is, Imran Mahmood, and I'm
the founder and CEO at KAISPE.As a serial entrepreneur, I have
been involved in establishing anumber of technology practices
and taking them to the nextlevel of growth. Personally, I'm
a Microsoft guy, so I have astrong background working with
different Microsoft teams,including, Microsoft Dynamics
(03:26):
product development team, andthen, you know, from sustained
engineering to, global,consulting services team.
Right? I founded KAISPE in,2018, and initially, the focus
was on Microsoft CloudTechnologies. And then we added
more and more, Microsoftsolutions and and technologies
in it, including Dynamics, PowerPlatform, and and some, open
(03:49):
source stuff as well. We havebeen, a member of IAMCP for more
than, 5 years now. And as amember of this, prestigious
group, we have access to, avast, area, a vast network of
Microsoft partners and theresources that have helped us,
(04:11):
growing our business in inthese, couple of years.
And, we have also kept ourselvesup to date, with Microsoft
solutions and technologies.
Anthony Carrano (04:19):
That's fantastic. And I know we're
really looking forward togetting into hearing a little
bit more about your P2P story.But I know you mentioned you
joined IAMCP about 5 years ago.What, what prompted you to join,
the organization and become amember?
Imran Mahmood (04:34):
Yeah. So, primarily, we are Microsoft
shop, Anthony, and, what we werelooking for is some platform
where we can easily find otherMicrosoft partners. Right?
Because, personally, my beliefis, you know, you grow your
business as you collaborate withother partners. And there are
always some technology and skillset gaps.
Right? You cannot covereverything. Right? So and
(04:56):
because we were a Microsoftshop, and there is a huge stack
of Microsoft technologies, sothat's why we decided to join a
platform like IAMCP, which isreliable, where we can find, you
know, partners who are servingdifferent industries on
different technologies,different customers, and
geographies. And that was thecore reason behind that.
Anthony Carrano (05:16):
Excellent. Excellent. We appreciate you
sharing. Rudy?
Rudy Rodriguez (05:20):
So I read the story that you submitted. Very
interesting story that you had.Can you tell us a little bit
more about the client? You don'thave to give us a name or the
size or but we would like tohear what industry they're in
and especially the technologythat that you implemented and
the challenges that that clientwas facing.
Imran Mahmood (05:40):
Sure. Sure. So our client, was actually a
service organization, right,with 400 plus employees. And
they were in professionalservice industries, and they
were providing differentservices to their customers,
including, advisory services,consulting, and support
services. Right?
Now they were facing challengeswith with this huge volume of
(06:01):
documents, managing andmaintaining these documents,
that were, you know, spreadacross different locations and
different systems. So it waskind of very, difficult for them
to find and retrieve a documentwhen they need it. So they were
looking for a solution that iscentralized, a document
management solution that iscentralized, that is scalable
(06:23):
and reliable, to improve theiroverall document management
experience. Right. So to addressthese challenges, Kaspi
partnered with with the withthis partner with Microsoft
partner, and we implemented asolution using Microsoft
SharePoint and Power Platform.
The solution helped the clientcentralize their document
(06:45):
management and improve theiroverall searching capabilities,
making it easier for them tosearch and read the right
document when they need it. Thesolution also automated their
workflow processes, reducing themanual effort involved, and, it
also improved the overallefficiency. We actually tried to
(07:06):
calculate, with the customer anoverall, 80% operational
efficiency they actuallyachieved, which is a which is a
really good number for them.
Rudy Rodriguez (07:15):
How did you meet this partner, and and what was
your criteria for selecting apartner for a project like this?
Imran Mahmood (07:21):
Yeah. So it was, since an enterprise level
document management solution.Right? And it also involved some
complexity in terms of thevolume of document. So, our
criteria was not only to lookfor a partner who is well versed
in Microsoft SharePoint, butalso someone who is really good,
(07:42):
has deep experience designingand delivering, an enterprise
level document managementsolution, like the what our
customer was expecting us todeliver.
So not only the technology andskill set, but also, the
business process knowledge andindustry experience,
particularly with the with suchlevel of expertise involved in
(08:02):
the in in designing thesolution.
Rudy Rodriguez (08:05):
So so, again, in selecting that partner, was the
decision made on, besides skillsets on geography and their
ability to service thatcustomer? Can you tell us a
little bit more about that?
Imran Mahmood (08:18):
Yeah. That's right, actually. So, you know,
we we're looking for partner. Wetried different, other sources
as well. Definitely, IAMCP wasour natural choice, to find such
partner.
Fortunately, we were able tofind a a partner in our own
local chapter, and, you know, wewe approached them. It was super
(08:38):
easy using this plat IAMCPplatform to, you know, approach
them. We connected with them,had a discussion early
discussion, and we were veryimpressed with the their track
record of delivering, you know,such document management
solution using MicrosoftSharePoint. So yeah. So just to
just to add to our listeners'knowledge, IAMCP, it provides a
(09:00):
platform, that Microsoftpartners, you know, can can
avail to connect with eachother.
They can build theirrelationships, with each other.
And so it helps them to expand,the business opportunities and,
of course, their bottom line.
Rudy Rodriguez (09:14):
That's a great story. It's always good to hear.
Warms my heart, is to hear thestories about IAMCP. I've been a
member for 30 years now. So Ireally enjoy, when people
partner and build successfulsolutions for for their clients.
Exactly.
Anthony?
Anthony Carrano (09:31):
No. That was great. What made you decide no.
Let me ask this because, as, youknow, obviously, you're a very
successful, you know, ISV. Doyou guys work exclusively with
and through partners?
Imran Mahmood (09:42):
So we actually do both. So we do establish
partnerships where we meet.Right? And, particularly in the
Microsoft ecosystem, weestablish a lot of partnerships,
on different solutions anddifferent services that we
provide to our customers. Andthen we also do a lot of,
consulting services on our own.And as a Microsoft ISV, we do a
(10:04):
lot of product development.Right?
Anthony Carrano (10:06):
Yeah. I was just I was just curious when
you, you had mentioned that,especially since for the last 5
years, and and the company isonly 6 years old. So you've been
pretty much actively, you youknow, go working through
partners for just the entireduration of of your company's
existence. So that's that'sfantastic. What do you look for
(10:27):
in in partners? So aside fromtheir, you know, members of
IAMCP, what are the things thatthat factor into your decision
criteria?
Imran Mahmood (10:36):
Yeah. I think, Anthony, that one of the the
biggest factors really is thesynergy. Right? So, you know, we
have often found partners whoare very good at the skills
technology, who are very good atdelivering the solutions. But
when it comes to certain othernontechnical factors, for
example, you know, timelycommunication, you know, for
(10:58):
example, having, setting theright goals, among each other.
So and the common goals, I wouldsay. These are some these are
some of the areas where I wouldsay that we strongly look into
the partners. We value more,these factors than than the
technology. I know thattechnology is definitely
important, and that's what weare partnering. Right?
(11:19):
That's one of the major factors.But these other factors are
super important for us, andthat's what we look into the
partners. So so synergy issomething we always look for.
We, need other partners to havea frequency match with us. And
and that's really the beauty ofP2P collaboration. Right? If you
find the right partner, yourlife will be a lot easier,
(11:41):
honestly, and you you can youyou'll be able to deliver
quality solutions to yourcustomers.
Anthony Carrano (11:47):
Yeah. Because definitely, if you have the
wrong partner, it could be adisaster. Right?
Imran Mahmood (11:53):
I mean, it's a it's a honestly, I mean, we have
we have certain, situations inpast. We where we selected one
partner, very good attechnology, you know, we relied
on them, but then the customercame to us that, okay, we are
not getting, the rightcommunication or the stakeholder
communication, you know, fromthe from the other guys. So
that's kind of, problem because,you know, when you when you
(12:15):
select a partner, you, setcertain boundaries and certain,
SOPs. Right? And if the otherpartner is not following them
and you are definitely thenthere is a misunderstanding
already established.
Anthony Carrano (12:28):
Mhmm. Mhmm. And on that note and kinda now
weaving back into the partnersuccess story, that you were
sharing a little bit earlier is,did you guys did you and your
partner have any challenges,during that engagement? And if
so, what were they, and how didyou guys work together to
overcome it?
Imran Mahmood (12:48):
Yeah. Of course, we faced some challenges. And at
the very start of the project,right, of the collaboration,
these were like including,communication and, setting the
common goals, you know, like Ipreviously mentioned. But, you
know, in any P2P collaboration,like this, these 2 are very
important areas that I wouldstrongly suggest partners to,
(13:08):
you know, get them get getthemselves aligned. And
oftentimes, you know, you see,things, for example, your
communication style between bothorganizations, your organization
culture.
There are conflicting schedules,and these factors, sometimes
create misunderstanding. Andultimately, you go towards, you
(13:29):
know, misleading efforts. Andthat's what we would like to
avoid. Right? So but,fortunately, at the very start,
we we focused on frequencymatching.
So the both, you know, both ofus understand each other's
chemistry. So we work togetheron these challenges and we try
to, you know, get rid of them atthe very start of the project.
(13:51):
And successfully, we will ableto deliver our solution to our
customer, you know, meeting andexceeding their requirements.
Anthony Carrano (14:00):
And when you said frequency matching, you're
talking about in terms of, as itpertains to communication and
deliverables?
Imran Mahmood (14:07):
Exactly. Exactly. So, you know, once you decide a
timeline with the customer andyou rely, let's say, 70% on the
delivery, on other partner,that's where the overall
communication, you know, is isvery important. Because, for
example, if you are managing theproject, all of the risk
management, all of the changemanagement that is coming from
you and all you have alreadyonboarded the other partner. But
(14:27):
if they are not following, thatrisk management or issue
management or change management,definitely your customer will
get hurt, and and the entireproject will be, will suffer.
Anthony Carrano (14:37):
Well, that's awesome. That's excellent.
Excellent.
Rudy Rodriguez (14:39):
So, Imran, I'm gonna give you a chance at a
shameless plug right now. If youwhat what is the name? It says
as an ISV, what is the what isthe product that you that your
company promotes the most? Andthat that also led to this this
type of solution so we can letour our our other partners know
(15:00):
what you do?
Imran Mahmood (15:01):
Yeah. So as an ISV, we have been, working
extensively on MicrosoftTechnologies. Right? So we
extensively work on MicrosoftPower Platform, and that's our
expert area. And we have anumber of, IPs already published
on Microsoft AppSource and AzureMarketplace.
And, you know, every other day,we have been adding more and
more features in especially theAI, side of it. With this
(15:25):
success story, we actually wereable to pick up the power
automate part or the workflow,automation part, But,
definitely, we we lacked in theSharePoint side of it, so that's
why we collaborated with theother partner.
Rudy Rodriguez (15:38):
Right? How many listings do you have on
AppSource?
Imran Mahmood (15:41):
So we have around, like, 20 plus, I would
say, product listing there. And,these are, like, different
horizontal solutions, some,specialized verticals for
construction, for, serviceindustries and couple of other
industries as well.
Rudy Rodriguez (15:57):
Very good. Very good. So based on your
partnering experience, did thisengagement increase customer
satisfaction, profitability? Youknow, can you tell us a little
bit about that?
Imran Mahmood (16:08):
Yeah. Certainly. Certainly. This engagement
actually, it it did not onlyincrease the customer
satisfaction, but also increasedthe revenue growth. And, by
partnering with, with such acompany that we found, through
IAMCP, they have that they hadexpertise in Microsoft
SharePoint.
We were able to, deliver a highquality solution, that certainly
(16:29):
exceeded the customerexpectations. So so I think, it
it was a it was certainly a goodmatch in terms of, not only,
getting the customer confidenceand trust, but also, the revenue
growth. And the best thing aboutthis engagement, we did not stop
there. Right? We we did not stopwith the customer right there.
We did more and more cross andupselling with the customer, and
(16:52):
that's that's the beauty of it.Because, in the first place, we
we delivered a quality solution,and then, of course, the
customer gave us more and moreprojects.
Rudy Rodriguez (17:00):
So one of the one of the things you mentioned
was that 70% of the delivery,was dependent on the partner. So
based on that experience, whatadvice would you give to
companies like yours regardingpartnering?
Imran Mahmood (17:13):
Yeah. So I would strongly suggest other companies
and partners out there,especially in the Microsoft
ecosystem, to always be open forcollaboration and partnering.
Look for partners who can fillin your skill set gap. Look for
partners who are really good incertain industry verticals where
you are lacking, and always, youknow, look for partners who are
really good or kind of achievethe excellence in certain
(17:35):
Microsoft technologies. Right?And and do not stop here. You
know?
For example, if you, so byworking together, you can, and
collaborating in such a way youcan, deliver more comprehensive
solutions and services to yourcustomers and ultimately grow
your, bottom line. Right? Ofcourse, if you join an
(17:58):
organization or platform likeIAMCP, you can, get access, to a
network of partners andresources that can actually help
you facilitate suchpartnerships.
Rudy Rodriguez (18:10):
Anthony, do you have some more?
Anthony Carrano (18:12):
Yeah. No. That's that's great. Great
advice. Appreciate you sharingthat. Going back to just this
experience and especially, youknow, since you have, you know,
so you know, years of experiencein working, you know, with and
through partners, what did youlearn from this, most recent,
you know, example, that enabledyour organization to improve?
Imran Mahmood (18:33):
Yeah. Anthony, it's it's a great question,
actually. You know? So we haveyears of experience, honestly,
working with different partners,And these range from small
partners to very large partnersin the Microsoft eco ecosystem
itself. I think it's a trustlevel, first of all.
Right? It's a mutual trust thatyou need to achieve, first of
(18:53):
all. And that you get achieved,is a two sided story. Right? So
do not expect a lot from otherpartner because you are also
another party in thiscollaboration.
Right? So it's a win-winsituation. It must be a win-win
situation. Definitely in thestart, when whenever you are
working on a new, P2Pcollaboration in the at the
(19:13):
start, you might get somechallenges, but be patient. Do
not give up. Do not, you know,burn all the boards. Just stay
there and think about if youwere, on on the other partner's
place. Right? So try to, besynergized, try to be, a good
match for them, and do whateveryou can from your side. And
(19:35):
then, you know, let the otherpartner do their stuff as well.
So it should be a win-win, Iwould say.
Anthony Carrano (19:41):
Mhmm. Mhmm. That's that's excellent advice.
We appreciate you sharing that.Well, Imran, this this has been
really fantastic.
Appreciate you, sharing a lot.What's really been nice is just
hearing, you know, as a, youknow, as a successful ISV, but
so much emphasis on just theimportance of a lot of the
nontechnical aspects forsuccessful partner engagement.
(20:03):
So really appreciate, you know,you sharing your insights and
your experiences, you know, withus and and your listeners. But
before we wrap up, I wanna, Iheard about your, KAISPE Academy
and just your work with youthand and with, with the Microsoft
technology. So please share withus a little bit more about that.
Imran Mahmood (20:23):
Yeah. Thank you, Anthony, for, bringing that up.
I really I really appreciatethat. So I was willing to talk
about that honestly in thispodcast. So KAISPE Academy is
something that we have startedas a CSR, community service
initiative.
Really, the objective is toprovide the tech education, to
those who deserve it, right, andwho do not have the means to
(20:46):
spend money, especially money,you know, on learning these
technologies. So being aMicrosoft partner and ISV, we
are actually trying to leverageour experience and a skill set
giving training to theseindividuals. We have included
Microsoft Power Platform,Microsoft Azure Open AI, and,
(21:07):
finally, we have also includedMicrosoft Dynamics, M365, CRM
and giving both technical andfunctional training to to these
individuals. Right? We havealready, finished up a batch of
100 individuals, and now we areworking on the 2nd batch.
So far, we have got 50registrations, and hopefully, it
will be, fairly soon, and we'llbe able to deliver that as well.
Anthony Carrano (21:29):
And what parts of either, like, the world do
you guys mainly operate KAISPEAcademy?
Imran Mahmood (21:36):
So we have started this in Pakistan, and,
here we, you know, found foundthat it's it's, you know, it
matches. It's, it's more anatural choice that we started
here and then probably scale itto different parts other parts
of the world. So definitely, wehave plans. We have also we are
also in discussion withMicrosoft, especially if you are
(21:56):
aware of Microsoft PowerUpprogram for Microsoft Power
Platform that we are alreadydelivering some workshops there.
So we are in the discussion withMicrosoft to maybe collaborate,
and partner on that side aswell.
So so yeah. So let's hope, thatwe scale in other regions, after
we have a success story in thisregion. So yeah.
Anthony Carrano (22:16):
Absolutely. And on that note, so if there's
partners that are listening andthey wanna get involved, they
wanna support, they, you know,they wanna help, you know, with
that with that mission and thateffort of KAISPE Academy. What
are ways that partners, can canget involved?
Imran Mahmood (22:34):
Yeah. Sure. So they can actually visit our
website, which iskaispe.academy. They will they
will find all the information,all the contact information.
They can visit our LinkedInpage.
It's a dedicated page for KAISPEAcademy. There is a direct
registration form that they canshare with other candidates, in
their professional network. Andfinally, they can directly reach
(22:55):
out to me, as I'm directlyleading this, CSR effort.
Anthony Carrano (23:00):
Okay. Excellent. Excellent. Well,
really appreciate you sharingthat. Thank you.
You know, as we wrap up, so Iknow I wanna just leave with our
listeners ways, that they canreach out and connect with you
directly.
Imran Mahmood (23:13):
Yeah. So we have the corporate website,
www.kaispe.com. That's the bestway, to reach out to us. Then we
have the LinkedIn page, andcouple of other social media
page. We have Twitter handle aswell and Facebook page as well.
So, definitely there aredifferent ways to reach out to
us. We have a email address thatwe typically give to our
(23:35):
partners and customers. Supereasy, info@kaispe.com. If they
have any queries, if they needany support, any advice, they
must feel free to reach out.
Anthony Carrano (23:46):
Excellent. Nice. And we'll have include all
those links to the web page,LinkedIn, the email address, as
well as the academy, and evensome of the offers that you have
in AppSource that folks canreally benefit from. We'll have
all those direct links in theshow notes below, for easy
access for our listeners. Onceagain, Imran, this was great.
(24:07):
Thank you so much for your time,and enjoy the rest of your day.
Imran Mahmood (24:11):
Thank you, Anthony. Thank you, Rudy. It was
really nice talking to you guys.I really enjoyed that. Thank you
so much.
Have a nice day.
Anthony Carrano (24:19):
Wow, Rudy. That was a really great episode. I
really appreciate Imran forgetting on and sharing. I know
there were several key thingsthat I took away, you know, from
listening, and then just hearinghim him share his story. I know
specifically, you know, as asuccessful ISV, just, how he
shared his rules of engagement,in working, you know, with
(24:40):
partners, just the importanceof, you know, the of several of
the things that are nontechnicalin nature.
You know, things like timelycommunication, aligning around
goals, setting boundaries andSOPs, but also just the
importance of finding the rightpartners who fill, you know,
your skills gaps, yourtechnology, you know,
(25:01):
specialization expertise gaps,but also the industry, you know,
gaps in areas that maybe you'renot, you know, quite as
proficient. So I really enjoyedwhat he had to say about that.
How about yourself?
Rudy Rodriguez (25:13):
Yeah. You know, kind of going along with, what
you just mentioned. One of theone of the things that that I
took away from this was, youknow, the importance of
partnering and how any type ofpartner, in this case, an an ISV
brought to the table thatbrought a significant amount of
work for their partners. So, anISV is highly specialized in
(25:35):
developing products and andbringing those to the
marketplace. And they brought apartner.
They brought a project to apartner where the partner did
70% of the work. In this case,document management in
SharePoint and had experience inthe enterprise. So that's a
significant amount of work. Sothis is where I encourage I I am
(25:56):
CP partners to really try tounderstand the type of work,
that an ISV does. Because, youknow, as Microsoft partners,
we're all involved in businessdevelopment activities.
And sometimes you'll findprojects and I see partners
walking away from some thingsbecause they don't do the work.
Don't walk away from theopportunity. A partner, you
(26:17):
know, bring a partner in. Youstill own own the the client
relationship like Imran did withhis customer. And it provided
significant benefit in thatpartnering with, with the work
that their partner did in thisthis particular client.
So it's it's highly encouragingto see an ISV become a very
(26:38):
active member of IAMCP andadopting the partnering aspect
of our core principles.
Anthony Carrano (26:46):
You know, the other thing that I really
enjoyed, that Imran shared aboutis just, you know, once again,
as a, you know, as as an ISP,they've got a lot of technical,
you know, expertise, you know,in these Microsoft technologies.
But how they're utilizing thatwith, the KAISPE Academy and
helping, you know, youth in, youknow, skilling up basically in
(27:08):
the Microsoft technologies. AndI know he started that as a CSR,
you know, initiative. It just,you know, using, you know, their
expertise, their connections andexperiences to provide technical
education to those who, youknow, don't necessarily have
those kind of opportunities andaccess, but they're bringing
that level of access andopportunity, you know, to these
(27:30):
folks, so they can then, youknow, help them and and really
change then the trajectory oftheir lives. So I I was really
inspired by that, and I reallyhope, you know, partners who are
interested in similar suchthings look to reach out to
Imran to help kind ofaccelerate, you know, and see
how they can get involved inthat mission.
Rudy Rodriguez (27:48):
Absolutely. It's a it's a very noble undertaking.
And it's, again, one of the coreprinciples of being a good
partner is education. Educationis very important, and that'll
help you grow your your futurework workforce as well, which we
need to do. Alright.
So I wanna thank all of you forjoining us on this episode of
(28:09):
IAMCP Profiles in Partnershippowered by Dunamis Marketing. We
hope you enjoyed this podcastand find it useful and
inspiring. If you did, pleasesubscribe, rate, and review us
on your favorite podcastplatform. One of the best ways
to partner for success is tojoin IAMCP, a community of
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(28:31):
members can find and connectwith other partners locally and
globally and access exclusiveresources and opportunities.
Whether you're looking for newcustomers, new markets, or new
solutions, IAMCP can help youachieve your goals. To learn
more, visit the website atwww.iamcp.org.
Welcome to the IAMCP Profiles and Partnership,
the podcast that showcases howMicrosoft partners and IAMCP
members boost their business bycollaborating with other members
and partners. I'm your co host,Anthony Carrano. And in each
episode, I'll be talking to someof the most innovative and
successful partners in theMicrosoft ecosystem. The
(00:26):
International Association ofMicrosoft Channel Partners,
otherwise known as IAMCP, is acommunity of Microsoft partners
who help each other grow andthrive. Members can find and
connect with other partnerslocally and globally and access
exclusive resources andopportunities.
Whether you're looking for newcustomers, new markets, or new
solutions, IAMCP can help youachieve your goals. We'll hear
(00:50):
their stories, learn from theirexperiences, and discover the
best practices and strategiesthey use to increase customer
loyalty and grow revenues.Whether you're a new partner or
an established one, you'll findvaluable insights and
inspiration in this podcast. Wehope you enjoy this podcast and
find it useful and inspiring. Ifyou do, please subscribe, rate,
and review us on your favoritepodcast platform.
(01:12):
And don't forget to follow us onsocial media and connect with us
on our website,www.profilesinpartnership.com,
where you can find moreinformation, resources, and
opportunities to partner forsuccess. Thank you for
listening, and now let's getstarted with today's episode.
But before we dive into ourinterview, let me ask you a few
(01:33):
questions. As a Microsoftpartner and member of the IAMCP,
how are you developing yourpartner relationships to achieve
your business goals? And whatcriteria do you use to select
the right partner?
Finding the right partner can bechallenging, but can also be
very rewarding. In fact,according to a channel
profitability study, Microsoftpartners derive margins 19%
(01:57):
higher than the next closestcompetitor. That's a huge
difference, and it shows thepower of partnering. So how do
you leverage the Microsoftpartner network and IAMCP to
support your partnerships? Andhow do you ensure success for
your customer?
These are some of the questionswe'll explore in this podcast
with the help of our guest, arecent P2P Award ISV nominee
(02:19):
who's also an expert inpartnering. He'll share stories,
challenges, and successes, andgive you practical tips and
advice on how to partner forsuccess. Are you ready to join
us on this journey? Then staytuned because we have a great
show for you today. Our guest isImran Mahmood, the CEO at
KAISPE, an ISV and ConsultingService Provider with a strong
(02:40):
focus on delivering softwareservices and solutions using
Microsoft Azure, DynamicsBusiness Apps, and the Power
Platform. Let's hear what he hasto say.
Welcome, Imran, to the podcasttoday. Really appreciate you
joining us.
Imran Mahmood (02:55):
Anthony, thank you so much for inviting me in
this podcast. I reallyappreciate that.
Anthony Carrano (03:00):
Excellent. Excellent. Why don't we start
off? Why don't you tell us alittle bit about yourself and
the role in the company?
Imran Mahmood (03:06):
Yeah. Sure. My name is, Imran Mahmood, and I'm
the founder and CEO at KAISPE.As a serial entrepreneur, I have
been involved in establishing anumber of technology practices
and taking them to the nextlevel of growth. Personally, I'm
a Microsoft guy, so I have astrong background working with
different Microsoft teams,including, Microsoft Dynamics
(03:26):
product development team, andthen, you know, from sustained
engineering to, global,consulting services team.
Right? I founded KAISPE in,2018, and initially, the focus
was on Microsoft CloudTechnologies. And then we added
more and more, Microsoftsolutions and and technologies
in it, including Dynamics, PowerPlatform, and and some, open
(03:49):
source stuff as well. We havebeen, a member of IAMCP for more
than, 5 years now. And as amember of this, prestigious
group, we have access to, avast, area, a vast network of
Microsoft partners and theresources that have helped us,
(04:11):
growing our business in inthese, couple of years.
And, we have also kept ourselvesup to date, with Microsoft
solutions and technologies.
Anthony Carrano (04:19):
That's fantastic. And I know we're
really looking forward togetting into hearing a little
bit more about your P2P story.But I know you mentioned you
joined IAMCP about 5 years ago.What, what prompted you to join,
the organization and become amember?
Imran Mahmood (04:34):
Yeah. So, primarily, we are Microsoft
shop, Anthony, and, what we werelooking for is some platform
where we can easily find otherMicrosoft partners. Right?
Because, personally, my beliefis, you know, you grow your
business as you collaborate withother partners. And there are
always some technology and skillset gaps.
Right? You cannot covereverything. Right? So and
(04:56):
because we were a Microsoftshop, and there is a huge stack
of Microsoft technologies, sothat's why we decided to join a
platform like IAMCP, which isreliable, where we can find, you
know, partners who are servingdifferent industries on
different technologies,different customers, and
geographies. And that was thecore reason behind that.
Anthony Carrano (05:16):
Excellent. Excellent. We appreciate you
sharing. Rudy?
Rudy Rodriguez (05:20):
So I read the story that you submitted. Very
interesting story that you had.Can you tell us a little bit
more about the client? You don'thave to give us a name or the
size or but we would like tohear what industry they're in
and especially the technologythat that you implemented and
the challenges that that clientwas facing.
Imran Mahmood (05:40):
Sure. Sure. So our client, was actually a
service organization, right,with 400 plus employees. And
they were in professionalservice industries, and they
were providing differentservices to their customers,
including, advisory services,consulting, and support
services. Right?
Now they were facing challengeswith with this huge volume of
(06:01):
documents, managing andmaintaining these documents,
that were, you know, spreadacross different locations and
different systems. So it waskind of very, difficult for them
to find and retrieve a documentwhen they need it. So they were
looking for a solution that iscentralized, a document
management solution that iscentralized, that is scalable
(06:23):
and reliable, to improve theiroverall document management
experience. Right. So to addressthese challenges, Kaspi
partnered with with the withthis partner with Microsoft
partner, and we implemented asolution using Microsoft
SharePoint and Power Platform.
The solution helped the clientcentralize their document
(06:45):
management and improve theiroverall searching capabilities,
making it easier for them tosearch and read the right
document when they need it. Thesolution also automated their
workflow processes, reducing themanual effort involved, and, it
also improved the overallefficiency. We actually tried to
(07:06):
calculate, with the customer anoverall, 80% operational
efficiency they actuallyachieved, which is a which is a
really good number for them.
Rudy Rodriguez (07:15):
How did you meet this partner, and and what was
your criteria for selecting apartner for a project like this?
Imran Mahmood (07:21):
Yeah. So it was, since an enterprise level
document management solution.Right? And it also involved some
complexity in terms of thevolume of document. So, our
criteria was not only to lookfor a partner who is well versed
in Microsoft SharePoint, butalso someone who is really good,
(07:42):
has deep experience designingand delivering, an enterprise
level document managementsolution, like the what our
customer was expecting us todeliver.
So not only the technology andskill set, but also, the
business process knowledge andindustry experience,
particularly with the with suchlevel of expertise involved in
(08:02):
the in in designing thesolution.
Rudy Rodriguez (08:05):
So so, again, in selecting that partner, was the
decision made on, besides skillsets on geography and their
ability to service thatcustomer? Can you tell us a
little bit more about that?
Imran Mahmood (08:18):
Yeah. That's right, actually. So, you know,
we we're looking for partner. Wetried different, other sources
as well. Definitely, IAMCP wasour natural choice, to find such
partner.
Fortunately, we were able tofind a a partner in our own
local chapter, and, you know, wewe approached them. It was super
(08:38):
easy using this plat IAMCPplatform to, you know, approach
them. We connected with them,had a discussion early
discussion, and we were veryimpressed with the their track
record of delivering, you know,such document management
solution using MicrosoftSharePoint. So yeah. So just to
just to add to our listeners'knowledge, IAMCP, it provides a
(09:00):
platform, that Microsoftpartners, you know, can can
avail to connect with eachother.
They can build theirrelationships, with each other.
And so it helps them to expand,the business opportunities and,
of course, their bottom line.
Rudy Rodriguez (09:14):
That's a great story. It's always good to hear.
Warms my heart, is to hear thestories about IAMCP. I've been a
member for 30 years now. So Ireally enjoy, when people
partner and build successfulsolutions for for their clients.
Exactly.
Anthony?
Anthony Carrano (09:31):
No. That was great. What made you decide no.
Let me ask this because, as, youknow, obviously, you're a very
successful, you know, ISV. Doyou guys work exclusively with
and through partners?
Imran Mahmood (09:42):
So we actually do both. So we do establish
partnerships where we meet.Right? And, particularly in the
Microsoft ecosystem, weestablish a lot of partnerships,
on different solutions anddifferent services that we
provide to our customers. Andthen we also do a lot of,
consulting services on our own.And as a Microsoft ISV, we do a
(10:04):
lot of product development.Right?
Anthony Carrano (10:06):
Yeah. I was just I was just curious when
you, you had mentioned that,especially since for the last 5
years, and and the company isonly 6 years old. So you've been
pretty much actively, you youknow, go working through
partners for just the entireduration of of your company's
existence. So that's that'sfantastic. What do you look for
(10:27):
in in partners? So aside fromtheir, you know, members of
IAMCP, what are the things thatthat factor into your decision
criteria?
Imran Mahmood (10:36):
Yeah. I think, Anthony, that one of the the
biggest factors really is thesynergy. Right? So, you know, we
have often found partners whoare very good at the skills
technology, who are very good atdelivering the solutions. But
when it comes to certain othernontechnical factors, for
example, you know, timelycommunication, you know, for
(10:58):
example, having, setting theright goals, among each other.
So and the common goals, I wouldsay. These are some these are
some of the areas where I wouldsay that we strongly look into
the partners. We value more,these factors than than the
technology. I know thattechnology is definitely
important, and that's what weare partnering. Right?
(11:19):
That's one of the major factors.But these other factors are
super important for us, andthat's what we look into the
partners. So so synergy issomething we always look for.
We, need other partners to havea frequency match with us. And
and that's really the beauty ofP2P collaboration. Right? If you
find the right partner, yourlife will be a lot easier,
(11:41):
honestly, and you you can youyou'll be able to deliver
quality solutions to yourcustomers.
Anthony Carrano (11:47):
Yeah. Because definitely, if you have the
wrong partner, it could be adisaster. Right?
Imran Mahmood (11:53):
I mean, it's a it's a honestly, I mean, we have
we have certain, situations inpast. We where we selected one
partner, very good attechnology, you know, we relied
on them, but then the customercame to us that, okay, we are
not getting, the rightcommunication or the stakeholder
communication, you know, fromthe from the other guys. So
that's kind of, problem because,you know, when you when you
(12:15):
select a partner, you, setcertain boundaries and certain,
SOPs. Right? And if the otherpartner is not following them
and you are definitely thenthere is a misunderstanding
already established.
Anthony Carrano (12:28):
Mhmm. Mhmm. And on that note and kinda now
weaving back into the partnersuccess story, that you were
sharing a little bit earlier is,did you guys did you and your
partner have any challenges,during that engagement? And if
so, what were they, and how didyou guys work together to
overcome it?
Imran Mahmood (12:48):
Yeah. Of course, we faced some challenges. And at
the very start of the project,right, of the collaboration,
these were like including,communication and, setting the
common goals, you know, like Ipreviously mentioned. But, you
know, in any P2P collaboration,like this, these 2 are very
important areas that I wouldstrongly suggest partners to,
(13:08):
you know, get them get getthemselves aligned. And
oftentimes, you know, you see,things, for example, your
communication style between bothorganizations, your organization
culture.
There are conflicting schedules,and these factors, sometimes
create misunderstanding. Andultimately, you go towards, you
(13:29):
know, misleading efforts. Andthat's what we would like to
avoid. Right? So but,fortunately, at the very start,
we we focused on frequencymatching.
So the both, you know, both ofus understand each other's
chemistry. So we work togetheron these challenges and we try
to, you know, get rid of them atthe very start of the project.
(13:51):
And successfully, we will ableto deliver our solution to our
customer, you know, meeting andexceeding their requirements.
Anthony Carrano (14:00):
And when you said frequency matching, you're
talking about in terms of, as itpertains to communication and
deliverables?
Imran Mahmood (14:07):
Exactly. Exactly. So, you know, once you decide a
timeline with the customer andyou rely, let's say, 70% on the
delivery, on other partner,that's where the overall
communication, you know, is isvery important. Because, for
example, if you are managing theproject, all of the risk
management, all of the changemanagement that is coming from
you and all you have alreadyonboarded the other partner. But
(14:27):
if they are not following, thatrisk management or issue
management or change management,definitely your customer will
get hurt, and and the entireproject will be, will suffer.
Anthony Carrano (14:37):
Well, that's awesome. That's excellent.
Excellent.
Rudy Rodriguez (14:39):
So, Imran, I'm gonna give you a chance at a
shameless plug right now. If youwhat what is the name? It says
as an ISV, what is the what isthe product that you that your
company promotes the most? Andthat that also led to this this
type of solution so we can letour our our other partners know
(15:00):
what you do?
Imran Mahmood (15:01):
Yeah. So as an ISV, we have been, working
extensively on MicrosoftTechnologies. Right? So we
extensively work on MicrosoftPower Platform, and that's our
expert area. And we have anumber of, IPs already published
on Microsoft AppSource and AzureMarketplace.
And, you know, every other day,we have been adding more and
more features in especially theAI, side of it. With this
(15:25):
success story, we actually wereable to pick up the power
automate part or the workflow,automation part, But,
definitely, we we lacked in theSharePoint side of it, so that's
why we collaborated with theother partner.
Rudy Rodriguez (15:38):
Right? How many listings do you have on
AppSource?
Imran Mahmood (15:41):
So we have around, like, 20 plus, I would
say, product listing there. And,these are, like, different
horizontal solutions, some,specialized verticals for
construction, for, serviceindustries and couple of other
industries as well.
Rudy Rodriguez (15:57):
Very good. Very good. So based on your
partnering experience, did thisengagement increase customer
satisfaction, profitability? Youknow, can you tell us a little
bit about that?
Imran Mahmood (16:08):
Yeah. Certainly. Certainly. This engagement
actually, it it did not onlyincrease the customer
satisfaction, but also increasedthe revenue growth. And, by
partnering with, with such acompany that we found, through
IAMCP, they have that they hadexpertise in Microsoft
SharePoint.
We were able to, deliver a highquality solution, that certainly
(16:29):
exceeded the customerexpectations. So so I think, it
it was a it was certainly a goodmatch in terms of, not only,
getting the customer confidenceand trust, but also, the revenue
growth. And the best thing aboutthis engagement, we did not stop
there. Right? We we did not stopwith the customer right there.
We did more and more cross andupselling with the customer, and
(16:52):
that's that's the beauty of it.Because, in the first place, we
we delivered a quality solution,and then, of course, the
customer gave us more and moreprojects.
Rudy Rodriguez (17:00):
So one of the one of the things you mentioned
was that 70% of the delivery,was dependent on the partner. So
based on that experience, whatadvice would you give to
companies like yours regardingpartnering?
Imran Mahmood (17:13):
Yeah. So I would strongly suggest other companies
and partners out there,especially in the Microsoft
ecosystem, to always be open forcollaboration and partnering.
Look for partners who can fillin your skill set gap. Look for
partners who are really good incertain industry verticals where
you are lacking, and always, youknow, look for partners who are
really good or kind of achievethe excellence in certain
(17:35):
Microsoft technologies. Right?And and do not stop here. You
know?
For example, if you, so byworking together, you can, and
collaborating in such a way youcan, deliver more comprehensive
solutions and services to yourcustomers and ultimately grow
your, bottom line. Right? Ofcourse, if you join an
(17:58):
organization or platform likeIAMCP, you can, get access, to a
network of partners andresources that can actually help
you facilitate suchpartnerships.
Rudy Rodriguez (18:10):
Anthony, do you have some more?
Anthony Carrano (18:12):
Yeah. No. That's that's great. Great
advice. Appreciate you sharingthat. Going back to just this
experience and especially, youknow, since you have, you know,
so you know, years of experiencein working, you know, with and
through partners, what did youlearn from this, most recent,
you know, example, that enabledyour organization to improve?
Imran Mahmood (18:33):
Yeah. Anthony, it's it's a great question,
actually. You know? So we haveyears of experience, honestly,
working with different partners,And these range from small
partners to very large partnersin the Microsoft eco ecosystem
itself. I think it's a trustlevel, first of all.
Right? It's a mutual trust thatyou need to achieve, first of
(18:53):
all. And that you get achieved,is a two sided story. Right? So
do not expect a lot from otherpartner because you are also
another party in thiscollaboration.
Right? So it's a win-winsituation. It must be a win-win
situation. Definitely in thestart, when whenever you are
working on a new, P2Pcollaboration in the at the
(19:13):
start, you might get somechallenges, but be patient. Do
not give up. Do not, you know,burn all the boards. Just stay
there and think about if youwere, on on the other partner's
place. Right? So try to, besynergized, try to be, a good
match for them, and do whateveryou can from your side. And
(19:35):
then, you know, let the otherpartner do their stuff as well.
So it should be a win-win, Iwould say.
Anthony Carrano (19:41):
Mhmm. Mhmm. That's that's excellent advice.
We appreciate you sharing that.Well, Imran, this this has been
really fantastic.
Appreciate you, sharing a lot.What's really been nice is just
hearing, you know, as a, youknow, as a successful ISV, but
so much emphasis on just theimportance of a lot of the
nontechnical aspects forsuccessful partner engagement.
(20:03):
So really appreciate, you know,you sharing your insights and
your experiences, you know, withus and and your listeners. But
before we wrap up, I wanna, Iheard about your, KAISPE Academy
and just your work with youthand and with, with the Microsoft
technology. So please share withus a little bit more about that.
Imran Mahmood (20:23):
Yeah. Thank you, Anthony, for, bringing that up.
I really I really appreciatethat. So I was willing to talk
about that honestly in thispodcast. So KAISPE Academy is
something that we have startedas a CSR, community service
initiative.
Really, the objective is toprovide the tech education, to
those who deserve it, right, andwho do not have the means to
(20:46):
spend money, especially money,you know, on learning these
technologies. So being aMicrosoft partner and ISV, we
are actually trying to leverageour experience and a skill set
giving training to theseindividuals. We have included
Microsoft Power Platform,Microsoft Azure Open AI, and,
(21:07):
finally, we have also includedMicrosoft Dynamics, M365, CRM
and giving both technical andfunctional training to to these
individuals. Right? We havealready, finished up a batch of
100 individuals, and now we areworking on the 2nd batch.
So far, we have got 50registrations, and hopefully, it
will be, fairly soon, and we'llbe able to deliver that as well.
Anthony Carrano (21:29):
And what parts of either, like, the world do
you guys mainly operate KAISPEAcademy?
Imran Mahmood (21:36):
So we have started this in Pakistan, and,
here we, you know, found foundthat it's it's, you know, it
matches. It's, it's more anatural choice that we started
here and then probably scale itto different parts other parts
of the world. So definitely, wehave plans. We have also we are
also in discussion withMicrosoft, especially if you are
(21:56):
aware of Microsoft PowerUpprogram for Microsoft Power
Platform that we are alreadydelivering some workshops there.
So we are in the discussion withMicrosoft to maybe collaborate,
and partner on that side aswell.
So so yeah. So let's hope, thatwe scale in other regions, after
we have a success story in thisregion. So yeah.
Anthony Carrano (22:16):
Absolutely. And on that note, so if there's
partners that are listening andthey wanna get involved, they
wanna support, they, you know,they wanna help, you know, with
that with that mission and thateffort of KAISPE Academy. What
are ways that partners, can canget involved?
Imran Mahmood (22:34):
Yeah. Sure. So they can actually visit our
website, which iskaispe.academy. They will they
will find all the information,all the contact information.
They can visit our LinkedInpage.
It's a dedicated page for KAISPEAcademy. There is a direct
registration form that they canshare with other candidates, in
their professional network. Andfinally, they can directly reach
(22:55):
out to me, as I'm directlyleading this, CSR effort.
Anthony Carrano (23:00):
Okay. Excellent. Excellent. Well,
really appreciate you sharingthat. Thank you.
You know, as we wrap up, so Iknow I wanna just leave with our
listeners ways, that they canreach out and connect with you
directly.
Imran Mahmood (23:13):
Yeah. So we have the corporate website,
www.kaispe.com. That's the bestway, to reach out to us. Then we
have the LinkedIn page, andcouple of other social media
page. We have Twitter handle aswell and Facebook page as well.
So, definitely there aredifferent ways to reach out to
us. We have a email address thatwe typically give to our
(23:35):
partners and customers. Supereasy, info@kaispe.com. If they
have any queries, if they needany support, any advice, they
must feel free to reach out.
Anthony Carrano (23:46):
Excellent. Nice. And we'll have include all
those links to the web page,LinkedIn, the email address, as
well as the academy, and evensome of the offers that you have
in AppSource that folks canreally benefit from. We'll have
all those direct links in theshow notes below, for easy
access for our listeners. Onceagain, Imran, this was great.
(24:07):
Thank you so much for your time,and enjoy the rest of your day.
Imran Mahmood (24:11):
Thank you, Anthony. Thank you, Rudy. It was
really nice talking to you guys.I really enjoyed that. Thank you
so much.
Have a nice day.
Anthony Carrano (24:19):
Wow, Rudy. That was a really great episode. I
really appreciate Imran forgetting on and sharing. I know
there were several key thingsthat I took away, you know, from
listening, and then just hearinghim him share his story. I know
specifically, you know, as asuccessful ISV, just, how he
shared his rules of engagement,in working, you know, with
(24:40):
partners, just the importanceof, you know, the of several of
the things that are nontechnicalin nature.
You know, things like timelycommunication, aligning around
goals, setting boundaries andSOPs, but also just the
importance of finding the rightpartners who fill, you know,
your skills gaps, yourtechnology, you know,
(25:01):
specialization expertise gaps,but also the industry, you know,
gaps in areas that maybe you'renot, you know, quite as
proficient. So I really enjoyedwhat he had to say about that.
How about yourself?
Rudy Rodriguez (25:13):
Yeah. You know, kind of going along with, what
you just mentioned. One of theone of the things that that I
took away from this was, youknow, the importance of
partnering and how any type ofpartner, in this case, an an ISV
brought to the table thatbrought a significant amount of
work for their partners. So, anISV is highly specialized in
(25:35):
developing products and andbringing those to the
marketplace. And they brought apartner.
They brought a project to apartner where the partner did
70% of the work. In this case,document management in
SharePoint and had experience inthe enterprise. So that's a
significant amount of work. Sothis is where I encourage I I am
(25:56):
CP partners to really try tounderstand the type of work,
that an ISV does. Because, youknow, as Microsoft partners,
we're all involved in businessdevelopment activities.
And sometimes you'll findprojects and I see partners
walking away from some thingsbecause they don't do the work.
Don't walk away from theopportunity. A partner, you
(26:17):
know, bring a partner in. Youstill own own the the client
relationship like Imran did withhis customer. And it provided
significant benefit in thatpartnering with, with the work
that their partner did in thisthis particular client.
So it's it's highly encouragingto see an ISV become a very
(26:38):
active member of IAMCP andadopting the partnering aspect
of our core principles.
Anthony Carrano (26:46):
You know, the other thing that I really
enjoyed, that Imran shared aboutis just, you know, once again,
as a, you know, as as an ISP,they've got a lot of technical,
you know, expertise, you know,in these Microsoft technologies.
But how they're utilizing thatwith, the KAISPE Academy and
helping, you know, youth in, youknow, skilling up basically in
(27:08):
the Microsoft technologies. AndI know he started that as a CSR,
you know, initiative. It just,you know, using, you know, their
expertise, their connections andexperiences to provide technical
education to those who, youknow, don't necessarily have
those kind of opportunities andaccess, but they're bringing
that level of access andopportunity, you know, to these
(27:30):
folks, so they can then, youknow, help them and and really
change then the trajectory oftheir lives. So I I was really
inspired by that, and I reallyhope, you know, partners who are
interested in similar suchthings look to reach out to
Imran to help kind ofaccelerate, you know, and see
how they can get involved inthat mission.
Rudy Rodriguez (27:48):
Absolutely. It's a it's a very noble undertaking.
And it's, again, one of the coreprinciples of being a good
partner is education. Educationis very important, and that'll
help you grow your your futurework workforce as well, which we
need to do. Alright.
So I wanna thank all of you forjoining us on this episode of
(28:09):
IAMCP Profiles in Partnershippowered by Dunamis Marketing. We
hope you enjoyed this podcastand find it useful and
inspiring. If you did, pleasesubscribe, rate, and review us
on your favorite podcastplatform. One of the best ways
to partner for success is tojoin IAMCP, a community of
Microsoft partners who help eachother grow and thrive. IAMCP
(28:31):
members can find and connectwith other partners locally and
globally and access exclusiveresources and opportunities.
Whether you're looking for newcustomers, new markets, or new
solutions, IAMCP can help youachieve your goals. To learn
more, visit the website atwww.iamcp.org.
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