1. Internal primer Optimize Your Operations
HOW TO USE: This content is intended to provide you with a general understanding of Microsoft’s solutions for midsized customers, specifically those who want to optimize their operations to improve business efficiencies. This document is for INTERNAL use and should not be directly provided to customers. Instead, use this content as directional guidance to inform your customer engagement marketing activities and initiate a conversation about how you can help your customers solve their business challenges with a Microsoft solution.
Target Audience
Top Microsoft Products
Core Midmarket ( employees) and Large Midmarket ( employees) businesses. Business Decision Makers (BDMs). Role titles may include: Owner, President, CXO (e.g., Chief Operating Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, etc.), VP, Director, Senior Manager, etc.
Good: Office 365, Windows Server 2016
Better: + Microsoft Azure, Windows 10 Pro devices
Best: + Dynamics 365, SQL Server 2016
Pillar Value Proposition
Customer Benefits
Supporting Solution Points
Flexible IT to fit your business
Use technology that
adapts to unique, changing business needs, while maximizing existing investments.
Reduce the complexity and cost of your IT by moving your infrastructure completely to the cloud with Microsoft Azure. Azure is a growing collection of integrated cloud services for moving faster, achieving more, and saving money. Your database, apps and services can scale on demand to support changing data and business demands – without the need for new capital investments.
Or use a hybrid combination of your current on-premises Windows Server with Microsoft Azure to get the most out of your existing IT investments. With Windows Server 2016 you can blend your on-premises and cloud solutions without having to re-engineer infrastructure, systems management or applications.
Pay only for the services and data storage you use with affordable pay-as-you-go pricing when hosting line-of-business apps in Microsoft Azure. Easily add users, Office 365 and other apps as your business grows – so employees have exactly the tools they need, as they need them.
Know your team is always using the latest technology. Get automatic security and feature updates for Office 365 and Windows 10 Pro, delivered online from the cloud to devices without interrupting users at work, via services like Windows Update for Business and Windows Server Update Services (WSUS).
Optimize business processes and application management
Enable more efficiency and faster decision making.
Connect key operational functions to create consistent, unified management in the cloud that you can easily run from anywhere. Dynamics 365 goes beyond traditional enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems by bringing the applications that run your finances, sales, and operations together with the familiar Office 365 apps you already know. You can also use mobile apps for tasks such as tracking expenses, invoicing, and quoting.
Store all of the data from your business applications with cost-effective, instantly scalable Azure Storage.
Use new Windows 10 Pro devices with the latest Intel® Core™ processors to get 2.5x better performance, a battery that lasts 3x as long, and wakes up from sleep 2x faster.
Manage employee-owned and company devices more easily with Enterprise Mobility + Security’s centralized policies for devices, whether Windows, iOS or Android.
Support business continuity and security
Protect your business against unexpected interruptions, data loss and modern security threats.
Know that you can recover your data in case something happens to the originals. Windows Server 2016 and SQL Server 2016 include automated protection recovery for cost-effective business continuity on-premises and in the cloud. Microsoft Azure provides scalable, cost-effective backup in the cloud, with up to 99 years of data retention for legal compliance. For extra protection, Azure encrypts your backup files.
Keep files synchronized on OneDrive for Business (part of Office 365) and access files anytime, anywhere, offline or online.
Get protection against sophisticated cyberattacks that exploit vulnerable devices. Windows 10 Pro and Microsoft Intune, part of Enterprise Mobility + Security (EMS), can remotely validate Windows 10 Pro device health. Advanced threat analytics in EMS help detect abnormal behavior and malicious attacks.
Windows 10 Pro uses hardware-based technologies to prevent malware from compromising your network. It also uses Device Guard to help mitigate against vulnerabilities and uses policy-based controls to stop unauthorized software from running.
Drive Efficiency. Now more than ever, technology is the backbone of a successful business. Outdated or obsolete IT limits a businesses’ ability to address key challenges and opportunities in today’s digital world. An integrated, flexible cloud platform provides the power and agility required to stay a step ahead of the competition and support growth. With the right solution, customers can reduce the complexity and cost of IT, accelerate business responsiveness, and improve business continuity and security. Microsoft provides a flexible, intelligent and secure cloud platform that meets customers where they are today to help optimize operations and drive maximum efficiencies across their businesses’.
Customer Challenges
Reduce complexity and cost of IT.
Get more out of existing technology investments.
Automate business processes
Keep up with increasing data.
Equip employees quickly with apps, services, and new devices.
Be able to restore data in case of a failure or accident.
Get business back online after an emergency or disaster.
Conversation Starters
Objection Handlers
Shareable Data Points
Supporting Resources
“What are your biggest operational challenges?”
“Do you use cloud technologies for any part of your business? “
“How do you scale up business applications to meet demand as your business grows?” 
“How do you keep up with growing data today? E.g., do you buy additional storage media?” 
“Do you use a database like Microsoft SQL Server for your business applications? Do you ever have issues with application responsiveness?”
“Do you have applications that run on older servers at your office or a datacenter? Have you considered updating your server?"
“How do you provide new employees with the software they need to?” 
“How do employees get to their work files when they’re on their mobile devices?” 
“How do you keep your software current with latest patches and updates?”
I’m concerned about cloud security. Office 365 is designed from the ground up to be highly secure and uses multiple scanning engines to provide premium malware protection. With Azure, you can have peace of mind knowing your applications and data get the same level of protection chosen by Microsoft’s enterprise customers, including many of the world’s largest financial institutions.
Our employees want to use iOS/Android devices. One of the many reasons businesses are moving to Windows 10 is flexibility and choice of PCs and devices. If you use Windows devices with Office 365, all the better, as they use the same identity service to make login across applications and devices seamless, in addition to many other advantages including management of PCs and devices, and more.
For medium businesses, implementing new solutions or upgrades and containing technology costs are the top two technology challenges. to-the-internet-of-things/
87% of midmarket business decision makers said cloud solutions would help the business grow. Techaisle research cloud-adoption-benefits
81% of medium business ( employees) said that technology solutions could help them improve business outcomes or run the business better. content/uploads/2014/12/SMB_Group_TOP_TEN_SMB_TRENDS.pdf
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