Microsoft: Building a Community of CIO Customers
by Connie Dean, Director, Customer Advocacy, Microsoft
Connie will show how she and her team built Microsoft's Interoperability Council, comprised of some 40 CIOs, CTOs and architects from leading corporations and governments around the world, such as Aetna, Raytheon, American Express, the European Commission, Government of India and Denmark's Ministry of Finance. Now more than three years old, the Council Is going strong. The key is not Microsoft's name and clout, but rather that the Council is designed around a compelling need these executives have that no one was addressing: solving interoperability issues in complex heterogeneous technology environments. It's an issue any technology firm could take on. The focus by Connie, her team and executive support on customer issues rather than Microsoft business has reaped tremendous rewards, including development of personal relationships with leading technology executives as well as a source for a number of new revenue streams for Microsoft.