Since when will I be able to apply to the Education Specialist designation?

This initiative will be launched in Latin America by July 3rd, 2006. Starting this date you will be able to go to the ES Portal and complete the registration process.

What does a company need to do to become an ES?

Minimum base requirements to become an ES:
1. Your company must be registered and active in the Microsoft Partner Program (MSPP) as a Registered Member, Certified Partner or Gold Certified Partner.
2. If your company is a Registered Member, then must be enrolled in MAPS (Microsoft Action Pack Subscription) and your subscription must be active (not expired)
3. Provide two customer references
4. Agree on sales objectives for the first year with Microsoft by submitting a sales forecast projected for the next 12 months.
5. At least two (2) of your commercial representatives need to complete web training and succeed on the certification exams
6. Your company needs to have an existing line of credit with a Microsoft Distributor in good status

Additional requirements may be required by country.

Are any MCP certifications required for resellers to become Education Specialists?
No. All the testing required to become an ES is self contained in the web site.

How is going to be managed the engagement process with Distributors?

Distributors will have access to the ES search tool, so they can validate the current status of a ES partner at any time.
Distributors will only accept orders for Microsoft academic products from resellers that have registered and obtained an ES certification number for the Country that they are currently quoting. The certification will last for 12 months and is renewable annually.

Both General Manager (ES Administrator) and Commercial Representatives will be part of the certification process. There are 3 steps:
1. The General Manager should complete the application forms on the web site and provide the following information:
1.1. Company's data
1.2. ES Administrator's data (General Manager)
1.3. Business plan: projected forecast for the next 12 months in number of contracts by each commercial representative
1.4. Two customer references
1.5. Review and acceptance of the program characteristics

Once the application is complete, all the information will be sent to the correspondent department at Microsoft, which will answer within 48 hours. When the application is approved, an e-mail will be sent to the ES Administrator and to all Commercial Representatives.

2. Each Commercial Representative should follow the URL in the invitation e-mail in order to enter on the ES Web Site, complete a short application form, review and accept the certification rules
3. All Commercial Representatives should complete the Exam, which is composed by three modules covering Fundamentals of Licensing, Principles of Volume Licensing and Academic Licensing (revision materials are provided).

Providing all of them are successful, the ES Administrator will receive a confirmation of the acceptance into the program along with the ES electronic certificate. The ES Administrator will be able to log on the site and check the company's status during the entire process.

What if I want to participate in the ES but my company is not enrolled in the Microsoft Partner Program?
Please complete the enrollment of your company in the Microsoft Partner Program as a Registered Member to get your MSPP Id number. Once registered, subscribe to the Microsoft Action Pack to meet the minimum ES requirements. Once you complete these two steps you are ready to start the registration process in the ES Portal. Go to: http://www.microsoft.com/latam/socios/partnerprogram/programenroll.asp to enroll in the Microsoft Partner Program.

I'm not sure about the current status of my company in the Microsoft Partner Program. What would I need to do?
Please ask for the MSPP Id and status to your company's Microsoft Partner Program administrator. If your company MSPP Id is invalid or your company's enrollment in the program is expired, you won't be able to continue with the registration process.

How long does the ES Application process take?
The online application is designed to be very straightforward so you can complete it in less than thirty minutes. The whole process involves two steps. First, the ES Administrator should complete the application online forms with all the information required. Once the application is completed and submitted, all the information will be sent to the correspondent department at Microsoft for processing. After 48 hours you will receive an e-mail response from Microsoft with the status of your application.

How long does the Exam process take?

If you are already familiar with Microsoft academic licensing, then the ES Exam could take about 90 minutes. If you are new to Microsoft licensing you should allow a further one to two hours to review the training materials before taking the exam.

Will I be able to check my certification progress at any time?
Yes. Before taking the exam you will be asked to sign-in to the ES Portal with your Microsoft ®Passport Network account. After you complete the brief registration you will have access to a page where you could download the training materials, take your exam, check your results and review your certification status.

What if I don't have a Microsoft ®Passport Network account?
If you don't have a Passport account, you can create one by completing a short form.

Will I be able to save partial organization data during my registration in the program?
Yes, although your application will not be sent to Microsoft until it is completed.

Will my company receive any formal notification when become certified?
Yes. Once all commercial representatives pass the three exam modules, the person registered as the ES Administrator will receive a notification e-mail, which will contain a link to the electronic ES Certificate that can be printed and displayed to customers. The certificate will contain a unique ES Certification Number that should be retained and quoted to the distributor when purchasing Microsoft academic products.

Why will ES's have to go through the whole renewal process every 12 months?

Our licensing program changes periodically and it is important that everyone is aware of the most recent changes. Reseller points of contacts and other details also can change during the course of the year. So it's important for us to have accurate records so that we can address and meet the needs of our resellers by ensuring that we send relevant information out and maintain regular contact. Resellers have told us that they want to have timely, accurate information, and an annual renewal process helps Microsoft meet this need.

What if I don't apply for the program?

You will miss out on many benefits and may not be in as good a position as your competitors to address your customers' needs. Those who do not register and obtain a unique ES number will also be unable to purchase Microsoft academic products from distributors. You can apply to join the program at any point during the year and your authorization will last for 12 months.

What if one of my Commercial Representatives becomes disengaged from my company?
In that particular case, the ES Administrator must immediately notify Microsoft about this change by updating this information through the ES Portal. If there were only two Certified Commercial Representatives, your company needs to replace that person and he/she needs to go through the certification process to meet ES minimum requirements. Remember, that you need to have at least two (2) persons certified at any time. Otherwise, your company's status will become inactive.

What if the ES Administrator has to be replaced? How will the company be able to edit this information?
The ES Administrator is the only person at your company, allowed to include and edit the company, business plan and Commercial Representatives information. If the ES Administrator contact information change, the new ES Administrator (or General Manager) should send an e-mail explaining the change to the following address ESlatadm@microsoft.com , including the old and new ES Administrator information, in order to get a new login and password to sign in the ES web site.

Specifically which customers qualify for educational pricing on Microsoft software?
The full list of eligibility guidelines can be found in the Qualified Education User Definition

How will academic customers be able to identify a list of ES's?
Local Microsoft sites will carry an up-to-date list of all ES's for customers to refer to so that they can select the right one dependant on their needs and location. Customers can also verify ES's by their unique certification number, by using the search capability in the ES Portal.

What if a customer has bought an academic product from me but I am not an ES?
You will need to be an ES in order to fulfill customer orders and meet their expectations. You should allow at least 48 hours between receiving confirmation of your acceptance and the distributor being able to process your order. Therefore, it is important that you register as soon as possible to avoid causing unnecessary delays to customers.

Who should resellers contact if they have queries?
For further details, please refer to the contact details at the ES Portal - Contacts US page.