msdev.com

The Challenge

In order to build a stronger connection with independent software vendors – a crucial aspect of its partner base, which delivers over 90% of the company's revenue – software leader Microsoft needed to improve the resources available to this particular audience. Leveraging the MSDev portal, Microsoft sought to provide easier access to training and community-building features, geographically aggregated search results, as well as expanded offerings to partners and even the public.

Our Approach

Slalom felt that identifying the core target audience and specifically gearing its solution to meet its needs would be a critical element for project success. By removing barriers to content, such as unwieldy sign-in procedures, the revamped portal would make more content more available to a wider audience than ever before. And by using Microsoft technologies, the portal itself would become a living case study in content management and delivery, as well.

The Results

By becoming an outreach portal that connects with its core audience, MSDev has become a neutral, highly credible resource for developers in over 150 different countries, and thus a much-improved resource for them to create more and better applications using Microsoft technology. Key metrics the site has achieved include:

• Over 14,500 active members
• Approximately 1 million page views with a daily average of 3,000
• More than 17,000 user comments with average rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars for MSDev training