Product Management at Microsoft

Microsoft has a very diverse marketing organization. At the field, the primary focus of product management is on sales execution. At Corporate we have highly specialized roles:

• Product Planning is an engineering process -determining what we're building and how we're building it. It involves phases that require increasing product management participation. It all starts defining "Areas of investigation" that contribute to the Framing memo that sets context and prioritizes business goals. A Vision document is the plan on how to take the release to market.
• Core product marketing (CPM) provides core deliverables for the Vision milestone: SKU architecture, disclosure plan, vision press release, futures deck and other business section of the document. At the product availability milestone, CPM is responsible for creating and revising the marketing Value Proposition, content plan, deliver the Analyst briefings and create the event calendar. Finally establishes a Go-to-market plan.
• The Technical product marketing (TPM) functions work together with CPM on most phases. On the planning stage TPM focuses on deep competitive teardowns and analysis. On the product availability on core technical content including storytelling through demos end scaling up both internal and external audiences that will drive product adoption. This role should be able to create high quality hands on labs. Real world experience is highly desired.
• Conversation Marketing. Currently on the Server and Tools business at Microsoft, we elevate the message from individual products though the product lifecycle and not only launch, providing a constant drumbeat.
• The role of taking the product to market involves other marketing roles related to business development, business planning, communications, Global advertising and campaign execution, field operations and partner development.

For almost 4 years I have had the opportunity to lead TPM for the Microsoft Data Platform team. My goal is to exchange learnings and to discuss how product management needs to evolve as the IT megatrends also affect our functions. I am referring to big data, mobile, cloud, social and cybersecurity/privacy.