Microsoft has given small and mid-sized business customers more ways to earn cash to buy its software through partners by adding new products and product groups to its Big Easy program.

Last week, Microsoft unveiled Big Easy 2.0, an update to a program originally launched in February. Through the program, small businesses purchasing certain products through authorized specialist partners get between 10 percent to 22 percent of money back that they can use to buy other services from those partners. Microsoft to date has invested about US$13 million in the program.

In Big Easy 2.0, small-business customers now can purchase licenses for Microsoft's SQL Server database without having to also buy the company's Enterprise Assurance (EA) maintenance program that includes free updates to software. Customers have complained about EA in the past because if there are not significant updates to products they use over the three-year time period of the contract, they don't feel EA is worth the investment.

Microsoft also has broken out its Forefront security products into their own group in the program update. Customers receive more subsidies if they buy products from more groups through the program's four-level tiering system, said Michael Moore, a senior channel marketing manager at Microsoft. By breaking out the Forefront products instead of including it under the Exchange product group -- as it was in Big Easy 1.0 -- it gives customers the opportunity to get more money back from Microsoft, he said.

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