I've finally gotten all set-up in Microsoft's Empowerment program. I wish I could say it went smoothly, but that definitely wasn't the case. I think I may have signed up at the worst possible time - they were in the process of revamping their website which caused me a bunch of different problems. I finally got tired of playing e-mail tag and called Partner support a few weeks ago. They had been telling me to complete the application process, but every time I tried to log back into the Empowerment site it just told me my application had been denied and it wouldn't let me sign back up (or even tell me WHY it had been denied). When I called they took a look at it then told me they needed to have someone else take a look at the problem. I received an e-mail a few days later claiming the problem should be resolved.

I tried logging back in but had the same problem I had been having. I called them again two weeks ago Monday and while I was on the phone they were finally able to clear whatever flag was keeping me from being able to resubmit my application - they definitely added a few more required fields from when I initially signed up. Last Monday I figured I'd try logging back into the Partner site and see if they had any way of checking the status. I ended up trying to sign up again but this time I got to a page which wanted me to agree to some EULA, but the buttons were all disabled. Was that a good sign or a bad sign?

I found out two days later (on Wednesday) when I received my Empowerment CD's and DVD's. Unfortunately, they don't include any kind of documentation about how to actually get your license keys. Since I've worked at a few places which had their Universal subscription (when it was available), I assumed I might just be able to log into the MSDN subscriber download section using my MS Live ID. I clicked on the "Associate your subscription with your WIndows Live ID" link but it also wanted me to enter my

Benefit Access Number, Subscriber ID, or MSPP Technical Contact ID. Unfortunately I didn't receive anything labeled that way in the kit they sent me. I tried using my partner ID and my MCP ID, neither of which worked. I dug through the partner website and found that I actually had a "Technical ID" associated with my name. To find this - log into the partner site and click on the "Requirements & Assets" menu at the top, then select "Associated People"

At the bottom of the screen that opens is a list of all people associated with your company and their technical ID. I tried entering this and it unfortunately didn't work. I thought (maybe) the site required a Live ID e-mail address instead of my other e-mail address, so I entered it instead and saved it. Then I tried signing in again. At that point the site complained that I had entered the wrong info. in too many times and to try again in 5 minutes. At that point I gave up.

The next day I dug up the MSDN support number and gave them a call. They had me re-enter the information I had tried the night before, fiddled with a few things and suddenly it let me log in!

I know someone who is planning on signing up as well and I'm curious to see if it goes smoother for them than it did for me - hopefully it does.

Links:

http://www.rcs-solutions.com/blog/2007/10/12/MicrosoftsEmpowerProgramForISVs.aspx
http://www.rcs-solutions.com/blog/2007/11/20/EmpowermentProgramUpdate.aspx
https://partner.microsoft.com/40011351
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/default.aspx