Though Gavin didn't provide specifics, he was unequivocal that Microsoft will continue to feed its army of partners.

"It's not 'software as a service', but 'software plus a service'," Gavin said. "Our partners are our field sales force. Almost all of our revenue comes from them. So as much as partners are a part of our past, they will be a part of our future."

Regarding licensing, an area where Microsoft has run into trouble with its Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) antipiracy program, partners say it is a non-issue for them and their business customers, who tend to buy the same volume licenses as Fortune 500 corporations, just on a smaller scale.

"We've gotten zero negative feedback from our customers," said Keith Ackerman, marketing manager for Software One, a New Berlin, Wis., reseller that specializes in Microsoft software licensing.

Microsoft was recently forced to back away from making WGA mandatory. WGA, which installs software that scans users' computers to see if they have pirated copies of Windows, came under fire after numerous reports that it was mistakenly targeting legitimate copies of Windows XP and effectively making them inoperable.