so why do we need a partnership for that?
Perception, PR value and integration. I (for one) am in the trenches. Every day I try to convince companies to use the block chain for application building. I had (still have) a hard time convincing people to do this, even with (because of) all the negative connotations (abuse, crime, etc.). Once MS started supporting this, my job became a whole lot easier. There was immediate perceived value. But that probably only works if the potential customer has/runs MS products. This would not make much sense to an outsider (i.e. a customer who doesn't use MS products).
EDIT: Partnership is probably not the correct term. More like cross promotion, you are listed as a "Value Added Solutions Provider" (or something like it)
Good point.
But there you have it, I see all the benefits that microsoft gets from this deal.
I just don't see the benefits our community is going to have, especially if true decentralization is our main goal.
Again, don't want to crush anyone's dreams/hopes here, but the only real immediate effect I see from this is an expected SPR price rise,
simply because many people feel very fuzzy and warm when they hear the words microsoft/spreadcoin/partnership mentioned in the same sentence.
But I like that we finally explore this with the necessary depth.
It was sitting on our table for quite some time now.