<p>Microsoft (MSFT) has upgraded the Office 365 Partner Admin Center -- which includes "new and enhanced tools" for VARs and cloud integrators to more easily manage customer settings. The improvements sound promising but some partners are still sorting through Microsoft's Office 365 channel incentive changes, which start Jan. 25.</p><p>Adam Jung, a senior product marketing manager at Microsoft, told Talkin' Cloud that the admin center addresses four partner needs. Partners can: View customers for which they have delegated admin privilegesall in one place. Find, select, and perform administrative tasks on behalf of customers. View customers' Office 365 service health status and details. Create, edit, and view service requests on behalf of the partners' customers.</p><p>The new Partner Admin Center is rolling out worldwide today in all the languages Office 365 currently supports. "Partners are gaining a clear visibility into their customers' Office 365 environments," said Jung.</p><p>Ironically, Microsoft in some ways is competing with a growing ecosystem of Office 365 management tools vendors. One example is 365 Command, a management tool that Kaseya acquired in 2013. Also, the Microsoft enhancements come only a few weeks after the Google Apps Reseller team offered more flexible financial models for partners.</p><p><a href="http://talkincloud.com/saas-software-service/012814/microsoft-upgrades-office-365-partner-admin-center">Keep reading...</a></p><p>Read also:</p><p><a href="http://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2014/01/28/605307/10065831/en/Atidan-Offers-Microsoft-Office-365-Deployment-Funding.html">Atidan Offers Microsoft Office 365 Deployment Funding</a> (GlobeNewswire (press release))</p><p><a href="http://www.crn.com/news/channel-programs/240165738/microsoft-puts-partners-on-front-lines-of-office-365-support.htm">Microsoft Puts Partners On Front Lines Of Office 365 Support</a> (CRN)</p><p><a href="http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9245830/Microsoft_plans_to_roll_out_a_revamped_Office_365_admin_console">Microsoft plans to roll out a revamped Office 365 admin console</a> (Computerworld)</p><p>Explore: <a href="http://news.google.com/news/more?ncl=dT1fTDVAVOpL2XMIk3LQBjvco-D7M&authuser=0&ned=us">10 additional articles.</a></p>