Back in August, I posted an update on VBC saying it would launch mid to later September
So September passed. No VBCs. Now October has almost passed and you re wondering where VBCs are. Well. As you can tell, they re not here. I want to be as transparent as I can with this so I will answer all your questions.
First, I ve been silent on the issue all of October because I was working towards a firm date that I could promise VBCs would launch. I didn t want to do another "mid to late X" and it still not launch.
With that said, I can announce that VBCs will launch December 8. That s a promise you can expect us to keep and I m keeping my team on track for that date.
So what caused the delay? There are some points I really can t go into details but overall we encountered serious difficulities on the business side of this project that led to the delay. One issue was given the "new-ness" of this type of benefit, there were a lot of privacy concerns, especially when we re storing your private information and allowing others to view your cards publically. We had to systematically go through the program to ensure that your privacy will not be compromised.
There were other factors in this project that led to this delay. Suffice to say, however, that our partner doing the VBC development was not part of the reasons. They were very gracious and patient while we took care of the matters in-house.
On behalf of Microsoft Learning and my team, I personally want to apologize for the delays and the lack of information these few weeks. However, we ve now turned a corner and are on track for a December 8th launch. Moving forward, I will answer any questions either via email or if you post a comment and keep you all up to date with this project.
One note I would like to point out is that this is NOT a replacement for wallet cards. We will not allow these cards to be printed at the moment. VBCs are here to help you brand yourself on technical forums, emails, social networking sites, and any online property where your identify is your credibility. We want the world to know that, hey, you re an MCP/MCT and you know what you re talking about.
We recognize that not everyone needs this benefit and still need wallet cards for offline identification. We re looking at the possibility of orderable wallet cards, much like how certificates are now orderable. No promises at the moment, but this is something we re digging deep into.
When I get screenshots of the newer features we ve added since last time I ll let you know and post them. Thanks for your patience and we re working as hard as we can to ensure a successful and (now) smooth launch.
Erwin Chan Marketing Manager - Online Evangelism erwinc at microsoft.com