Apparently, the new VAR program is being labeled internally as a pay-per-performance program, a term that has not been in general circulation. This source said the talk boiled down to this: Partners that perform get the margins; partners that don't get cut. However, the possibility of a master VAR program, also discussed in this newsletter, suggests that the scenario probably isn't that dire. Channel exec Doug Kennedy also delivered one of the more precise descriptions of where the channel money comes from that I have ever heard. Inner Circle members produce 27 percent of all ERP revenue, 31 percent of all Dynamics ERP license revenue and 17 percent of customer adds. Microsoft has always described the Inner Circle as representing that top 1 percent of VARs. This year, it appears to have been much lighter on the number of U.S. resellers who made the cut. While the bar had been to purchase about $3 million during Microsoft's fiscal 2011, that level was apparently dropped to $2.5 million to let in more American participants.