Microsoft continues to pump up the noise around its small-business channel efforts.

Wednesday it plans to launch a new online small business community. Making use of SharePoint for shared workspaces, the site will allow registered VARs or solution providers to tap into shared documents, sales tools and other partner resources as well as post questions and proposals, according to a post to the Small Business Server Blog.

Read more…

Opinion from the trenches: To this date, every effort of Microsoft to appeal to small business has hung up on the same rock: their definition of “small” business. I don’t personally believe that they do anywhere near enough for businesses under 25 employees, though they keep trying to change their tactics. Maybe they need a stronger magnifying glass. Businesses like mine are so small they don’t show up on their radar.

And it’s important! The ‘Tiny’ business sells a lot more Microsoft product (or influences purchase) than Microsoft is willing to admit and distributors don’t want to be bothered even talking to the little guy on the corner, much less applying Microsoft’s programs to that level.

Things need to change and it’s going to be Microsoft’s loss until it does. All the Partner programs in the world won’t do it.