Aligned to the Microsoft Cloud Partner Program, specializations are a way for partners to further differentiate their deep technical expertise across a set of priority scenarios with high customer demand. They build upon Solutions Partner designations and other certifications to set you apart from the competition and empower customers to confidently identify your ability to deliver results.
We are continuing to establish new specializations that highlight your capability to fulfill customers’ most sought-after business needs, and I am pleased to announce three new specialization options. You can now validate your experience through:
- Build and Modernize AI Apps with Microsoft Azure: Showcase your expertise in building intelligent apps across Apps, Data, and AI.
- Business Intelligence: Confirm your ability to help customers get the most out of their data and implement enterprise BI solutions with Power BI interactive reports, real-time dashboards, and powerful analytics.
- Intelligent Automation: Demonstrate expert capabilities delivering end-to-end business process transformation for customers with Power Automate.
Read on for more information about each of these new specializations, how to earn them, and the benefits of doing so.
Overview of new specializations
Build and Modernize AI Apps with Microsoft Azure: AI technology presents partners with a unique opportunity to secure long-term cloud relationships with customers. Help them modernize existing apps or build new AI-infused apps with innovative Azure Apps, Database, and AI services that simplify the market, build opportunity, and impact recurring revenue streams. This specialization allows partners with an active Solutions Partner for Data & AI (Azure) or Digital & App Innovation (Azure) designation to further differentiate their organizations, demonstrate their capabilities, and build stronger connections with customers.
Business Intelligence: For 16 consecutive years, Microsoft has been recognized as a Magic Quadrant Leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Analytics and BI. The Business Intelligence specialization offers partners a deep set of capabilities to profit from this large, high growth opportunity. This specialization builds on the Solutions Partner for Data & AI (Azure) or Business Applications designations to further distinguish partners’ expertise with Power BI and their ability to help customers visualize business data and generate actionable insights with Microsoft BI solutions.
Intelligent Automation: CIOs are looking for partners they can trust to help them identify which processes to prioritize for transformation and to deliver efficient, effective, and secure end-to-end process automation with Power Automate. This specialization allows partners with an active Solutions Partner for Digital & App Innovation (Azure) or Business Applications designation to validate your organization’s capabilities in enabling end-to-end business process transformation.
In addition, to better align with changing customer needs and offer partners clarity across our portfolio of specializations, we are renaming the Modernization of Web Applications with Microsoft Azure specialization to Migrate Enterprise Applications to Microsoft Azure.
Unlocking specialization benefits
Earning a specialization serves to validate your skills, assuring customers that you can meet their specific needs. In areas with high demand, it can also be a key differentiator in helping customers identify your solutions as the right fit. Specializations come with prioritization in the commercial marketplace and evaluation for active cooperative selling opportunities with Microsoft field sellers. You can further communicate your expertise with a customer-facing badge to display on your business profile in the Microsoft AppSource partner gallery.
Upon earning a specialization, you will also gain access to incremental product benefits to further accelerate your business. These include even greater access to Azure credits, additional product licenses, and the cloud service subscriptions that are most relevant in market today. Certain Azure specializations can also qualify you for the recently announced Azure Migrate and Modernization and Azure Innovate partner-led offering for additional funding opportunities. See the latest details in the Solutions Partner Benefits Guide.
Process and requirements
Your starting place to earn these specializations is in Partner Center. Once logged in with the correct Administrator permissions, you can view the requirements of each specialization against your relative achievement (the individual requirements for each new specialization can also be found on the linked pages at the beginning of this blog). As soon as you have met the requirements for Business Intelligence or Intelligent Automation, you will be automatically enrolled. For Build and Modernize AI Apps, once you meet the requirements, you will need to click to proceed to scheduling an audit. Once the audit is completed and passed, you will be enrolled into this specialization.
Your organization's specialization will remain active for one year, after that, you can renew providing you meet the requirements at that time.
These new specializations offer great value to partners, and we are excited to make them available to you. To learn more about our entire portfolio of specializations, visit this page on the Microsoft Cloud Partner Program website.