One of the key strengths of our partner ecosystem comes from our ability to be agile and innovative in navigating our changing world. As new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) reshape customers’ expectations, Microsoft is continuing to update our partner offerings in alignment with their needs and your business goals. In today’s blog, you’ll find information on some of our most significant program updates and resource launches from the last few months, providing you with access to new growth opportunities:
Announcements
- The new Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program: At Microsoft Inspire, our annual partner event, we announced the next generation of our partner program, the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner program. Designed to empower partners with the integrated capabilities of Microsoft AI and the Microsoft Cloud, this program brings together everything across the entire partner lifecycle, including onboarding, skilling, go-to-market, incentives, and co-selling. Learn more about the new program in Chief Partner Officer Nicole Dezen’s blog, including new partner offerings and benefits for all partners.
- The new Microsoft Partner Community (MPC): We have moved the MPC under the Microsoft Tech Community (MTC) to offer a more cohesive and intuitive user experience. With this migration, we’ve launched new forums and updated navigation so you can quickly find the most relevant information. Explore the new Partner Community here.
- Partner Center Technical Corner: June 2023 edition: In this blog on the latest updates to Partner Center, we covered new security alerts to help protect against Microsoft Azure fraud and how Action Center can help partners stay up to date on important communications.
- Introducing Microsoft Fabric: In May, we announced Microsoft Fabric — a unified SaaS experience that provides all the necessary capabilities for analytics across Microsoft Azure Data Factory, Power BI, and the next generation of Synapse. Microsoft Fabric is now in public preview and free trials are available to all. Learn more about this partner opportunity in our blog post.
Program updates
- New Business Applications and Microsoft Azure specializations: We are continuing to establish new specializations that align with customers’ priorities, including the growing demand for AI capabilities. Learn about these three new options on the Partner blog, or click through the individual links below:
- Azure savings plan in Partner Center: Azure savings plan for compute is an easy and flexible way for customers to save up to 65 percent on compute costs compared to pay-as-you-go. Now, we have introduced the ability for partners to purchase an Azure savings plan for your customers through Partner Center. Explore plan information or complete the learning module to find out more.
- Updated Solutions Partner designation requirements: As we continue to evolve our partner program, we have adjusted the requirements for Solutions Partner designations, including broadening performance requirements for Modern Work to include Microsoft Viva workloads, and updating skilling requirements for certifications across five of our six solution areas.
Events
- Microsoft Inspire 2023: Revisit Microsoft Inspire and catch up on sessions you may have missed across six key topic areas: Solution Area, Industry, Partner Business, Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program (MCPP), Marketplace, and Inclusive Growth.
- Microsoft Build 2023: At Microsoft Build, May’s flagship event for developers, we shared new advancements in AI-enabled development tools. Visit the Official Microsoft Blog post for the latest details on AI plug-ins, Microsoft 365 Copilot, and other capabilities changing the future of work.
Training & resources
- CSP Partner Technical Trainings: These bimonthly, 90-minute trainings are designed to assist CSP partners with technical implementation of change. Partners can expect to learn more about how to implement changes, get answers to technical questions, and explore API changes available in sandbox. Register for upcoming sessions or review past recordings here.
- Microsoft Cloud Executive Enablement Vodcast: Check out this video series for a front row seat as Microsoft senior leaders and experts discuss the latest cloud trends and technologies. In addition to solutions, partners will learn more about co-selling with Microsoft and leveraging the Executive Briefing Center.
- SMB Business Central campaign: Growing your service with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central can unlock more opportunities for your business. We have launched a campaign that allows partners to augment customer/prospect outreach by incorporating cobranded go-to-market tactics in their demand generation efforts to reach existing M365 customers with a simple, integrated pitch.
- Business Applications Dynamics 365 Finance marketing campaign: Microsoft Dynamics 365 helps customers optimize financial and operating models and make the shift to an intelligent, automated enterprise. We now offer a customizable campaign to drive your Dynamics pipeline and help you go to market faster with Cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions. Learn more on the Partner blog or find this campaign in the Digital Marketing Content hub
- Understanding test drive and trial offers: Microsoft AppSource offers partners two options to allow potential customers to test and evaluate your solutions: test drive and free trial. In this post on the Partner blog, we explore the benefits of each option and provide guidance on how to use them to showcase your solution’s capabilities and attract new customers.
The latest announcements and partner information can always be found on the Microsoft Learn hub. We are constantly evaluating and improving the offerings, benefits, and incentives available to partners as part of the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program, so be sure to stay connected on partner channels to receive updates in real-time. And, we look forward to sharing more right here on the partner blog in the coming months.