AI and other emerging technologies continue to revolutionize our industry, pushing the boundaries of what is possible and surfacing new customer priorities. As you strategize for the year ahead, membership in the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program connects you to tools, resources, and potential collaborators to advance your business in the direction of your goals. Stay up to date on the latest program offerings with this summary of the top stories from the past few months:
Announcements
- Grow with Microsoft: unlock new benefits packages and program updates: Learn about the new benefits packages ready to help take your business to the next level: Partner Launch Benefits, Partner Success Core Benefits, and Partner Success Expanded Benefits. Each one is purpose-built to meet the varied needs of our partners at different stages of growth.
- Copilot for Microsoft 365: expanded partner opportunity: Read these exciting new announcements to learn how you can offer Copilot for Microsoft 365 to your client base and increase revenue and retention while delivering unmatched value to our customers.
- Microsoft 2023 Impact Summary: Partners play an essential role in helping Microsoft build a responsible future. Hear from Microsoft President Brad Smith about how the 2023 Impact Summary reflects our joint commitment to advancing sustainability, accessibility, and equity.
- Partner Center Technical Corner: December 2023 edition: The latest roundup of Partner Center updates spotlighted Microsoft Commerce Incentives and shared information on the new commerce experience in CSP, rewarding customer performance, membership, accounts, co-sell, and Zero Trust.
Program Updates
- Extended Security Updates (ESUs) enabled by Azure Arc: ESUs are now broadly available through CSP and can be purchased and delivered through Azure Arc. This offers customers flexible monthly billing, automated delivery of ESU patches, and seamless extension of Azure management to hybrid and multicloud environments. Review the frequently asked questions in the dedicated partner collection for more detailed guidance.
Benefits
- Technical Presales & Deployment Services (TP&D): Partners can access TP&D guidance through personalized, one-to-one consultations to plan, build, and publish their Microsoft cloud services or applications and accelerate the closure of sales opportunities.
- Microsoft Azure IP co-sell: We have extended the benefit of seller incentivization to all partners who have an Azure IP co-sell eligible solution on the commercial marketplace, helping to accelerate your application sales. Learn more on the partner blog and find resources here.
- New Azure and Modern Work campaigns-in-a-box: Accelerate growth and drive demand with new campaigns-in-a-box customized for banking, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, and sustainability-focused customers—each available in 11 languages! Most campaigns are available for download, customization, and deployment via the Partner Marketing Center (PMC), or in a curated, automated experience through Digital Marketing Content OnDemand (DMC):
- Azure: Data & AI
- Power Business Decisions with Cloud Scale Analytics: PMC / DMC
- Build and Modernize AI Apps: PMC / DMC
- Azure: App Innovation
- Build and Modernize AI Apps: PMC / DMC
- Migrate Enterprise Apps: PMC / DMC
- Accelerate Developer Productivity: PMC / DMC
- Azure: Data & AI + Industry
- Power Business Decisions with Cloud Scale Analytics - Retail: PMC / DMC
- Power Business Decisions with Cloud Scale Analytics - Banking: PMC / DMC
- Power Business Decisions with Cloud Scale Analytics - Sustainability: PMC / DMC
- Azure: Infrastructure
- Migrate and secure Windows Server and SQL Server ENT: PMC / DMC
- Migrate and secure Windows Server and SQL Server SMB: PMC / DMC
- Modernize SAP on the Microsoft Cloud: PMC / DMC
- Modern Work
- Empower and Connect your Frontline Workers - Retail: PMC / DMC
- Empower and Connect your Frontline Workers - Healthcare: PMC / DMC
- Empower and Connect your Frontline Workers - Manufacturing: PMC / DMC
- Secure Productivity for Healthcare: PMC / DMC
- Secure Productivity for Retail: PMC / DMC
Case Studies / Success Stories
- Empowering innovation: Microsoft partners unite for transformative success: This blog celebrates achievements of some U.S.-based partners and invites partners to continue collaborating with other partners within the Microsoft partner ecosystem, where partnerships can amplify potential and drive mutual success.
- #BuildFor2030 Initiative: Microsoft partners are harnessing innovation to meet not only their customers’ business needs, but also the world’s most pressing challenges through the #BuildFor2030 Initiative. Revisit some of 2023’s most impactful partner solutions here.
- Share your success with Microsoft: No two businesses face the same challenges. That’s why it’s so important to highlight big wins. Tell us how you support customers and further innovation with Microsoft technology, and we may feature your story on our website.
Training & Resources
- Microsoft Depth Workshops: Register for upcoming workshops on cloud and AI skills, designed to enhance partners’ architecting, deployment, and implementation capabilities.
- Azure Well-Architected Framework refresh: We completed a major rewrite of the Azure Well-Architected Framework last year to incorporate learnings from over 10,000 engagements. Visit the partner blog to learn how to incorporate the new features of the framework to design and optimize cloud workloads.
- Microsoft Customer Engagement Methodology for Partners (MCEM/P): A comprehensive framework that connects partners to Microsoft’s established sales methodology, MCEM/P helps you put the customer at the heart of every deal. Learn how to implement it with a series of short video vignettes.
- Industry Sales Kits: Strengthen your business development efforts with Industry Sales Kits. Here, you’ll find seller guidance and customer-facing decks that sales, marketing, and service delivery leads can leverage for industry-specific solutions.
- Technology for Social Impact (TSI) Land and Expand framework: Partners can generate substantial new revenue by helping nonprofit organizations accelerate mission success and deliver impactful constituent services. Within the land and expand approach, Microsoft TSI recommends a three-stage process to drive nonprofit wins. Use the resources in this infographic to grow your business and enable nonprofits to achieve their goals.
- Microsoft Assessments for Business Applications Copilot: Deepen your understanding of AI-powered features for Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power Platform through self-serve assessments that connect you to further resources. Get started with the assessments featured on the partner blog.
Find the latest announcements and partner information on the Microsoft Learn hub. Stay connected to partner channels for timely updates and find product-specific news on blogs like the Microsoft Azure blog, Microsoft 365 blog, Microsoft Dynamics 365 blog, Microsoft Security blog or the AI blog.
As we move into 2024 together, we’re looking forward to connecting you with more expert insights and strategic guidance from across the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program, right here on the partner blog.