To attain a Solutions Partner designation, you'll need to earn at least 70 points (including points in each subcategory) out of the available 100 points.

1. Performance: Measured by net customer adds.
2. Skilling: Verifies and demonstrates your dedication to skilling and training. Points are awarded for each person on your team with specified certifications.
3. Customer success: Measured by usage growth and number of successful deployments.

You can track your progress toward earning a Solutions Partner designation in Partner Center.

To support you as you grow your business, go to market, and reach more customers, we have updated benefits and aligned them across the six Solutions Partner designations.

You may also choose to keep the benefits associated with your legacy competencies until they expire and not adopt the new Solutions Partner benefits.

If you find that you need additional benefits, you can purchase a Microsoft Action Pack, which unlocks technical advisory hours, product licenses, and product support incidents.

We're making these investments to help you:

• Realize business development with product benefits such as product licenses, cloud services subscriptions, and Azure credits.
• Increase customer reach with go-to-market services, Microsoft solution provider placement, customer-facing badges, and co-selling with Microsoft.
• Expand training and enablement with access to personalized assistance and world-class Microsoft experts, including comprehensive courses, technical presales, and deployment services, as well as product, platform, and technical support.

When you attain a Solutions Partner designation, you're eligible to receive the new benefits package associated with that designation. This includes product benefits (IURs, cloud licenses, and Azure credits), go-to-market services, customer-facing badges, technical presales and deployment services, technical support, and eligibility to earn incentives.

We're also introducing additional product benefits aligned to specializations (currently called advanced specializations) and expert programs, further increasing the value for partners that choose to invest in demonstrating deep technical expertise and experience in specific technical scenarios aligned to the solution areas.

We understand that these updates may require you to adjust your business plans, and we remind you that these changes aren't immediate.

March 16, 2022: Public announcement introducing Solutions Partner designations. Notification that after September 30, 2022, legacy competencies will no longer be valid.

September 30, 2022: The last date to renew a legacy competency.

October 3, 2022, to the partner's next anniversary date:

• On October 3, Solutions Partner designations will be available to attain.
• Partners who meet the requirements, will attain a Solutions Partner designation and receive the new customer-facing badging.
• Legacy competencies and associated badging will no longer be valid, but partners that have a competency by September 30, 2022, will continue to receive legacy benefits until their next anniversary date. After that time, we'll provide options for them to continue to purchase legacy benefits.

On the partner's first anniversary date after October 3, 2022:

• Partners who attain a Solutions Partner designation can choose to move to the updated Solutions Partner benefits or retain their legacy benefits, and pay the corresponding fee.
• Partners who don't meet the requirements for a Solutions Partner designation but who renewed a competency by September 30, 2022, will have the option to continue to pay the fee to retain their legacy benefits.

We want you to succeed. Together we'll continue to provide innovative, customer-centric, trusted solutions. We want to help you grow a profitable business and deliver successful customer outcomes.