The world of agentic AI is evolving quickly. According to the Microsoft 2025 Work Trend Index Annual Report, 82% of leaders say they’re confident they’ll use AI agents as digital team members to expand workforce capacity in the next 12 to 18 months.
That pace of innovation introduces new challenges. As the AI landscape grows, so does the threat surface. This shift creates a critical opportunity for Microsoft partners: to lead with security as the foundation of every AI transformation. By doing so, you enable customers to innovate responsibly and position your organization at the center of lasting trust and growth.
In recognition of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, this blog post explores how you can build a stronger security practice and empower your customers to innovate safely, backed by Microsoft partner resources, incentives, and solutions.
Security is the foundation of innovation
Innovation without strong security isn’t sustainable. The average cost of a data breach now exceeds $4.4 million globally, and beyond the financial cost, weak security erodes trust.
"As multi-agent systems redefine the workplace, the challenge will be to integrate and manage them securely and effectively."
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Amy Webb, CEO of Future Today Strategy Group
2025 Work Trend Index
When partners lead with security, they unlock real business outcomes. Organizations using Microsoft Security Copilot are already seeing tangible results, including a 17% reduction in breaches and up to 60% in cost savings.
Our own Customer Zero journey at Microsoft reinforces that security and innovation go hand in hand. When security is embedded into every layer of AI transformation, it strengthens the relationship between IT and engineering. It enables teams to co-develop solutions and deliver innovation faster while reducing risk.
As a Microsoft partner, you play an essential role in helping customers build secure foundations for AI transformation. We’re committed to supporting you with playbooks, tools, and incentives you need to turn security expertise into customer outcomes.
Accelerate secure AI transformation at every stage
Partners who lead with security become trusted guides for their customers. Through the Microsoft Security Customer Win Formula, you can access practical resources mapped to each stage of the customer journey—from early discovery to long-term management—and position yourself as a strategic resource your customers can turn to as their business needs and challenges evolve.
1. Build trust as Customer Zero
Differentiate your practice by attaining a Solutions Partner designation for Security, and further validate your expertise through certifications and specializations. Plus, achieving an MXDR verification signals to customers that you have the skills to safeguard their AI and cloud environments.
Continue expanding your capabilities through the Partner Skilling Hub, where you’ll find self-paced learning paths and instructor-led training to stay current in a constantly evolving threat landscape.
2. Develop an informed pipeline with customer insights
Effective security transformation starts with listening. Leverage Microsoft intelligent propensity tools to identify customers ready for secure AI adoption:
- SPARK: Intelligent data models that predict customer propensity for Microsoft solutions
- CloudAscent: AI-powered targeting for small and medium-sized business (SMB) customers
- Microsoft 365 Lighthouse: ML-driven recommendations for customer acquisition, retention, and growth
You can also accelerate demand generation with ready-to-launch, customizable campaigns in a box tailored for Security solution plays. Partners using these campaigns are already generating high-quality leads and engaging decision-makers faster. Explore the Partner Marketing Tool Guidance for more information.
3. Highlight your security expertise in real time
Demonstrate your value through interactive customer engagement and host a Microsoft Security Immersion Briefing. With these hands-on sessions, you can demonstrate your security expertise in real-world threat scenarios—building customer confidence and intent to act.
You can also accelerate secure AI adoption with Envisioning Workshops to showcase real-world threat response scenarios and co-create AI roadmaps. Partners like Atech Cloud have scaled their businesses by using education and interactive workshops, tailored assessments, and proactive data security guidance to turn learning into action.
Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) partners can use CSP Deployment Accelerators and automated tools to streamline implementation backed by Microsoft incentives designed to align with your business model.
4. Win the deal with tailored solutions and seamless deployment
When customers are ready to commit, accelerate time-to-value with curated solution bundles like Defender Suite and Purview Suite mini-suites, and use CSP Deployment Accelerators to streamline the transition from agreement to setup.
The latest Microsoft Sentinel enhancements make it easier than ever to extend your solutions through its open and extensible architecture—which includes Sentinel data lake, Sentinel graph, and Sentinel Model Context Protocol (MCP) server. The new Microsoft Security Store further simplifies how customers discover and deploy your solutions, giving you greater visibility and reach across the Microsoft ecosystem. Partners like Accenture, ServiceNow, and Zscaler are already strengthening their security solutions with Sentinel, and you can, too.
5. Demonstrate outcomes early
Deployment is just the beginning. Successful partners reinforce trust by measuring and communicating impact. Use post-sale accelerators and usage incentives to drive Defender XDR and Purview activation and track improvements, breach prevention, analyst efficiency, and data-loss risk.
Security Copilot users report 30% faster incident resolution, while IT teams operate 29% faster and with 34% more accuracy. These measurable gains show how secure AI delivers both protection and performance.
6. Expand trust and scope
Ongoing management is key to secure, scalable, and streamlined operations. Use Microsoft 365 Lighthouse and Security Operations Center efficiency services to manage multitenant environments, while automating compliance and governance through Microsoft Purview. These capabilities help partners and customers stay secure as AI agents scale across the enterprise.
Building a secure, Frontier future
Every customer conversation is an opportunity to shape the future of AI transformation. By leading with security, you’re not just protecting data; you’re enabling customers to innovate with confidence and build the foundations of their own Frontier Firm.
If you missed Microsoft Secure, you can catch the on-demand session for new insights on data protection, cyberthreat defense, and compliance.
Be sure to join us in person or virtually on-demand at Microsoft Ignite from November 18–21 to explore the latest innovations, hands-on labs, expert connections, and partner opportunities.
To learn more about Microsoft Security solutions, visit our website and bookmark the Security blog. Follow us on LinkedIn (Microsoft Security) and X (@MSFTSecurity) for updates and insights on cybersecurity.