Each month, we continue to deepen the offerings of the Microsoft Cloud Partner Program with new updates and resources that reflect the changing nature of our industry. As this community drives innovation, we draw inspiration from each other on how to best shape and leverage program benefits for business growth and customer success. In this blog, we have pulled together several of the most pertinent announcements, success stories, and development opportunities to help you get the greatest value out of your partnership:
Announcements
- New marketplace community: This new community supports participants in ISV Success and helps them drive growth in the Microsoft commercial marketplace. It is open to all partners who are building cloud solution applications as you seek to go to market faster and reach more customers on the Microsoft Cloud. Connect today with other partners and Microsoft team members.
- Celebrating trailblazing women leaders with #BuildFor2030: We’re proud to honor Women’s History Month by recognizing trailblazing women leaders in our ecosystem. Learn more about these women-owned businesses and their innovative solutions in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals on the Partner blog.
- Small and medium-sized business (SMB) customer insights: Following the release of the SMB Voice and Attitudes to Technology Study, Worldwide Small & Medium Business Segment Leader Heather Gordon took to the Partner blog for a six-part series exploring the findings. Check out her entry on digital skilling for SMBs and click through the links to access the full blog series.
- Partner Center Technical Corner: January 2023 edition: We kicked off the year by sharing the latest additions to Partner Center, including a spotlight on the new efficient way to download Microsoft Azure usage data. This blog also covered updates to incentives, insights workspace, security, and more.
- Partner Center Technical Corner: March 2023 edition: March’s updates on Partner Center focused on upcoming improvements to the earnings reconciliation experience. This blog also featured the latest information on the new commerce experience (NCE) for Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) partners, customer insights, and other new capabilities.
- Microsoft Tech for Social Impact: Join Microsoft as we commit to supporting local and global nonprofit organizations. Not only does this work advance important social causes and drive employee satisfaction, investing in nonprofits is an opportunity to grow your business in one of the largest sectors in the world: by 2027, with help of partners, we intend to support 600,000 nonprofit organizations globally.
- GPT-4 in preview in Azure OpenAI Service: Partners already using Azure OpenAI Service can now apply for access to GPT-4 and start building with OpenAI’s most advanced model yet. Whether providing customer support, creating content, or facilitating cross-cultural communication, the latest Azure OpenAI capabilities can help you streamline processes, save time, and improve overall efficiency.
Program updates
- Azure Migration and Modernization Program (AMMP) Partner-led: Partners with an Azure-related specialization can now directly nominate customers’ projects to AMMP to accelerate their cloud adoption journey and secure engagement funding faster. Nominate customer projects at the self-serve dashboard in Partner Center.
- State of the Partner Ecosystem 2023: Chief Partner Officer Nicole Dezen recently published a holistic look at new investments in the Microsoft Cloud Partner Program as part of the State of the Partner Ecosystem 2023. Catch up on the latest program updates (and what’s coming soon) and learn how they can help you differentiate your business and deliver unique value to customers.
Events
- Partner Business Operations-led sessions: These Partner Community Events are dedicated to supporting partner change management and adoption. These sessions drive partner awareness, readiness, skilling, and enablement. Visit this page for upcoming community events available each month, or to listen back to past recordings.
- Do More with Less (DMWL) Sales Bootcamp: In February, Microsoft sales specialists held a multi-day training event covering all four solution areas: Azure, Modern Work, Security, and Business Applications. This content is now on-demand for you to learn how to create or boost your business opportunity through the “Do More with Less” initiative with a focus on real-life customer examples, resource demos, and more.
Offers
- Microsoft 365 E3 2023 DMWL in CSP offer: To enable partners to accelerate their Microsoft 365 E3 practices, we are excited to announce a new promotional offer under the “Do More with Less” campaign. Through June 30, 2023, CSP partners will receive 15% off the net partner price of M365 E3 when eligible customers who have not previously purchased Microsoft 365 E3 purchase an annual subscription for the first time with the “Microsoft 365 E3 DMWL Offer,” available through new commerce CSP. For more information, review the accompanying FAQ document.
Training & Resources
- Advanced Support for Partners (ASfP): This paid partner support offering provides cloud-focused, growth-oriented partners with a variety of benefits designed to strengthen the connection with Microsoft, bolster cloud solutions, and drive ongoing cloud success. This is delivered through Partner Success Account Managers, cloud enablement benefits, and elevated levels of technical support. Speak directly with an ASfP specialist about your specific needs and learn more about the complete catalogue of ASfP benefits by completing this form today.
- Digital Marketing Content OnDemand: This series of curated ISV campaigns are highly tailored for industry verticals such as Financial Services, Security, Sustainability, and more. Access customizable marketing templates to focus on developing your solution, and measure success with the platform’s reporting features.
You can always view the latest partner announcements on the Microsoft Learn hub and get Microsoft news on the Microsoft News Center. For more information on the topics covered in today’s roundup, visit the product-specific blogs such as the Microsoft Azure blog, Microsoft 365 blog, Microsoft Dynamics 365 blog, Microsoft Security blog or the AI blog. Staying plugged into partner channels is the best way to ensure you receive announcements and updates in real-time. We’ll continue to share critical updates and insightful business leadership right here on the partner blog to help you grow and scale your practice.