Update December 22, 2021: For partners with the Cloud Business Applications competency, if your anniversary date is between January 1, 2022, and March 31, 2022, you will be granted the 15 points for the Functional Consultant Growth metric. Partner Center will be updated by January 15, 2022, with the Functional Growth points. You will need to meet the remaining requirements as published in Partner Center and pay the competency fee to complete your renewal.
Update July 23, 2021: For partners with a competency anniversary date between July 1 and December 31, 2021, information to extend your competency will start to appear in Partner Center today. It will take a few days to rollout to all partners and should be completed by July 27, 2021. At that time, if you are unable to renew in Partner Center, please contact partner support for assistance.
Over the past year, many businesses and organizations around the globe have accelerated their digital transformation plans and Microsoft partners have been at the forefront, helping them by delivering innovative solutions through services, apps, and devices.
We have heard from partners that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect their businesses, and that there are still some challenges for many partners to meet the requirements to renew existing competencies.
To help you focus on supporting your customers if your competency anniversary date is between July 1 and December 31, 2021, we are extending your existing competency or competencies through your next anniversary date in 2022 (with the exception of the Cloud Business Applications competency). Information specific to your organization will be available in Partner Center starting in July 2021 and aligned to your renewal timeframe. You will need to take action in Partner Center to pay the competency fee and complete your renewal. If you are approaching the end of your 30-day competency renewal timeframe and are unable to renew in Partner Center, please contact partner support for assistance.
For partners with the Cloud Business Applications competency: Partner Contribution Indicators (PCI) scoring took effect on April 1, 2021. If your anniversary date for the Cloud Business Applications competency is between July 1 and December 31, 2021, you will be granted the 15 points for the Functional Consultant Growth metric, and this update will be reflected in the July reporting refresh in Partner Center. You will need to meet the remaining requirements as published in Partner Center and pay the competency fee to complete your renewal. Learn more about Partner Contribution Indicators.
We’re committed to your success, and we recognize the importance of helping you deepen your technical capability aligned with the needs of our customers. Microsoft Partner Network competencies are one way you can differentiate with customers and build customer attention and engagement. We encourage you to maintain the certifications for the competencies you have. Last year, Microsoft introduced a new approach to help learners stay current. Those who have an active certification expiring within six months can renew their certification annually – at no cost – by passing a renewal assessment on Microsoft Learn. Individuals can check their certification dashboard to find out which of their certifications are available for renewal, and your organization’s MPN Admin can now review and manage the certifications your team has, using Partner Center Insights Reporting.
Whether your organization is deepening an existing practice or embarking on a new practice, we have guidance that can help. Review our Build a Microsoft practice content that includes our digital transformation e-books and cloud practice playbooks, and read our recent partner journey blog series that helps you navigate next steps and future plans.