What’s in a partnership?
TL;DR
The Microsoft Cloud Partner Program (Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program) links Microsoft and partner business and technical activities. To do this, partners engage with Microsoft in the following ways:
- Through a Microsoft Cloud Partner Program (Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program) membership
- Publishing a go-to-market solution or offer for co-sell via the Microsoft Marketplace
- Achieving Microsoft Solution Partner Designations attesting to a standard threshold of expertise and experience
- Completing verified technical Specialisation to differentiate themselves in market
The Practice Enablement Guides are a key resources to guide your learning and certification journey. In addition, the PartnerCrucible hosts a collection of links to key resources for partners.
The path to partnership
I receive many request from partners asking to guidance on their partnership journey will Microsoft. In most cases, we first need to work towards a common view of what the partnership entails and affords. It is also common for me to reiterate that the ecosystem is a competitive commercial space and they will need to be ready to get after it.
The technology landscape is dynamic, and each market, industry, and segment has their own opportunities and challenges. For this reason, there is no single recipe for success.
However, there are some key pillars that frame partnerships on which more complex scenarios, such as partner to partner, or co-innovation, can then be built. An example of crawl, walk, run.
These pillars are described in the Microsoft Cloud Partner Program Blog Post and summarized with specific actions to take in the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program Playbook Below.
Way forward - Insiders Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program Playbook
| Pillar | Description | Why? | Next Step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Cloud Partner Program (Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program) membership | Partner Center is the main partner portal provides you access to the tools you need to get work done. | Membership includes Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program Benefits | - Become a partner - Obtain access to Partner Center, or raise an issue - Ensure Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program hierarchy of different locations or entities is correct so that all activity is recognized. - Open a Partner Center support request to resolve problems. |
| Solution Partner Designation | Eligibility for Solutions Partner designations is based on your partner capability score. | Download the Solutions Partner Benefits Guide | - Review your Partner Capability Score (PCS) in Partner Center. - Target Solution Partner Designations that are most relevant to your organisation to unlock incentives. - Link employee Microsoft Certification profile IDs with Partner Center to be recognized for skilling achievements. - Associate your customer deployments with Partner Center to be recognized for your performance and customer growth achievements. |
| Specialisation | Microsoft specializations build on the related Solutions Partner designations in one of the specialization areas | See Specialization Benefits Guide | Use Partner Center to apply for and check the status of specializations |
| Marketplace offer | The Microsoft commercial marketplace is a catalog of solutions from our independent software vendor (ISV) partners and offers from Solution Integrators (SIs). | Accelerate your business in partnership with Microsoft, and to connect Microsoft customers with the best solutions that our partner ecosystem offers. | Introduction to Listing Options |
Get after it
Partner Community - Canadian Partner Zone is a Forums for Canadian Partners tha includes a calendar of upcoming events. You are encouraged to subscribe to updates.
In addition, the PartnerCrucible hosts a collection of links to key resources for partners. This project aims to serve as an entry point into the wealth of information and services available to Canadian Microsoft partners.