Playbook

Microsoft Cloud
Partner Program
Evolving in a Insights from IDC Study ‘Microsoft Ecosystem Value: Partner Paths to Profitability and Growth’
In its European research into the Microsoft ecosystem value, IDC has uncovered the growth benefits a Microsoft

challenging
partnership can bring to partners.

market
For every $1 of Microsoft revenue: Partners that derive at least 75% of
Customers today are demanding more – it’s a Services-led partners in Europe make $5.75 their revenue from Microsoft-related
challenging market and they need consistent and Software-led partners in Europe make $7.86 activities have the highest profitability,
deep expertise to continue their digital transformation. Resale-led partners in Europe make $2.21 with an average gross margin of 30%.
They’re looking for effective partners that have the in economic value.
right skills and capabilities end to end.
We've launched the Microsoft Cloud Partner Program
to give partners the skills, resources and access to the
latest tech to evolve their competencies and stand
out in the most competitive marketplace to date.
The program centers on the core capabilities our 29% revenue growth expected in 2022
customers have been most vocal on: performance, for European partners who invest more than
advance technical skills and success for their business. 10% of their revenue in developing IP.

IDC eBook, Sponsored by Microsoft, Microsoft Ecosystem Value: Partners Paths to profitability and Growth, (Doc. #EUR149732822, October 2022)

Tip “ “For every €1 of Microsoft products or services we sell, we see a €6 to

Learn about Microsoft Commercial Marketplace here
€7 opportunity for Verne's own products and services on top of that.’’
Antonio Soto, Director, Verne Tech, Spain
What the new • Action
What’s different about the new program?

Microsoft Cloud
We’re evolving the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN), streamlining the 19 Silver and Gold
competencies into six simplified Solution Partner Designations aligned to how Microsoft goes to
market. There is a seventh for partners attaining all six individual solution areas: Microsoft Cloud.

Partner Program
Simplified Specializations, moving away from Advanced Specializations.
The simplicity of Designations and how they shift to Specializations aims to give partners a stronger
differentiation for their capabilities with customers. The Gold vs Silver vs. Advanced Specialization

means for you

and later vs. MSP competency mix created confusion for customers looking for help over time.

What does the new program mean for my business?

To attain the new Solutions Partner Designations, partners will need to demonstrate
their organization’s capability in Performance, Skilling and Customer Success. For Modern
Work and Business Applications, we are also introducing Enterprise and SMB paths.
These are measured through our new Partner Capability Score and can be accessed in your
Partner Dashboard in Partner Center.
These Designations help showcase your organization’s capabilities to customers, helping
you stand out as customers have a clear view of which partners are a good fit for their needs.

What happens to my existing benefits?

! We're not removing benefits partners receive today. However, we will provide more investments to
partners who meet the Designations – they will have access to more benefits, more Azure credits,
additional product licenses to build, test, demo, pilot, and create proof of concepts to showcase and
Action sell solutions to customers, and cloud service subscriptions that are most relevant in market today.
We also understand change takes time: qualifying requirements for our Co-Sell programs and
Review this playbook and supporting materials to incentives will not change this year but, in the future, the program will be the access point to them.
understand the new Solution Partner Designations
and what you need to do to achieve them. Partners still remain our partners regardless of their Designation, and so we’re always going to look
for ways to support them through any evolutions that are happening with us and in the market.
Moving from
Silver and Gold
competencies
to Solutions
Partner Designations
The new Solutions
Partner Designations EXPLORE Membership
First step to accessing Microsoft Cloud Partner Program
and free marketing resources.

Our Solutions Partner Designations are anchored

on the Microsoft Cloud in six solution areas BUILD Microsoft Action Pack
aligned to how Microsoft goes to market. Access to hands-on Microsoft tech, support,
This new model provides two qualifying levels: and marketing tools.

 The Solutions Partner level is a Designation

that is based on meeting specific EXECUTE Solutions Partner
& SELL
requirements across what we call the partner Demonstrate your organization's broad services-solution
capability score for each solution area. capabilities aligned to customer needs and the Microsoft Cloud.

 Specializations and expert programs will

give solutions partners a way to differentiate
DIFFERENTIATE
their organizations and demonstrate deep & SELL
technical expertise and experience in specific
technical scenarios under each solution area.
Specializations
Further differentiate your organization's deep expertise in
specific technical scenarios aligned to the Microsoft Cloud. Learn more

Customer-facing badge that clearly

differentiates partners from their Expert MSP program
competition and lead-sharing opportunities. Demonstrate your organization's deep expertise
providing managed services across the end-to-end Learn more
lifecycle for Azure customers.
The content provided herein should not be construed as recommendations or
guarantees of success. The information described herein is subject to change and
should not be interpreted as an offer, endorsement, guarantee, commitment or any
other type of representation on the part of Microsoft. All decisions pertaining and
related to your business needs including but not limited to strategies, solutions,
partner selection, implementation, etc. rests solely with your business. ​
How legacy competencies map to the new Designations
Legacy Competencies Solutions Partner Designations
• Cloud Platform
Solutions Partner for Infrastructure (Azure)
• Data Center

• App Integration
• Data Analytics Solutions Partner for Data & AI (Azure)
• Data Platform

• Application Development
• App Integration Solutions Partner for Digital & App Innovation (Azure)
• DevOps

• Cloud Productivity Specialized and

• Collaboration expert programs
• Communications
Solutions Partner for Modern Work
• Messaging
• Small and Midmarket Cloud Solutions
• Windows and Devices

• Enterprise Mobility Management

Solutions Partner for Security
• Security

• Cloud Business Applications

• Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Solutions Partner for Business Application
• Project Portfolio Management
How to attain Solution Partner for
Business Applications
Solution Partner
for Modern Work
Solution Partner
for Security
Solution Partner for
Infrastructure, Data &

Designations
With >0 points for each AI and Digital & App
metric meets requirements
for Solution partner
Innovation (Azure)

Net Net Net Net

Performance customer adds customer adds customer adds customer adds
To attain a Solutions Partner Designation, you need
to earn at least 70 points within a subcategory – performance,
skilling, customer success – out of the available 100 points.
You must have more than 0 points in the other subcategories
within that Designation. Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate
Certs Certs Certs Certs
Skilling
Each of the three categories has metrics with various
weights and thresholds. When you reach a metric's threshold, Advanced Advanced Advanced Advanced
Certs Certs Certs Certs
you receive the maximum weighted points for that metric. You
get partial points for any progress on that metric.

Usage Usage Usage Usage

Growth Growth Growth Growth
Customer
success
Deployments Deployments Deployments Deployments

!
Action Tip
Go to the one-stop-shop Training Gallery
to ramp up on all things Solutions Partner Designations. Scoring points across all categories is not a
Appoint a sponsor within your company to track progress one-time effort. Keep track month-over-month
across all solution Designations you are working on.
to sustain growth and access to relevant incentives.
Performance With >0 points for each
Solution Partner for
Business Applications
Solution Partner
for Modern Work
Solution Partner
for Security
Solution Partner for
Infrastructure, Data &
AI and Digital & App
metric meets requirements
The performance category measures the ability of partners to for Solution partner
Innovation (Azure)
expand both your and Microsoft's customer base. Its primary
metric is Net customer adds:
Net Net Net Net
Points are awarded for the number of eligible customers added Performance customer adds customer adds customer adds customer adds
in the trailing 12 months. (Lost customers are subtracted from
new customers.) Each of the six solution areas has:

• A customer growth threshold for partners to reach. Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate
Certs Certs Certs Certs
• Its own eligibility criteria for new customers. Skilling

The eligible customers are those new to the partner. This can be Advanced Advanced Advanced Advanced
Certs Certs Certs Certs
a customer new to using Microsoft products or a customer using
Microsoft products that moves to a new partner. The customer
must be associated with the partner to be included in the metric.
Usage Usage Usage Usage
Growth Growth Growth Growth
Customer
success
Deployments Deployments Deployments Deployments

!
Actions
“ Partners perspectives
 Go to the one-stop-shop Training Gallery to ramp
up on how each metric is designed and measured. "As soon as we learned about the new program, we immediately sent out invitations to all our partners for a
webinar with a Microsoft expert. We then worked with individual partners doing a deep-dive into the program,
 Explore the Partner Associations Playbook to taking them by the hand to make the right choices and getting their data sorted in the Partner Center.
understand how to maximize points. We helped them adapt to the change quickly – advising them on how to ensure end-customer data or
exam certificates were in the Partner Center and how to make choices about their certifications.”
 Boost your Performance scores with
our Customer Journey Playbooks Arrow ECS Netherlands: Jap Verburg, Business Development Manager
Skilling With >0 points for each
Solution Partner for
Business Applications
Solution Partner
for Modern Work
Solution Partner
for Security
Solution Partner for
Infrastructure, Data &
AI and Digital & App
metric meets requirements
The skilling category measures capabilities and skills acquired as for Solution partner
Innovation (Azure)
the number of people in a partner organization who are certified.

Specific certifications and courses are required in each of the six Net Net Net Net
solution areas. Credits in the skilling category are based on the Performance customer adds customer adds customer adds customer adds
certifications earned by learners linked to your organization.

There are two metrics in the skilling category:

Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate
• Intermediate certifications measure your organization's Certs Certs Certs Certs
progress towards having an adequate number of people Skilling
with intermediate certifications in specified solution areas.
Advanced Advanced Advanced Advanced
(In some of the six solution areas, only intermediate Certs Certs Certs Certs
certifications are available).

• Advanced certifications measure your organization’s

progress towards having an adequate number of people
Usage Usage Usage Usage
with advanced certifications in specified solution areas.

!
Growth Growth Growth Growth
Customer
success
Deployments Deployments Deployments Deployments

Actions
 As solution areas evolve and change, required
certifications are expected to change too. For the latest
required certifications, check the Partner Skilling
summary online. “ Partners perspectives
 Refer to our Partner Enablement Guides for all skilling ”We’re really pleased with what the new program has enabled us to achieve in such a short space of time. By narrowing
offers. in on the 3 key elements – Net Customer Adds, Skilling and Customer Success – embracing the new program has felt
 Explore the Training Hub, visit our Partner Training realistic and it’s allowed us to strengthen our focus, passion and energy to deliver successful deployments to our
Calendar and Cloud Champion to find all the relevant customers. We’ve been able to make upskilling of employees a key priority and one I have personally driven. Each of
available trainings for you for your targeted skilling needs. our consultants is now required to have at least three certifications – helping to strengthen our position with customers."

Nedscaper: Derk van der Woude, CTO

Customer success With >0 points for each
Solution Partner for
Business Applications
Solution Partner
for Modern Work
Solution Partner
for Security
Solution Partner for
Infrastructure, Data &
AI and Digital & App
metric meets requirements
The customer success category measures your for Solution partner
Innovation (Azure)
organization's ability to enable growth in the use of
Microsoft products, or in the expansion of Microsoft's
services and workloads used by customers. Performance
Net Net Net Net
customer adds customer adds customer adds customer adds
There are two metrics in the customer success category:

• Usage growth measures the growth in usage of

Microsoft's products by your customers in the past year. Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate
Certs Certs Certs Certs
Each solution area has its own thresholds, weight and
Skilling
qualifying criteria for which customers earn points in
this metric. Advanced Advanced Advanced Advanced
Certs Certs Certs Certs
• Deployments measures your ability to expand the
deployment of Microsoft workloads and products within
a specified solution area across your customer portfolio.
To learn more about the criteria for this metric, refer Usage
Growth
Usage
Growth
Usage
Growth
Usage
Growth
to the detailed requirements for each solution area. Customer
success
Deployments Deployments Deployments Deployments

!
Actions “ Partners perspectives
 Go to the one-stop-shop Training Gallery to ramp “As we’ve transitioned to the Microsoft Cloud Partner Program, our WorkplaceBuddy proposition has become
up on how each metric is designed and measured. more relevant to both Microsoft customers and partners. We’re able to grow the stickiness of Microsoft technology
by supporting every individual to understand how to optimize their day-to-day work through productivity and
 Boost your Performance scores with bringing more quality in the way they work. Microsoft Partners can now easily sell our solution through the
our Customer Journey Playbooks Microsoft marketplace, steadily add points in the customer success element while having happier customers.’’
Review Technical documentation | Microsoft Learn
WorkplaceBuddy: Sjoerd Koolen, CEO

How to start
claiming points
It's time to get familiar with points as they
differ per solution area.

There are two paths to work on – partner

associations and certified professional
associations. It's important to figure out how Path 1: Path 2:
you will work with your customers or certified Partner associations Certified professional associations
professionals to ensure these are in place so
you get credit for the work you’re doing with Maximizing your partner capability score is Within Partner Center you need to have your
your customers. key. To make sure your organization is certified professionals go in and link their
receiving the points you've earned, you need learning account to your organization account

!
to have the right partner associations in place. – they can do that by going into Partner
Center, clicking settings, etc. – that’s how
you’ll get points for your skilling metrics
across all of your solution areas.

Actions

Tips
 Understand how you gain points here:
Solutions partner program partner capability score
 Check out the Partner Associations Playbook
to ensure you get credit for the work you do with
customers. Consider P2P options if you are Ensure your employees link There is no problem to link more
 Go to Partner Center regularly to see how missing on Performance or their Microsoft IDs to than one partner to a single
you're tracking towards attaining Designations. Customer Success KPIs your organization. customer in CPOR and PAL.
Moving from Advanced
Specializations to
simplified Specializations
How to Attain
a Specialization
Aligned to the Microsoft Cloud, Specializations
display your deep technical expertise to customers.

1 2 3

Previously partners were Now to achieve or renew a They also need to obtain Helping you reach more customers
encouraged to get an Specialization, partners will need specific Microsoft certifications
Advanced Specialization. to have a Designation in place to demonstrate they’re keeping • On your business profile page at the Microsoft Appsource,
prior to working towards a pace with today’s roles customers will be able to find you including your solution
Specialization. and requirements. Designations and Specializations. You can update and optimize
your Business Profile in Partner Center.

At Partner Center you can learn what your position

!
•
is towards attaining desired Specializations.

Actions
 Check out our Partner Enablement Guides for technical and
sales information that cover each Microsoft solution.
 Keep track of MSFT Cloud latest developments with our
Technical documentation.
How to Renew a
Specialization
Important stages of the Specialization renewal process to be aware of:

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3+

To renew the Specialization Partners To renew the Specialization, partners For this timeframe, renewals will
will need to meet telemetry-based will need to meet the telemetry-based follow the same process with
requirements (such as performance, requirements and complete manually telemetry requirements annually and
certifications) only. These telemetry- validated requirements (such as audits or telemetry plus manually validated
based requirements are valid for one providing customer references). These requirements every other year.
year and revalidated annually. They requirements will be valid for two years and
will be reviewed for all Specializations re-validated bi-annually every other year.
with anniversary dates beginning These will start in FY24 with anniversary
February 2023. dates beginning February 2024.
How Specializations map to
Solutions Partner Designations
Infrastructure Digital & App Data & AI Business Modern Security
(Azure) Innovation (Azure) (Azure) Applications Work

Windows Server and SQL Server Windows Server and SQL Server Microsoft Low Code Application Adoption and
Kubernetes on Microsoft Azure Cloud Security
Migration to Microsoft Azure Migration to Microsoft Azure Development Change Management

Linux and Open Source Database Modernization of Web Linux and Open Source Database Small and Midsize
Calling for Microsoft Teams Identity and Access Management
Migration to Microsoft Azure Applications to Microsoft Azure Migration to Microsoft Azure Business Management

AI and Machine Learning on Data Warehouse Migration to Customer Solutions for Information Protection and
SAP on Microsoft Azure
Microsoft Azure Microsoft Azure Microsoft Teams Governance

Microsoft Azure DevOps with GitHub on Meetings and Meeting Rooms

Kubernetes on Microsoft Azure Threat Protection
Virtual Desktop Microsoft Azure for Microsoft Teams

Hybrid Operations and

Microsoft Azure Modernization of Web
Management on Microsoft Teamwork Deployment
Vmware Solution Applications to Microsoft Azure
Azure Arc

Hybrid Operations and Hybrid Operations and

Management with Management with Analytics on Microsoft Azure Modernize Endpoints
Microsoft Azure Arc Microsoft Azure Arc

Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure with Microsoft Low Code AI and Machine Learning on
Microsoft Azure Stack HCI Application Development Microsoft Azure

Actions
!
Hybrid Operations and
Networking Services in
Microsoft Azure
Management with Microsoft Explore the Training Hub, visit our Partner
Azure Arc
Training Calendar and Cloud Champion to
find all the relevant available trainings for you
Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure with
Microsoft Azure Stack HCI for your targeted skilling needs.
How to check your Partner
Center Score and what
resources and incentives
are available to you
 Tip
The Microsoft Check your Partner Center Score
and validate your customer list regularly.

Partner Center
With the new Microsoft Partner Center, you can get an
overview of your Partner Center Score for each
Designation and see where you need to gain points. You
can also access extensive customer insights, allowing you to
look into tenants and subscriptions that are relevant to that
solution area.

The Solutions Partner score simulator in the Partner Center

can help you to understand the Solutions partner program
and how its performance can affect scores in the respective
solution areas. It can also help with strategic planning and
exploration. It's useful for planning the best course of action
to take based on the simulated effect that certain actions
have on your partner capability score.

!
Actions
“ Partners perspectives
 Go to the one-stop-shop Training Gallery to ramp
up on how each metric is designed and measured. “Microsoft listened to our feedback provided through Voice of the Partner, and from other partners, and introduced an SMB-
option for the Business Applications designation. We are very happy with this and are going to work to meet the requirements.”
 Explore the Partner Associations Playbook to
understand how to maximize points. WSB Solutions: Jan Penning, Managing Director

 Boost your Performance scores with

our Customer Journey Playbooks Microsoft wants to hear your feedback: complete the Voice of the Partner Sentiment Survey to submit yours.
The new
benefits Encouraging business development
Product benefits (formerly IUR) have been designed to
align the Solutions Partner Designations, including:
We’re investing more than ever before into • Azure bulk credits
what our partners can benefit from joining
our Microsoft Cloud Partner Program. • Development environments

We aim to help both partners and customers • New cloud product subscriptions
grow their business with us.

Increasing customer reach

• Co-selling with Microsoft
• Go-To-Market services and tools, assets and personalized consultation
• Microsoft solutions provider placement

!
Expanding technical skilling, enablement and support
• Personalized assistance, comprehensive courses, and world-class Microsoft experts
• Technical presales and deployments services
Action • Product (on-prem and cloud), platform, and technical support

Check out the new Solutions Partner Benefits

Guide associated with the Solutions Partner
Designations and Specializations.
Incentives As a partner in the Microsoft Cloud Partner Program, you have access to various incentives programs that can reward
you for delivering services to customers. Many programs pay on top of the standard benefits from the Program. These
programs can also help you expand your business.
We understand change takes time. Qualifying requirements for our Co-Sell programs and incentives will not
change this year but, in the future, the program will be the access point to them.

Customer lifecycle

Build Intent Transact Consume

Envision use cases and prove solution value Close opportunity Unblock usage and realize value

Modern Work, Security, Business Applications Build Intent New Commerce CSP incentives (MW&S; Azure; BizApps) Modern Work, Security, Business Applications
Workshops (MW&S; BizApps) Cloud Solution Providers providing billing and support as part of a Build Intent Workshops (MW&S; BizApps)
Reward partners for generating demand through assessments, partner-managed experience for customers across all Clouds. Reward partners for generating demand through assessments,
workshops and pre-sales advisory. workshops and pre-sales advisory.

CSP WE FY23 Security QoQ Growth Campaign (MW&S)

Online Services Advisor (OSA) (BizApps) Online Services Usage - M365 (MW&S)
Drive new seat adoption for a set of strategic products by
Reward partners for presales activities that drive the platform sale Reward partners for helping customers successfully deploy
incentivizing QoQ growth (EMS – M365 BP/E3/E5 + suites) in SMB.
of Dynamics 365, Power Apps, and Power Automate. and adopt Microsoft 365 workloads.

Workload Acquisition and Nurture Campaign (Azure) Online Services Usage (OSU) – D365 (BizApps)
Encourage the adoption and increased consumption of strategic Reward partners for driving usage growth for their
Azure workloads (Microsoft Managed Accounts). Microsoft Dynamics 365 customers by tenant and offer.

Azure Analytics & AI Accelerate Program (AAAP) (Azure) Power Platform & Customer Insights Usage
Provides the resources, credits, and incentives you need to Reward partners for driving customer usage of Power Platform
accelerate demand, revenue, and customer success. and Customer Insights.

Azure Enterprise and self-service (MCI-Azure)

PAL-based incentives for partners delivering value-add services to customers.

Actions Workload Acquisition and Nurture Campaign (Azure)

Encourage the adoption and increased consumption of strategic Azure workloads.

!
 If you're new to incentives and want to learn more about available incentives programs,
sign in to Microsoft investments and incentives.
 Want to keep up to date with the latest incentive offers in Microsoft Commerce Incentive (MCI)?
Make sure you bookmark MCI Partner Landing Page for Webinars & On-Demand Content.
Getting
What can you do now?
It's simple – start working towards
your Designation and choose between

started
legacy and new benefits packages.
Remember, if you’ve not moved yet or you’re
not ready, you can get the Designation badge
between anniversary dates if you reach 70
points in any Solutions Partner Designation
and score > 0 pts in each sub-category.
Get started with
four simple steps

1. Deep dive into 2. Learn more 3. Get to grips 4. Find out more about your
program resources about Designations with Specializations benefits and incentives
• Go to the one-stop- • Assess your status and track • Read our Partner • Learn about Go-To-Market
shop training gallery to ramp your progress here Enablement Guides with Microsoft offers
up on all things Solutions
• Find everything you need to • Explore the Training Hub and • Learn how to sell with
Partner Designations know about the capability visit our Partner Training Microsoft
• Check out the Partner Center score Calendar to proactively find all • Discover Microsoft Marketing
for an introduction to the the relevant available trainings
• Understand how you gain
Solutions partner program for you for your targeted skilling • Keep track of MSFT Cloud
points in this tutorial latest developments
needs
• Check out the detailed, all- • Discover the Score simulator
encompassing FAQ • Discover Cloud Champion, the
• Understand customers all-in-one platform sponsored
• Discover all the sales associations and how to add by Microsoft and Distributors
enablement resources to help customers to your Partner that helps SMB Partners grow
you grow Center their Microsoft Cloud Business
• Review our Customer Journey
Playbooks set per Designation
to help boost your Net
Customer Adds scores
Solution Area
Designations &
Specializations
Cheat sheet
From
Attaining a Designation is the first step into
demonstrating your organisation’s breadth of capabilities.

Designation to
Progressing to attaining a Specialization is where the
tangible depth differentiation starts.

Specialization
Specializations open the door to Azure MSP Expert
programs and a host of high-end paid programs and
incentives that can expand your earning potential along

and beyond
with customer impact.

The following playbook section serves as one stop shop

for all criteria to achieve Designation and fast progress
into Specialization.

Tip
Take a close look at Partner Program Benefits Guide
Solution area:
Advanced Spec Attributions Performance Skilling

BizApps
Min. 5 unique customers as new
deployments, each with min. 1 app
deployed, for 12 Trailing Twelve Months
(TTM)
• A production Power App is an app in a
production environment with at least 5
users and 50 sessions per month.
• The app must be built on paid eligible
SKUs: Power Apps per User OR Power
BizApps Enterprise SMB Apps per App OR Portals
• Each app must have the partner user
• 10 Customer Adds,
20 Customer Adds, >$500 listed as the owner or co-owner of the
>$1500 Adjusted Min. 5 Individuals with PL-200
Adjusted Revenue Low Code Application Development application and have the same user
Revenue AND
Performance PAL associated through PAL
Min. 2 Individuals with PL-400
(15 pts) Pre-requisite: Active Solutions Partner for Digital & App AND
• Attributions AND
•D365: CPOR, CPOR RevRec, CSP Tier 1/2, DPOR Innovation (Azure) OR Business Applications designation Min. 35% MAU growth across your
Min. 1 Individuals x PL-600
•Power Platform: CPOR, CSP Tier 1/2, DPOR customer base in the trailing 12 months
(TTM). Your customer base must have min.
Intermediate Certs : (20pts) Intermediate Certs: (20pts) 50 MAU at start of TTM period. Growth in
Min. 20 Functional Min. 5 Functional consultants MAU is calculated:
Skilling • Across all PAL-associated applications in
consultants + Dev AND + Dev AND
(35 pts) your customer base.
Advanced Certs (15 pts) Advanced Certs (15pts)
Min. 7 Solution Architects Min. 2 Solution Architects • At the application level, only paid
(see full list here ) (see full list here ) subscriptions under the customer's
tenant will qualify
# Net New Deployments: # Net New Deployments AND
• 5 Production • 10 Production You have min. 1 x Power Apps consulting
deployments TTM with deployments TTM with offer published on Microsoft AppSource
Min 10,000 monthly MIN 5,000 monthly
consumption value consumption value
Usage Growth: Usage Growth
Customer
• Monthly consumption • Monthly consumption
Success
value growth of 30%+ value growth of 45%+
(50pts) Product: Dynamics 365 Business Central
across all customers (vs across all customers (vs
baseline>= 50,000) baseline>= 50,000) paid SKU

Min. 10 deployments with min. 5 Monthly

• Attributions
Active Users (MAU)
•D365: CPOR, CPOR RevRec, CSP Tier 1/2, DPOR Small and Midsize Business Management CPOR,
AND
•Power Platform & Customer Insights : PAL CPOR RevRec,
Min. 35% MAU growth for 12 TTM across Min. 5 Individuals with MB-800
Pre-requisite: Solutions Partner for Business Applications CSP Tier 1/2,
customer base. Your customer base must (TTM, renewal every year)
designation DPOR
have min. 50 MAU at start of TTM period
• AI Builder, Business Central, CE Bundle, Commerce,
AND
Eligible Customer Insights, Customer Service, Customer Voice, F&O
You have min. 1 x Dynamics 365 Business
Products Bundle, Field Service, Finance, Fraud Protection, Marketing,
Central (as Primary Product) consulting
Across the Mixed Reality, Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI
offer published on Microsoft AppSource
Categories Premium/Pro, Power Virtual Agent, Project Operations,
Sales, Supply Chain, Talent/HR
Solution area:
Products Attributions Performance Skilling

Adoption and Min. 2 x Microsoft Services Adoption

Min. 10,000 MAU growth for 12

Modern Work
Change SharePoint, Teams and/or Yammer CPOR Specialist Partner University
TTM
Management Assessment

Calling with CPOR Min. 2,500 MAU growth for 12 Min. 4 x MS-700 AND
Microsoft Teams
Teams TTM Teams Calling Technical Assessment

CPOR,
Deployments:
• App deployed within
Apps/solutions developed by Teams and leveraging
partners using pro dev tools, Power min. 1 platform
Modern Enterprise SMB Custom Solutions Platform, or Microsoft provided extensibility features Min. 1,000 Teams Platform MAU
Min. 4 x MS-600
Work for Teams templates, integrated through • Standalone web or growth for 12 TTM
embedding, extension, or a Graph device app using Teams
API call Graph API calls
Min. 10 in TTM • Standalone web or
Min. 5 in TTM
• Associations: CPOR, CSP device app embedding
• Associations: CPOR,
Tier 1 and 2 Teams components
DPOR
• Workloads: Intune,
• Workloads: Intune,
Exchange, ProPlus,
Exchange, ProPlus, Meetings and Min. 4 x MS-700 AND
Sharepoint, Teams, CPOR Min. 5,000 MAU growth for 12
Sharepoint, Teams, Meeting Rooms Microsoft Teams Teams Meetings and Meeting Rooms
Teams Meetings, Phone TTM
Teams Meetings, Phone for Teams Technical Assessment
Performance Calling 1p/3p, Teams
Calling 1p/3p, Teams
(20 pts) Platform, Yammer
Platform, Yammer Min. 2,500 MAU growth for 12
• SKUs: All Paid M365,
• SKUs: All Paid M365, TTM on min. 3 workloads
O365, Office 2019
O365, Office 2019 AND
commercial and
commercial and Maintain 20% avg. AU for min. 3 Min. 2 x MS-203
education licenses Teamwork Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, CPOR
education licenses workloads for 12 TTM AND
• Eligible Customers: min. 1 Deployment Microsoft Teams, and Yammer)
• Eligible Customers: min. 1 AND Min. 2 x MS-700
workload <= 300 AND >
workload > 300 PAU Associate min. 12 new customer
10 PAU
tenants with your organization
for min. 1 workload in 12 TTM
Min. 4 x MS-900 OR MS-203 Min. 2 x MS-900 OR MS-203
OR MD-100 (+MD-101) OR OR MD-100 (+MD-101) OR
Skilling Min. 2 x MD-100 (+MD-101) AND
MS-700 OR MS-600 MS-700 OR MS-600 Modernize CPOR Min. 5,000 MAU growth for 12
(25 pts) Microsoft Intune Min. 2 x MS-100 (+MS-101) AND
AND AND Endpoints TTM
Min. 2 x MS-100 (+MS-101) Min. 1 x MS-100 (+MS-101) Min. 2 x AZ-140

# Net New Deployments: # Net New Deployments

• CPOR: min. 5 TTM • CPOR: min. 5 TTM Adoption and Min. 2 x Microsoft Services Adoption
CPOR Min. 10,000 MAU growth for 12
• DPOR: min. 10 TTM • CSP: min. 10 TTM Change SharePoint, Teams and/or Yammer Specialist Partner University
Customer TTM
Usage Growth: Usage Growth Management Assessment
Success
• CPOR: min. 1,000 MAU • CPOR: min. 500 MAU
(55 pts)
growth TTM growth TTM
• DPOR: min. 4,000 MAU • CSP: min. 2,000 MAU
growth TTM growth TTM
Solution area:
Products Attributions Performance Skilling

100k USD

Differentiate through specialization (Specializations for Security)

Microsoft Sentinel PAL, CSP, DPOR

Security
Threat ACR TTM
Protection
Specialization

1000 MAU
October 15, MDI, MCAS CPOR
growth TTM
2020
3 Customer References
(Template & Guidelines)
Identity and
Access
Management
Specialization 2000 MAU
ADAP CPOR
growth TTM 6x MS-5000
November 18,
2020

Security
Performance M365 New Customer Azure Security Net
(20 pts) add (CPOR) Customer add (PAL) Information
Protection
Sentinel, Azure and Governance
AADP, MDO, MDE, Defender, Network Specialization 1000 MAU
Security, Identity and AIP, MIP CPOR
MDI, MIP, MEM-Intune growth TTM
Access Management
February 25,
2021
Qualifying individuals have
Skilling MS-500 and AZ-500
Build strong fundamentals (security designation)

(40 pts) AND

SC-200 or SC-300 or SC-400
Cloud Security
Specialization Hybrid Environment XDR and 200k USD 6x AZ-500
PAL, CSP, DPOR
Network Security ACR (Full List) ACR TTM 4x SC-200
Azure tenant
M356 deployments at June 16, 2021
deployments with 12k
>15% protected users
USD Security ACR TTM
---
---
M365 Monthly
Customer Security ACR growth
protected users Modernize
success TTM > 25k USD (PAL)
growth TTM > 2k5 Endpoints
(40 pts) 4x MD-100/101
(CPOR) Specialization* 5000 MAU
MEM-Intune CPOR & MS-100/101
Sentinel, Azure growth TTM
Defender, Network 2x AZ-140
AADP, MDO, MDE, February 28,
Security, Identity and
MDI, MIP, MEM-Intune 2022
Access Management

This visual is used to present you with a simplified overview of the solutions partner for Security & associated Specializations. To check your progress and latest requirements, consult Partner Center - MPN. * Solutions partner for Modern Work Required.
Solution area:
Products Attributions Performance Skilling

Total of 3 or more qualifying individuals

Infrastructure
Hybrid Cloud have:
$500 monthly avg. of Azure Stack HCI ACR from
Infrastructure with Service Level 2 = Azure Stack HCI min. 1 x AZ-104
past 3 months and min. 2 customers
Azure Stack HCI min. 1 x AZ-305
min. 1 x AZ-400

Total of 5 or more qualifying individuals

Hybrid Operations $300 monthly avg. Arc-enabled server ACR AND have:
Service Level 4 = Azure Policy, Service
and Management $100 monthly Arc-enabled Kubernetes ACR AND min. 1 x AZ-104
Level 4 = Azure Arc
with Azure Arc $400 monthly Arc-enabled data services ACR min. 1 x AZ-305
min. 1 x AZ-400

$5,000 monthly avg. Linux Virtual Machines (VM)

Total of 2 or more qualifying individuals
Linux and Open ACR in the past 3 months from min. 3 customers
have:
Source Databases See here for full list AND
min. 1 x DP-203
Migration to Azure $1,500 monthly avg. of ACR from several databases
min. 1 x AZ-104
here in the past 3 months from min. 3 customers

Total of 3 or more qualifying individuals

have:
min. 1 x AZ-104
min. 1 x AZ-305 AND
Service Level 4 filters =Azure VMware 3 individuals passing Azure VMware
Infrastructure Azure VMware
Solution, Azure VMware Solution by
$10,000 monthly avg. Azure VMware Solution ACR
technical assessment for partners
CloudSimple, Azure VMware Solution by Plus 2 employees with min. 1 of these
Solution from past 3 months and min. 1 customer
Virtustream, Specialized Compute Azure certifications
• Net Customer Adds (CSP, DPOR, PAL) VMware Solution OR
DPOR, PAL, CSP Your organisation has min. 1 of
• Threshold: tenant with ACR >= $1,000/month
Performance competencies listed here
• A customer drop (churn) is a tenant < threshold for 2
(30 pts) AND
consecutive months You are TAP or a PC with VMware
• All Service 2 workloads are eligible
Total of 3 or more qualifying individuals
have:
min. 1 x AZ-500
Intermediate (20 pts) Microsoft Windows $2,500 monthly avg. ACR in past 3 months from min. 1 x AZ-305
Advanced (20 pts) Service Influencer = NATIVE WVD
Minimum: 2 x AZ-104; After Virtual Desktop min. 3 customers min. 1 x AZ-104 AND
Skilling Minimum: 2 x AZ-305; After
that 4 pts per person with Min. 3 x WVD Technical Assessment
(40 pts) that 4 pts per person with (combo of same or different individuals as
AZ-700 or AZ-600 or (AZ-
AZ-140 or AZ-120 Certs)
800+AZ-801)
$10,000 monthly Networking ACR AND Total of 3 or more qualifying individuals
Networking Services One published Networking Managed Service have:
Networking ACR
Min. 5 deployed solutions in Azure Provider or Consulting Service offer on Azure min. 1 x AZ-104
ACR Growth (YoY) (20 pts) Marketplace min. 1 x AZ-305
(10 pts)
• 20% growth Year over
• Total number of
Year =ACR today – ACR $8,000 monthly avg. ACR from SAP workloads in
advanced Azure services SAP on Azure Multiple Service Level 4 filters: see list here Min. 3 x AZ-120
from 12 months ago past 3 months and min. 3 customers
Customer represented in ACR
divided by ACR from 12
Success (Service Level 2) over the
months ago x 100. $10,000 monthly avg. Windows Server Virtual
(30 pts) last 12 months Total of 3 or more qualifying individuals
• Requires Min. threshold Windows Serves and
Machine (VM) ACR in the past 3 months from min.
have:
• CSP/DPOR/PAL 3 customers AND
of $1K ACR SQL Server See here for full list min. 1 x AZ-400
• All Service Level 2 except: $3,000 monthly avg. SQL Managed Instance (MI),
• CSP/DPOR/PAL Migration to Azure min. 1 x DP-203
Virtual Machines, Virtual SQL Database (DB) and SQL VM ACR in the past 3
• All Service Level 2 min. 1 x AZ-104
Machines Licenses months from min. 3 customers. At least $1,000 of
that average must be from SQL MI or SQL DB
Solution area:
Products Attributions Performance Skilling
Total of 3 or more qualifying individuals
AI and Machine $2,000 monthly avg. Al ACR from the past 3 have:

Data & AI
Service Group 2 = AI
Learning months aggregated from min. 3 customers min. 1 x DP-100
min. 1 x AI-102

$3,000 monthly average of Azure Synapse

Service Level 2 = Azure Synapse Analytics; Analytics, Azure Data Lake, Azure Data Factory, or
Service Group 3 = Azure Data Lake; Service Azure Databricks ACR aggregated across all
Analytics on Azure
Group 3 = Databricks; Service Level 2 = customers in the past 3 months AND Total of 3 or more qualifying individuals
Azure Data Factory, Azure Data Factory v2 $1,500 monthly avg. of Azure Synapse Analytics have:
ACR in the past 3 months from min. 3 customers min. 1 x DP-203
min. 1 x AZ-305
You must show customers migrating to Azure AND
Data Warehouse
Service Level 2 = Azure Synapse Analytics $10,000 of Azure Synapse Analytics ACR in the past
Migration to Azure
3 months from a min. 3 customers

Total of 3 or more qualifying individuals

Service Influencer = AKS, AKS-Engine; $5,000 monthly avg. Azure Kubernetes Service have:
Kubernetes on
Service Group 3 = ARO, Service Level 2 = (AKS) or Azure RedHat Open Shift ACR for past 3 min. 1 x AZ-104
Azure
All except "Unknown" months from min. 3 customers min. 1 x DP-203
min. 1 x AZ-400

$5,000 monthly avg. Linux Virtual Machines (VM)

Total of 2 or more qualifying individuals
Linux and Open ACR in the past 3 months from min. 3 customers
have:
Data & AI Source Databases
Migration to Azure
See here for full list AND $1,500 monthly avg. of ACR from several
databases here in the past 3 months from min. 3
min. 1 x DP-203
min. 1 x AZ-104
customers
• Net Customer Adds (CSP, DPOR, PAL)
Service Level 1 = Compute and Service DPOR, PAL, CSP
• Threshold: tenant with ACR >= $1,000/month
Performance Level 2 = Azure App Service; Total of 3 or more qualifying individuals
• A customer drop (churn) is a tenant < threshold for 2 Modernization of Azure Spring Cloud ACR: $5,000 monthly avg. Azure AppService or Azure have:
(30 pts)
consecutive months Web Applications to ACR Adjustment Type = N/A Spring Cloud ACR in the past 3 months from min. 3 min. 1 x AZ-204
• All Service 2 workloads are eligible Azure Service Group 2 = App Dev customers min. 1 x AZ-400
Service Group 3 = Spring Cloud min. 1 x DP-203
Service Level 2 = All except “Unknown”

Minimum requirement: $10,000 monthly avg. Windows Server Virtual

2 x AZ-305 AND 2 x AZ-104 Machine (VM) ACR in the past 3 months from min. Total of 3 or more qualifying individuals
Skilling
After that 4 pts per person with any of the following: DP-300 Windows Serves 3 customers AND $3,000 monthly avg. SQL have:
(40 pts) and SQL Server See here for full list Managed Instance (MI), SQL Database (DB) and min. 1 x AZ-400
or AI-102 or DP-100 or DP-203 or DP-500 or MB-260 or DP-
420 Migration to Azure SQL VM ACR in the past 3 months from min. 3 min. 1 x DP-203
customers. At least $1,000 of that average must be min. 1 x AZ-104
from SQL MI or SQL DB

Min. 5 deployed solutions Hybrid Cloud Total of 3 or more qualifying individuals

ACR Growth (YoY) (20 pts)
(10 pts) Infrastructure with $500 monthly avg. Azure Stack HCI ACR, in the have:
• 20% growth Year over Service Level 2 = Azure Stack HCI
• Total number of Microsoft Azure past 3 months from min. 2 customers. min. 1 x AZ-104
Year =ACR today – ACR
advanced Azure services Stack HCI min. 1 x AZ-305
from 12 months ago min. 1 x AZ-400
Customer represented in ACR
divided by ACR from 12
Success (Service Level 2) over the
months ago x 100.
(30 pts) last 12 months
• Requires Min. threshold Total of 5 or more qualifying individuals
• CSP/DPOR/PAL Hybrid Operations
of $1K ACR Service Level 4 = Azure Policy, Service Level $300 monthly avg. Arc-enabled server ACR AND have:
• All Service Level 2 except: and Management
• CSP/DPOR/PAL 4 = Azure Arc $100 monthly Arc-enabled Kubernetes ACR AND min. 1 x AZ-104
Virtual Machines, Virtual with Microsoft
$400 monthly Arc-enabled data services ACR min. 1 x AZ-305
• All Service Level 2 Azure Arc
Machines Licenses min. 1 x AZ-400
Solution area:
Products Attributions Performance Skilling

Total of 3 or more qualifying individuals

AI and Machine $2,000 monthly avg. Al ACR from the past 3 have:

Digital & App

Service Group 2 = AI
Learning months aggregated from min. 3 customers min. 1 x DP-100
min. 1 x AI-102

$10,000 monthly avg. ACR from past 3 months

from min. 3 customers OR 2 MSX engagements,

Innovation
DevOps with GitHub
Service Level 1 = Any (not leads) under DevOps with GitHub in the Min. 3 individuals who have AZ-400
on Azure DPOR, PAL, CSP
"Commit (stage 3)" or higher, in the last twelve (12)
months.

Total of 3 or more qualifying individuals

Service Influencer = AKS, AKS-Engine; $5,000 monthly avg. Azure Kubernetes Service have:
Kubernetes on
Service Group 3 = ARO, Service Level 2 = (AKS) or Azure RedHat Open Shift ACR for past 3 min. 1 x AZ-104
Azure
All except "Unknown" months from min. 3 customers min. 1 x DP-203
min. 1 x AZ-400

• A production Power App is an app in a

Min. 5 unique customers as new deployments,
production environment with at least 5
each with min. 1 app deployed, for 12 TTM min. 5 x PL-200
users and 50 sessions per month.
AND AND
• The app must be built on paid eligible
Low Code Min. 35% MAU growth for 12 TTM. Your customer Min. 2 x PL-400
SKUs: Power Apps per User OR Power PAL
Application base must have min. 50 MAU at start of TTM AND
Apps per App OR Portals
Development period Min. 1 x PL-600
Digital & App Innovation • Each app must have the partner user
listed as the owner or co-owner of the
AND OR
You have min. 1 x Power Apps consulting offer Min. 1 x MB-600* (*retired as of June 2022)
application and have the same user
published on Microsoft AppSource
associated through PAL
• Net Customer Adds (CSP, DPOR, PAL)
• Threshold: tenant with ACR >= $1,000/month
Performance
• A customer drop (churn) is a tenant < threshold for 2
(30 pts) Service Level 1 = Compute and Service
consecutive months
Level 2 = Azure App Service; Total of 3 or more qualifying individuals
• All Service 2 workloads are eligible
Modernization of Azure Spring Cloud ACR: $5,000 monthly avg. Azure AppService or Azure have:
Web Applications to ACR Adjustment Type = N/A DPOR, PAL, CSP Spring Cloud ACR in the past 3 months from min. 3 min. 1 x AZ-204
Azure Service Group 2 = App Dev customers min. 1 x AZ-400
Service Group 3 = Spring Cloud min. 1 x DP-203
Intermediate (20 pts) Advanced (20 pts) Service Level 2 = All except “Unknown”
Skilling Minimum: 2 x AZ-104; After Minimum 2 x AZ-305; After
(40 pts) that 4 pts per person with that 4pts per person with AZ-
AZ-204 or PL-400 220 or AZ-400 or PL-600 Total of 3 or more qualifying individuals
Hybrid Cloud
have:
Infrastructure with $500 monthly avg. Azure Stack HCI ACR, in the
Service Level 2 = Azure Stack HCI DPOR, PAL, CSP min. 1 x AZ-104
Microsoft Azure past 3 months from min. 2 customers.
min. 1 x AZ-305
Min. 5 deployed solutions Stack HCI
ACR Growth (YoY) (20 pts) min. 1 x AZ-400
(10 pts)
• 20% growth Year over
• Total number of
Year =ACR today – ACR
advanced Azure services
from 12 months ago
Customer represented in ACR
divided by ACR from 12
Success (Service Level 2) over the Total of 5 or more qualifying individuals
months ago x 100. Hybrid Operations
(30 pts) last 12 months $300 monthly avg. Arc-enabled server ACR AND have:
• Requires Min. threshold and Management Service Level 4 = Azure Policy, Service
• CSP/DPOR/PAL with Microsoft Level 4 = Azure Arc
DPOR, PAL, CSP $100 monthly Arc-enabled Kubernetes ACR AND min. 1 x AZ-104
of $1K ACR $400 monthly Arc-enabled data services ACR min. 1 x AZ-305
• All Service Level 2 except: Azure Arc
• CSP/DPOR/PAL min. 1 x AZ-400
Virtual Machines, Virtual
• All Service Level 2
Machines Licenses