How Microsoft is empowering partners with new AI and cloud capabilities

Microsoft is constantly innovating and updating its partner offerings to align with the changing needs of customers and the business goals of partners. In this blog, I will share some of the most significant program updates and resource launches from Microsoft in the last few months, and how they can help you grow your business with AI and cloud solutions.

The new Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program

At Microsoft Inspire, the annual partner event, Microsoft announced the next generation of its partner program, the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program. This program is designed to empower partners with the integrated capabilities of Microsoft AI and the Microsoft Cloud, and to provide them with everything they need across the entire partner lifecycle, including onboarding, skilling, go-to-market, incentives, and co-selling. The program also offers new partner offerings and benefits for all partners, regardless of their size, solution area, or industry focus. You can learn more about the new program in Chief Partner Officer Nicole Dezen’s blog.

The new Microsoft Partner Community

The Microsoft Partner Community (MPC) is a valuable resource for partners to connect, learn, and share best practices with each other and with Microsoft experts. Microsoft has moved the MPC under the Microsoft Tech Community (MTC) to offer a more cohesive and intuitive user experience. With this migration, Microsoft has launched new forums and updated navigation so you can quickly find the most relevant information. You can explore the new Partner Community here.

Partner Center Technical Corner

Partner Center is the central hub for partners to manage their relationship with Microsoft, access tools and resources, and transact with customers. Microsoft regularly updates Partner Center with new features and enhancements to help partners optimize their business operations and performance. In the Partner Center Technical Corner, you can find the latest updates to Partner Center, such as new security alerts, Action Center notifications, and API changes. You can also register for upcoming sessions or review past recordings of the bimonthly, 90-minute trainings that are designed to assist partners with technical implementation of change.

Introducing Microsoft Fabric

Microsoft Fabric is a unified SaaS experience that provides all the necessary capabilities for analytics across Microsoft Azure Data Factory, Power BI, and the next generation of Synapse. Microsoft Fabric is now in public preview and free trials are available to all. With Microsoft Fabric, you can help your customers accelerate their data-driven transformation and unlock new insights and opportunities. You can learn more about this partner opportunity in this blog post.

New Business Applications and Microsoft Azure specializations

Microsoft is continuing to establish new specializations that align with customers’ priorities, including the growing demand for AI capabilities. Specializations are a way for partners to demonstrate their proven expertise and differentiation in a specific solution area or industry, and to gain recognition and visibility from customers and Microsoft. Microsoft has recently introduced three new options for partners to pursue:

• AI, Advanced Analytics and Data Engineering on Microsoft Azure: This specialization validates your ability to design, build, and manage analytics solutions on Microsoft Azure that use AI capabilities.
• AI on Microsoft Azure: This specialization validates your ability to design, build, and manage AI solutions on Microsoft Azure that use cognitive services, machine learning, or knowledge mining.
• Dynamics 365 Finance: This specialization validates your ability to implement and support Dynamics 365 Finance solutions that help customers optimize their financial and operating models.

You can learn more about these specializations and how to apply for them on the Partner blog.

Azure savings plan in Partner Center

Azure savings plan for compute is an easy and flexible way for customers to save up to 65 percent on compute costs compared to pay-as-you-go. Azure savings plan for compute allows customers to commit to a consistent amount of compute usage for a one- or three-year term, and in exchange, they get a discount on the compute resources they use. Now, Microsoft has introduced the ability for partners to purchase an Azure savings plan for their customers through Partner Center. This gives partners more flexibility and control over how they manage their customers’ Azure consumption and billing. You can explore this new feature and how to use it in this blog post.

Updated Solutions Partner designation requirements

As Microsoft continues to evolve its partner program, it has also updated the requirements for Solutions Partner designations, which are the highest level of recognition for partners who have achieved advanced specializations or competencies in a specific solution area. The updated requirements include broadening performance requirements for Modern Work to include Microsoft Viva workloads, and updating skilling requirements for certifications across five of the six solution areas. You can find the updated requirements and how to achieve them on the Partner blog.

Microsoft Inspire 2023

Microsoft Inspire is the annual partner event where you can connect with other partners, Microsoft leaders, and experts, and learn about the latest innovations, strategies, and opportunities in the Microsoft ecosystem. This year, Microsoft Inspire was held on July 14-15, 2023, as a digital event that was free and open to all partners. If you missed the event or want to catch up on the sessions, you can access the on-demand content on the Microsoft Inspire website. You can also find the key announcements and highlights from the event on the Partner blog.

Microsoft Build 2023

Microsoft Build is the flagship event for developers, where you can discover new advancements in AI-enabled development tools, learn new skills, and network with other developers and Microsoft experts. This year, Microsoft Build was held on May 25-27, 2023, as a digital event that was free and open to all developers. You can access the on-demand content on the Microsoft Build website, and read the Official Microsoft Blog post for the latest details on AI plug-ins, Microsoft 365 Copilot, and other capabilities changing the future of work.

CSP Partner Technical Trainings

These bimonthly, 90-minute trainings are designed to assist CSP partners with technical implementation of change. Partners can expect to learn more about how to implement changes, get answers to technical questions, and explore API changes available in sandbox. You can register for upcoming sessions or review past recordings on the Partner blog.

Microsoft Cloud Executive Enablement Vodcast

This is a new series of vodcasts where Microsoft senior leaders and experts discuss the latest cloud trends and technologies, and how they can help you grow your business and deliver value to your customers. In addition to solutions, you will also learn more about co-selling with Microsoft and leveraging the Executive Briefing Center. You can watch the vodcasts here.

SMB Business Central campaign

Growing your service with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central can unlock more opportunities for your business. Business Central is a cloud-based ERP solution that helps small and medium-sized businesses streamline their processes, improve customer relations, and enable growth. Microsoft has created a customizable campaign that allows partners to augment customer/prospect outreach by incorporating cobranded go-to-market tactics in their demand generation efforts to reach existing M365 customers with a simple, integrated pitch. You can access the campaign on the Partner Marketing Center.

Healthcare Clinical Analytics campaign

Healthcare organizations face the challenge of managing and processing immense amounts of data. With Microsoft’s analytics and AI capabilities, you can help them improve the quality of care and operations, and drive innovation and transformation. Microsoft has created a customizable campaign that helps you reach healthcare customers with a compelling value proposition and a clear call to action. You can access the campaign on the Digital Marketing Content OnDemand hub.

Business Applications Dynamics 365 Finance marketing campaign

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance helps customers optimize their financial and operating models and make the shift to an intelligent, automated enterprise. With Dynamics 365 Finance, you can help customers reduce operational expenses, decrease global financial complexity and risk, and drive strategic growth. Microsoft has created a customizable campaign to drive your Dynamics pipeline and help you go to market faster with cloud ERP solutions. You can access the campaign on the Digital Marketing Content OnDemand hub.

These are some of the most important program updates and resource launches from Microsoft in the last few months that can help you grow your business with AI and cloud solutions. Microsoft is constantly evaluating and improving the offerings, benefits, and incentives available to partners as part of the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program, so be sure to stay connected on partner channels to receive updates in real-time. And, I look forward to sharing more with you on this blog in the coming months.