New sales agents for Microsoft 365

Microsoft recently announced two new sales agents accessible in Microsoft 365 Copilot to help teams close more deals, faster: Sales Agent turns contacts into qualified leads and Sales Chat helps accelerate the sales cycle.

Learn more in this blog.

Partner Audience: #AllPartners
Relevant to:  #AllRoles #DoingBizwMSFT #LearnSolutionAreas #Azure #Security

LevelUp training for Azure and Security

Take your journey as a Microsoft partner to the next level with the self-paced flexible LevelUp learning programs.

To see the extensive offering of Azure and Security courses, including Threat Protection courses, select View all courses and filter under Solution Area in the course catalog.

Partner Audience: #CSP
Relevant to:  #DoingBizwMSFT #GrowYourBiz #Azure #ModernWork #Security

No Better Time video series: Accelerate Secure AI in CSP

As you navigate the ever-evolving landscape of technology, we’re excited to share the latest updates and opportunities that can help you accelerate your business and stay ahead of the curve. Hear from our Go-to-Market team on how to get started in this series of three short videos.

Partner Audience: #AllPartners
Relevant to: #SalesAndMktg #DoingBizwMSFT #GoToMarket #CrossSolution

Digital Marketing Content OnDemand

Digital Marketing Content OnDemand provides fresh go-to-market content for multichannel marketing campaigns at no extra cost to Microsoft partners. Unlock expertise that can help drive customer engagement and elevate your business.

Learn more and get started today!

Microsoft Security Threat Protection Partner Sales Guide

Leverage this sales guide* designed to support your conversations with customers about Microsoft Security, specifically Threat Protection. Use the navigation to quickly and easily find the information you’re looking for, beginning with the Microsoft Security Story before diving deeper into Threat Protection and customer offers.

*Available in English only.

Partner Audience: #AllPartners
Relevant to:  #AllRoles #Event #GrowYourBiz #BizApps

Cross-skilling bootcamp for Dynamics GP partners

Get started on the journey from Microsoft Dynamics GP to Dynamics 365 Business Central. At Directions North America we’ll be offering an exclusive training opportunity on April 7–9 designed to help you cross-skill your Dynamics GP employees into Business Central.

Learn more about the bootcamp.

Partner Audience: #AllPartners
Relevant to: #SalesAndMktg #BestPractice #AccelerateDeals #CrossSolution

Drive sales with Microsoft CloudAscent

CloudAscent is a data-driven tool that utilizes machine learning to provide Microsoft partners with valuable insights into their existing customer base. Use CloudAscent to identify which customers are ready to purchase Microsoft products—and focus on delivering the solutions they need.

Learn more about CloudAscent and check out the training videos available to partners and indirect providers.

Partner Audience: #AllPartners
Relevant to: #AllRoles #Event #GrowYourBiz #Azure #CrossSolution

Co-marketing webinar: How cloud drives innovation

Join Armanino’s Chris Moore and Microsoft’s Mike Ehrenberg for this March 20 webinar* exploring how cloud technologies and AI-driven innovations are transforming businesses. Don’t miss this chance to stay ahead in the digital landscape!

Learn more and register today.

*Delivered in English only.

Transforming business and work—the era of AI

AI is no longer a futuristic concept; it’s reshaping businesses today. According to a recent MIT Sloan Management Review, 87% of organizations believe AI will give them a competitive edge.¹ AI offers numerous transformation opportunities, such as enriching employee experiences, reinventing customer engagement, reshaping business processes, and driving innovation.

Our AI solutions, including Microsoft 365 Copilot, are designed to enhance productivity and improve the quality of work. These tools are not just about automation, they’re about empowering individuals and teams to achieve more.

As you navigate the ever-evolving landscape of technology, we’re excited to share the latest updates and opportunities that will help you accelerate your business and stay ahead of the curve.

In FY25 H2 we have a unique opportunity to empower our Americas customers with secure AI, enabling organizations to leverage the innovations in Microsoft 365 Copilot while keeping their data and network resources secure and compliant with Microsoft. There’s no better time to get started leveraging the transformative power of AI and the unprecedented and compelling portfolio of customer offers.

CSP offers to empower your customers

Several promotions are available that are designed to help your customers accelerate the adoption of AI, along with other Microsoft solutions, to drive growth and efficiency. These new CSP offers include:

Nearing expiration

• Upsell to Business Premium. Available until April 1, 2025, this promo offers a 15% discount to new Business Premium customers, up to 300 seats. Note that this promo is available in North America only. See the Getting Started Offer Guide.
• Microsoft 365 Copilot. Available until April 1, 2025, this promo offers a 15% discount to customers with more than 10 seats, up to a maximum of 300 seats. See the Copilot Promo FAQ.

New

• Microsoft 365 E5 Security Business Premium add-on. Business Premium customers are now able to purchase Microsoft 365 E5 Security as an add-on for enhanced security with: Microsoft Entra ID Plan 2, Microsoft Defender for Identity, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 2, Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 2, and Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps. Learn more. See the plans.

Active

• Upsell to Microsoft 365 E3. Available through June 30, 2025, this promo offers a 15% discount to new Microsoft 365 E3 customers, up to 2,400 seats. See the E3 Promo FAQ.
• Upsell to Microsoft 365 E5. Available through June 30, 2025, this promo offers a 15% discount to new Microsoft 365 E5 customers, up to 2,400 seats. See the E5 Promo FAQ.
• Microsoft 365 E5 Compliance mini bundle. Available through January 2026, this new promo offers a 50% PUPM* discount for every seat of Microsoft 365 Copilot purchased. This promo can be applied retroactively to customers who have already purchased Microsoft 365 Copilot but don’t have E5 Compliance. See the E5 Compliance Promo FAQ.

*Per User Per Month

Building an agentic world with Copilot and AI

Our vision for the future includes building a world where personal, organizational, business process, and cross-organizational agents work seamlessly together. Microsoft 365 Copilot, along with Copilot Studio, is at the forefront of this transformation, offering tools that cater to various roles, including HR, finance, marketing, legal, software development, security, customer service, sales, and data analysis.

Seize this opportunity by leveraging Copilot Chat to deliver tailored AI solutions that enhance customer engagement and generate new revenue streams. The focus on agentic AI allows partners to develop and manage agents that automate business processes, providing scalable monetization opportunities through a pay-as-you-go model.

By addressing data security and compliance challenges, you can build trust and safeguard customer data, positioning yourself as a leader in the AI transformation journey.

This approach not only drives growth but also ensures that you can offer innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of your customers.

Additional resources

• Global Promo Readiness Guide
• CSP Security page
• Cybersecurity for small and medium business | Microsoft Security
• Partner Sales Bootcamp for Secure Productivity

Join the conversation

Want to explore this and other topics you care about with Microsoft and other US partners? Head over to the Microsoft Americas Partner Community on LinkedIn.

Solutions Partner designations recognize partners who demonstrate deep knowledge, extensive experience, and proven success delivering Microsoft solutions. Aligned to specific solution areas, designations are designed to help you stand out from the competition and increase your customer reach.

This blog highlights need-to-know information for Microsoft partners interested in learning how to attain designations and specializations in the following solution areas:

Solutions Partner designations have replaced legacy silver/gold competencies. Note that the last day to purchase or renew silver/gold competencies was January 21, 2025. For more information, see the Legacy silver and gold benefits FAQ.

To learn more about the requirements for attaining a Solutions Partner designation, visit the training gallery, the Solutions Partner designations partner page, and this Solutions Partner designations overview.

Introducing SMB paths for Solutions Partner designation for Azure

Available now, the new SMB paths provide a way for partners serving customers in the SMB space to attain a Solutions Partner designation for Azure within the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program.

Azure partners will be assigned to either the SMB or Enterprise path—never both.

Criteria

• SMB path: Partners who are driving less than USD1 million and have 80% or more of their customers in the SMB/SMC segment will qualify on the SMB path.
• Enterprise path: Partners who are driving more than USD1 million or who are driving less than USD1 million and have more than 20% of their customers in the Enterprise segment will qualify on the Enterprise path.

You will see your aligned path in Partner Center and your progress toward attainment for that path only.

Review the Azure SMB paths walking deck for qualification and attainment details for both paths.

If you attain a Solutions Partner designation for Azure via the SMB path, you will be eligible for all relevant benefits and incentives, including any new benefits added to the Solutions Partner designation.

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Solutions Partner designation for Modern Work

There are two pathways to attaining a Solutions Partner designation for Modern Work: Enterprise and SMB. To learn more, see these campaign assets and this overview.

The latest partner benefits offerings from the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program, including Solutions Partner designation, are designed to help supercharge your business growth. Read the blog Grow your business with updated partner benefits to learn more.

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Solutions Partner with certified software designation

There two pathways to attaining a Solutions Partner with certified software designation: solution areas and Industry AI. These designations provide you with differentiation in the market, customer trust, and access to enhanced go-to-market, sales, and marketing benefits.

To achieve a pathway, partners must demonstrate readiness with a transactable offer, a technical review of software, and a demonstrated track record of customer success. Learn more in this overview and follow this learning path.

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Solutions Partner designation for Security

Geopolitics, cryptocurrency, and the cloud are reshaping security—and security is shaping the world. Your customers need end-to-end security to serve a hybrid workforce, so we’ve curated resources and sales plays to help you serve the more than 785,000 customers who trust Microsoft Security solutions.

To attain a Solutions Partner designation for Security, your partner capability score for security must meet the qualification requirements. The partner capability score is measured by partner performance, skilling, and customer success, and is informed by data that is already recorded in Partner Center.

To learn more about how to attain this designation, see the Solutions Partner for Security walking deck and the Security Partner Playbook.

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Solutions Partner designation for Business Applications

Partners who attain a Solutions Partner designation for Business Applications demonstrate a broad capability to deliver solutions with Dynamics 365 and Power Platform. To learn more, see this overview.

Biz Apps Partner Digital Summit is a series of free modules featuring Microsoft leadership discussing initiatives and programs available to partners, along with biz apps partners explaining how they have successfully put these opportunities to work.  Register here to view the Solutions Partner Designations module, or any of the other modules listed, on demand. 

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Join the conversation

Want to explore this and other topics you care about with Microsoft and other US partners? Head over to the Microsoft Americas Partner Community on LinkedIn.

Have you noticed our hashtags?

We use unique hashtags across our Microsoft Americas Partner communications channels—including blogs, emails, social posts, and Insider Call presentations—so you know what each communication is about and can easily find content that’s relevant and of interest to you.

Watch this short video to learn more.
Take a look at our hashtag taxonomy.

Partner Audience: #AllPartners
Relevant to: #SalesAndMarketing #DoingBizwMSFT #AccelerateDeals #CrossSolution

Copilot for Microsoft 365 Excellence Workshop

To help accelerate your sales cycle, these one-on-one Microsoft-led training sessions are crafted for your customers that are eager to expand Microsoft 365 Copilot within their organization and scale their AI strategy. You’re invited to attend as well!

Nominate your customer through the Partner-led Sales Resource (PLSR) form today.

Partner Audience: #AllPartners
Relevant to: #AllRoles #Event #GrowSkills #Azure

Introduction to Microsoft Fabric

Are you a data professional? A developer? A business analyst?

Join us online on March 13 as we explore the core components and capabilities of Microsoft Fabric, a powerful platform designed to simplify and accelerate the development of analytics applications. Don’t miss this deep dive into how to build robust analytics applications that can transform raw data into actionable insights.

Learn more and register here.

Meet the new Microsoft Americas GTM leader

We’re thrilled to share that Lori Borg has joined the Microsoft Americas GPS team as the new Vice President of Americas Go-to-Market Strategy! With more than 25 years of experience building, leading, and innovating within the Microsoft partner ecosystem, Lori brings a wealth of expertise and enthusiasm to her new role.

Join us in congratulating and welcoming Lori to the team!

Partner Audience: #AllPartners
Relevant to:  #SuccessStory #GrowSkills #CrossSolution

No Slides Attached: Season 2 recap on the ideas shaping tomorrow

What is something that AI hasn’t achieved yet, but we might see in the foreseeable future? Season 2, Episode 9 of the podcast No Slides Attached: AI Stories with Microsoft Partners is a special recap episode featuring insights from our partners across industries in response to this and other common questions surrounding the impact of AI. Revisit their predictions on the groundbreaking potential of AI in various fields, from healthcare to financial services to public safety and more.

Partner Audience:  #CSP
Relevant to:  #DoingBizwMSFT #GoToMarket #CrossSolution

Claim your eligible co-op funds before it’s too late

February 15, 2025, is the deadline for partners to claim co-op funds earned during FY24 H2 (January 2024 – June 2024). Note that co-op funds do not roll over from one usage period to the next.

See the FY25 Co-op blog for more information and other important dates.

Partner Audience:  #AllPartners
Relevant to: #AllRoles #Event #GrowSkills #CrossSolution

Enhance everyday business practices with the power of AI

Join experts from PrenticeWorx and Microsoft for an informative discussion on harnessing the power of AI for cost-effective, efficient data management. Together we’ll explore how customized AI-driven tools from Microsoft can help you overcome fractured data solutions to enhance business operations with a cohesive AI adoption strategy.

Register now for this one-hour digital event on February 20.

Note that this event will be delivered in English only.

February 5 Americas Partner Insider Call

Register now for the next Americas Partner Insider Call on Maximizing ROI with Copilot, the next call in a series focused on helping you use Microsoft 365 Copilot to accelerate growth. In this session, we’ll explore proven strategies to drive real-world business value and ROI for customers with Copilot.

See the list of previous sessions, now available to watch on demand.

Partner Audience: #AllPartners #CSP
Relevant to: #SalesAndMarketing #ProgramOfferUpdate #AccelerateDeals #ModernWork

No Better Time: CSP offers

Empower your customers with secure AI through our latest promos for CSP partners. Learn more about the offers:

• Microsoft 365 Business Premium 15% promo (North America only). Through April 1, 2025.
• Microsoft 365 E3 15% promo. Through June 30, 2025.
• Microsoft 365 E5 15% promo. Through June 30, 2025.
• Microsoft 365 Copilot – IURs for select partner benefits packages. From January 22, 2025.
• Microsoft 365 Copilot 15% promo. Through April 1, 2025.
• Microsoft 365 Copilot – monthly billing option for annual term subscriptions. Launched December 1, 2024.

Partner Audience: #AllPartners
Relevant to: #AllRoles #DoingBizwMSFT #GrowYourBiz #CrossSolution #Azure #Security

Hybrid Cloud Partners podcast—inspiring stories and innovative solutions

In the Microsoft Hybrid Cloud Partners podcast we explore the latest opportunities to enhance your profitability and prepare for the future with AI. Each episode features an inspiring story from industry peers and innovative solutions for scaling your business profitably. Listen to this two-part episode with NeoSystems and watch for more episodes coming soon!

Subscribe today to listen wherever you get your favorite podcasts:
YouTube* | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music | RSS

*With subtitles in French, Spanish, and Portuguese.

For exclusive resources and to become part of the Microsoft DCO community, visit dco.microsoft.com.

Partner Audience: #AllPartners
Relevant to: #SalesAndMarketing #Event #GrowYourBiz #CrossSolution

Webinar: Unleash Sales Growth and Greater Customer Experiences with Copilot

Register now for this January 30 webinar and empower your sales team with AI capabilities. Learn how Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales and Microsoft 365 Copilot for Sales can make your team more productive by streamlining your sales process and helping sellers close deals faster. Experts from Wipfli and Microsoft will share valuable insights for using AI to overcome efficiency challenges and answer your questions in a live Q&A.

Partner Audience: #AllPartners
Relevant to: #AllRoles #GrowYourBiz #BestPractice #Security

Defend against cybersecurity threats

Leverage these campaign assets to help elevate your customers’ security posture and significantly reduce their risk of exposure, and introduce them to Microsoft unified security operations.

This powerful, AI-driven platform seamlessly integrates Microsoft Sentinel, Defender XDR, Security Exposure Management, and Security Copilot, along with Microsoft Threat Intelligence into a singular, cohesive solution.

Americas Partner Insider Call series

Join our FY25 H2 series of Americas Partner Insider Calls for expert insights and guidance on how to leverage Microsoft 365 Copilot to grow your business.

To view the January 8 session on Navigating the Copilot Adoption Journey, see the list of previous sessions available to watch on demand.

For more details on the series and to register for upcoming sessions, bookmark this blog.

Partner Audience: #AllPartners
Relevant to: #AllRoles #News #DoingBizwMicrosoft #Taxonomy

Communications channels for Americas Partners

Check out this short video highlighting the communications channels available to help you stay up to date on the latest information and opportunities for partners.

Partner Audience: #AllPartners #ISV
Relevant to: #AllRoles #SalesAndMarketing #Event #GeneratePipeline #BizApps

Biz Apps Partner Digital Summit

Co-created between Microsoft and Dynamics Communities, this free digital summit consists of five modules designed to help SI and ISV partners accelerate their business and pipeline. Each module features Microsoft leadership discussing partner initiatives and programs, along with partners sharing best practices and real-world examples. Register once and choose from any of the following modules:

January 23 – Module 1: Partner Solutions Designations
January 30 – Module 2: Creating Funded Engagements
February 6 – Module 3: The Co-Sell Opportunity
February 13 – Module 4: AI, Copilot & ISV Success Programs
February 20 – Module 5: ISV Best Practices for Scale

Learn more and register here.

In a time of rapid digital and AI transformation, staying ahead of the curve is crucial for any business. Microsoft’s Technical Presales and Deployment Services (TPD) team plays a pivotal role, helping partners thrive in today’s competitive market. Whether you need help developing innovative solutions, growing your technical capabilities, transacting in the marketplace, or closing sales opportunities, our team is dedicated to fostering a seamless and supportive environment to empower you for success.

Expert guidance to help you plan, build, sell, and grow

Technical Presales and Deployment Services provides personalized, one-to-one consultations with a Microsoft Partner Technical Consultant (PTC). Our PTCs help partners:

• Plan. Assess your organization’s technical capabilities to uncover key opportunities for growth. Your PTC will help you evaluate current skills within your organization and create a plan to grow your services, applications, and AI solutions.
• Build. From envisioning to publishing your service or application, your PTC will advise and support you. This includes architecture design reviews, best practice sharing, publishing guidance, and guidance on integrating with billing and fulfillment APIs, for transactable offers.
• Sell. Create compelling demos and proof of concept with technical assistance from one of our consultants. Your PTC will enable you to close more sales opportunities by overcoming sales blockers and helping you demonstrate the value of Microsoft solutions to your prospective customers.
• Grow. After you’ve built and sold your service or application, your PTC will continue to support you in growing and enhancing your solution.

Ready to get started?

Getting started is fast and easy. Learn more about TPD and create a request here.

Note that Partner Technical Presales and Deployment Services are for partners with a valid Partner ID and a minimum Success Core Benefits. Services expand at Success Expanded Benefits and Solutions Partner, as well as legacy gold/silver levels. Learn more.

Join the conversation

Want to explore this and other topics you care about with Microsoft and other US partners? Head over to the Microsoft Americas Partner Community on LinkedIn.

December 4 Americas Partner Insider Call

There’s still time to register for the next Americas Partner Insider Call. We’ll explore how Microsoft embraces Responsible AI principles and practices when developing AI solutions, including how our legal department uses Copilot to achieve more. Next, we’ll help get you ready for H2 renewals and the one-year anniversary of Microsoft 365 Copilot on CSP with a discussion on the latest licensing changes, new promotions, product updates, and tools for successful pilots.

This event will be added to the list of previous sessions available to watch on demand.

Partner Audience: #AllPartners
Relevant to: #SalesAndMarketing #DoingBizwMSFT #GrowYourBiz #CrossSolution

Microsoft Americas CMO Partner Roundtable

You’re invited to join us for the first Microsoft Americas CMO Partner Roundtable of FY25! The focus of this exclusive, small-group conversation will be the pivotal role of AI and Microsoft Copilot in revolutionizing marketing strategies. Crafted to foster a rich and varied dialogue between Microsoft marketing executives and key marketing leaders from our partner community, don’t miss this opportunity to help shape our go-to-market strategy.

Seven curated roundtables will run simultaneously on January 16 at 10–11 AM PT. Learn more and reserve your seat today at the virtual roundtable that is most relevant to your business.

Partner Audience: #AllPartners
Relevant to: #AllRoles #News #LearnSolutionAreas #ModernWork

Microsoft named a Leader in the Magic Quadrant™ for UCaaS

Microsoft is a dominant player in the Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) space, offering robust and innovative solutions and a forward-thinking strategy for the future of UCaaS, including the integration of advanced technologies like AI.

Read why Gartner® has named Microsoft a Leader in this Magic Quadrant.*

Partner Audience: #AllPartners
Relevant to: #AllRoles #DoingBizwMSFT #UnderstandBenefits #CrossSolution

Last chance to spend your FY25 H1 Co-op funds

As the holiday season approaches, we wanted to remind our partners that the last day to spend your FY25 H1 Co-op funds is December 31. Your H1 funds will not roll over into H2.

See the FY25 Partner Incentives Co-op Guidebook, Co-op Funds Resources, and our blog to learn more.

Partner Audience: #AllPartners
Relevant to: #AllRoles #DoingBizwMSFT #GrowYourBiz #Azure #Retail

Resources to get you started: Retail industry

Data is the thread that connects consumers and experiences in the retail industry. Companies that embrace innovation and data-driven strategies can drive key business outcomes.

Leverage the Power Business Decisions with Cloud Scale Analytics campaign assets to drive demand for Retail Analytics MVPs (Pilot/POC), migrations, and deployments. This solution play is designed to help retail companies unify their data estate for analytics, build fit-for-purpose AI models, responsibly democratize analytics, and scale transformative applications so retail businesses can unlock insights and gain value faster.​

Partner Audience: #AllPartners
Relevant to: #AllRoles #Event #GrowSkills #CrossSolution

Copilot Partner Prompt-a-Thon

The Copilot Partner Prompt-a-Thon is an online series of actionable, hands-on sessions designed to help Microsoft partners make the most of Copilot.

Learn more and register now for the December 19 session on Vacation Mode: Simplified with Copilot.

*Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications as a Service, Pankil Sheth, Megan Fernandez, 7 October 2024

GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner and Magic Quadrant is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.