November Update: What's new in Azure for Partners

News and Announcements

• Microsoft Ignite 2025 Recap: Learn about our key updates and view sessions from Ignite. This year’s announcements focused on enabling partners to scale AI-first transformation through simplified program offerings, unified tools, and expanded opportunities across cloud, data, and security—making it easier to differentiate, go to market, and drive profit. Learn more
• Blog series: Catch up on our Cloud & AI Platforms blog series starting with Part 1: Capturing the market opportunity and continuing with Part 2: Migrations & modernizations, Part 3: Unifying the data platform, and Part 4: Building an AI app and agent factory.
• New Digital Sovereignty specialization now available: Showcase your expertise in secure, compliant, and sovereign cloud solutions with the new Digital Sovereignty specialization—now part of the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program. Gain enhanced visibility, priority access to sovereign cloud opportunities, and specialized badging by meeting rigorous audit criteria. Help customers stay in control of their data while driving innovation. Learn more
• Near-zero-downtime maintenance: Azure MySQL now offers near-zero-downtime maintenance for seamless, high-availability workloads. How to enable
• Faster backups: New automated backup options mean quicker recovery and optimized storage. Modify your backup interval
• Fabric Data Agent: Now with CI/CD, ALM flow, and Git integration for streamlined, enterprise-grade data solutions. Learn more
• Azure Databricks: Enhanced performance, security, and integration with Azure AI, Fabric, and Synapse—delivering more value, faster. Learn more
• The new SAP Business Data Cloud Connector for Azure Databricks is now generally available—empowering partners to help customers seamlessly unify SAP and enterprise data for advanced analytics and AI, all with secure, zero-copy data sharing and full governance across both platforms. Learn more

Incentives and Offers

• Explore Azure Accelerate: A unified offering within the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program, Azure Accelerate brings together Azure Migrate and Modernize, Azure Innovate, and Cloud Accelerate Factory––all built upon the foundations of Azure Essentials. Nominate your project today.
• New Azure Accelerate resources are now live! Check out the six-minute demo video for a quick walkthrough and explore the detailed nomination guide and FAQ to simplify your onboarding process. Access at the bottom of this page
• Cloud Accelerate Factory provides zero-cost deployment assistance for more than 30 Azure services, with expert support and joint delivery, no matter the project size.
• Dr Migrate is an AI-assisted platform for cloud migration planning, available within Azure Accelerate. Eligible partners can request licenses through Azure Accelerate to run environment and proof of value assessments with customers. View the Driving Confidence Through AI-Assisted Cloud Migrations on-demand partner webinar to learn more about the Dr Migrate offer.
• Invite a colleague to join the Azure Migrate and Modernize Partner Forum, your source for early access to Azure offerings, product roadmaps, and marketing updates for partners.
• ISV Success Advanced Package: Top-performing software companies with certified software designations can qualify for financial incentives to build AI solutions or migrate customers to Azure. The package supports every stage of ISV Success. Learn more
• New end-customer migration incentives: Microsoft’s FY26 partner incentives empower software development companies to accelerate customer migrations and modernizations with substantial financial rewards. Partners with certified software designations—including Azure, Security, and Industry AI—can earn up to $175,000*for qualifying customer engagements. Check out the “ISV Engagements” tab under the “Azure Incentives” tab in the incentives guide for more information. 
• Secure every workload: Qualified partners can earn up to $8,000* for delivering the new Microsoft Security envisioning workshop, and help customers improve the security posture of cloud workloads with Microsoft Defender for Cloud.

Skilling and Events

• Certification vouchers: Claim a free DP-600 or DP-700 exam voucher (exams by December 31, 2025, or while supplies last). Get started
• Learn from Microsoft experts: Join us for a webinar on December 4 that explores the latest innovations in Linux on Azure and Azure Database for PostgreSQL and MySQL to support customers’ migration, application modernization, and AI projects. Morning session, evening session
• Microsoft AI Tour for Partners is back: Join a free one-day event to accelerate your AI journey with sales best practices, growth opportunities, hands-on labs, and technical deep dives. Upcoming stops include Frankfurt (December 2) and Mumbai (December 9).
• Sovereign Cloud Boot Camp: Master operational sovereignty, data residency, and compliance with this on-demand boot camp. View details and access the recording
• Agentic AI + Copilot Partner Skilling Accelerator: Explore our four-episode webcast series (November 24, December 1, 8, 15; 9:00–10:00 AM, all time zones). Learn how to assist customers in becoming Frontier Firms and architect modern AI. Join here
• In-person Fabric workshops: Find technical skilling events near you on the Partner Skilling Hub.
• Don't miss the November Data Platform Sales Bootcamp for partners, featuring sales strategies, partner opportunities, and guidance on positioning Cosmos and SQL in Fabric, as well as updates on our GTM approach with Snowflake and how to pitch Azure Databricks to your customers. Register here
• Partner Project Ready Workshops: Join our hands-on training in Fabric, Databricks, and Purview. Sessions are available across Asia, EMEA, and Americas time zones: Fabric, Databricks, Purview.
• Participate in AgentCon 2025 by Global AI Community: Join a global series of one-day conferences designed exclusively for developers building the future with autonomous AI agents.
• SAP S4/HANA Deadline: 2027 is coming—activate your SAP on Azure practice now with Partner Ready and Sales Ready courses.
• Visit our Skilling Hub for the latest training resources to earn designations and specializations. Explore the most recent skilling blog for key skilling-related announcements.
• Looking for bite-sized skilling? Check out this episode of the Azure Essentials Show to learn how Azure Databricks transforms fragmented data estates into unified platforms for analytics and AI.

Go-To-Market

• Download and use the Partner Execution Guide for AI Apps and Agents. The Partner Execution Guide has use cases, the Win Formula, key actions to take, questions to ask customers, and more. The sales assets include solution accelerators, templates, and pitch decks. 
• Access four new co-branded campaign in a box (CiaB) asset collections to generate demand and create more opportunities with your customers: Migrate and modernize your estate ENT & SMB and Unify your data platform ENT & and SMB.
• Take your marketing strategy to the next level with predesigned campaigns, resources, and ready-to-go assets. Learn more
• Generate leads leveraging custom propensity lists and executing marketing initiatives with Microsoft CloudAscent and Solution Play Propensity Accelerate Revenue and KPIs (SPARK) Propensity.
• Looking for proven and scalable AI transformation assets that deliver value quickly? AI Solution Accelerators are proven, prebuilt proof of concept (PoC) assets that drive successful AI implementations, enabling you to demonstrate the value of AI capabilities and accelerate time to value.
• Drive success in building AI apps and agents with a comprehensive set of sales tools and marketing resources, including Microsoft pitch decks, guides, solution accelerators, demos, and more. Access them here.
• Unify your data platform to empower your customers in implementing a data strategy fit for the era of AI, including customizable pitch decks and other go-to-market resources to support your success. Find it all here, and explore our newly launched collection of resources on Azure databases and other resources for our key solutions including Microsoft Fabric, Azure Databricks, and Microsoft Purview.
• Differentiate your expertise to customers with Solutions Partner designations and specializations.

Customer Success

• Watch the FabCon Europe video series on YouTube to discover how partners and customers are driving innovation with Microsoft Fabric.
• Learn how Carne Group, in partnership with Prodata, leveraged Microsoft Fabric to transform its CAMDA analytics platform—achieving 20x efficiency improvements and scaling from processing hundreds to hundreds of thousands of files per day—demonstrating how to deliver high-impact, enterprise-scale data solutions. 
• In another example, iLink Digital used Microsoft Fabric to help Crane unify global data and enable real-time insights, showing how you and your business can deliver enterprise-scale, strategic data transformations that drive business value. 
• Discover how Microsoft can transform your sales strategy with case studies and customer success stories that showcase how businesses, NGOs, and individuals leverage AI to transform their organizations. 

 

*Throughout this document, $ refers to US dollar (USD).