September update: What's new in Azure for partners

News and Announcements

• Explore Microsoft Marketplace, a trusted source for AI apps, tools, and agents and a growth engine for partners. With a dedicated AI apps and agents category, expanded discoverability and co-sell, distributor integration, and resale-enabled offers (in private preview), partners now have even more ways to connect innovation with customers everywhere. 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.
• Microsoft Ignite 2025: Join us in San Francisco or virtually November 18–21, 2025, to bolster your knowledge, build connections, and explore emerging technologies to give you the edge you need to drive impact in the era of AI. Register today.
• Azure AI Foundry: Now featuring GPT-5, OpenAI gpt-oss, Foundry Local support, and a new browser automation tool to help you build intelligent agents using natural language. Learn more here.
• AKS Automatic: Managed Kubernetes is now generally available, making cloud-native and AI app deployment easier than ever. Read more.
• Oracle Database@Azure: Now available in Germany North—bringing availability to 23 regions worldwide.
• MySQL 8.4: Now generally available on Azure Database for MySQL – Flexible Server, MySQL 8.4 provides improved performance, observability, and replication management.
• Broadcom licensing update: Broadcom is changing its VMware licensing model. With the AVS VCF BYOL option, customers can now deploy AVS with their own VCF subscriptions (BYOL) in 35 regions, reducing costs. If you’re an Azure VMware Solution (AVS) partner, speak to your customers about their options.
• Access three 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.
• Missed FabCon Europe? Learn about the top announcements and our Partner Day through these blogs from Jessica Hawk (CVP, Data, AI, and Digital Applications Product Marketing) and Arun Ulagaratchagan (CVP, Azure Data). Get ready for FabCon 2026 in Atlanta in March––register soon before they sell out.
• Microsoft Fabric Extensibility Toolkit: Software companies can help customers bring apps to Fabric, speed development, and integrate workloads. Get started today.
• Read the latest on why Databricks runs best on Azure from the Azure blog.
• New partner investments available for Microsoft Defender for Cloud––InfraDB and Azure: Expert MSP partners with the Microsoft Security designation are now eligible for incentives to help drive Defender for Cloud in migration and modernization projects. Access helpful resources here and sign up for our upcoming webinar on October 29, 2025, Americas/EMEA time zones or Asia time zone.

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.
• 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. Join the Driving Confidence Through AI-Assisted Cloud Migrations 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 are now available to help software companies and advanced specialized systems integrators securely and efficiently move software companies’ end customers to modern applications running on Azure. See the ISV Engagements tab in the incentives guide for more information.
• Grow your business with Microsoft Security Envisioning Workshops to reach more customers, refine your sales, and unlock new revenue with world-class security.

Skilling and Events

• 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.
• 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: Toronto (September 30) and Chicago (October 8).
• Join the Fabric Global Hack (September 15–November 3, 2025): Build data and AI solutions with Fabric, collaborate globally, and compete for prizes up to $10,000. Participants get 50% off Fabric certifications.
• The Migrate and Modernize Summit replay is available now. Hear from Microsoft leaders––including Scott Guthrie, Jeremy Winter, Amanda Silver, and Cyril Belikoff––on the latest innovations around AI-assisted tooling and products to help simplify and accelerate cloud migrations.
• Join us at the Azure Dev Summit (October 13–16, 2025): This Microsoft-sponsored event is designed for developers, architects, and technology leaders to explore the latest in Azure, .NET, and Microsoft AI, gain insights from inspiring speakers, and connect with peers driving innovation.
• 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.
• The 2027 deadline to move SAP workloads to S4/HANA is approaching, so now is the time to activate your SAP on Azure practice Partner Ready and Sales Ready courses to help business managers unlock Azure benefits and equip sales teams to effectively position SAP on Azure solutions.
• The Azure Cosmos DB Partner Acceleration Program for FY26 has officially launched. Designed to upskill partners through technical enablement, monthly sessions, and self-learning resources, the program also offers customer engagement assistance—including funding for proofs of concept (PoCs) and migrations—and direct access to the product group for blockers. Enroll today and don’t miss the first training on October 14, 2025.

Go-To-Market

• 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 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 help your customers implement a data strategy that is fit for the era of AI, including customizable pitch decks and other go-to-market resources to help you succeed. Find it all here, and explore Fabric here.
• Differentiate your expertise to customers with Solutions Partner designations and specializations.

Customer success

• 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 business.