Microsoft
MicrosoftThe Partner program in my experience lags changes to certifications, often by several months.
You need to ask this on Partner Center.
Note: the Partner program is a completely separate group to the certifications team in Microsoft.
Hello Julian and Gretchen,
thanks for the update. It is detailed, so I appreciate your level of details shared😊
However, with all respect, I don't think it is good enough when you write "You need to ask this on Partner Center". It tells me that these changes to training are made without any consideration of their impact on e.g. Solution Partner Designation nor for e.g. specialisations for Modern Work or AI Business Solutions. It appears to me that the Microsoft team is not learning from past experiences - we had the same situation when MB-280 was introduced: For months (!!!) partners were left in the dark how they can achieve status - with certifications removed and no announcements about replacements.
Yes, I contacted several times last year the Partner Team - they had no clue, no plan, no comms, nada - for months! Sorry to say. 😠👿
My suggestion: When you change your learning and certification program, you advise the Partner Team about these changes, so they have an idea what is changing and allows that team to communicate the impact accordingly. This is what I'd expect from your team - is that a fair request? 🤔
Screenshot below for AI Business Solutions, Skills requirements for Advanced Skills: 3 of 4 required certifications will be removed in June/July!
MicrosoftHello RalfW​ Thank you for the feedback. I've communicated your sentiments to our team. Thank you for your patience in this matter. Making changes to the partner program takes significant planning and engineering work to facilitate, and that is why you will often see less frequent change communications than our credentials announcements. We do try to address this--for example the April Update on Partner Center has the following language.
Certifications and Applied Skills are regularly updated throughout their lifecycle, which can affect specializations and Solutions Partner designations. In the case of a retiring certification or applied skill impacting a specialization or Solutions Partner designation, the following are true:
Skilling achieved before its retirement remains valid for one year
New skilling will be added, if the replacement skilling is applicable to those specializations and designations
We’ll detail the new requirements in Partner Center as they go into effect
The one-year validation of certifications in the program is designed to mitigate any issues with that gap in program redesign and communication.
