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A Short Story: Why Transact in Marketplace?
For anyone who is undecided a) if building a transactable offer is worth the effort or b) if leading with Marketplace is superior to legacy procurement processes: Last night while I slept, we closed an enterprise deal in Australia. Yesterday, I created a custom private offer for the customer and sent them the acceptance link with a link to the Microsoft Learn page with instructions on how they accept the offer. Woke up this morning to a Partner Center-generated message confirming the deal was won and done. Yes, we had given them a demo; and yes, we had to get stakeholder commitment . . . but: Zero haggling on price. Zero contract redlines. Zero delays with traditional vendor onboarding etc. Even better, we leveraged our Marketplace Rewards (bar none my favorite GTM program!) to amplify customer value by providing Azure Sponsorship credits to offset the deployment cost. Even more better, this deal hits three of the levers in the FY24 Transact & Grow Incentive Campaign - meaning sometime in the next ~60 days Microsoft is going to send us $40k in free money. 🙂 I share this story not to boast but to inspire and motivate. Nothing's special about us or what we did here - you can 100% replicate this experience simply by taking advantage of the resources Microsoft wants to give you. #MarketplaceChampions #SponsoredMarketplace Rewards' Azure sponsorship benefit for increasing marketplace sales
As partner ISVs grow through the Microsoft commercial marketplace, through Marketplace Rewards they can unlock new benefits designed to help convert customers and close deals. The benefits at each stage of growth help progress to the next stage, helping to grow business to Microsoft customers, with Microsoft's field, and through Microsoft's channel. Watch this short video to learn more about the Azure Sponsorship benefit available through Marketplace Rewards, including how it provides a way for potential customers to try solutions at no initial expense, using free Azure for proof of concepts or test drives. Use your Marketplace Rewards Azure sponsorship benefit to increase your marketplace sales (youtube.com)AI innovation takes center stage at Microsoft Ignite
Artificial intelligence is transforming how software companies build, scale, and deliver solutions. At Microsoft Ignite, we announced new tools and programs to help developers accelerate innovation responsibly, from AI-powered workflows and unified tools in Microsoft Foundry to Cohere’s language models on Azure. Plus, the global launch of Microsoft Marketplace brings the industry’s largest catalog of AI apps and agents, enabling partners to reach new customers and unlock growth. Explore the latest announcements and learn how to ship faster, scale confidently, and turn AI innovation into business impact. Read the full articleLinkedIn Marketing: Critical Hashtags for Partners
When you are posting on LinkedIn, there are a number of Microsoft hashtags you should be using at the bottom of your posts to help increase your visibility. This question has come up in different discussions with partners about how to get their messages seen by more of their audience organically. Thanks to the article from Tricycle-Europe who did the work for me on this. Top hashtags for Microsoft partners: #MicrosoftPartner #Microsoft365 #Azure #DigitalTransformation #CloudComputing #Cybersecurity #MSPartner #MicrosoftTeams #PowerBI #AI And, in general, the top 100 hashtags for LinkedIn can be found at this article by Taavi Lindmaa is absolutely worth checking out! Edited to include the answer to Raj's add below: Raj: In order to find followers for each Hashtags, one can just enter the hashtag in LinkedIn search and go to that page to see the followers' count. JL: It's not as intuitive as you might think, but here are 3 ways to get to that info (with some assistance from Bing AI-Powered Co-pilot): Type a hashtag into LinkedIn’s search bar, then find it in any of the posts that come up and open it. You’ll see the hashtag’s follower count at the top, and current trending posts using that hashtag 1 . There are also some apps that can get to this info a little faster, such as a free app called LinkedIn Hashtag Analytics. This app helps get more insights into hashtags on LinkedIn, and helps you discover related hashtags and potential reach scores. You can also manually search for a hashtag on LinkedIn by pasting this URL string into your browser and add the keyword at the end. The below example is searching for the hashtag Social Media: https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/all/?keywords=%23socialmedia. Replace “socialmedia” at the end with the hashtag you want. You’ll see how many posts have used that hashtag in the past year. 😊 Here's some related source info for more: 1. bing.com 2. blog.hootsuite.com 3. linkedin.com 4. vistasocial.com 5. blog.hootsuite.com 6. inlytics.io 7. engage-ai.co 8. brandmentions.com -J.L. ISV Success Program Engagement Manager for Teams PartnersMarketplace Community - Upcoming AI Events
**Updated 6/3/2025** ISV Success is now supporting a series of AI-focused events to help partners maximize the AI opportunity when building and publishing solutions to the commercial marketplace. These events are open to all partners on marketplace – participation in ISV Success is not required to attend. Stay updated on the latest offerings by subscribing to this post, where we will be regularly updating our list of upcoming events and sharing links to recent events. Full instructions on how to subscribe are posted at the bottom of this post. Check out our upcoming AI events below and comment with any of your questions! _____________________________________________________________________________________________ ISV AI Envisioning Day Trainings We are excited to announce the launch of two new ISV AI Envisioning Day training courses introducing tools and frameworks to leverage in building AI applications that drive innovation and business value. Microsoft ISV AI Envisioning Day: Identify and Prioritize Use Cases for AI Solutions This session guides you through the process of identifying and prioritizing business use cases for AI solutions. You will learn how to structure each use case to assess its viability, differentiate its value, and explore learning opportunities. Practical advice and actionable steps will be provided to help you kickstart your AI projects and accelerate time-to-market. Microsoft ISV AI Envisioning Day: Get the Framework to Develop AI Solutions In this envisioning session, you will learn how to effectively plan, build, and deploy your AI solution. You will be empowered with tools and frameworks to guide you through the technical and business considerations to evaluate when determining the best approach to use in building your AI application. Whether you’re just beginning to identify and prioritize AI use cases or are ready to begin planning, building, and deploying solutions, you’ll learn the steps to make AI a reality in your organization. Both ISV AI Envisioning Day training courses will run monthly in multiple time zones and are delivered in English. Check back for upcoming session dates and times. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ ISV Security Series The ISV Security Series is designed to empower ISVs to not only defend against current threats but also anticipate and prepare for future challenges. Whether you are just starting your security journey or looking to enhance your existing strategies, this series provides the insights and resources you need to succeed. Join us in creating a safer digital ecosystem – one that fosters innovation without compromise. Register for the upcoming session at aka.ms/asiaisvsecurity June 2025 Safeguard Data Security & Privacy in AI-Driven Applications Explores how to implement robust data security and privacy measures tailored to AI applications, from handling user data responsibly to meeting regulatory requirements and mitigating risks. July 2025 Build Secure AI & Copilot Experiences with Microsoft's Framework Learn how to create secure and reliable AI and Copilot experiences using Microsoft’s robust security framework & AI ready infrastructure. August 2025 Zero Trust for ISVs: Importance and Implementation Strategies This session breaks down why Zero Trust matters and provides practical steps to implement its core principles, including least privilege access, tenant isolation, and continuous verification. September 2025 Security Essentials for Marketplace Publishing This session equips ISVs with the knowledge to meet Azure Marketplace security requirements, safeguard customer data, and ensure compliance with platform standards. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Copilot Developer Camp Join us for the Copilot Developer Camp—an immersive workshop designed for professional developers eager to expand their skills with Copilot for Microsoft 365 or create custom copilots. This free, one-day workshop, held right after the AI tour, aims to equip developers, ISVs, and tech enthusiasts with the knowledge and hands-on experience needed to enhance and extend Copilot’s capabilities for Microsoft 365. This is an in-person workshop offered in multiple locations. It is aimed at Developers, ISV partners, product centric companies, and enterprise developers. You will walk away with an understanding of the capabilities of Microsoft 365 Copilot and its extensibility AI models. See the different methods to develop Copilot agents utilizing Microsoft 365 Copilot's AI and orchestration on how to create a custom engine agent using Azure AI Studio and Teams AI library. How to develop a Declarative agent that includes a Build custom action for your agent via API plugins. Check here for upcoming dates and locations: Copilot Developer Camp Registration _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Build and extend your own agents using pro-code capabilities Microsoft Copilot Studio and building custom agents. Agents are AI-powered productivity tools designed to enhance everyday tasks by leveraging large language models (LLMs). Are you a developer interested in exploring advanced aspects of using Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft Copilot Studio, and building custom agents using professional coding techniques? Join our on-demand workshop to learn how to leverage pro-code capabilities and build intelligent agents that assist users across various domains. Workshop Agenda Day 1: Extend Microsoft 365 Copilot with declarative agents Build custom engine agents with Teams AI library and Microsoft 365 Agents SDK Day 2: Develop your own agents in Azure AI Foundry Day 3: Build your own agents with Semantic Kernel for a fully controlled end-to-end AI experience Secure and govern copilots Call to Action Don't miss this opportunity to enhance your skills and build powerful agents with pro-code capabilities. Register now for this on-demand session and take the next step in your development journey! For more training opportunities, visit us at the Partner Skilling Hub. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Azure AI Foundry Council & AI Visionaries The Azure AI Foundry Council & AI Visionaries is excited to deliver new AI webinars to enhance your learning and help you navigate the future of AI. Check back for June sessions coming soon. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Microsoft Azure Virtual Training Day: AI Fundamentals Join us for Azure AI Fundamentals, a free virtual training designed to build your technical expertise in AI and machine learning on Microsoft Azure. This course will dive into core AI concepts and foundational workloads, offering hands-on insights into Azure AI services that power intelligent applications. You'll explore machine learning models, computer vision, and natural language processing (NLP) capabilities such as sentiment analysis, language detection, and key phrase extraction. With guidance from Microsoft experts, you’ll gain the skills needed to analyze and automate workflows, develop AI-driven solutions, and ensure responsible AI use across applications. Use the link below to see the full list of upcoming sessions available for registration. Multiple dates and time zones are available, and new sessions are added frequently. Microsoft Azure Virtual Training Day: AI Fundamentals _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Subscribe to this post If you're not a member of the Tech Community already, create an account at techcommunity.microsoft.com Select "subscribe" from the 3-dot dropdown in the upper-right corner of this post. Under "Notification Settings," select "Notify me of Any edits & comments on knowledge bases articles I subscribe to," then select to receive updates to this post either immediately, daily, or weekly (I recommend weekly). Manage your subscription settings so that you can receive email updates on new events. Manage these settings by selecting your profile icon in the top right corner of the community, selecting "My Settings," and selecting "Subscriptions & Notifications." You can also subscribe to the entire marketplace community which will provide you with regular updates on all marketplace discussion topics happening in this forum. To do this, click "subscribe" in the upper right corner of the marketplace community homepage.Setting up Selling Partner: ISV: Challenges and Tips
While helping a channel partner to set up as a seller in Microsoft Partner’s ecosystem for https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/partner-center/marketplace/multiparty-private-offers-for-selling-partners, I came across some practical challenges which I am sharing here along with tips those may help: Help the partner select the right Partner Type – Partner, SI, MSP etc. for enrolling in the AI Cloud Partner Program. For a new partner to successfully enroll in Microsoft AI Cloud Partner program, it is mandatory to set up the authentication method using Authenticator tab. The enrollment didn’t succeed until the partner followed all the exact instructions provided on the browser on the Mobile Phone, including scanning the QR Code step. Without this step, the enrollment kept on failing although Authenticator recognized the user as a valid account on the Mobile Phone After enrolling in Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program and Microsoft Commercial Marketplace program, it is necessary to complete Microsoft Validation of the partner. Microsoft sends emails to verify you as the right partner by sending email ID from Microsoft Vetting Services Email ID. You may receive multiple emails for Verification, ensure that complete verification by following steps from all those emails. Only after the verification was complete by following 3 emails that the partner received, Tax Profile and Payout Profile Assignment was enabled for us to complete on the Accounts Settings. The external Tax Completion Form did not display correctly on Chrome. After spending 5 attempts, we could successfully submit the Tax Profile form on Microsoft Edge. The partner set up the Payment profile after the Tax Profile was completed. It was necessary to select $ as a currency to associate Payment Profile to the Tax profile to complete this step. Note that Multi party Offer is currently available only to partners in the USA. The last step for my partner to gain visibility on the commercial marketplace as a Partner Directory was https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/partner-center/create-a-marketing-profile Hope these practical steps help , would love to know your experience about setting up Multi-Party private offers.Tracking transaction to payout in Partner Center reports
We’ve captured the why and how behind the data in an on‑demand video based on the recent Partner Center reporting office hours—plus a blog that breaks down how these insights support marketplace growth and operations. Have a video topic you want next? Drop it in the comments 👇 ▶️ Watch the 7‑minute video (embedded) 📖 Read the blog: Unlocking the power of Partner Center reporting: Why these insights matter for Marketplace success | Microsoft Community Hub
Why Completing Microsoft 365 Publisher Attestation and Microsoft 365 App Certification is Crucial
Hello everyone, As a PM who recently published a Teams app, I wanted to share my experience completing the Microsoft 365 Publisher Attestation and Microsoft 365 App Certification programs. These programs are designed to help developers publish trustworthy apps that customers can confidently adopt. Completing the Publisher Attestation is a voluntary program where you complete a self-assessment of your app’s security, data handling, and compliance practices. The information you provide will be presented to your customers so they can better evaluate your app before enabling it for their organization. This program helps build trust with your clients and increase sales by making it easier for them to assess and adopt your app. The Microsoft 365 Certification is a more rigorous program that includes a third-party audit of your app’s security and compliance practices. This certification provides additional benefits such as increased visibility in the marketplace and eligibility for co-selling opportunities with Microsoft. By completing these programs, you can demonstrate to your clients that your app meets Microsoft’s high standards for security and compliance. This can help build trust with your clients and increase sales by making it easier for them to evaluate and adopt your app. In conclusion, These programs help developers publish trustworthy apps that customers can confidently adopt. By completing these programs, you can demonstrate to your clients that your app meets Microsoft’s high standards for security and compliance. This can help build trust with your clients and increase sales by making it easier for them to evaluate and adopt your app. I hope this helps! You can check the current applications that have these certifications here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-app-certification/teams/teams-appsISV Partner : Microsoft Marketing benefits
Microsoft offers an extensive array of marketing support tools to its partners through its Go-To-Market Toolbox. These resources have proven to be highly effective in enhancing our outreach efforts. Here are some of the valuable resources we've been utilizing: Marketing Campaigns: You can access a variety of marketing campaigns through the Partner Center. These campaigns can be a significant asset to your marketing strategy. Explore them here: https://partner.microsoft.com/en-US/asset#/?type=marketing-campaigns Co-Branded Assets: Microsoft provides co-branded assets like One Pagers, Case Studies, Customer Presentations, Infographics, and more. These assets help you create compelling collateral. Access them here: https://ppt.msftgtmtoolbox.com/co-branding Digital Marketing Content on Demand: https://dmc.partner.microsoft.com/ offers a comprehensive collection of ready-made Social Media Campaigns and Web Banners. These resources can be used to run tailored campaigns for your company consistently. https://mpr.msftgtmtoolbox.com/partner/home: If you have solutions listed on Microsoft's Marketplace, you can unlock various benefits through the Marketplace Rewards program based on the offer type. The more you sell through marketplace, the more you can unlock various marketing and selling benefits. They can include promotions across various channels such as https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/microsoft-cloud-partner-program/, Twitter, Microsoft.com and https://partner.microsoft.com/en-US/case-studies/affablebpm-rewards?wt.mc_id=5sp1blsfbw. Learn more about Marketplace Rewards https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/solutions/marketplace/marketplace-rewards. We're eager to learn if there are any other resources that we might not be aware of but are proving valuable to your marketing efforts. Please feel free to share any additional resources you've found beneficial for your partnership with Microsoft. #Marketing #MSPartner #ISVSuccess #MarketplaceRewards #DMC #CoBrandedAssetsMarketplace trainings and events calendar (updated 06/05/26)
-Welcome to our calendar for accessing upcoming Marketplace trainings and events, along with links to recent resources. This page is a go-to resource for discovering training sessions and events designed specifically for software development companies related to Microsoft Marketplace. Whether you’re building innovative solutions or publishing to the commercial marketplace, you’ll find content to help you stay ahead in today’s fast-moving tech landscape. We’ve organized dedicated areas for partners and customers, making it easy to find sessions most relevant to your needs. Some events are upcoming, while others are past recordings that remain valuable for learning and growth. This page is updated frequently with new opportunities. Be sure to subscribe for notifications; instructions are provided at the bottom of this post. Explore the upcoming AI events below, revisit past sessions, and feel free to comment with any questions. ****Sessions updated as of 06/05/2026**** Partner and Channel Partner sessions Upcoming sessions Date Time Area Title Description Link 06/17/26 8:30 AM PDT Office Hours The Marketplace playbook for channel-led sales Get a practical playbook for scaling channel-led sales through Microsoft Marketplace, including how to recruit and activate partners using resale-enabled offers and multiparty private offers. Learn proven best practices, go-to-market resources, and real-world lessons. The Marketplace playbook for channel-led sales 07/29/2026 8:30 AM PDT Office Hours Marketplace Office Hours for Partners Tune in for updates, insights, and live Q&A to help you sell through Microsoft Marketplace. Topic TBD. Link to come Recent Recorded Sessions Date Area Title Description Link 05/19/26 Office Hours Multi-currency private offers in Microsoft Marketplace Join a practical walkthrough to learn how multi-currency transaction are managed through Marketplace. Gain confidence in creating private offers in local currency and get foundational knowledge to support sales of resale enabled offers. View the recording 05/07/26 Partner Session Turning co-sell readiness into real Microsoft Marketplace revenue Join Clazar as they share insights on how to be co-sell ready and how to translate it into a meaningful pipeline and an active, revenue generating partnership with Microsoft sellers. View the recording 4/28/26 Partner Session Maximize selling with Microsoft and Marketplace ROI Join us as WorkSpan shares real workflows used by partners who have closed over $5B in co-sell revenue with Microsoft. Learn best practices for navigating selling end-to-end with Microsoft. View the recording 04/15/26 Office Hours Seamless private offers: From creation to purchase and activation Join this Partner Center walkthrough of private offer execution from creation to customer purchase to partner activation View the recording 04/02/26 Partner Session Why Azure belongs in your multi-cloud strategy Tune in to hear WeTransact share when and why Azure should be part of your strategy. Find out how to replicate solutions for Azure. Hear why Marketplace-aligned companies are able to move quickly using Microsoft tools, funding, and incentives. View the recording 03/24/26 Partner Session Best practices for scaling Marketplace channel-led sales Join guest speaker team from Tackle as they walk through opportunities to scale partner driven revenue. Hear how to activate channel opportunities using multiparty private offers and learn when to leverage resale-enabled offers to expand partner reach. View the recording 03/18/26 Office Hours (Partner) Build, publish, and optimize Marketplace offers with App Advisor Learn what App Advisor is, how it works, and how it can help partners accelerate Marketplace offer creation. Live demo walk through; validating value to publishing and optimizing your listing. View the recording 03/11/26 Partner Session AI-powered automation for Marketplace private offers and IP co-sell Learn from guest speaker Jon Yoo, Suger, how software development companies can use AI-powered automation to simplify buying through Microsoft Marketplace, streamline private offers, and optimize co-selling opportunities. View the recording 02/25/26 Partner Session Inside Azure IP co-sell: What high-performing software developers do differently Get an inside look at the signals Microsoft uses to evaluate Marketplace and Azure IP co-sell readiness with insights from Barbara Treviño of Labra. Learn what top software companies do differently to accelerate approvals and boost GTM impact. View the recording 02/18/26 Office Hours (Partner) How to build a Microsoft Marketplace channel practice Building a successful Marketplace practice takes the right people, process, and strategy working together. Learn how top performing partners organize their teams across alliances, operations and leadership View the recording 1/21/26 Office Hours (Partner) Microsoft Partner Center reporting Get to know the Partner Center Insights and Earnings workspaces. Walk through Earnings, Customer, Order, Usage and Revenue reports. View the recording 12/18/25 Office Hours (Partner) Introducing resale enabled offers Explore resale enabled offers through Microsoft Marketplace. View recording 12/04/25 Partner Session AI-powered acceleration: scale faster on Microsoft Marketplace Go beyond listing basics and explore how Microsoft Marketplace can act as a strategic revenue engine. View recording 11/04/25 Partner Session How to structure your Microsoft Partner Center account for long-term success Learn best practices for setting up your Partner Center account for operational and marketplace success. View recording 08/28/25 Office Hours (Partner) Certified software designations: FY26 benefits updates Overview of certified software designations and FY26 benefit updates. View recording Customer sessions Upcoming sessions Date Time Area Title Description Link 06/24/26 8:30 AM PDT Office Hours (Customer) Microsoft Marketplace as FinOps platform Join to learn how Marketplace can help organizations simplify procurement, centralize billing, and better align software investments to optimize cloud and AI spend. Discover actionable strategies to improve cost visibility and ROI, and leverage Marketplace as a key component of your FinOps approach. June 2026 Customer Office Hour 07/15/2026 8:30 AM PDT Office Hours (Customer) Marketplace Office Hours for Customers Tune in for updates, insights, and live Q&A to help use Microsoft Marketplace. Topic TBD. Link to come Recorded sessions Date Area Title Description Link 05/28/26 Office Hours (Customer) Dragon Copilot AI apps and agents in Microsoft Marketplace Healthcare organizations discover how Dragon Copilot can help accelerate time to value by connecting with trusted partner solutions that streamline workflows and embed AI directly into daily operations. View the recording 04/29/26 Office Hours (Customer) Using Microsoft Marketplace to optimize Azure spend For organizations with an Azure cloud commitment Microsoft Marketplace can be a powerful tool for optimizing how the spend is used. Explore how your organization can leverage its Azure commitment to support software investments through Microsoft Marketplace. View the recording 03/25/26 Office Hours (Customer) Charting your AI strategy for manufacturing with Marketplace Build, buy, or blend? Gain the insights you need as a manufacturer to scale AI apps and agents across the factory floor using Microsoft Marketplace. Hear about practical manufacturing scenarios View the recording 02/25/26 Office Hours (Customer) Accelerate AI adoption through Microsoft Marketplace Explore practical AI use cases available through Microsoft Marketplace - from prebuilt AI apps and agents to AI-powered solutions that simplify deployment. View the recording 01/28/26 Office Hours (Customer) Optimize cloud cost and performance Learn proven strategies to accelerate time-to-value for cloud and AI investments using Microsoft Marketplace. View the recording 12/11/25 Office Hours (Customer) Chart your AI app and agent strategy Insights into build, buy, or blend approaches for AI apps and agents using Microsoft Marketplace. View recording 07/30/25 Office Hours (Customer) FinOps and the Microsoft Marketplace Learn how Microsoft Marketplace supports FinOps practitioners and accelerates AI transformation. View recording Subscribe to this post If you're not already a Tech Community member, create an account at techcommunity.microsoft.com. Select Subscribe from the three‑dot menu in the upper‑right corner of this post. Under Notification Settings, choose to be notified of edits and comments, and select whether you'd like updates immediately, daily, or weekly (weekly recommended). You can also subscribe to the entire Marketplace Community via the Marketplace Community homepage. ``
