Unified for Partners (UfP)

Great question Jon, and glad this thread exists. Adding some feedback here since Jill mentioned the Microsoft team is monitoring this thread.

We want to start by saying we genuinely support what UfP is trying to accomplish. Building a stronger partner-led support model where Microsoft acts as a backstop makes sense, and as a 20-year Microsoft partner we believe in that direction. Our entire practice is built on the Microsoft platform. We recommend Azure and Microsoft 365 to every client we serve, we stake our reputation on it, and we actively advocate for it every day. That partnership matters to us and we want it to work.

Where we want to share honest feedback is on the pricing structure and how it lands for managed service partners.

The UfP fee is calculated against what partners pay Microsoft for services, across both Azure and Microsoft 365 licensing. For partners managing large accounts at competitive margins, that fee can consume a significant share of what we earn before we have delivered any managed service. We would encourage other partners to run that math against their own book of business, because we think it is a concern that will be felt broadly.

We also think the program is trying to solve two different problems with one instrument. Reactive incident support and knowledge or advisory access are fundamentally different things. Incidents are a cost to minimize. Advisory and knowledge access is something partners would willingly invest in because it makes us better advisors and stronger Microsoft advocates. A model that separates those two, perhaps consumption-based or pre-committed tiers for advisory access, would let partners invest in the real value rather than paying a flat percentage for a blended program.

We have shared detailed feedback and specific recommendations directly with our Microsoft contact and hope it reaches the UfP program team. If a formal feedback channel opens up we would welcome the opportunity to be part of that conversation.

Protected Trust, LLC CSP Direct Bill Partner, 20+ Years