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NicholasPalmer's avatar
NicholasPalmer
Copper Contributor
Dec 02, 2024

Question about the new Partner Benefits options

We are a small ISV that has been in the Partner program (Now CSP) almost since it's beginning. For most of the time we have been in the program we have maintained our eligibility by having our softwa...
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tech question or issue
MartijnElfers's avatar
MartijnElfers
Bronze Contributor
Dec 12, 2024

I'm not that knowledgeable about the ISV programs from Microsoft, but maybe this helps: 

1: What do you mean with "software offering"? For the Benefit Packages these can always be purchased by partners. There's no requirement for a partner to buy such a package, except for having a PartnerID of course. 

2: This would work the same as before. The Azure credits you get thru Benefit Packages are the same type of Azure credits used for the Legacy Competency or the new Designation/Specialization statuses. 

  • NicholasPalmer's avatar
    NicholasPalmer
    Copper Contributor
    Dec 13, 2024

    MartijnElfersthanks for the response. I replied to this yesterday but I don't see my response so I'm reposting. Sorry if this is a double post.

     

    I think I got confused when reading about the different options for the different Benefit Packages. I reviewed the options and I understand what is provided.

    In reviewing the benefits it looks like the ISV Success Core and Expanded Packages provide Visual Studio professional subscriptions (without monthly Azure credit). But this is different than the Microsoft Visual Studio Enterprise subscription that we currently get with the Legacy Gold package.

    So while we wouldn't be getting the monthly Azure credit with the Visual Studio professional subscription, we would get the bulk benefit. But what I'm worried about is losing Microsoft Visual Studio Enterprise subscription which I believe we have used when setting up our Azure and DevOps infrastructure. 

    I've tried to look thru all the different ways to become a Solutions Partner again, but as far as I can find, all the options have a sales requirement for attaining the Solutions Partner designation which we have never been able to meet. We had previously qualified for the Solutions Partner designation by having our software certified.

    But I did find the Solutions Partner* with certified software** option which appears to have several options that don't have a sales requirement. Would attaining that designation get us any additional software benefits in the Solutions Partner program?

    Thanks

     

     

    • MartijnElfers's avatar
      MartijnElfers
      Bronze Contributor
      Dec 17, 2024

      I believe you still get an Azure credit with a Visual Studio Professional, it's just less then for VS Enterprise. I also think that VS Azure credits are meant to be used for personal development/training purposes, not really for company dev purposes. So if that's the case, you might want to migrate your Azure resources to a different subscription. 

       

      If Solutions Partner with certified Software is the right option for you totally depends on the business you do as a company. You mentioned you're an ISV, so I would assume this is not a match. 

      Probably already read this, but here's more info: Introduction to Solutions Partner with certified software designations - Partner Center | Microsoft Learn

      • NicholasPalmer's avatar
        NicholasPalmer
        Copper Contributor
        Dec 19, 2024

        Ok thanks for the clarification.

        I've looked at the Solutions Partner with certified software designations option which I think we might be able to qualify for, but it looks like the benefits for achieving that are all related to marketing and sales which is definitely useful, but in our case I'm looking for benefits that include similar to what were getting with the legacy Gold partner benefits.

        Another option that seems like it might be a good fit is the ISV success program. This has software benefits that are similar to what we currently have with the legacy Gold partner benefits. Do you have a link that points to how to enroll in ISV success program?

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