Visual Studio Lite benefits - without Azure Credits and Keys
As communicated earlier, the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program benefit offerings—including partner benefits packages, Solutions Partner designations, and specializations—will be updated later this month to support how you build, differentiate, and grow your business. The per-user monthly Azure credits associated with this benefit will no longer be available. You can still access organization-level Azure bulk credits that come with your benefits offering. This may require an Azure subscription migration for users to continue accessing credits, and we strongly recommend a change management plan for this transition. In addition, product keys will no longer be accessible within Visual Studio. Keys will instead be available as part of the benefits package(s) your organization holds and can be securely assigned to users directly from Partner Center. Please note that these changes will not be retroactively applied. They will go into effect when your organization renews its affected benefits offering(s) or if you activate a new offering on or after the February update. We have been partners for 20 years and using Partner benefits. Again, Microsoft tries to lower benefits, and in parallel benefit package price will increase (due to different reasons). This discussion and community of partners, should unit and tell to Microsoft Partner Benefits program that: Partners have employees/users, that use current Visual Studio benefit, that is (like MSDN), having the user access to keys and Azure credits, for specific user / employee need of test, dev, demo etc. Azure Bulk credit was never the same and cannot be used as a same Azure Bulk credit / Azure sponsorship, does not have cost control, Azure budgets and other methods. (This is in plan to change for several years, no progress) on Azure technical side. Will Microsoft increase Azure Bulk credits to compensate te amount of included benefit usage? Dear, Microsoft, please leave current Partner Benefits, with full Visual Studio, including Azure credits, and Keys for assigned users, without moving to lower benefit - Visual Studio Lite. Thank you for understanding, and hope this will not be active in production after partner renewals.Azure sponsorship and cost management challenge
I am listening for years that Azure Sponsorship type of Azure subscriptions will get Azure Cost Management. This includes the view of prices inside portal.azure.com, managing budgets, checking each individual resources etc. Current / old portal - https://www.microsoftazuresponsorships.com/Usage , does not show costs per each resource (name), instead only per resources type. Not possible to set budgets, alerts, limits, and other things. So, again, when does Microsoft plans to upgrade Azure sponsorships to use Cost Management? Any reference (roadmap) link on this please?
New FY26 benefits release date
As mentioned here https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/partner-center/benefits/benefits-faq-new the new benefits for FY26 should get available in February 2026. As we already have February 2026, is there an exact date when this will happen? Or will the new benefits only get available upon the annual renewal of the Partner Program as last time?FY24 Business Applications incentive - Tier 1 Accelerator for D365 BC missing?
Hi everybody, I noticed that there's no Tier 1 Accelerator for Bus. Apps. incentives anymore? The Tier 1 Accelerator was an additional accelerator for D365 BC licenses. Has this accelerator been dropped now? So partners don't earn accelerators on BC anymore? Hope to get some clarity. Resources: Microsoft Commerce Incentive Resources Cheers, Martijn
There are no benefits to being a MS Partner
The absolute absurdity of being a Microsoft Partner is beyond insanity. Some of us have built businesses around the Microsoft Ecosystem (STUPIDLY I MUST ADD). And for what? For Microsoft to block us from our accounts and give zero explanation of the issue? As I am sure others have seen since there are posts everywhere of other people having the same issues, its mind blowing that Microsoft does nothing to assist its partners who are the ones generating them the revenue. Supporting their crappy products over and over and over again being the ones on the front lines getting beat up by their customers because of constant outages, constant issues. Back in September my account was blocked. Not one bit of an explanation. Not one email telling me why. The only thing I got was a notice saying my visual studio enterprise license was removed. Upon checking I couldn't find anything. I open a support ticket. And so far, the only thing I have been told is my account has been blocked. Yet not one person can apparently tell me why? Not one person can tell me what I need to do to fix it? Not one person can even get on the phone to assist on this. Before I lost numerous customers because of this. I was selling 30k a month in licenses. And now because my account was blocked, I have lost access to a crap ton of my development, I have lost access to any and all of the benefits. I have lost access to basically everything even though when you look at my partner center account. Every single thing still shows active / approved. Etc. My suggestion, if you are considering becoming a Microsoft Partner. DONT. SIMPLE AS THAT. The fact they can block you from doing business, block access to products and services you have paid for. And give you zero ability to fix it so you lose numerous customers and don't even tell you what happened or what needs to be done to rectify the issue. Partnering with Microsoft is the single biggest mistake I have made as a business owner. The second biggest would be that I built my development side of the business fully integrated into the MS ecosystem. Which made it so they cost me countless amounts of money and ability to even do business with my customers.Talking about FY25 changes in Houston and online, August 22
You're invited to join us in-person or virtually on August 22! https://www.iamcp.org/'s TOLA Chapter (Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas) rotates monthly and hosts chapter meetings in Austin, Houston and Dallas. All meetings are hybrid and anyone is welcome to attend, no matter where you are! We'll be talking about the FY25 updates, announcements and partner program changes. Come ask your partner questions as you navigate FY25 as a Microsoft partner! I know many of us are excited about the new additions to the partner benefits, including over 20 new SKUs that were teased in July. Join us online or in-person (lunch included) in Houston at the Microsoft office - 750 Town and Country Blvd., Ste. 1000 Houston, Texas 77024 11:30am-1:00pm CST https://www.iamcp.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1875137&group= Not a member of IAMCP? You can attend for $30 or, as a new member, join for $1 for your first 90 days! I myself have been a member of IAMCP for about 2+ years and I'm the Secretary of the Houston chapter. There are plenty of other virtual meetings every month covering all topics concerning partners. It's a great way to understand the ecosystem, how to gain designations and credentials, and find partner to partner opportunities.
