benefits
103 TopicsDell PowerScale for Azure is now Generally Available
We're excited to announce that Dell PowerScale for Azure – Dell managed is now Generally Available (GA). Following a successful Public Preview announced at Ignite, PowerScale for Azure is now production-ready for enterprise workloads. Co-developed with Dell as an Azure Native Integration, this fully managed service brings Dell's proven scale-out NAS technology and the PowerScale OneFS operating system directly into Azure — delivering the performance and scale enterprises expect with the simplicity of Azure-native provisioning, management, and billing. The solution is purpose-built for modern, data-intensive workloads such as AI/ML pipelines, media & entertainment, electronic design automation (EDA), high-performance computing, backup & recovery, and enterprise content management. Product highlights Dell-Managed Service: A streamlined experience where Dell handles deployment, monitoring, maintenance, and upgrades — freeing IT teams to focus on higher-value initiatives. Azure-Native Experience: Provision, manage, and monitor PowerScale directly from the Azure portal, with full Azure Resource Manager (ARM) integration and unified billing on your monthly Azure invoice. Enterprise-Grade Durability: Data is distributed across multiple nodes within the cluster for high durability and fault tolerance. Advanced Protection: Space-efficient erasure coding plus SyncIQ asynchronous replication across sites keep data available even during outages. Secure Private Access: Integrates into your Azure Virtual Network (VNet) via VNet Injection, with data encrypted at rest using Microsoft-managed keys. Massive scale & multi-protocol: Up to 8.4PB in a single namespace with simultaneous NFS, SMB, and S3 support, powered by custom PMEM-enabled compute SKUs engineered for Dell Consider a large health system running PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) imaging archives, Electronic Health Record (EHR) data pipelines, and AI/ML diagnostic workloads on an on-premises Dell PowerScale cluster. As PACS volumes grow alongside demand for AI-driven diagnostics, the team wants to scale into Azure for GPU-accelerated model training without re-architecting their environment. With Dell PowerScale for Azure, they can provision the fully managed service directly from the Azure portal, giving clinicians, researchers, and applications low-latency multi-protocol access to the same global namespace across NFS, SMB, and S3. Since Dell handles deployment, monitoring, and upgrades, IT teams stay focused on patient outcomes rather than infrastructure, while enterprise-grade durability and encryption at rest help protect sensitive patient data. Availability Dell PowerScale for Azure is generally available through the Azure Marketplace and Azure portal (search for Dell PowerScale for Azure – Dell managed). GA is rolling out in waves, starting with US East, with additional regions coming online shortly. Get started Azure Marketplace: Dell PowerScale for Azure – Dell managed Microsoft Learn: Dell PowerScale – Azure Native Integrations Solution Brief: Dell PowerScale for Microsoft Azure93Views1like0CommentsPurchase a membership
Hi everyone, I am trying to purchase a membership, but I am completely stuck and hoping someone in the community can help. Every time I try to complete the checkout process, I get the following error: Error ID: 2100037 We regret to inform you that your order cannot be processed at this moment. Please retry purchasing the membership from the membership offers page by clicking the 'Back to Membership' button after some time. If this issue persists, please contact the Support team. (CorrelationId: ce8bd334-01e6-4b58-8b7e-8d02287fddf4) 23 Sep 2026 10:21:07 GMT I have done everything on my end to troubleshoot this, including: Switching accounts: I tried purchasing the membership from completely different user accounts. Waiting it out: I have tried multiple times at different moments of the day to see if it was just a temporary server overload. Changing payment methods: I used two entirely different cards to rule out a bank decline. I already reached out to the official support team, but it has been incredibly frustrating. They are very slow to reply, and we just keep going in circles with automated-sounding responses that don't actually solve the problem. Has anyone else run into this specific error code? If you managed to get past it, how did you do it? Any advice or workarounds would be hugely appreciated because right now, nothing is working!32Views0likes0CommentsDifficulties upgrading from the Partner Benefits Program to the Partner Extended Program?
We purchased the Microsoft Partner Benefits program in March of 2026 and then decided to upgrade to the Microsoft Partner Extended Programs this program. Why does Microsoft think it is okay to charge us what I believe was $2,500.00 dollars and then say there is no prorated credit for now having to pay $ 4,200.00 for the Extended Benefits program. In addition, they make extremely difficult to get the new bumped up licenses to be assigned to the same Billing Profile, and Azure credits. So, we sit here, having paid almost $ 7,000.00 and have no easy way to use the new licenses in our existing environments. This is outrageous when Microsoft is minting money. In addition, to get the Azure credits, you have to initially create a new Azure Subscription when we've had one for years, and now have 5k worth of Azure credits, that go with the Extended Benefits, and no easy way to link them. We also see that to get the new licenses, they are using a new way to Redeem them and when you try and go to assign them to an existing User, they don't show up. Does anyone know why this such a mess??Solved71Views1like2CommentsMicrosoft Partner Launch Benefits Entra installed failed
Sole Global Administrator Locked Out Following MAICPP Partner Launch Benefits Entra Activation — I am posting from my active Developer account because my primary organization tenant has been completely locked out spnode.io85Views1like1CommentE3 Growth Accelerator Use Case
Dear team, We are a Distributor and we would like your precious assistance when it comes to the Growth accelerator for M365 E3. More specifically, we won the transition of a case moving from EA to CSP, with the initial license/subscription transfer happening during June 2026. Furthermore, we will be moving under our tenant the majority of the remaining M365 E3 licenses (approx. 3.000 seats) within December 2026. Following this mid-term seat expansion of M365 E3, we would like to understand how and if the growth accelerator will be applied/implemented. Few questions on this one: How will this mid-term expansion affect the growth accelerator? When will we receive back the incentive/rebate for this transaction? Let's kick start this discussion as we need to make decisions the soonest possible. Thank you so much in advance for your continued support and collaboration! Warm regards, NickSolved134Views0likes3CommentsBenefit expiration tied to membership end date
The benefit end date is now aligned with the membership end date. (Source) That means, if my Partner Core Benefits expire on day X, the Microsoft 365 internal use benefits also expire on day X. On the surface, this makes perfect sense, but, in practice, this makes renewal extremely inconvenient: Partner programs cannot be renewed before they expire, so I can only renew them on day X or later. Microsoft 365 subscriptions must be renewed before they expire, so I must renew them no later than day X. That means that the person responsible for renewing these things must work on day X - no matter if it's a week-end, a national holiday or a long-planned vacation. Getting sick or having a power outage on that day is out of the question as well, or all the Microsoft 365 mail accounts will stop working. Can Microsoft do something to make this a little less stressful for us poor sysadmins? Either add a few grace days to the expiry of Microsoft 365, or allow us to voluntarily renew our partner subscriptions earlier - I don't mind losing a few days of benefits, if it help ensure that everything can be done well ahead of time.Solved381Views1like4CommentsPartner Blog | MCAPS Start for Partners: Turn FY27 benefits updates into customer value
Customers are moving beyond isolated AI experiments and looking for practical ways to use AI to drive revenue, improve profitability, and create measurable business value. This creates an opportunity for partners to connect Microsoft technology with business outcomes, operationalize AI securely, and guide adoption at scale That work starts with becoming Customer Zero. By applying the latest Microsoft technologies within your own organization, you can build firsthand experience, validate business outcomes, and demonstrate your unique capabilities to customers with greater credibility. At MCAPS Start for Partners, Microsoft shared FY27 updates across partner benefits packages, Frontier offers, AI-driven partner experiences, designations, specializations, incentives, and go-to-market pathways. Together, these updates give you more ways to build capability, differentiate your organization, and turn your expertise into measurable customer value. The FY27 updates follow a practical progression: build capability through your benefits, apply Microsoft technology inside your organization, demonstrate your expertise, and activate the paths most relevant to your business model. Put partner benefits packages to work Built exclusively for partners, Partner benefits packages, provide discounted Microsoft product licenses, Azure credits, technical and Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program consultations, and AI-powered marketing capabilities. You can use these resources to operate your business, skill your teams, develop solutions, and prepare for customer opportunities. The value comes from active use. New Omdia research found that 88% of surveyed partners said their package significantly helped grow their business, and 90% reported a positive return on investment. 1 Recent IDC research reinforced that partner benefits packages create the strongest return when treated as growth infrastructure, rather than simply as entitlements or discounts. 2 Put your partner benefits packages to work as Customer Zero. Use the included Microsoft technologies to build internal experience and proof points while strengthening your teams’ understanding of adoption, governance, measurement, and change management. This experience can make customer conversations more credible and delivery guidance more practical. The start of FY27 is a practical time to review your current package and confirm that it aligns with your business plans. Your Partner Center admin can purchase a benefits package based on the capacity and capabilities your organization needs. Partners can purchase multiple eligible partner benefits packages to expand their available benefits, although each individual package can be purchased only once per Partner Global Account. Differentiate your capabilities through designations and specializations Solutions Partner designations and specializations enable customers to recognize your capabilities, increase your discoverability, and connect your organization to applicable benefits, incentives, and go-to-market opportunities. Microsoft has consolidated the six current solution area designation badges into three, aligned to AI Business Solutions, Cloud & AI Platforms, and Security. This change impacts only the badges partners receive and does not affect how partners qualify for the designations. The six solution paths (Business Applications, Data & AI (Azure), Digital & App Innovation (Azure), Infrastructure (Azure), Modern Work, and Security) remain the foundation for requirements, scoring, and specializations. With badges aligned to the three commercial solution areas, you can more easily position your capabilities, support seller conversations, and show credibility where it matters most: in front of customers. Continue reading here194Views0likes0CommentsFY27 Distributor Incentives - Few Questions
Dear team, We are a Distributor and need to understand better the mechanics of the FY27 incentives. More specifically, please find below the questions we need to sort the soonest possible: Regarding the growth accelerator, is there any minimum threshold above which we are eligible to receive the Disti rebate or the growth applies even to one new additional licenses? Again, regarding the growth accelerator, the Disti rebates applies only to the new licenses added or to the new total number of licenses following the additions? Example: current config. with 100x ME5. We plan to add 100x more ME5. Will we have to apply the Disti rebate on the new 100x ME5 or to the total 200 ME5? Thank you so much for your clarifications that are crucial for our business planning! Warm regards, NickSolved232Views1like3CommentsICYMI: Partner Blog | How Microsoft is simplifying the path to partner business value
Recent updates to the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program are designed to reduce friction, make resources easier to use and support partners in turning participation into growth and profitability. Partners have been clear: working with Microsoft should be simpler. As your business scales and customer expectations rise, every hour matters. You need program experiences that reduce friction, make next steps clearer, and empower your teams to put benefits, guidance, and resources to work without unnecessary complexity. Continue reading blog here98Views0likes0CommentsICYMI: Partner Blog | How Microsoft is simplifying the path to partner business value
Recent updates to the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program are designed to reduce friction, make resources easier to use and support partners in turning participation into growth and profitability. Partners have been clear: working with Microsoft should be simpler. As your business scales and customer expectations rise, every hour matters. You need program experiences that reduce friction, make next steps clearer, and empower your teams to put benefits, guidance, and resources to work without unnecessary complexity. Continue reading here77Views0likes0Comments