Boost SaaS revenue with Microsoft Marketplace: A step-by-step guide
About the author: Manesh Raveendran is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Spektra Systems, a partner-focused cloud solutions company that simplifies cloud sales adoption and helps cloud-based businesses accelerate their growth. He specializes in thought leadership and in building end-to-end technology solutions across cloud computing, data platforms, and DevOps, with a strong focus on hybrid workloads. Manesh works closely with CXOs to understand business problems and designs systems that drive customer success through Spektra Systems’ innovative cloud solutions and services, including SaaSify, CloudLabs and CSP Control Center. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ For SaaS companies, the Microsoft Marketplace has evolved from being a procurement convenience to becoming a strategic revenue engine. But while publishing a listing is easy, closing the first transaction quickly is what separates software development companies who scale on Marketplace from those who stall. That first transaction isn’t just revenue. It’s a signal: Your offer flows through Microsoft’s procurement rails. Your finance, legal, and operations stack is aligned. Microsoft sellers trust they can bring you into deals. Buyers trust Marketplace as their procurement path. Furthermore, transactable offers close faster because they simplify legal review, leverage committed cloud spend and integrate into enterprise procurement. Many software companies go live on Microsoft Marketplace but fail to reach their first transaction quickly. Some stall for months because of fragmented processes, delayed financial setup, or a lack of alignment with Microsoft’s co-sell engine. Others underutilize the marketplace’s full potential because they treat it as a digital storefront rather than an integrated revenue channel. This blog aims to close that gap. It goes beyond “how to list” and focuses on what really drives velocity: operational readiness, CRM-native automation, seller engagement, trust signals, and AI-enabled acceleration. In this blog, we’ll walk through: The step-by-step journey from publishing your transactable offer to your first Microsoft sale. Common pitfalls that delay the first transaction and how to avoid them How CRM-native automation can accelerate finance, legal, and operations readiness for transactable offers Why field seller alignment and partner incentives are critical to activating the Microsoft ecosystem. How AI copilots and agents are changing the game for marketplace GTM. By the end, you’ll have a clear, actionable blueprint for moving from “just listed” to “revenue in hand” and turning your first sale into a repeatable growth engine. Listing readiness and execution: Step-by-step for publishing your offer Most first-sale delays don’t happen after publishing. They happen before the offer goes live. Getting listing readiness right can cut weeks off your timeline. Get the account setup right Have a Partner Center publisher account with your company verified and enrolled in the Microsoft Marketplace. Assign the right roles in Partner Center (e.g., Owner, Marketplace Admin, and for payments Finance Contributor). These are required to configure payments and publish offers. Decide offer type and monetization strategy early Pick your offer type carefully (SaaS, VM, Managed App, Container). If your goal is to accelerate revenue, transactable SaaS offers using Microsoft’s Standard Contract tend to have the lowest procurement friction. Align your pricing model (seat-based, usage, flat, or hybrid) with enterprise buying behavior and potential private offer flexibility. Complete legal, finance, and tax setup upfront Configure and validate payout and tax accounts before creating the offer. Decide whether to use the Standard Contract (fastest buyer approval) or a custom EULA (more control, more delays). Define internal ownership between finance, legal, and GTM teams. Create the offer shell in Partner Center with listing details Create a new SaaS offer in Partner Center and provide the Offer ID and Offer alias to create the shell. Complete the offer listing details with name, description, categories, keywords, logos/screens, (optional) videos. These are what customers see in the storefront. Select markets/regions, audience, and any reseller/CSP availability where supported. (Exact toggles vary by offer type; the goal is to ensure the offer is visible where you sell.) Build the listing like a sales asset A Marketplace listing is not a product brochure, it’s the first deck Microsoft sellers and buyers see. Open with a sharp value proposition. Add pricing clarity or private offer options. Include visuals (architecture diagrams, screenshots, etc.). Add security and compliance details. Link to deployment guides and onboarding documentation. Test before you publish Run through test purchases and fulfillment callbacks. Validate offer visibility, legal terms, pricing flows, and payout readiness. Involve your finance and ops teams before pressing “Submit.” Software companies that complete listing readiness thoroughly typically reach first sale in a few days post-publish, versus weeks or months when key steps are deferred. Making an offer transactable: Speed starts here Publishing a Marketplace listing is like setting up a storefront. But a transactable offer turns that storefront into a fully operational sales channel. Technical execution: Fulfillment & integration For SaaS offers, integrate the SaaS Fulfillment API v2: Implement landing page and webhook endpoints to handle provisioning. Automate activation, change, and cancellation flows. Ensure your finance systems can reconcile Marketplace invoices and payouts. Commercial execution: Pricing & packaging for enterprise buyers Offer transparent, scalable plans buyers can commit to confidently. Design for private offers: custom pricing, terms, or multi-year deals. Ensure deployment is frictionless; buyers expect immediate activation. Aligning with seller & buyer behavior Transactable offers allow Microsoft sellers to retire quota faster which can be a huge incentive. Buyers prefer using committed cloud spend on pre-approved contracts. Simplicity wins: fewer legal redlines, faster billing, and predictable usage. Using Microsoft’s Standard Contract instead of custom terms can cut procurement timelines drastically. Co-sell readiness ensures sellers can bring you into opportunities quickly. Common pitfalls that delay first sale velocity Not every software company reaches their first sale smoothly. In fact, many delays stem from operational and technical issues, not lack of demand. Some of the most common pitfalls include: Delaying payout and tax setup: Without validated financial configuration, your offer can go live but won’t be able to transact. This is one of the biggest and most common delays. Weak or incomplete listings: If your listing doesn’t clearly communicate value, pricing, deployment, and security posture, neither sellers nor buyers will engage confidently. Fulfillment gaps: A broken or manual provisioning flow can derail the first transaction at the worst possible moment. Automation here is essential. Lack of CRM integration: Marketplace opportunities stuck in a separate portal often get ignored or delayed, leading to poor forecasting and slower deal cycles. No seller activation: Simply going live won’t bring in deals. Without proactive enablement, Microsoft field sellers won’t prioritize your offer. Legal complexity: Custom legal terms add friction for buyers and sellers. Using Microsoft’s Standard Contract accelerates procurement significantly. Over-reliance on “organic” traffic: Marketplace is not a “list and wait” channel. The first sale almost always needs to be driven intentionally. Most of these pitfalls are fully preventable with early planning, operational alignment, and a revenue-first listing strategy. Here’s how modern software companies are solving these common challenges, with AI copilots and CRM-native workflows. CRM-native automation to streamline first marketplace sale Once your offer is live, speed to first transaction depends on how efficiently you can move from buyer intent to recorded revenue. This is where CRM-native automation bridges the gap, connecting Marketplace activity with your core GTM and operational systems. When Marketplace deals don’t connect to your CRM, they fall into operational dead zones that slow execution and create unnecessary manual work: Data entry and updates are done twice, once in CRM and then again in the Partner Center Manual processes introduce errors and inconsistencies. Seller response time slows because opportunities aren’t visible. Finance teams chase payouts and reconciliation weeks after closing. GTM leadership lacks visibility into true pipeline attribution and revenue impact. In short, disconnected systems mean disconnected teams and that’s the biggest drag on first-sale velocity. But CRM-native automation streamlines the transactable offer process in more than one way, including: Automated offer creation For most software companies, the first Marketplace transaction happens through a private offer, not a public click-to-buy. CRM-native automation lets you generate, customize, and track private offers directly inside your CRM, eliminating manual Partner Center steps and accelerating deal velocity. Advanced workflows also integrate co-sell automation, so partner managers and Microsoft field sellers are looped in automatically. Real-time deal visibility As soon as a buyer initiates a transaction or engages through a private offer, the status is instantly logged in your CRM through bi-directional sync. Sellers and RevOps no longer have to check Partner Center manually. This eliminates lag between buyer intent and seller follow-up, often shaving days off deal cycles. Unified forecasting and attribution Marketplace opportunities flow directly into your primary CRM pipeline. GTM and revenue leaders can forecast Marketplace deals alongside direct sales, using the same dashboards and metrics. Marketplace revenue is no longer a black box sitting outside the funnel. Financial reconciliation without chaos Payout reports, tax records, and revenue recognition tie directly to opportunity records. Finance teams don’t need to manually match spreadsheets or chase payouts. Marketplace revenue is reconciled automatically with clean data, reducing delays and errors. Better seller incentives and co-sell alignment When Marketplace deals show up in seller dashboards and reports, they’re treated like legitimate, quota-retiring opportunities. This increases seller participation and encourages field teams to bring software companies into opportunities earlier. Co-sell notifications can be automated, ensuring partner managers, sellers, and Microsoft teams are always aligned. A fully operational CRM-native Marketplace motion typically includes: Automated private offer generation through Marketplace Streamlined co-sell opportunity signals from CRM to align Microsoft sellers and accelerate joint pipeline. Deal stage mapping aligned with GTM and RevOps workflows. Automated approval, legal, and finance processes. Integration with payout and tax reporting for real-time revenue recognition. Alerts and dashboards for sellers, RevOps, and partner managers. Direct linkage with co-sell opportunities and field seller engagement. AI agents & Copilots: Driving faster listing readiness For most software development companies, listing and selling on Microsoft Marketplace is complex because the steps are fragmented. Legal, technical, operational, and GTM readiness often move at different speeds. This is exactly where AI agents and copilots transform the motion from manual and reactive to predictable and orchestrated. AI Agents can act as a purpose-built companion for software companies, like SaaSify AI Companion can generate tailored, prioritized roadmaps based on your GTM maturity, offer type, and launch goals. Here’s how AI agents can accelerate GTM readiness: Personalized Roadmaps: AI generates a launch plan with 50+ tasks, customized to your offer type, stage, and objectives. These aren’t static lists, they adapt dynamically as you progress. Guided Execution: Every task includes step-by-step guidance, deep links to Microsoft resources, contextual recommendations, and real-time AI assistance. Dependency & Risk Management: Visual progress indicators, dependencies, and conditional logic ensure you never miss a critical step. Potential blockers are flagged early with no need for external consultants Flexible Engagement: Software companies can choose between self-service (full control) or assisted onboarding (expert + AI), allowing different team structures to move at the same velocity. AI copilots don’t just accelerate readiness; they reduce errors, compress planning cycles, and create predictability. Listing to first sale on Microsoft Marketplace: An inflection point The first Marketplace sale isn’t just a transaction. It’s the moment your GTM motion proves it can run on Microsoft’s procurement rails. It’s the point where sellers start to pull you into deals, buyers see Marketplace as a trusted procurement path, and your internal teams gain confidence in a repeatable channel. The software companies who reach this point fastest aren’t necessarily the ones with the biggest budgets or teams. They’re the ones who: Treat listing readiness as a strategic launch, not an operational checkbox. Invest early in transactability to minimize friction for buyers and sellers. Avoid common operational pitfalls that slow most launches down. Use AI copilots to orchestrate readiness instead of relying on manual project management. Implement CRM-native automation so every signal flows seamlessly into their revenue engine. Marketplace is not a “list and wait” channel. It’s a GTM motion that rewards precision, alignment, and speed. That’s where SaaSify plays a catalytic role. SaaSify AI Companion enables self-service readiness with guided, step-by-step launch roadmaps, while the SaaSify GTM Platform automates the operational backbone of transactable offers, from private offer creation to co-sell workflows and payout reconciliation. This combination helps software companies cut time-to-first-sale dramatically, reduce execution overhead, and scale Marketplace revenue motions with confidence. In today’s Marketplace-driven economy, the winners aren’t just those who list fast, they’re the ones who operationalize faster, automate smarter, and sell through Microsoft as a scalable, repeatable growth engine. To learn more and ask questions, attend the AI-powered acceleration: Scale faster in Microsoft Marketplace | Microsoft Community Hub session on December 4 th . If you are unable to attend, the session will be recorded for on demand viewing after. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Resources Microsoft Marketplace Trusted source for cloud solutions, AI apps, and agents Microsoft Marketplace - Marketplace publisher | Microsoft Learn How to guides for working in Microsoft Marketplace ISV Success Discover offers and benefits of ISV Success to help you take your apps and agents to the next level.AI architecture: Powering the next generation of business agents
In this installment of our Partner Spotlight series, we’re continuing to showcase the innovators’ driving app and agent development forward on the Microsoft Marketplace. Each feature highlights the distinct journeys of partners who are pioneering AI-powered solutions, building across the Microsoft ecosystem, and delivering transactable applications that are shaping the future of the marketplace. In this article, I sat down with Imran Mahmood from KAISPE to learn more about their story and partner journey. About Imran: Imran Mahmood is the Chief Executive Officer of KAISPE, leading the company’s vision to deliver AI-powered, secure, and scalable business applications through Microsoft technologies. With over 20 years of experience in enterprise technology and digital transformation, Imran has guided KAISPE’s growth as a global Microsoft Partner with 20+ IPs listed on Microsoft Marketplace. He also oversees KAISPE AI for AI Center of Excellence, driving innovation in AI agents, intelligent automation, and Microsoft ecosystem integration. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ [JR]: Tell us about your organization. [IM]: KAISPE is a Microsoft Partner and software development company focused on developing intelligent, secure, and scalable business applications that help organizations accelerate their digital transformation. Our core expertise includes AI and cloud-based business applications built on Microsoft technologies such as Dynamics 365, Power Platform, and Azure. With a growing portfolio of over 20+ IPs listed on Microsoft Marketplace, KAISPE’s solutions help businesses automate processes, enhance decision-making, and improve user experience. [JR]: What inspired the founding? [IM]: KAISPE was founded with the vision to bridge the gap between complex enterprise systems and user-centric experiences. We recognized that many organizations were still managing manual, time-consuming processes, and saw an opportunity to build smarter, AI-driven solutions that make technology feel like an extension of the team not a barrier. This commitment to solving real business pain points through innovation and simplicity continues to drive our product strategy. [JR]: What products/services do you offer? [IM]: Our portfolio includes industry-specific and horizontal business applications and offer several SaaS and PaaS based solutions and services including such as AutoRecruit (AI-powered recruitment automation), Supplier Relationship Management, Field Service (intelligent field operations), MyFieldAgent, and Employee Self Service. Beyond apps, we are investing heavily in our AI Center of Excellence (AI CoE), which drives innovation in developing intelligent AI agents for recruitment, field service, procurement, and customer support all powered by Microsoft Azure AI and OpenAI technologies. KAISPE’s journey with AI agents Building autonomous agents that think, act, and deliver across industries [JR]: What does your app or agent do, and who is it designed for? [IM]: KAISPE develops AI-powered business applications and intelligent agents that help organizations automate workflows, enhance productivity, and make smarter decisions. Our solutions serve a wide range of users—from field engineers and recruiters to suppliers and enterprise employees. Examples include: MyFieldAgent: Real-time AI support for field engineers with role-based access ensures focus and data security. AutoRecruit & Recruitment Hub: AI-driven hiring tools for job descriptions, resume parsing, skills matching and candidate assessments. MyJobMate: AI-powered job matching and applicant engagement. MyProcureBot: A conversational and autonomous assistant that helps suppliers easily create quotes, manage contracts, and update vendor information automatically. AutoAPX, Travel & Expense & Sales Field: Automate invoice processing, utilize OCR for receipt scanning and leverage AI to auto-categorize expenses based on recognized text and patterns and capture customer data from business cards. Field Service: Uses AI to detect anomalies or irregularities from site images, identify objects automatically, and with Copilot, quickly check inventory, fulfillment dates, and summarize data. All solutions are built under KAISPE’s AI Center of Excellence (AI CoE) and leverage Microsoft Azure AI, Copilot Studio, Power Platform, and Dynamics 365 for secure, scalable, and deeply integrated experiences. [JR]: How has your solution evolved since its initial launch? [IM]: Our journey began with single-use applications tailored to specific customer needs. Over time, we transitioned to standardized, scalable SaaS models with embedded AI features and marketplace deployment. With the launch of our AI CoE, we now build modular agents that personalize and automate workflows at scale—each iteration bringing stronger security, better UX, and deeper integration with Microsoft’s cloud ecosystem. [JR]: What motivated you to start building agents, and what business outcomes have you seen? [IM]: We wanted to make business applications more intelligent and human-like. Users needed faster assistance and guided workflows without relying on back-office teams. That’s why we introduced Agentic AI task-oriented, conversational agents that act and decide autonomously to improve efficiency and create intuitive user experiences. As a result, our customers experience fewer operational delays, faster decision-making, and higher satisfaction. [JR]: How do you prioritize standalone agents versus embedded (in-app) agents in your roadmap? [IM]: We take a strategic approach. Embedded agents enhance existing app experiences—for example, integrating Copilot into Field Service or Travel & Expense Management. Standalone agents like MyProcureBot serve broader use cases across multiple apps. The decision depends on customer needs: if it’s about improving a specific workflow, we embed; if it’s about offering an assistant across systems, we go standalone. [JR]: How have your customers responded to conversational or task-based agents compared to traditional app interfaces? [IM]: Enthusiastically. Solutions like MyFieldAgent, MyJobMate, and MyProcureBot show that users prefer natural interaction over complex menus. Conversational agents simplify tasks and drive higher adoption rates. For many organizations, they’ve transformed routine operations into quick, AI-assisted experiences. [JR]: Which Microsoft tools or frameworks have been most valuable for building agents? [IM]: Microsoft’s stack has been essential: Copilot Studio: For building conversational flows and task logic. Azure AI Studio & Azure OpenAI: For natural language understanding and generative capabilities. Azure Cognitive Services: For speech recognition, translation, and vision features. These tools help us design intelligent, scalable agents that integrate seamlessly with Dynamics 365, Microsoft 365, and Power Platform. [JR]: What challenges have you faced in designing context-aware agents, and how have you overcome them? [IM]: Users expect agents to remember intent and switch topics smoothly. To meet this expectation, we built a context management layer that tracks conversation history, remembers user actions, and connects to backend systems like Dynamics 365. This ensures our agents feel natural and aware—not robotic. [JR]: How do you see agents driving differentiation and discoverability on Microsoft Marketplace? [IM]: Our agent-powered solutions showcase practical AI innovation. When customers explore the Marketplace, they see our focus on conversational, intelligent experiences. This builds trust and aligns with Microsoft’s vision for AI-powered workplaces—helping KAISPE stand out as a partner delivering measurable impact. [JR]: What’s next for KAISPE in terms of agent innovation? [IM]: We’re expanding our AI CoE to focus on multi-agent orchestration and industry-specific templates—starting with healthcare. Our new offerings, KAISPECare and TherapyCare, will deliver agentic AI experiences for small and medium-sized healthcare centers. AI Copilot for Doctors: Auto-generate patient visit summaries Risk flagging for chronic diseases Voice-to-EMR note assistant Drug interaction checking AI Copilot for Patients: Smart appointment suggestions Symptom checking (pre-visit triage) Voice-based booking and registration AI Copilot for Admins: Flag inconsistent or duplicate charges Auto-apply billing codes Generate invoice drafts from consultation notes These Autonomous Agents will empower healthcare professionals with intelligent, voice-driven workflows that save time and improve care. [JR]: How are agents impacting business decision-making for customers? [IM]: Built on AI Foundry, these Agentic AI–powered autonomous agents analyze context, history, and trends to deliver real-time insights and take action based on user intent. In areas like procurement or recruitment or during inspection, they recommend next steps, flag risks, and even handle routine tasks helping businesses make faster, smarter decisions with minimal effort. [JR]: How do you ensure agents stay relevant and continuously learn? [IM]: Through our AI CoE, we continuously update agents based on feedback, performance data, and new Microsoft features. Using Copilot Studio and Azure OpenAI, we feed structured and unstructured data to agents and connect to external knowledge sources. We retrain models regularly to refine responses, improve tone, and adapt to evolving business needs. Marketplace journey & transactable offers [JR]: What motivated KAISPE to publish a transactable offer on the Microsoft Marketplace, and what impact has it had on your business? [IM]: KAISPE saw Microsoft Marketplace as a trusted global platform to reach enterprise customers and simplify procurement through Microsoft’s billing ecosystem. Publishing transactable offers boosted our visibility, credibility, and positioned KAISPE as a verified Microsoft Partner with scalable, ready-to-deploy solutions. This move expanded our global customer base, generated new leads, opened co-sell opportunities with Microsoft field sellers, streamlined sales operations, shortened the sales cycle, and enhanced customer confidence. [JR]: What advice would you give to new partners who are just starting to publish? [IM]: Start with a clear value proposition focused on solving customer problems. Use Marketplace Rewards early, engage with co-sell tools, and make your offers transactable! Treat Marketplace as a strategic growth platform—not just a listing. We leveraged App Advisor, Marketplace Rewards, and co-sell resources to optimize listings, improve visibility, and align with Microsoft’s best practices. Navigating compliance requirements and configuring transactable offers was complex, but support from Microsoft’s Marketplace and Partner Success teams helped us overcome these challenges through technical guidance and collaboration. Lessons learned [JR]: What key takeaways would you share with other partners considering a similar path? [IM]: Invest early in building transactable and secure offers. Leverage Microsoft’s ecosystem and maintain strong communication with your Partner Development Manager. If we were to start over, we’d invest in transactable readiness sooner and engage Marketplace Rewards earlier in the journey. [JR]: Any unexpected wins or challenges? [IM]: A major win has been global visibility — customers from regions we hadn’t directly targeted discovered us through Marketplace. The main challenge was keeping pace with Microsoft’s evolving listing requirements, which improved our processes. [JR]: How has your Marketplace experience shaped your future roadmap? [IM]: It has solidified our focus on building scalable, AI-driven products under the AI Center of Excellence (CoE), strengthening our integration with Microsoft Dynamics 365 and expanding our IP portfolio across industries. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Resources Join ISV Success - Build and publish applications and agents faster with powerful AI developer tools, consultations, and technical guidance—then grow your sales through Microsoft Marketplace Join the marketplace community - Access resources for every stage of the journey on the Microsoft Marketplace, provide feedback, and engage with other partners and Microsoft subject-matter experts focused on your success. Microsoft Marketplace - Your trusted source for cloud solutions, AI apps, and agents Paths for partnership - Learn more about the ways you can partner with us—from building and selling solutions to differentiating your business with a Solutions Partner designation.Build smarter, publish faster: Here’s what’s new in App Advisor
App Advisor just got a major upgrade - and it’s changing the game for software development companies building apps and agents for the Microsoft Marketplace. Since its MVP launch in January 2024, App Advisor has helped thousands of partners like you streamline their journey. 💬 What partners are saying App Advisor isn’t just a tool - it’s a game-changer. Here’s what partners have shared about their experience: “I appreciate that App Advisor curates the content for the partner since the amount of data available is just so vast. It does a great job of curating for them based on their goals.” Frank Valdivieso, President & CEO, Gryphon Consulting ⚡What’s new? Smarter focus, faster execution, and scalable growth Now, with six new features launched in the US (and global availability coming soon), App Advisor is making it easier than ever to stay focused, move faster, and scale smarter with apps and agents. Here’s what’s new: 🛠️ In-app marketplace offer creation Start your marketplace journey directly within App Advisor - no context switching required. You can now initiate offer creation for popular offer types without leaving the platform. Not signed up to publish - no problem! App Advisor can get you signed up and on your way to creating your offer. 🚀 Tailored recommendations by marketplace offer type Confidently align your app with the right marketplace offer and pricing model using our interactive wizard. Get personalized recommendations based on your app profile and program membership - and fast-track publishing to launch sooner. 📁 Multi-project save with Partner Center linking Advance multiple apps and agents from a single, centralized experience. Save guidance across projects and link each to its Partner Center offer for seamless continuity. 🎯 Membership-based guidance Receive personalized guidance based on your ISV Success or Marketplace Rewards membership. App Advisor adapts its recommendations to help you make faster, smarter decisions. ✅ ISV Success sign-up integration Sign up for ISV Success and resume your workflow without disruption. Unlock benefits like cloud credits, technical consults, and go-to-market resources - all without breaking your build flow. 🎥 Embedded video playback Explore how to build, publish, and grow your apps and agents with step-by-step video guidance. Watch demos and guidance videos directly within App Advisor. Stay in flow with seamless, distraction-free learning, all while keeping the AI-powered assistant visible and ready to help. Ready to accelerate your marketplace success? Dive into App Advisor today to build, publish, and sell transactable offers with clarity, speed, and confidence. Make sure you check out the new Microsoft Marketplace - the single destination to find, try, and buy AI apps, tools, and agents. Read the blog to learn more. Ready to level up with App Advisor? Watch this quick video and unlock what’s next!Try a Microsoft Build demo search app with LLM functions from Azure Marketplace partner Elastic
In this guest blog post, Jonathan Simon, Sr. Product Marketing Engineer at Elastic, a longtime Microsoft and Azure Marketplace partner, presents a hybrid search solution that addresses unique challenges by using Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, Azure Maps, and GitHub Codespaces in conjunction with Elasticsearch.What’s in store for software companies at Microsoft Build 2025
Microsoft Build is just two weeks away, and there are many opportunities for software development companies interested in learning more about Microsoft technology, partnership, and the marketplace! RSVP for the Software Company Happy Hour on May 19 Join the Azure Marketing and Marketplace teams for an evening of networking, entertainment, and celebration! This exclusive partner reception will take place at THE SHOP on May 19 at 7pm, near the heart of downtown Seattle. We’ll have the backdrop of a world-class car collection, food, and drinks, as well as immersive experiences including an adrenaline-pumping race car simulator and interactive tours. You do not need a Microsoft Build pass to attend. However, for those joining from Build, shuttle buses will be provided from the Seattle Convention Center. RSVP today for up to three colleagues. Check out Recommended Sessions for Software Companies If you’re attending Microsoft Build in Seattle, marketplace product experts will host a in-person theater session, “Accelerate AI app delivery from discovery through deployment with marketplace,” on Tuesday, May 20 at 4:40pm PT. This session will be relevant to both marketplace customers and partners. We’ll share how developers are achieving significantly faster time-to-value in developing and deploying AI-powered applications when buying through the marketplace. We’ve also put together a curated list of Build sessions relevant to software companies. Check out the recommendations here. Register for Microsoft Build Today! It’s not too late to attend for Microsoft Build. Whether you’re coming to Seattle or joining online, you can register today.Exciting updates to the ISV Success Visual Studio benefit!
We have some fantastic news to share with you. 🎉 The ISV Success Visual Studio benefit is getting an upgrade! Starting in March, you will still have access to Visual Studio Enterprise and Azure DevOps and we're rolling out a host of new training and community benefits that will supercharge your development experience. These exciting new benefits will be available in Partner Center, making it easier than ever to access everything you need to excel in your development journey. Here's a sneak peek at what's coming your way: New Training Benefits - Sharpen your skills with a variety of training courses tailored to help you stay ahead in the ever-evolving tech landscape with exclusive discounts on DevForge and DomeTrain. DevForge's expert led courses, featuring renowned educator Tim Corey. Unlock a library of developer upskilling resources, from comprehensive master courses to specialized trainings. Explore DevPass Dometrain Pro led by industry veteran Nick Chapsas, Dometrain courses are designed to teach you actionable skills and real-world practices, as if you were paired with a skilled senior engineer in a real modern company. Browse Dometrain courses New Community Benefits - Engage with like-minded professionals and get your technical questions answered in our vibrant community forums. Microsoft Q&A: Have a technical product question? Find it on Microsoft Q&A – the home for technical questions and answers at Microsoft. Microsoft Tech Community: Connect and engage with fellow users and Microsoft technical experts on best practices, design architecture and the latest updates. Developer Community: Post questions, find answers and share your knowledge in the Developer Community forums. Azure Community: Get help directly from the Azure team within these select forums. Concierge Chat: Available 27/7. Chat with us for assistance finding technical documentation product information or using your subscription benefits. Chat assistance is provided in English **Important ** Please be aware that, going forward, these benefits will not be available for previous versions of Visual Studio and Visual Studio for Mac. We're thrilled to bring you these enhancements and can't wait to see the amazing things you'll achieve with them. Stay tuned for more updates and happy coding!Exciting update: New Advanced Package benefit for ISV Success participants!
We are delighted to share yet another exciting benefit for our ISV Success program participants. In our ongoing commitment to support ISVs, we are introducing a new Advanced Package Benefit that could significantly enhance your development projects. NEW – Advanced Package Benefit - $25,000 USD ISV Success participants with an Azure, Security, or Industry AI certified software designation may now be eligible for additional Azure Sponsorship, providing another $25,000 USD, totaling an impressive $50,000 USD when combined with the Expanded and Core benefits packages. This substantial sponsorship aims to help you maximize the potential of Azure and drive innovation in your projects. Determine your eligibility To find out if you qualify for this advanced benefit, please reach out to your Build and Publish Engagement Manager. They will assist you in understanding the eligibility criteria and guide you through the process of applying for this additional Azure Sponsorship. At ISV Success, we are dedicated to offering valuable resources and support to help you achieve your development goals. Don't miss out on this exceptional opportunity to enhance your productivity and bring your projects to life with the power of Azure. To learn more about the ISV Success offering, go to https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/isv/isv-successStart coding in minutes with the Quick-start Development Toolkit
The timeline from an idea for an app to coding is longer than most software development companies would like. Understanding the problem is only the first step in deciding what tools can be used to develop and how to code. And, with a dizzying array of development tools and approaches, time can be lost in consideration before anything is ever built. To help solve this problem, use the Quick-start Development Toolkit — collected actionable resources centered around best practice development patterns — that help software companies get targeted code packages to streamline their app development for AI, Copilot, and agents, AWS to Azure multi-cloud replication, or apps integrating Security. How does it work? As companies brainstorm apps to develop, they often know about the business benefits and purpose, the scenarios where the app would be valuable. What they might not have (without several dev cycles) is the general architecture of that app design and a quick way for their developers to iterate with code, seeing if it’s the right approach. As a result, their time to market may be slower and — when developing apps — this can be costly. With the Quick-start Development Toolkit, we’ve brought together the combined knowledge of experts at Microsoft to provide the foundations of getting developers working with applicable code within minutes: Reference solution architecture: to show how components are used and interact, Click-to-deploy reference code: cloud-ready templates get you coding in minutes, How-to articles: for context to help understand products, patterns, and tips to deploy. These streamlined resources help you and your team get ideas off the drawing board and into a tangible prototype within minutes, saving your team valuable dev cycles. Having access to these should cut time and effort from your dev cycles, helping you stay at the forefront of app development. We look forward to seeing your apps in market! Visit the Quick-start Development Toolkit to boost your code cadence today.Strengthening the software development company supply chain with DevSecOps practices
As cyber threats grow in complexity and frequency, embedding security into the product design lifecycle is no longer optional—it’s essential. In the Microsoft Security for ISV series, our fourth session, “Strengthen the software development company supply chain with DevSecOps practices,” provides in‐depth insights into how software development companies can build robust, secure, and resilient applications while accelerating development processes. By integrating security into every phase—from design to production—software development companies can protect customer data, ensure compliance, and build lasting trust. Understanding the Evolving Threat Landscape According to GitGuardian’s 2024 report, public GitHub repositories saw an alarming surge in hardcoded secrets — with nearly 24 million new secrets (23,770,171) added last year. This represents a 25% increase compared to the previous year and highlights a troubling trend: long-lived plaintext credentials such as API keys, passwords, and authentication tokens continue to proliferate in open-source projects. Despite GitHub’s efforts to filter out known credential patterns during the push process, the rise in generic secrets—which can include common usernames, unstructured passwords, or basic auth strings—remains largely unmitigated, providing attackers of any skill level with an easy entry point and the ability to move laterally within systems. Key Security Strategies for Software Development Companies Embedding Security Throughout the Software Development Lifecycle The evolution of DevSecOps is transforming how organizations approach application security. Michael Friedrich, Cloud Solution Architect at Microsoft, underscored two primary challenges: Growing code bases often come with increased vulnerabilities Developers need intuitive security tooling that doesn’t disrupt productivity DevSecOps is all about “shifting security left” by integrating security practices throughout development—as code is written, built, and deployed—instead of addressing vulnerabilities only after production. This approach not only saves time and resources but also reduces the likelihood of exploiting application-level vulnerabilities. Key strategies include: Early threat modelling to identify and mitigate risks before deployment Collaborative workflows that bring together developers and security teams Continuous scanning methods (static analysis, secret scanning, dependency review) to catch issues early For a deeper dive, explore Microsoft’s Secure Development Lifecycle guide (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/securityengineering/sdl). Integrating GitHub Advanced Security and Microsoft Defender for Cloud GitHub and Microsoft work in unison for a unified secure development experience. GitHub Advanced Security is embedded directly into the developer workflow to detect vulnerabilities through advanced code scanning (powered by CodeQL), secret scanning, and dependency checks. The integration means that security alerts are provided as developers code—not as an afterthought—which speeds up remediation and reduces production issues. In parallel, Microsoft Defender for Cloud (formerly Defender CSPM) offers a cloud security posture management solution that: Pinpoints and prioritizes risks with a context-aware engine Provides actionable, recommendation-driven insights for DevOps environments Delivers continuous scanning across multi-cloud environments and CI/CD pipelines Learn more about Microsoft Defender for Cloud at https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/defender-for-cloud and enhance your cloud security posture. The Secure Future Initiative: Secure by Design, Default, and Operations Microsoft’s “Secure Future Initiative” (SFI) is comprehensive framework ensures that security is embedded into every stage of product development and operations through three core principles: Secure by Design Incorporate security during the planning and architecture phases Protect identities and secrets from the start with strong key rotation, hardware security modules, and no hard-coded secrets Secure by Default Enforce robust security configurations so that protection is on by default (for example, MFA enforcement and least privilege access) Secure Operations Establish continuous monitoring protocols, rapid incident response, and centralized security logs Use tools like Microsoft Sentinel for real-time threat analytics These foundational elements ensure that as software development companies develop and scale innovative solutions—including those leveraging artificial intelligence—security remains a steadfast pillar. For additional guidance on Secure Future Initiative, visit https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/trust-center/security/secure-future-initiative Strengthening the Software Development Company Supply Chain with Modern DevSecOps Practices Modern software supply chains often include third-party dependencies, open-source libraries, and automated pipelines. Traditional security measures can’t keep pace with today’s integrated development models. Therefore, it’s critical to: Employ code signing and package verification for third-party components Adopt continuous security scanning using solutions like GitHub’s secret scanning with push protection Integrate Microsoft Defender for DevOps for comprehensive visibility from code to cloud For more on secure supply chain strategies, check out the Secure Supply Chain Consumption Framework (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/securityengineering/opensource) Real-World Insights from BuildKite and the Role of DevSecOps Guest speaker Ken Thompson, VP of Product at BuildKite, shared practical examples from the front lines of secure continuous integration and delivery. BuildKite’s hybrid model, combining a software-as-a-service control plane with open-source on-premises agents, ensures that sensitive code and secrets never leave a customer’s infrastructure. This design enhances security while enabling: Rapid build times with hyper-parallelized pipelines Integrated security scanning within every build, thereby “shifting left” security Proven practices like the SLSA framework for artifact provenance, which verifies that code and pipelines are built in a trusted manner Ken highlighted examples where Uber have reduced build times from an hour to mere minutes while ensuring every pipeline pass incorporates critical vulnerability scanning. This demonstrates that robust security practices and efficiency can go hand in hand. Taking Action: Strengthening Your Security Posture Today Security is an ongoing journey. By adopting proactive security strategies, embracing DevSecOps practices, and integrating industry-leading tools, software development companies can build resilient, trusted applications that stand up to today’s cyber threats. Action Steps for Software Development Companies: Embed security into every phase of your SDLC Strengthen identity and access with strong MFA, conditional access, and the Zero Trust model Secure secrets using Azure Key Vault and GitHub Advanced Security for automated secret scanning Enhance supply chain security through continuous scanning and vulnerability remediation Monitor your cloud environments with Microsoft Defender for Cloud and Microsoft Sentinel for real-time insights Additional Resources: Microsoft Secure Development Lifecycle – https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/securityengineering/sdl Secure Supply Chain Consumption Framework – https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/securityengineering/opensource Cloud Adoption Framework – https://aka.ms/caf Zero Trust Guidance Center – https://aka.ms/Zero-Trust Start with Security – https://aka.ms/trysecurity SaaS Workload Guidance – https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/well-architected/saas/ Join ISV Success – https://www.microsoft.com/isv
Exploring Azure AI Agent Service: A developer's guide
The world of AI is evolving rapidly, and at a recent TechConnect at the Azure AI Foundry Partner Council, we explored the game-changing potential of Azure AI Agent Service. This session was packed with insights for AI developers, cloud solution architects, and technical decision-makers eager to push the boundaries of agentic AI. If you're looking to simplify development, deployment, and scaling of enterprise-grade AI agents, this service is a must-know. In this blog post, we’ll summarize key topics covered during the session and provide insights into how Azure AI Agent Service can streamline your AI development process. Whether you're a seasoned developer or just starting, this is an exciting opportunity to learn how AI agents can autonomously execute business processes with minimal human intervention. Introduction to AI Agents The session kicked off by defining AI agents and their capabilities. Unlike traditional chatbots, AI agents are goal-driven and can autonomously execute business processes. They can reason over provided business logic, integrate with external data sources, and orchestrate actions to achieve specific goals. This marks a significant shift from simple conversational AI to intelligent, task-driven agents capable of decision-making and execution. Simplifying Development with Azure AI Agent Service Building AI agents traditionally involve working with frameworks like LangChain and Semantic Kernel and AutoGen which require developers to manage state, context, orchestration, and scaling. Azure AI Agent Service eliminates these complexities by offering a fully managed service with: Out-of-the-box tools for faster development Flexible model selection to fit diverse use cases Enterprise readiness with built-in security and scalability This means developers can focus on business logic rather than infrastructure concerns, accelerating the development cycle significantly. Function Calling and Code Interpreter Tools One of the standouts features of Azure AI Agent Service is function calling, which allows agents to interact with external systems by executing predefined functions. The session showcased how developers can: Define and use function calling to connect AI agents to other systems Utilize the code interpreter tool to enable AI agents to generate data visualizations and perform analysis These tools empower developers to create more dynamic and responsive AI agents that can process and present insights effectively. Extending Agent Knowledge with File Search AI agents are only as good as the information they can access. Azure AI Agent Service includes a file search tool that allows agents to tap into external data sources such as product catalogs, knowledge bases, or proprietary documents. This significantly enhances an agent’s ability to answer complex queries and perform in-depth analysis. Real-Time Information with Bing Search For scenarios that require real-time, up-to-date data, the Bing Search tool is a game-changer. The session demonstrated how this tool enables agents to fetch and analyze current web data for use cases like competitive analysis, market research, and trend monitoring. With seamless Bing Search integration, AI agents can stay relevant and informed in an ever-changing world. The training session wasn’t just about concepts, it was packed with practical demonstrations, live coding examples, and troubleshooting tips. You can watch the full session to help you: Understand the core capabilities of Azure AI Agent Service See live implementation of function calling, file search, and Bing Search tools Learn best practices for deploying scalable and secure AI agents Ready to Explore Further? Don’t miss out on the chance to deep-dive into agentic AI to enhance your AI development skills and streamline agent deployment. Check out the recording of the session to take your AI projects to the next level and unlock the full potential of Azure AI Agent Service! About the Azure AI Foundry Partner Council: The Azure AI Foundry Partner Council is a dynamic and collaborative initiative designed to foster innovation and drive advancements in artificial intelligence. This council brings together a diverse group of industry leaders, technology experts, and strategic partners who are committed to leveraging the power of Azure AI to solve complex business challenges. Through the Azure AI Foundry Partner Council, members are empowered to push the boundaries of what is possible with AI, ultimately driving progress and delivering value to their organizations and customers. Call to Action Learn more about how Azure AI Agent Service: Revolutionizing AI Agent Development and Deployment Start trying Azure AI Agent services in Azure AI Foundry or Start building with the SDK documentation Dive deep into enterprise knowledge extensibility in Azure AI Agent Service Learn how to design, customize and manage AI applications with Azure AI Foundry Learn how to empower data-driven decision making with Microsoft Fabric Watch this recorded breakout session from Ignite 2024 to learn more about how companies are automating key business processes with Azure AI Agent Service Watch this live demo at Ignite 2024 to learn how customers are going beyond chat-based interactions Nominate to join the Azure AI Foundry Council via aipartnerteam@microsoft.com
