Ignite 2025: Drive the next era of software innovation with AI
Artificial intelligence is unlocking new possibilities and redefining what’s achievable. Software companies, startups, ISVs and AI Natives are leading the charge, using AI to speed up delivery, scale effectively, and unlock new business potential. Microsoft empowers software companies to unlock growth through AI-driven innovation, empowers their developers to ship faster and scale through programs, incentive and Microsoft Marketplace. There is clear momentum in AI innovation, led by forward-thinking software companies. For instance, Microsoft Marketplace now offers 4,000+ AI Apps and Agents—more than any other marketplace—as well as additional cloud solutions designed to help customers accelerate their innovation. Software company acceleration at Microsoft Ignite. This week at Ignite, Microsoft is empowering software companies across three key areas: 1. Unlock growth with AI Software companies can access a broad choice of models, tailor them to their use case, and create AI apps and agents that deliver outcomes while using responsible AI to protect data and reduce risk. New announcements: Unified tools catalog in Microsoft Foundry (Public preview) New Microsoft Foundry updates in preview will enable developers to enrich agents with real-time business context, multimodal capabilities and custom business logic through a unified Tools catalog of Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers built with security and governance in mind. The catalog includes Unified tool discovery, deep business integration, new tools for prebuilt AI services, and custom tool extensibility. Managed instance on Azure App Service (Public preview) Enables organizations to move web applications to the cloud with just a few configuration changes, saving the time and effort of rewriting code. Whether .NET web apps are running on-premises or in virtual machines, developers will be able to modernize them into a fully managed platform-as-a-service (PaaS) environment and future-proof their infrastructure. The result is faster app modernization with lower overhead and access to cloud-native scalability, built-in security and Azure’s AI capabilities. Cohere joins Microsoft Foundry’s first-party model lineup (Public preview) Cohere’s leading language models (Command A, Embed 4 and Rerank) are now available directly from Azure, giving customers fast, secure, and compliant access without third-party dependencies. Delivered with Azure-native governance, observability, networking, and billing, Cohere on Azure enables organizations to build high-performance retrieval, classification, and generation workflows at enterprise scale. Introducing Anthropic's Claude models in Microsoft Foundry (Public preview) Microsoft and Anthropic are expanding their existing partnership to provide broader access to Claude for businesses. Customers of Microsoft Foundry will be able to access Anthropic’s frontier Claude models including Claude Sonnet 4.5, Claude Opus 4.1, and Claude Haiku 4.5. This partnership will make Claude the only frontier model available on all three of the world’s most prominent cloud services. Azure customers will gain expanded choice in models and access to Claude-specific capabilities. 2. Accelerate development Ship faster with AI-assisted workflows, build across clouds and open-source stacks, and use databases that speed data access and analysis to quickly move from prototype to production. New announcements: Systems innovation (Private preview) Remote storage throughput of up to 20 GBps, up to 1 million remote storage IOPS and network bandwidth of up to 400 Gbps, enabling significant performance improvements for the latest Azure VM series. Azure Boost is a server subsystem designed by Microsoft consisting of purpose-built software and hardware that offloads server virtualization processes traditionally performed by the hypervisor and host OS. Various storage and network intensive workloads will benefit the most from these new performance specifications. Microsoft Defender for Cloud + GitHub Advanced Security (Preview) With Microsoft Defender for Cloud and GitHub Advanced Security, you can protect cloud-native applications across the full app lifecycle from code to cloud. This natively integrated solution helps connect software developers and security teams while staying in the tools they use every day; to prioritize the most critical risks exposed in production and fix these risks faster with AI-powered remediation. Azure HorizonDB PostgreSQL (Private preview) A new PostgreSQL cloud database service delivering high speed and elastic scalability for building or modernizing mission-critical applications. Integrated with Microsoft Foundry, Microsoft Fabric, Visual Studio Code and more, Azure HorizonDB streamlines development. Modern authentication with Microsoft Entra ID and security features like Microsoft Defender and private endpoints support enterprise-grade protection. 3. Scale with confidence Turn innovation into revenue with Microsoft Marketplace by expanding your reach through the partner ecosystem, unlocking go-to-market benefits, and differentiating with offers that stand out. New announcements: Global release of Microsoft Marketplace (General availability) Microsoft Marketplace — your trusted source for cloud solutions, AI apps, and agents — is now globally available following its launch in the United States in September. All traffic from legacy storefronts (Azure Marketplace and AppSource) is now redirected to Marketplace.Microsoft.com. Featuring the industry’s largest catalog of AI apps and agents, Marketplace extends the Microsoft Cloud, helping customers accelerate their AI-first transformation with tens of thousands of vetted solutions from our partner ecosystem. These solutions integrate easily with Microsoft products, delivering faster time-to-value. Microsoft Agent 365 (Preview) Extend the existing infrastructure that you use for managing people to agents. Agent 365 equips your agents with the same apps and protections, tailored to agent needs, saving IT time and effort on integrating agents into business processes. It includes leading Microsoft security, productivity and collaboration solutions: Defender, Entra and Purview to protect and govern agents; Microsoft 365 productivity and collaboration apps and Semantic Index to accelerate their productivity; and Microsoft 365 admin center to manage agents. We're already seeing great examples from Devin, Genspark, Glean, Kasisto, Manus AI, n8n, ServiceNow, Workday, and more. Unified programs for software companies – App Accelerate (Public preview) Our Partner Program is focused on delivering more value for software companies, and we’ve identified an opportunity to simplify the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program (MAICPP) offers available to software companies today. We're announcing a new offering for software development companies, available in 2026—combining incentives, benefits, and co-sell resources across existing offerings such as ISV Success, and Marketplace Rewards—into one streamlined pathway for partners. App Accelerate brings together ISV Success, Marketplace Rewards, and more into a single-entry point, creating a unified and simplified experience to help partners accelerate their growth through Microsoft Marketplace. Early access to co-sell benefits (Pilot) As part of our new unified offer, we’re creating an additional route for software companies to access co-sell benefits. This pathway is designed for partners who may not have reached the $100K milestone in Marketplace Billed Sales (MBS) or Azure Consumed Revenue (ACR) but demonstrate readiness in other critical areas. This early access option is nomination-based, with eligibility determined by criteria such as Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC), customer traction, and pipeline strength. Resale enabled offers (General availability) Analysts estimate nearly 60% of cloud marketplace business will be channel-led by 2030. With a partner ecosystem of 500K+ —Microsoft Marketplace is fully embracing the channel-led Marketplace opportunity with the general availability of resale enabled offers. Resale enabled offers enable software companies to empower channel partners to manage their Marketplace listings through a repeatable model designed for scale. This helps software companies break through to new markets without adding overhead while channel partners maintain their customer relationships while getting the added value of Marketplace. Sales of eligible solutions also count toward customers’ Azure consumption commitments, opening the door to larger, more strategic deals funded by pre-committed cloud budgets—creating stickier relationships and fueling growth. Featured Ignite sessions Whether you're attending Ignite in person or joining online, these sessions are designed to help software companies build smarter, scale faster, and unlock new growth opportunities. Tuesday, November 18 – 1:00pm PT Agents, apps, and acceleration: Helping software companies grow Explore the opportunity for AI apps and agents. Learn how to build experiences that matter and get best practices from other leading software companies. Wednesday, November 19 – 10:15am PT Benefits for accelerating software company success Discover resources available across the build, publish, and grow journey in MAICPP. Hear how peers are using AI investments and go-to-market benefits to grow. Wednesday, November 19 – 5:00pm PT Executing on the channel-led Marketplace opportunity for partners Discover practical strategies across diverse dealmaking scenarios to grow business and deepen Microsoft partnerships. Keep the momentum going—explore more Ignite sessions and activities created with software companies in mind. Let’s create the future together You are redefining what’s possible with AI. Microsoft is here to help you create the future. Get started Get resources to help grow your software development company Use ISV Success to build faster with AI tools, services, and expert support Publish your solution and reach millions of customers on the Microsoft Marketplace Access App Advisor and get step-by-step guidance to build, publish, and sell your app or agentMeet customer business needs with flexible billing schedules in the marketplace
Co-authored by Trevor_Yeats Today, we’re announcing that Microsoft now offers flexible billing schedules through private offers to better align with customer needs. Flexible billing schedules are available globally to all marketplace-supported currencies. Watch these demo videos to learn more about flexible billing schedules. The value for your customers and for you With flexible billing schedules, customers can buy with confidence knowing that private offers can be customized for virtually any contract value and billing timeline to align with their requirements. Partners can tailor customer private offers and multiparty private offers to meet those requirements. This streamlines sales and accelerates deal velocity. With over 100 partners in our private preview, we’re excited to make this capability publicly available. Many of these partners have achieved remarkable success, closing deals worth millions of dollars. “Flexible billing in Microsoft marketplace has significantly improved how our sales teams engage with customers. It allows them to meet each organization's and customer's procurement needs, whether it's aligning with fiscal year budgets or accelerating project timelines from evaluations to implementations. Additionally, it helps with managing cloud commitment benefits. This flexibility has made it easier for our customers to purchase and deploy solutions faster, without waiting for specific budgets to become available. We can now set up flexible billing schedules to accommodate their needs.” Brett Ferancy, Global Alliance Leader, Abnormal AI Example use cases See below for some real-world examples of how partners and customers are leveraging flexible billing. Variable pricing with specific dates. In this example, the customer pays a setup fee at the start of billing, followed by variable pricing throughout the contract to match consumption patterns and budget cycles. 3-year deal $80M total Notes Immediate charge when billing starts $2M Setup fee – 1 st month 01 Jan 2025 $5M Year 1 installment #2 15 Jul 2025 $3M Year 1 installment #3 01 Jan 2026 $10M Year 2 installment #1 15 Jul 2026 $10M Year 2 installment #2 01 Jan 2027 $20M Year 3 installment #1 15 Jul 2027 $30M Year 3 installment #2 Variable quarterly billing. In this example, the customer pays a setup fee at the start of billing, followed by variable pricing each quarter. 1-year deal $10M total Notes Immediate when billing starts $2M Q1 01 Jun 2025 $3M Q2 01 Sep 2025 $2M Q3 01 Dec 2025 $3M Q4 Delayed start for billing. In this example, the customer gets the first two months free, followed by varied payments throughout the contract to match budget cycles 2-year deal $25M total Notes Immediate when billing starts $0M Free – 2 months 01 Mar 2024 $10M Year 1 fee 15 Jan 2025 $5M Year 2 installment 1 01 Jul 2025 $10M Year 2 installment 2 How it works To start using flexible billing for private offers: The software partner creates a private offer in the marketplace. Currently flexible billing supports SaaS flat rate offers, VM software reservations, and professional services. Partner must choose “Customize SaaS plans and Professional Services” or “Customize VM software reservations” when creating a new private offer. On the configure pricing page, under “billing frequency,” the partner will select “flexible schedule when the contract duration is 1-year or greater.” The software partner creates the billing schedule with up to 70 installments up to $100,000,000 USD, or any of the currencies supported by marketplace, over the length of the deal. There is also an option to book an immediate charge when billing starts or delay the first charge to a date in the future. Private offers can have up to ten included product plans. Each plan has its own billing frequency and may include a unique flexible schedule. A flexible schedule does not apply to all plans included in the private offer and must be set up independently. The software partner can also create a schedule in their customer’s local billing currency using the market pricing template. The customer accepts and purchases the private offer with the flexible billing schedule. For a multiparty private offer, the process is the same except: The software partner sends the private offer to the channel partner. The channel partner adds their price adjustment percentage aligned to the flexible billing schedule and passes it to the customer. Eligibility Any company who is part of the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program can sell on the marketplace through private offers with flexible billing. Details are provided in our documentation, but at a high-level: Be a member of the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program (it’s free to join) Sign the marketplace publisher agreement Publish your offer Sell private offers with flexible billing In addition, we have many support resources for partners depending on where they are on their marketplace journey. For example, software development companies can join ISV Success for tools and resources that help them publish their solution and maximize its reach on the marketplace. Get started with flexible billing on marketplace We invite you to start leveraging these new improvements to flexible billing today. Learn more by visiting aka.ms/flexbill-docs.Microsoft Marketplace Partner Digest - July 2026
In this edition of the Microsoft Marketplace Partner Digest, you'll find essential announcements, events, and key updates designed to drive your business forward, accelerate deal closures, and maximize your Marketplace success. Partner Center announcements As we kick off the new fiscal year, we're building upon a quarter that delivered valuable enhancements for both Marketplace partners and customers. We’ve focused on expanding partner-led growth across regions, simplifying SaaS transactions, and helping you improve co-sell outcomes. 🌍 Multiparty private offers expand across EMEA and APAC On May 27, Microsoft Marketplace expanded multiparty private offers to 30 countries in Europe, with availability in Australia, Japan, and South Africa coming July 15. Read the blog to discover how we are enabling new opportunities for channel-led growth through Marketplace. Why it matters Software companies gain more opportunities to reach new customers and drive growth without adding operational complexity. Channel partners differentiate their offerings with vetted software solutions while maintaining customer relationships. Recommended action Microsoft’s Jason Rook breaks down six practical steps to activate your channel strategy through Microsoft Marketplace, helping software companies recruit, enable, and scale partner-led growth. 📗Get the playbook 🌏 Resale enabled offers support expands to New Zealand Microsoft continues expanding channel-led sales opportunities by making resale enabled offers available through Microsoft Marketplace to customers in New Zealand as of May 26. Why it matters Channel partners can create and manage offers directly, without relying on software companies to build bespoke private offers. For software companies, resale enabled offers provide a scalable way to grow through trusted channel partners and expand into new markets. 👉 Learn more 📆 Custom contract lengths As of July 6, custom contract lengths for private offers are generally available. Partners can now create private offers with custom contract lengths of up to 10 years in Microsoft Marketplace. Why it matters Flexibility to better meet customer requirements Ability to configure contract durations from 1 to 120 months Define non-standard contract lengths, like 18 months or 45 months Support for both SaaS and professional services transactions 👉 Read the announcement ⚡ Auto activation for SaaS offers On May 18, Microsoft released the optional auto activation for SaaS offers, streamlining customer's Marketplace purchase and onboarding experience. What’s new Billing and subscription activation can now begin immediately when a customer completes a purchase Partners receive a real-time webhook signal to trigger onboarding Available for both public and private offers Default behavior For existing plans auto activation is off, unless you enable it When creating new plans auto activation is on, by default, unless you disable it Why it matters Reduces friction between purchase and onboarding Improves revenue predictability with immediate billing Enables a faster, more seamless customer experience Recommended action Evaluate your SaaS offers and enable auto activation where it aligns with your onboarding model. Make sure your sales and customer guidance reflect the updated experience. 👉 Learn more 🔔 Improve referral quality to accelerate co-sell deals Microsoft has updated how inbound co-sell referrals are reviewed and processed to improve speed and alignment with Microsoft account teams. What’s changing All referrals are now automatically checked for completeness and quality at submission. To avoid delays, ensure every referral includes: Solution area / play Estimated deal value Estimated close date (valid future date) Clear customer need and business context Customer contact (or consent to share later) Why it matters Submitting complete referrals helps you: Get faster seller engagement Reduce rework and follow-ups Improve acceptance rates Move deals forward more predictably Recommended action Audit your referral submission process and ensure these five fields are consistently included across all deals. 👉 Learn more about managing co-sell opportunities ⚠️ Review: Ensure the right contacts receive important partner communications Now is a great time to take care of digital housekeeping. Microsoft is reminding partners to review assigned Partner Center roles and email configurations to avoid missing critical notifications and account updates. Why it matters Having assigned roles like global admin or billing admin does not guarantee email delivery. If accounts aren’t configured correctly, you and your team may miss time-sensitive notifications. Missing communications can result in missed compliance deadlines or delayed actions that may impact your business. Recommended actions Verify your primary contact email is up to date Ensure role-based accounts can receive emails Add Microsoft system emails as safe senders Review role guidance on Microsoft Learn ✨ Bonus: Sign up for the monthly Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program newsletter to stay informed of updates, incentives, and partner opportunities. It’s an easy way to get partner news delivered directly to your inbox. Events Recent events Marketplace as a FinOps platform Explore how Microsoft Marketplace helps simplify purchasing, centralize billing, and better align software investments to optimize cloud spending. As organizations scale cloud and AI investments, managing spend across tools and vendors becomes more complex. Tune in to learn practical ways to better understand the ROI of your organization’s cloud and AI investments. You will walk away with actionable insights to use Microsoft Marketplace as part of your FinOps strategy 📽️ Watch the recording The Marketplace playbook for channel-led sales Get step-by-step guidance and go-to-market resources to help you recruit and activate partners for channel-led sales through Microsoft Marketplace. Through resale enabled offers and multiparty private offers, software companies can empower partners to sell on their behalf to drive scale, reach new markets, and unlock new co-sell opportunities. In markets where both resale enabled offers and multiparty private offers are available, software companies can also scale through distributors, who can activate their broader channel networks. 📽️ Watch the recording Multicurrency transactions explained As Marketplace adoption continues to grow more partners are navigating sales that involve multiple currencies, local customer invoicing, and evolving seller of record responsibilities. Understanding how currency exchanges impact private offers, partner payments, and customer billing is critical to successfully managing Marketplace transactions across global geographies. 📽️ Watch the recording Upcoming events Channel growth in Australia ⌚Wednesday, July 15 at 9:30 AEST Microsoft Marketplace provides several ways for partners to collaborate and grow through the channel. With multiparty private offers launching in Australia on July 16, alongside resale enabled offers, this expansion helps partners strengthen customer relationships, fuel more partner-to-partner opportunities, simplify transactions, and find new growth opportunities. Leave with practical guidance on how these capabilities work together and how to put them into action. 📆 Save to your calendar MCAPS Start for Partners 📆 Wednesday, July 22 from 7:00 – 11:00 am PDT MCAPS Start for Partners gives software companies an early look at Microsoft’s FY27 priorities, investments, and growth opportunities. Learn how AI innovation and agentic applications are creating new customer demand, discover marketplace and co-sell opportunities to expand reach, and explore strategies to modernize, differentiate, and grow your business in the year ahead. 👉 Learn more and register today 🚀 Closing thoughts The last quarter delivered meaningful platform enhancements to make Microsoft Marketplace easier to scale, faster for customers to discover solutions and transact, and more effective for partners to manage business. 👍 Take the next step Explore new regions for multiparty private offers and resale enabled offers Review your strategy for activation of customer SaaS subscriptions Improve your co-sell submission quality Small changes in these areas can have a big impact on your pipeline, conversion, and overall Marketplace success.Accelerate massive growth by co-selling through Microsoft Marketplace with App Advisor guidance
Co-selling with Microsoft is one of the most powerful growth levers available to software companies to sell to enterprises. But on its own, co-sell is not a strategy. The real acceleration happens when you combine them. When you publish a transactable offer in Microsoft Marketplace and make it Azure IP co-sell eligible, you unlock joint selling with Microsoft’s global field organization— and that changes the trajectory of your business. Here’s how to turn Marketplace plus co-sell into a growth engine. Why Marketplace & co-sell drive larger, faster deals Data consistently shows that co-sell deals outperform non-co-sell deals: Co-sell deals are ~ 30% larger, Co-sell deals close up to 2x faster, Microsoft sellers are incentivized to prioritize Azure IP co-sell eligible solutions. When your offer is transactable in Marketplace and co-sell eligible, three important things happen: Microsoft sellers can confidently introduce your solution to their enterprise accounts, Customers can apply purchases toward their Azure consumption commitments, Your offer becomes visible inside Microsoft’s internal sales systems. This reduces friction in procurement, increases executive visibility, and accelerates deal velocity. You’re no longer selling alone. You’re selling with leverage. The following is high-level guidance of the steps to start co-selling Want to skip right to the curated guidance? Go to App Advisor Step 1: Publish a transactable offer in Marketplace Co-sell begins with Marketplace readiness. To unlock Azure IP co-sell benefits, you must publish a transactable offer through one of these marketplace offer types: Software as a service (SaaS), Azure Application, Azure Container, Azure VM. If you sell apps or agents built on Microsoft 365 or Copilot, link your solution to a transactable SaaS offer to qualify. To see how Abnormal Security made the most of co-selling, see the blog and corresponding Co-Sell Coaching call. Step 2: Create a co-sell ready solution in Partner Center When publishing your offer, you can create a co-sell solution to activate visibility with Microsoft sellers. Inside the Referrals workspace in Partner Center: Create a co-sell solution, Classify your solution using Microsoft taxonomy, Upload required marketing collateral: Solution one-pager, pitch deck, reference architecture diagram (required for SaaS), Enter the link to your product's website to help Microsoft sales teams and channel resellers learn more about your solution, Add geographic sales contacts. This listing tells Microsoft sellers: Who to contact, What your solution does, Which Azure services it uses, Why they should bring you into a deal. Clear positioning drives seller confidence. Seller confidence drives joint opportunity. Step 3: Achieve Azure IP co-sell eligible status To become Azure IP co-sell eligible, you must meet performance or technical validation requirements. You can qualify by: Reaching $100K USD in trailing 12-month Marketplace billed sales or Azure Consumed Revenue (this is the fastest path to meeting that requirement) or Passing Microsoft technical validation confirming your solution is primarily built on Azure This status matters because: Customers can count the purchase toward Azure consumption commitments, Microsoft sellers are financially incentivized to include your solution, Your offer is labeled Azure benefit eligible. Customers being able to decrement their Azure consumption commitments can help draw engagement and interest to your app or agent. Step 4: Use referrals to build momentum High-performing software companies don’t just wait for Microsoft to bring opportunities. They submit referrals to help sell co-sell their app. Submitting referrals: Increases your visibility to Microsoft sellers, Signals strategic partnership depth, Opens doors to new seller collaboration, Provides insight into customer Azure commitments. Small actions compound. Referral discipline builds pipeline resilience. For more information about referrals, visit Generate, manage, and nurture leads step in App Advisor. Step 5: Use Marketplace Rewards to amplify co-sell Marketplace Rewards benefits strengthen your co-sell motion: Customer propensity scoring to prioritize Marketplace-ready buyers, Azure sponsorship credits to help close competitive deals, Microsoft seller webinars and solution spotlights. This is how you differentiate inside the ecosystem — not just with customers, but with Microsoft sellers. The growth shift: from independent seller to ecosystem player Software companies that treat Marketplace merely as a checkout page miss some amazing opportunities. Those that combine: Transactable offers, Azure IP co-sell eligibility, Strong co-sell collateral, Referral discipline, and Marketplace Rewards. Move from transactional selling to ecosystem selling. The result: Larger average deal sizes Shorter sales cycles Stronger executive alignment Increased visibility inside Microsoft accounts You’re no longer trying to break into enterprise deals. You’re already in the room. Ready to put your co-sell strategy into motion? Visit App Advisor to learn more about how to accelerate your growth with co-sell.December 2025
Microsoft Ignite 2025 - Marketplace highlights Microsoft Ignite was packed with announcements and insights for Marketplace partners. From new commerce capabilities to AI-driven innovations, here are some key takeaways: Global expansion of Microsoft Marketplace - Microsoft announced that the reimagined Microsoft Marketplace, which launched in the U.S. earlier this year, is now globally available. This expansion includes new APIs for distribution partners, enabling them to link their own cloud marketplace with Microsoft’s, opening significant opportunities for software companies in SMB and mid-market segments. 🎬 Watch a recorded webinar with TD SYNNEX on the power of distribution to accelerate SMB marketplace sales. Global availability of Resale Enabled Offers - This capability allows software development companies to and channel partners to resell software solutions directly through Marketplace, simplifying transactions, expanding reach, and scaling revenue. 👉 Read more about this announcement and get started Introducing App Accelerate - A unified offer that brings together incentives, benefits, and co-sell support across the Microsoft Cloud. App Accelerate provides end-to-end technical guidance, developer tools, and go-to-market resources so software development companies can innovate and scale. Previews are beginning now, with full availability planned for 2026. ✅ Sign up to receive updates Enhanced Partner Marketing Center - Discover, customize, and launch campaigns faster with intelligent search and AI-powered tools—all on one connected platform. The current Partner Marketing Center will remain available as the new and enhanced Marketing Center platform launches in early 2026 with 24 campaigns-in-a-box, aligned to FY26 solution plays. ✨ Get ready for the new era of partner marketing Frontier Partner badge – New customer-facing badges recognize top services, channel, and software development company partners that are driving AI transformation with customers and offer them an opportunity to differentiate themselves from the competition. 🛡️Differentiate your AI-first leadership Catch up on Microsoft Ignite sessions Ignite 2025 delivered powerful insights and announcements for Marketplace partners, and now you can catch up on the sessions you missed. Explore these recorded keynotes to learn about new capabilities, partner programs, and strategies to accelerate growth through Microsoft’s ecosystem. Ignite opening keynote Ignite partner keynote: Powering Frontier Partnerships Additionally, we’ve compiled recordings of relevant Marketplace partner and customer sessions so you can watch on-demand. Revisit Marketplace-focused sessions and resources. Just look for the ✨ icon below. Partner sessions: PBRK415 Grow your business with Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program Find out how the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program helps you grow with new benefits, designations, and skilling opportunities. This session covers updates like the Frontier Partner Badge, Copilot specialization, and streamlined Marketplace engagement—all designed to accelerate your AI transformation journey. PBRK416 Accelerate Growth through Partner Incentives Explore how Microsoft is boosting partner growth with streamlined incentives, AI-first strategies, and new designations like Frontier Distributor. This session covers expanded investments in Azure Accelerate, Copilot solutions, and security practices—plus insights on how to capitalize on evolving programs and co-sell opportunities. PBRK417 Partner: Connect, Plan, Win – Enhancing Co-sell Engagement Discover how to enhance collaboration, optimize joint efforts, and drive success in shared initiatives. Gain insights into improving interactions with Microsoft sellers and leveraging opportunities, along with guidance on proactive co-selling to align your goals with Microsoft's for sustained growth. PBRK418 Partner: Benefits for Accelerating Software Company Success Learn about the resources and benefits available for software development companies across all stages of the build, publish and grow journey in MAICPP. Whether you’re developing a new agent solution or working toward a certified software designation, there are targeted skilling opportunities, technical resources, and GTM benefits to help. Tap into new investments for AI apps and agents and hear from your peers on how they’ve used rewards such as customer propensity scores and Azure sponsorship. PBRK419 SI & Advisory Partner Readiness: Accelerating the Journey to Frontier Understand how Microsoft is empowering our SI and advisory partners to accelerate frontier firm readiness for our Enterprise customers by driving AI transformation with agentic solutions and services. ✨PBRK420 Executing on the channel-led marketplace opportunity for partners See how Microsoft’s unified Marketplace drives partner growth with resale-enabled offers, creating scalable channel sales and co-sell opportunities. This session shares practical steps to build a sustainable Marketplace practice and leverage the partner ecosystem for greater reach and profitability. PBRK421 Enabling a thriving partner ecosystem: New CSP Authorization Criteria Dive into what’s new for Cloud Solution Providers, including updated authorization requirements and designations that help you stand out. This session covers steps to choose the right tier, build trust as a customer advisor, and prepare for growth with AI-driven solutions and Copilot offerings. PBRK422 The Future of Partner Support: Customer + Partner + Microsoft Discover ‘Unified for Partners,’ Microsoft’s new support model designed for CSP partners to deliver customer success at scale. This session introduces the Support Services designation, offering faster response times, financial incentives, and integrated tools to strengthen your support capabilities. PBRK423 Partner Execution at Scale with SME&C Explore growth opportunities in the high-potential SME&C segment. This session highlights investments in co-selling, AI-first strategies, and what it means to become ‘customer zero,’ with examples of frontier firms driving innovation at scale. ✨PBRK424 Marketplace Success for Partners—from SMB to Enterprise Learn how to build, publish, and monetize AI-powered solutions through Microsoft Marketplace. This session shares a proven approach to align your Marketplace strategy with your sales motion and unlock new revenue opportunities. PBRK272 Accelerate Secure AI: Microsoft’s Security Advantage for Partners Explore Microsoft’s integrated security solutions and learn how to help customers strengthen their defenses in the AI era. This session highlights partner opportunities, resources to grow your security practice, and what it takes to lead as a next-generation security partner. Customer Sessions: ✨Microsoft Marketplace: Your trusted source for cloud solutions, AI apps, and agents | STUDIO47 Hear from Cyril Belikoff, VP of Commercial Cloud & AI Marketing, sharing the reimagined Microsoft Marketplace—the gateway to thousands of AI-powered apps, agents and cloud solutions—all built to accelerate innovation and drive business outcomes. Discover how customers benefit from faster deployment, seamless integration with Microsoft tools, and trusted solutions, and how partners can scale their reach, accelerate sales, and tap into Microsoft’s global ecosystem. Azure Accelerate in action: Confidently migrate, modernize, and build faster Join Cyril Belikoff for a rapid Q&A that spotlights real-world customer success and the transformative impact of Azure Accelerate. Hear how customers like Thomson Reuters achieved breakthrough results with our powerful offering that provides access to Microsoft experts and investments throughout your Azure and AI journey. ✨BRK213 Microsoft Marketplace: Your trusted source for cloud and AI solutions Discover how the reimagined Microsoft Marketplace is reshaping the future of cloud and AI innovation. In this session, we’ll explore how Microsoft Marketplace—unifying Azure Marketplace and Microsoft AppSource—empowers organizations to become Frontier Firms by streamlining the discovery, purchase, and deployment of tens of thousands of cloud solutions, AI apps, and agents. ✨BRK215 Boost cloud and AI ROI using Microsoft Marketplace As organizations embrace an AI-first future, cloud adoption is accelerating to drive innovation and efficiency. This session explores practical strategies to optimize cloud investments—balancing performance, scalability, and cost control. Learn how Microsoft Marketplace enables rapid solution deployment while maintaining governance, compliance, and budget discipline. Build a resilient, cost-effective cloud foundation that supports AI and beyond. Community Recap Partner of the Year Award Winners Congratulations to the winners and finalists of the 2025 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards in the Marketplace category! 🏆 Explore all winners and finalists Fivetran earned the top honor as Marketplace Partner of the Year for its innovation in automating data movement on Microsoft Azure, enabling enterprises to accelerate AI and analytics initiatives. Varonis Systems Inc. and Bytes Software Services were recognized as finalists for delivering exceptional solutions and driving customer success through Marketplace. What’s Coming Up AI-powered acceleration: Scale faster in Microsoft Marketplace 📆 Thursday, December 04, 2025, at 9:00 AM PST Microsoft Marketplace is no longer just a procurement convenience; it’s a strategic revenue engine. Dive into operational readiness, CRM-native automation, seller engagement, trust signals, and AI-enabled acceleration. Whether you're just getting started or looking to optimize your Marketplace motion, this session will provide you with information that will turn your first sale into a repeatable growth engine. Scale smarter: Discover how resale enabled offers drive growth 📆 Friday, December 05, 2025, from 11:00 - 12:00 PM GTM+1 Discover how resale enabled offers help software development companies to scale through the Microsoft Marketplace by simplifying transactions, expanding reach and accelerating co-sell opportunities. Chart your AI app and agent strategy with Microsoft Marketplace 📆 Thursday, December 11, 2025, from 8:30 - 9:30 AM PST Organizations exploring AI apps and agents face a critical choice: build, buy, or blend. There’s no one-size-fits-all—each approach offers unique benefits and trade-offs. Tune in for insights into the pros and cons of each approach and explore how the Microsoft Marketplace simplifies adoption by providing a single source for trusted AI apps, agents, and models. Office hours for partners: Marketplace resale-enabled offers 📆 Thursday, December 18, 2025, at 8:30 AM PST Tune in to explore resale enabled offers through Microsoft Marketplace. This recently announced capability enables software companies to expand into new markets globally, at scale, and without additional operational overhead. Dive deep into the workflow and requirements for these deals. Learn about reporting and best practices from those that are already selling globally with resale enabled offers. Microsoft Ignite will return to San Francisco next year 📆 November 17-20, 2026 Sign up now to join the Microsoft Ignite early-access list and be eligible to receive limited‑edition swag at the event. 💬 Share Your Feedback! We truly appreciate your feedback and want to ensure these Partner Digests deliver the information you need to succeed in the marketplace. If you have any feedback or suggestions on how we can continue to improve the content to best support you, we’d love to hear from you in the comments below!Welcome to the FY26 Q1 Partner Digest!
Stay up to date on the latest Microsoft Marketplace news, tools, and resources to help you grow your business. Subscribe to the Partner Digest label to never miss an update. 🚀 Noteworthy Highlights Introducing Microsoft Marketplace: Growth starts here. Turn your agents and other cloud-based innovations into sales, at scale, with Microsoft Marketplace. Learn more Updated Agreement: The Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program Agreement has been updated, effective September 22, 2025. Review now Partner Center Security: Multifactor authentication (MFA) is now required for Partner Center access. API enforcement beings April 2026. Learn more App Advisor Enhancements: Six new features help software developers build, publish, and sell apps faster and smarter on the Microsoft Marketplace. Explore now Fabric Extensibility Toolkit: Software companies can help customers bring apps to Fabric, speed development, and integrate workloads. Get started today Azure AI Foundry Updates: Now featuring GPT-5, OpenAI gpt-oss, Foundry Local support, and a new Browser Automation tool to help you build intelligent agents using natural language. Learn more Partner Center AI assistant: Now localized and smarter than ever with support for additional languages, providing quick answers to your day-to-day questions. Learn more Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program Concierge: Your go-to resource for all program related desk engagements, streamlined and more impactful than ever. Learn more 🌟 Microsoft partner resources: New for FY26 MCAPS Start recap Microsoft kicked off FY26 with a bold vision for partner growth in the AI era. Nicole Dezen outlines how partners can lead with innovation and scale impact. Explore strategic solution areas, expanded MAICPP investments, and GTM support.👉 Read the full post New benefits & resources New AI-powered benefits and tools are here to help partners thrive. Julie Sanford details how to get Azure credits, Copilot seats, and custom GTM materials to accelerate agentic AI adoption.👉 Read the full post Blog Series & Playbooks: Catch up on our Cloud and AI Platforms blog series. Part one: Capturing the market opportunity Part two: Migrations & Modernizations Explore the latest Cloud and AI platforms and Agentic AI partner playbooks which includes key skilling resources, investments, win formulas and more. Unlock your Microsoft AI Cloud potential with Partner Skilling Hub: Visit our skilling hub for the latest training resources to earn designations and specializations. Explore the most recent skilling blog for key skilling-related announcements. Incentives ISV Success Advanced Package: Top-performing partners with Certified Software Designations can qualify for financial incentives to build AI solutions or migrate customers to Azure. The package supports every stage of ISV Success. Learn more. Migration Incentives: New end-customer migration incentives are now available to help software companies and advanced specialized system integrators securely and efficiently move software companies’ end customers to modern applications running on Azure. See Azure Incentives > ISV Engagements tab in the incentive guide for details. 🗓️ Events & Office Hours June-September recaps June: The Microsoft Marketplace Ecosystem Opportunity Explore how AI is reshaping solution development and customer engagement in this conversation with Cyril Belikoff, Microsoft’s new leader for Marketplace. Learn how the marketplace is simplifying procurement and accelerating growth. A “lightbulb moment” for the industry and the critical role partners play in delivering innovation on Microsoft’s platform. 👉 Watch the recording July: Marketplace Rewards FY26 Learn how channel partners can benefit from multiparty private offers and new rewards tier thresholds to unlock $200K in sponsorship. 👉 Watch the recording August: Co-Sell Blueprint & Certified Designations Gain real-world co-sell strategies and learn about Microsoft’s Customer Engagement Methodology from industry experts. Plus, get the latest on Certified Software Designation benefits for FY26. 👉 Watch the recording from Ultimate Partner session on Co-sell 👉 Watch the recording on Certified Software Designations and download the slide deck 📖Explore Microsoft Customer Engagement Methodology (MCEM) September: Migrate and Modernize Summit Our Sep 23-24 event is now available online to help services partners learn how agentic AI can boost their agility by moving to the cloud quickly and effectively. Catch the replay. Upcoming Events Microsoft AI Tour for Partners is back- Join a free, one-day event to accelerate your AI journey with sales best practices, growth opportunities, hands-on labs, and technical deep dives. Discover upcoming events in cities around the globe. Join the Fabric Global Hack (Sept 15–Nov 3, 2025) to build data and AI solutions with Microsoft Fabric, collaborate globally, and compete for prizes up to $10,000. Participants get 50% off Fabric certifications. Join us at the Azure Dev Summit from October 13-15, a Microsoft-sponsored event designed for developers, architects, and technology leaders. Explore the latest in Azure, .NET, and Microsoft AI, gain insights from inspiring speakers, and connect with peers driving innovation. Participate in AgentCon 2025 by Global AI Community—a global series of one-day conferences designed exclusively for developers building the future with autonomous AI agents. 🔥 Microsoft Ignite 2025 Microsoft Ignite 2025 will empower you to get the edge you need to drive impact in the era of AI. Join us in San Francisco or attend virtually from November 18-21 to bolster your knowledge, build connections, and explore emerging technologies. Hear from Microsoft executives and other leaders on their vision for AI. Explore the latest in Cloud and AI platforms, AI business solutions, and Security. Celebrate the winners and finalists of Partner of the Year Awards 👉 Register now and stay up to date with event news at Microsoft Ignite Unplugged. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Stay tuned to the https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/marketplace-blog/bg-p/MarketplaceBlog for upcoming recaps and new office hour announcements. 💬 Share Your Feedback! We truly appreciate your feedback and want to ensure these Partner Digests deliver the information you need to succeed in the marketplace. If you have any feedback or suggestions on how we can continue to improve the content to best support you, we’d love to hear from you in the comments below!Lock in marketplace terms for up to five years with multiyear contract durations
Co-authored by Trevor_Yeats We’re excited to announce that the Microsoft marketplace now supports multiyear contract durations—enabling customers and partners to lock in terms and pricing for up to five years. New options include four and five-year terms for SaaS and Professional Services, and two, four, and five-year terms for Virtual Machine Software Reservations (VMSR). These contract durations are available globally across all marketplace-supported currencies. The value for your customers and for you With multiyear contract durations, customers can buy with confidence knowing they will have stability and continuity of service, making it easier to plan and forecast expenses and lock in substantial savings that often come with longer contracts. Partners benefit by supporting customers’ budget needs, strengthening customer relationships, reducing administrative burdens, and growing reliable revenue streams. “Our customers value five-year contracts for the stability and long-term value they provide. With multiyear contracts now available in Microsoft marketplace, we can better align with their operational timelines, reduce renewal cycles, and focus on building lasting relationships—while driving predictable revenue.” Sue Wilkinson, Global Director of Partners, IFS How it works To enable multiyear contract durations, software partners must take the following steps: Create a public offer with multiyear contract durations. Partners must ensure their public offers include extended contract terms before they can create private offers with those durations. Partners have two options: Update an existing public plan to support new options for extended durations (i.e., four and five-year options for SaaS offers and two, four, and five-year options for VMSR), or Create a new public plan that includes multiyear contract durations. Create private offers with multiyear contract durations. Once a public offer with multiyear contract durations is published, partners can configure private offers that leverage those durations. Notes: As of October 31, multiyear contract durations are available for CSP offers. Existing customer agreements cannot be modified mid-term to extend contract length. Customers must cancel their current plan and purchase a new one that includes the desired extended duration. Creating multiyear contracts with flexible billing schedules Partners can create private offers that combine multiyear contract durations with flexible billing options—like quarterly, semiannual, or bimonthly—making it easier to align with customer needs and streamline sales. “Microsoft’s recent launch of multiyear contracts and flexible billing has been a game changer, simplifying the buying process and enhancing the customer experience. We can now build private offers in the Microsoft marketplace in a more natural way that mirrors our contracts in the platform.” Sue Wilkinson, Global Director of Partners, IFS Learn more about flexible billing schedules and capturing the marketplace opportunity. Eligibility for multiyear contracts and how to get started Any company who is part of the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program can sell on the marketplace with multiyear contract durations. Details are provided in our documentation, but at a high-level: Be a member of the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program (it’s free to join) Sign the marketplace publisher agreement Publish your public offer with multiyear contract durations. Sell private offers with multiyear contract durations. In addition, we have many support resources for partners depending on where they are on their marketplace journey. For example, software development companies can join ISV Success, within the Partner Program, for tools and resources that help them publish their solution and maximize reach through the marketplace. Learn more by visiting: Microsoft commercial marketplace transact capabilities FAQs: https://aka.ms/multiyear-FAQsWhy co-selling with Microsoft is transformational: insights and strategies from Abnormal Security
Co-selling with Microsoft can be a transformational growth lever for software development companies, yet it's true potential is often misunderstood. Many organizations jump into co-selling without fully grasping the intricacies involved—overlooking critical best practices and lessons learned from real-world experience. At Abnormal Security, true co-sell success has been achieved through a meticulously crafted strategy built on practical insights and a deep commitment to partnering with Microsoft. I’m excited to share more about our own co-sell journey, what I have learned through the process, and advice I would share with other partners in Episode 2 of Co-sell Coaching, coming to the marketplace community on April 23 rd at 9:00 am PDT About Brett: Brett Ferancy has nearly 20 years of experience working with Microsoft in various capacities as well as building out successful global alliance programs. Brett joined Abnormal Security over 2.5 years ago and has supported initiatives that drove significant growth, success and modernized the Azure Marketplace approach in regions globally. Additionally, Brett has been a highly engaged a Marketplace Community Champion since the community was first built in 2023 Who we are Abnormal Security is a recognized leader in cloud email security, dedicated to protecting organizations from advanced email threats. Our innovative approach and industry expertise have positioned us as a trusted partner within the Microsoft ecosystem. Our journey from being an unmanaged partner to becoming managed was a transformation that redefined our market approach – and one we are eager to share in our upcoming Co-sell Coaching episode. Abnormal Security's co-sell journey The evolution of our co-sell approach with Microsoft has been defined by continuous learning and strategic adaptation. Early on, it became clear that success isn’t merely about being listed on a platform—it’s about creating genuine value through thoughtful collaboration. Through a strategic, repeatable co-sell strategy, we have successfully navigated from an unmanaged partner to managed globally. Real world insights and co-sell lessons learned along the way In my Co-sell Coaching session, I will discuss the following topics Transforming our business: how Abnormal Security’s refined co-sell strategy moves the needle with Microsoft teams, removes pipeline noise, and creates true collaboration. Engaging Microsoft sellers: how targeted collaboration with Microsoft’s field teams has streamlined the sales process unblocked deals and accelerated wins. From my experience, engagement starts with consistent, thoughtful referrals added to Partner Center; this focuses the efforts on meaningful opportunities to drive positive customer outcomes. Building a resilient pipeline: how small changes can drive large outcomes. For example, sharing win wires after a co-sell win or, for a partner-led opportunity, sending a note to the Microsoft sales team that highlights the win. Simple gestures such as these have opened doors for new collaboration opportunities. Actionable co-sell insights: practical, repeatable, actionable insights that build momentum with Microsoft teams to drive transformative business acceleration. Why this matters Co-selling with Microsoft isn’t simply about being listed on the marketplace—it’s about fundamentally transforming your approach to growth. A strategic co-sell partnership integrates your solution into a dynamic ecosystem, builds trust, and unlocks new avenues for market expansion. At Abnormal Security, our refined approach has set a benchmark for how ISVs can achieve sustainable, long-term success by tapping into the full potential of the Microsoft ecosystem. If you’re ready to discover what it takes to excel in the Microsoft ecosystem and learn from real-world insights, this session is a must-attend. Join us on April 23rd to ask your toughest questions and walk away with actionable strategies that will redefine your co-sell journey. I’ll be answering questions along with Microsoft co-sell subject-matter experts during the session! Don’t miss this exclusive opportunity to transform your co-sell strategy. Register today!Microsoft Marketplace Partner Digest - September 2026
Marketplace innovations are simplifying every stage of the customer journey. Microsoft Marketplace continues to make it easier for customers to discover, purchase, and manage the solutions that power their businesses. This month, we're highlighting new AI-powered discovery experiences that help customers find and evaluate solutions faster, innovative healthcare opportunities through Dragon Copilot Physician apps and agents, and new capabilities that support procurement, billing, and subscription management at scale. Together, these investments help reduce friction across the customer journey while creating new opportunities for partners to grow through Marketplace. ✨ Find the right solutions faster with intelligent discovery What's new Microsoft Marketplace now includes intelligent discovery, an AI-powered experience that helps customers discover, compare, and evaluate solutions using natural language rather than traditional keyword searches. Customers can describe their business needs in everyday language and receive tailored recommendations, side-by-side product comparisons, and deeper product analysis to support purchasing decisions. Key capabilities include: Use natural language to describe requirements and business goals Automatically identify relevant filters and narrow results Compare solutions side-by-side based on Marketplace metadata Explore solution details using AI-assisted product analysis Move from discovery to evaluation with greater confidence Why it matters Customers increasingly expect AI-assisted buying experiences. Intelligent discovery helps buyers navigate a growing Marketplace catalog more efficiently, reducing the time required to find relevant solutions and evaluate alternatives. This can help partners improve visibility, attract more qualified prospects, and create stronger pathways from discovery to purchase. Marketplace AI offerings continue to grow rapidly, with more than 6,500 AI apps and agents now available in the catalog. Recommended action Review your Marketplace listings to ensure product descriptions, categories, industries, use cases, and solution metadata accurately reflect the problems your solution solves. High-quality Marketplace content helps intelligent discovery surface your offerings to the right customers. 🔎 Learn more about searching and comparing products with intelligent discovery in Microsoft Marketplace ⚡ Help customers align Marketplace purchases of your products with their internal procurement and financial processes What’s new Purchase order management and spend mapping capabilities are now generally available in Microsoft Marketplace, helping organizations associate Marketplace purchases with internal procurement identifiers and financial reporting requirements. These capabilities help customers connect Marketplace transactions to purchase orders, cost centers, departments, business units, and other financial controls. Key capabilities include: Associate Marketplace purchases with purchase orders Map Marketplace spend to internal financial identifiers Improve chargeback and allocation reporting Support invoice reconciliation and procurement processes Increase visibility into Marketplace spending against budgets Why it matters Customers consistently identify invoicing, procurement integration, spend visibility, and financial governance as important considerations when scaling Marketplace purchasing. Helping customers align Marketplace transactions with existing procurement workflows can reduce operational friction and support broader Marketplace adoption. Recommended action Review customer-facing sales materials and deployment discussions to understand how purchase orders, spend mapping, and financial governance capabilities may support procurement, finance, and FinOps stakeholders during the buying process. 📍Learn more about purchase orders and allocating Marketplace spend in Azure portal 🐉Reach healthcare customers through Dragon Copilot What's new Microsoft Marketplace now supports Dragon Copilot Physician Apps and Agents, the first offer type in a planned family of Dragon Copilot offers. Available in the United States, these partner solutions can be discovered and purchased through Microsoft Marketplace, configured through the Dragon Admin Center, and surfaced directly within physician workflows in Dragon Copilot. Key capabilities include: Publish healthcare-focused apps and agents through a dedicated Marketplace offer type Reach healthcare organizations adopting Dragon Copilot and deliver capabilities directly within clinician workflows Utilize Microsoft Marketplace for commerce, discovery, and fulfillment Why it matters Healthcare organizations are looking for AI solutions that fit naturally into existing clinical workflows. Dragon Copilot Physician apps and agents give partners a scalable route to market: solutions can be purchased through Microsoft Marketplace, configured through the Dragon Admin Center, and made available directly within clinical workflows. Recommended action Evaluate whether your healthcare solution could benefit from integration with Dragon Copilot and explore the new Marketplace offer type for physician apps and agents. Learn more about Dragon Copilot Physician apps and agents Events Recent events Announcing Frontier Accelerate for Marketplace Frontier Accelerate for Marketplace is an upcoming Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program offering that guides software development companies to build AI-powered solutions, monetize through Microsoft Marketplace, and scale revenue through Microsoft expertise, skilling, and investments. 📺 Watch the briefing now 🔗 Learn more: aka.ms/FA-for-Marketplace How leading partners drive co-sell success with Marketplace Learn how successful software companies use Microsoft Marketplace to expand reach, strengthen co-sell relationships, and drive repeatable revenue growth. Join Reis Barrie of Carve Partners for insights into building Marketplace momentum and creating co-sell opportunities across the Microsoft partner ecosystem. Watch on-demand Evaluate and buy solutions with Microsoft Marketplace Help customers evaluate and buy solutions with greater confidence. This Microsoft Marketplace session explores intelligent discovery, free trials, private offer requests, flexible contract durations, and practical ways partners and sellers can create purchasing arrangements aligned to customer priorities. Watch on-demand Upcoming events New monthly partner skilling series 📆Beginning Sept. 23, 2026, 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM PDT Microsoft is launching Partnering for Success Together, a new monthly partner skilling series designed to help partners stay up to date on Microsoft's latest investments, go-to-market priorities, and customer opportunities. Hosted through the Microsoft Partner Skilling Hub, each session provides guidance and updates across Microsoft's commercial solution areas, helping partners understand what's new and how to translate announcements into customer impact. Two live sessions will be provided at different times to accommodate global audiences. Register for the first event scheduled September 23 and add future monthly skilling events to your development plan. Register now on the Microsoft Partner Skilling Hub Microsoft co-sell playbook: From co-sell ready to close-won 📆 Wednesday, Oct 07, 2026, 8:30 AM PDT Join this partner-focused session to learn how successful organizations turn co-sell opportunities into closed-won business. Kevin Flitcroft of Spektra Systems shares proven strategies for stakeholder alignment, commercial readiness, Microsoft Marketplace positioning, and customer-focused sales execution. Get the details and add to your calendar Next steps Position your solution for AI-powered discovery The Marketplace experience continues to evolve to help customers discover, evaluate, and purchase solutions more efficiently. By improving how your solution is represented in Marketplace and taking advantage of new Marketplace capabilities, you can increase visibility, engage more qualified buyers, and accelerate growth through Microsoft's commercial ecosystem. Not sure where to start? Get guidance and recommendations through App Advisor.From co-sell ready to closed-won: A practical playbook for your Microsoft co-sell motion
Achieving co-sell ready status is an important milestone. It means the offer is on Microsoft Marketplace, Partner Center is set up, sales collateral and contacts are on file, and the solution is exposed to Microsoft sales teams for co-sell opportunities. None of that, on its own, brings deals into the pipeline or moves them to closed-won. The operational work between status activation and revenue includes: Getting a Microsoft seller's attention for a specific opportunity, or making it easier for a seller to bring one in Engaging the Microsoft seller as soon as a co-sell opportunity is created or received Running joint discovery and technical validation with the customer Structuring the private offer at the right point in the deal cycle Closing through Microsoft Marketplace where a customer's Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC) is in play Two common paths into the co-sell motion Deals reach Partner Center through two common paths once the solution achieves co-sell ready status. The early operating approach is different for each. The middle and close of the deal look similar. Partner-led co-sell: The software company originates and manages the opportunity from its own pipeline, creates the co-sell opportunity in Partner Center, and makes the deal visible to Microsoft sales teams. Microsoft sellers can be invited to participate when appropriate. Inbound referrals from Microsoft: A Microsoft seller identifies a fit in one of their accounts and sends the referral to the software company through Partner Center's Inbound tab. The main differences show up early on: Stage Partner-led Inbound from Microsoft Discovery Software company has already qualified the opportunity Software company gets up to speed on Microsoft’s account context Initial priority Give the Microsoft seller a clear reason to engage Qualify the referral and respond quickly Keep momentum Bring a qualified opportunity with a specific ask Confirm fit, ownership, and next steps Keeping deals moving after co-sell ready A few operational practices help turn co-sell ready status into an active, repeatable sales motion: Activate the co-sell motion consistently: Co-sell ready creates access to the motion, but momentum comes from actively engaging sellers, keeping positioning current, and continuously creating and responding to co-sell opportunities. Keep every registered opportunity moving: Clear ownership, visible next steps, and regular follow-through help move opportunities beyond the initial seller connection. Platforms such as SaaSify can help software companies manage co-sell opportunity information, ownership, and next actions. Prepare the private offer early: Bringing marketplace offer preparation into the deal cycle earlier gives teams enough time to align pricing, approvals, terms, and customer requirements before the opportunity reaches procurement. Align ownership across the deal: Giving account executives and partner teams shared visibility into customer conversations, Partner Development Manager (PDM) engagement, and next steps helps both sides coordinate around the same opportunity and move the deal forward. Positioning co-sell opportunities with Microsoft The approach is different for the two flows. Partner-led opportunities need the software company to position a specific deal for the Microsoft seller. Inbound referrals need preparation ahead of time and disciplined handling once a referral arrives. For partner-led opportunities A few practices can make a partner-led opportunity easier for Microsoft sellers to engage with. Map the opportunity to relevant Microsoft solution areas and sales plays: Microsoft's solution areas and sales plays change. Positioning the offer against the most relevant current areas helps make the opportunity easier for the seller to understand and position. Bring warm, qualified opportunities: An opportunity handed to a Microsoft seller with a defined buying committee, a known budget, and clear technical fit invites investment. An opportunity that still needs basic discovery asks the seller to do the software company’s qualification work. Make a specific, actionable request: "Please introduce us to the account executive at [customer]" with a clear deadline is a clear request. Generic invitations to collaborate on joint pipeline typically remain unactioned. Provide collateral written for the seller, not the buyer: Seller-facing collateral should make the elevator pitch, workload alignment, Marketplace path, and relevant commercial context immediately clear. For inbound referrals from Microsoft Being effective on inbound referrals means being easy for Microsoft teams to consider in the first place and handling each referral effectively when it arrives. A complete, current business profile in Partner Center: Keep the software company’s Partner Center information complete and current including solution categorization, industry expertise, customer proof points, relevant Azure workloads and sales plays. Qualify inbound referrals quickly, before mobilizing the full team: Not every inbound referral is a fit. Some fall outside the software company’s target profile, workload, or timing. A fast qualification step, handled by a named account owner before wider team mobilization, protects response quality on the referrals that do fit and directs the team's effort where it can contribute. A transactable Marketplace presence: A transactable offer gives customers a clear procurement path through Microsoft Marketplace and can support MACC-aligned purchasing. Active relationships with PDMs and specialist teams: Being known to Microsoft's PDMs, industry teams, and technical specialists creates additional pathways for the software company to be considered when the right opportunity appears. Running the co-sell opportunity through active pipeline Once a Microsoft seller is engaged, the middle of the deal is joint sales work. The joint pieces below are the ones that most consistently move the deal forward. Joint account planning at the start: Early in active pipeline, the software company and the Microsoft seller should align on the stakeholder map, Microsoft's context on the account (existing Azure spend, MACC status, previous partner engagements), the software company’s view of the opportunity, the commercial path, and named next steps with owners and dates. Aligning at the outset helps prevent a co-sell opportunity from going quiet in its early stages. Joint technical validation: For Azure workload solutions, the software company should bring a Microsoft solution architect or specialist into the architecture conversation with the customer. Microsoft technical specialists can add Azure platform context, address architecture questions, and help the customer evaluate fit across its broader Microsoft environment. Joint customer meetings with clear role definition: In a co-sell customer meeting, the software company leads on solution, use case, and business value. The Microsoft seller leads on Azure context, commercial path, and alignment with the customer’s Microsoft environment. Roles should be agreed before the meeting. Technical and commercial workstreams in parallel: Technical objections need Microsoft's specialist teams and the software company’s engineering. Commercial objections need finance on both sides and clarity on the marketplace path. Sequencing these badly, by completing all technical work before starting commercial, is where the private offer scramble at close typically originates. Underneath the joint work, three lightweight disciplines keep the deal visible and moving: Keep the Partner Center record current. Update it after stage changes, close-date shifts, competitive events, or stakeholder changes. Share regular updates with the Microsoft seller. Keep them short and focused on what changed and what is needed next. Use the PDM deliberately for escalations. Bring them in when their role or internal network can help move the opportunity forward. Advancing and closing deals through Microsoft Marketplace For customers with an active MACC, purchases of MACC-eligible offers through Microsoft Marketplace can contribute toward fulfillment of that commitment. Azure IP co-sell eligibility is a prerequisite for MACC eligibility, and MACC eligibility is determined at the offer level. A common operational issue is being unprepared to close on Marketplace when the customer is ready to buy. Being commercially ready in time means: A Marketplace listing that is fully transactable, with billing enabled. A private offer template with pre-approved pricing tiers, term options, and standard legal language. A sales team that can generate a customer-specific private offer without escalating each one to operations or finance. Finance visibility into pending marketplace transactions ahead of quarter close. Moving the private offer conversation into the discovery phase of the deal removes the closing-week scramble and keeps the deal moving smoothly toward close. Running co-sell at scale A handful of co-sell deals can be worked well through individual attention. Once co-sell becomes a meaningful percentage of pipeline, operational consistency becomes more important as volume grows: Deal data drifts between Partner Center, the software company’s customer relationship management (CRM) system, and internal reporting. Private offer creation often remains a deal-by-deal manual workflow, increasing operational effort as co-sell volume grows. No single view exists of where each co-sell deal stands across systems, whether it started partner-led or arrived as an inbound referral. A purpose-built cloud go-to-market platform can help software companies manage the operational side of selling across cloud marketplaces. SaaSify, for instance, helps software companies manage co-sell workflows and marketplace operations across Microsoft Marketplace and other hyperscaler ecosystems. Platforms of this kind help in multiple practical ways: Supporting co-sell workflows within the CRM and helping to keep deal information aligned between Partner Center and the software company’s CRM. Automating private offer creation and management within the software company’s CRM, helping reduce the manual effort required to create and manage private offers. Providing workflow visibility across marketplace transactions, private offer approvals, and payout reconciliation. Reducing operational load on the sales and partnership teams so senior time goes to seller relationships and deal strategy. A 90-day framework to move from co-sell ready to closed-won deals Days 1–30: Audit Review the current state honestly against a short set of questions covering both flows: Are co-sell opportunities updated in Partner Center consistently across the team? What is the response time to inbound referrals from Microsoft, from receipt to named account owner to first customer conversation? Is the Partner Center business profile complete, current, and mapped to relevant Microsoft solution areas and sales plays? Is the offer fully transactable on Microsoft Marketplace, or listed but not yet transactable? Are private offer workflows documented and templated, or reinvented for each deal? The output should be a short list of specific gaps, each with a named owner. Days 31–60: Activate For partner-led opportunities: engage the Microsoft sellers who cover the accounts and industries where the solution is strongest, and standardize the activation ask so every co-sell opportunity comes with a specific next step and date. For inbound referrals: implement an internal SLA for qualification and response and refresh the Partner Center business profile against relevant Microsoft solution areas and sales plays. Identify pipeline opportunities where Microsoft Marketplace can support the co-sell and commercial motion and structure the private offers early in the deal cycle. Days 61–90: Measure Track conversion at each stage, split by partner-led versus inbound origin: co-sell ready to opportunity created or received, to active pipeline, to Marketplace transaction, to closed-won. Refine private offer workflows based on identified bottlenecks. Run a postmortem on one deal that closed cleanly and one that required several interventions. Measuring co-sell performance Five indicators provide a practical view of whether the co-sell motion is producing pipeline and converting opportunities into revenue: Inbound referral volume and value from Microsoft: Track referral volume, potential value, and progression to active pipeline and closed-won. Response time to first customer conversation: Track time from opportunity creation or receipt to the first substantive customer interaction. Co-sell opportunity-to-closed-won conversion: Measure conversion by stage and separately for partner-led and inbound opportunities. Share of enterprise deals closing through Microsoft Marketplace: Track the percentage and value of co-sell deals transacted through Marketplace when it aligns with customers’ purchasing needs. Private offer creation and approval cycle time: Track request-to-acceptance time to assess whether private offer operations are keeping pace with co-sell volume. Supporting metric: Partner Center data completeness and consistency. Bringing it together Microsoft co-sell gives software companies opportunities to expand their reach and work jointly with Microsoft sellers on relevant customer opportunities, with Microsoft Marketplace supporting the commercial path when it aligns to the customer’s purchasing needs. Making that motion work consistently comes down to practical disciplines: keeping Partner Center data current, responding promptly to inbound referrals, and preparing private offer workflows early. The value builds when those practices work together consistently across opportunities.
