日本で加速するチャネル成長: Multiparty private offer で広がる Microsoft Marketplace の可能性
先日、2026年8月6日に開催された Marketplace community の partner office hour に、長岩とともに登壇しました。テーマは、Microsoft Commercial Marketplace の最新動向と、日本で提供が始まったばかりの multiparty private offer (MPO) を軸にした、日本市場でのチャネルビジネスの成長です。当日は多くのパートナーの皆様にご参加いただき、活発なご質問もいただきました。本記事では、その要点を Blog として共有します。日本のチャネルビジネスに関心をお持ちの ISV・販売パートナーの皆様のヒントになれば幸いです。 Marketplace はいま、どれだけ伸びているのか まず長岩から、Marketplace の全体像と市場のモメンタムをお話ししました。 Marketplace は、Microsoft AppSource と Azure Marketplace を統合した購買プラットフォームです。お客様はソリューションの「検索 → 購入 → デプロイ」までを一気通貫で行え、ISV にとっては販売チャネル、販売パートナーにとってはビジネスを広げるエコシステムになります。 数字が語るモメンタムは明確です。 クラウド Marketplace 市場は、2024年の約300億ドルから2030年には1,630億ドルへと拡大が見込まれ、チャネル経由の販売比率が高まっています（出典: Omdia, 2025年 1 ）。 Microsoft Marketplace の売上は、3年連続で前年比2倍に成長しています（出典: Microsoft パートナーブログ, FY27 2 ）。 co-sell は Marketplace 中心（Marketplace-first）のモデルへ移行しており、Microsoft Marketplace が Azure IP co-sell の主要な経路となっています。 3 日本の伸びが世界を上回っている点は、私たちが現場で感じている手応えとも一致します。 なぜ、いま Marketplace なのか Microsoft は、AI 時代の「Frontier Company」への変革をお客様とともに進めており、Marketplace はその購買体験をモダン化し、Azure 消費の中心となるプラットフォームと位置づけています。パートナーの皆様の視点で見逃せないのが、次の 2 点です。 お客様のコミットメントを活かせる (ベネフィットサイクル): お客様が Microsoft Azure に対して結んでいる消費コミットメント (MACC) は、サードパーティ ISV のソリューション購入にも充当でき、その購入額が MACC の消化としてカウントされます (IP co-sell Eligible なオファーが対象)。お客様は既存のコミットメントを活かして必要なソリューションを導入でき、パートナーにとっては提案しやすい環境が整います。 Microsoft 営業との連携: Marketplace 経由の取引は Microsoft の営業評価の対象にもなり、co-sell (協業) を組みやすくなります。さらに、認定 (Certified Software) を取得したソリューションは、追加のインセンティブ対象にもなります。 ISV を後押しする資金支援: Frontier Accelerate for Marketplace ISV の皆様が Marketplace 上でビジネスを立ち上げ、拡大するための資金支援プログラムも紹介しました。 プログラム 支援上限 狙い AI Build & Publish — Marketplace $100K Build and publish solutions AI Build & Publish — Copilot Agent Store $125K Build and publish agents SDC Customer Assessment & Proof of value (POV) $25K Assessment / POV SDC Customer Migration & Modernization $250K Migration / modernization いずれもプログラムへの登録と一定の要件があります。適格性の詳細やお申し込みは、記事末尾の窓口をご覧ください。 そして、multiparty private offer が日本へ (2026年7月15日 GA) ここからが本題です。2026年7月15日、multiparty private offer の日本提供が開始 (GA) されました。日本のチャネルビジネスに、新しい選択肢が加わったことになります。 Multiparty private offer の仕組み Multiparty private offer は、ひとことで言えば「ISV が販売パートナー経由でお客様に販売するモデル」です。ポイントは、ISV がオファーを作成・公開し、パートナー向け価格とオファー条件を設定することです。販売パートナーはマージンを設定し、顧客向け価格を決めて提示します。 実際の流れはこうです。 ISV がオファーを作成 販売パートナーへ提供 販売パートナーがマージンを上乗せ 顧客へ提示 顧客が承認 Marketplace で購入 Microsoft が代金を回収 Microsoft が販売パートナーへマージンを支払 Microsoft が ISV へ支払 本図では、multiparty private offer を MPO と表記します。 図1. Multiparty private offer 購入フロー 数字で見るとイメージしやすいと思います (以下は説明用の例です)。卸価格 100万円にパートナーマージン 20万円を乗せ、顧客価格は 120万円。Microsoft が顧客から 120万円を回収し、販売パートナーへマージン 20万円を支払います。ISV は、卸価格 100万円から Marketplace 手数料 3% (約3万円) を差し引いた 約97万円 を受領します。 Multiparty private offer の嬉しいところは、販売パートナーが自身でマージンを設定できる こと、パートナー同士の直接精算が不要 なこと、そして IP co-sell eligible なオファーであれば取引がお客様の Azure・MACC 消費として計上される ことです。 Resale enabled offer との違い あわせて resale enabled offer も紹介しました。resale enabled offer は「ISV が再販パートナーに再販権を付与し、再販パートナーが自社商材としてお客様に販売する」モデルです。 Multiparty private offer との決定的な違いは、ISV と再販パートナー間の精算が Marketplace の外で行われる点です。流れを multiparty private offer と同じ粒度で見てみましょう (説明用の例)。顧客価格 120万円を Microsoft が回収し、Marketplace 手数料 3% (3.6万円) を差し引いた 116.4万円 を再販パートナーが受領します。その後は、ISV と再販パートナーの契約条件に応じて ISV へ支払われます。この例での顧客への販売額は 120万円です。税務責任および売上計上の扱いは、取引構造・契約条件・適用される税法や会計基準によって異なります。各社の税務・会計専門家にご確認ください。 本図では、resale enabled offer を REO と表記します。 図2. Resale enabled offer 取引フロー 日本で効いてくる「2-tier」(Resale enabled offer と multiparty private offer) 当日、日本のパートナーの皆様にとって最も重要だとお伝えしたのが、resale enabled offer と multiparty private offer を組み合わせた 2-tier 構造 です。 登場人物は、ISV、一次販売パートナー (distributor)、二次販売パートナー (reseller)、そして顧客。前半を resale enabled offer、後半を multiparty private offer で構成します。「何百社もの販売店を 1 社ずつ契約するのは現実的ではない」― だからこそ、ISV は Distributor とだけ契約し、その配下のリセラー網で一気に展開できる。日本の既存の商流にそのまま重ねられる形です。 本図では、resale enabled offer を REO、multiparty private offer を MPO と表記します。 図3. Resale enabled offer と multiparty private offer を組み合わせた 2-tier モデル Multiparty private offer、resale enabled offer とcloud solution provider private offerはどう違う? 三者の違いを、当日の比較表に沿って整理します。 項目 Multiparty private offer Resale enabled offer Cloud solution provider プライベートオファー Microsoft ライセンスプログラム Pay-as-you-go (PAYG) / Enterprise Agreement (EA) / Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA) PAYG / EA / MCA CSP 対象となる販売者 全 Microsoft パートナー 全 Microsoft パートナー CSP パートナー 顧客の MACC 消費対象 (※IP co-sell eligible) ○ ○ × IP Co-Sell 対象 ○ ○ × EA・SCE (Server and Cloud Enrollment) 顧客への提供 ○ ○ × CSP 顧客への提供 × × ○ 補足すると、multiparty private offer では ISV がパートナー向け価格とオファー条件を設定し、販売パートナーがお客様への販売とマージン設定を担います。役割が分かれている点が、単独販売との違いです。※ 参加には、各プログラムの登録・適格要件を満たす必要があります。MACC への算入は適格なソリューション・購入条件に限られます。IP co-sell 適格性はソリューションごとの要件に基づきます。詳細は、公式MPO参加条件、公式resale enabled offer参加条件、公式MACC適用条件をご確認ください。 会場からのご質問 (Q&A) 当日いただいた質問のうち、代表的なものをご紹介します。 Q. 消費税の徴収モデルが Microsoft 管理になる予定はありますか? 現時点では予定はありません。これは Marketplace の仕様ではなく、日本の税制に起因するものです。multiparty private offer では、ISV・販売パートナーそれぞれが取引上の役割に応じた税務責任を確認する必要があります。税務責任および売上計上の扱いは、取引構造・契約条件・適用される税法や会計基準によって異なります。各社の税務・会計専門家にご確認ください。resale enabled offer を検討する場合も同様です。 Q. リセラーですが、既存のお客様へ multiparty private offer を提供できますか? はい、可能です。multiparty private offer は「新規のお客様のみ」といった制限はなく、既存のお客様にもご提供いただけます。対象となるのは、EA・MCA (MCA-E)・間接 EA といった Azure 契約をお持ちのお客様です。一方、CSP 契約のお客様には、multiparty private offer ではなく CSP プライベートオファーをご利用ください。 Q. Multiparty private offer が日本対応したことで、最も変わるのは何ですか? 2 つあります。1 つは、従来 resale enabled offer では扱えなかった「multiparty private offer のみ対応のソリューション」を販売できるようになったこと。もう 1 つは、2-Tier 流通が可能になったことです。従来は再販パートナーを 1 社しか入れられませんでしたが、resale enabled offer と multiparty private offer により Distributor + Reseller の構造が実現します。 まとめ ― 3 つのポイント Multiparty private offer は、日本市場で不足していたチャネルモデルを補完する新機能 です。 Multiparty private offer と resale enabled offer は、Azure・MACC 消費 + IP co-sell 対象 という強力な差別化要素を備えています。 Resale enabled offer と multiparty private offer の組み合わせ により、日本の既存ディストリビューター/リセラー型の 2-Tier 商流を Marketplace 上で実現 できます。 日本の Marketplace はいま、世界でも際立ったスピードで伸びています。multiparty private offer の日本提供開始は、その成長をパートナーの皆様とともに加速させる、大きな一歩です。ご参加いただいた皆様、ありがとうございました。ご質問やご相談は、下記のリソースや窓口までお気軽にどうぞ。 参考リソース Microsoft Marketplace 公式ドキュメント: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/marketplace/ Multiparty private offer 概要 (Microsoft Learn): https://learn.microsoft.com/partner-center/marketplace-offers/multiparty-private-offers-overview Multiparty private offer for ISVs / Selling Partners (Microsoft Learn): https://learn.microsoft.com/partner-center/marketplace-offers/multiparty-private-offers-for-isvs Multiparty private offer FAQ (Microsoft Learn): https://learn.microsoft.com/partner-center/marketplace-offers/multiparty-private-offers-faq Resale enabled offer 概要 (Microsoft Learn): https://learn.microsoft.com/partner-center/marketplace-offers/resale-enabled-offers-overview Channel-led Resources Hub: https://aka.ms/channel-ledresources Eligible Selling Partner List: https://aka.ms/MPOEligiblePartnerList 顧客の適格性チェック (POP re-check): https://aka.ms/poprecheck Frontier Accelerate for Marketplace: https://partner.microsoft.com/en-us/partnership/frontier-accelerate-for-marketplace お問い合わせ (multiparty private offer/resale enabled offer の適格性・申請窓口): channelready@microsoft.com — English version — Accelerating partner-led growth in Japan through Microsoft Marketplace As organizations across Japan invest in AI and cloud transformation, partners are looking for faster and more scalable ways to bring solutions to market. Microsoft Marketplace helps software companies, distributors, and resellers work together to meet customer demand, scale faster through partner ecosystems, and bring cloud and AI solutions to market more efficiently. During a recent Marketplace community partner office hour, we explored how multiparty private offers help strengthen partner-led growth in Japan. Just how fast is Marketplace growing? Ryosuke opened with the big picture and the market's momentum. Marketplace is a purchasing platform that unifies Microsoft AppSource and Azure Marketplace. Customers can go from discover → purchase → deploy in one flow. For software development companies, it is a sales channel; for selling partners it is an ecosystem to grow their business. The numbers tell the story: The cloud marketplace market is projected to grow from $30 billion in 2024 to $163 billion by 2030, with the channel taking an increasing share of sales (Omdia, 2025 1 ). Microsoft Marketplace sales have doubled year over year for the third consecutive year (Microsoft Partner blog, FY27 2 ). Co-sell is moving to a Marketplace-first model 3 , making Microsoft Marketplace the primary path for Azure IP co-sell. Japan is outpacing the global rate, matching what we feel on the ground. Why Marketplace, and why now? Microsoft is helping customers transform into "frontier companies" for the AI era, and positions Marketplace as the platform that modernizes purchasing and sits at the center of Azure consumption. Two points stand out for partners: Customers can put their commitment to work: A customer's Microsoft Azure consumption commitment (MACC) can be applied to purchases of third-party software companies solutions, and those purchases count as MACC drawdown (for IP co-sell eligible offers). Customers can leverage existing commitments to accelerate adoption, while partners can more easily position solutions within larger cloud and AI opportunities. Alignment with Microsoft's sales teams: Transactions through Marketplace are recognized in Microsoft's sales performance, which helps partners co-sell at scale with Microsoft sales teams and expand reach into new customer opportunities. In addition, solutions that earn a Certified Software designation become eligible for additional incentives. Funding to help software companies: Frontier Accelerate for Marketplace We also introduced funding programs that help software companies launch and grow their business on Marketplace. Program Funding cap Purpose AI Build & Publish — Marketplace $100K Build and publish solutions AI Build & Publish — Copilot Agent Store $125K Build and publish agents SDC Customer Assessment & Proof of value (POV) $25K Assessment / POV SDC Customer Migration & Modernization $250K Migration / modernization Each program requires registration and certain requirements for the program. For details on eligibility and how to apply, please see the end of the article. A new path to channel growth in Japan Partners in Japan now have more flexibility to grow through channel-led sales motions. The general availability (GA) of multiparty private offer supports broader collaboration among software companies, distributors, and resellers. This launch helps partners in Japan scale faster through channel relationships, expand their solution portfolios, co-sell at scale with Microsoft, and pursue larger cloud and AI opportunities. A flexible model for partner growth In a nutshell, multiparty private offer is a model where a software company sells to customers through a selling partner. The software company creates and publishes the offer and sets the partner price and offer terms; the selling partner sets its margin and customer-facing price. The flow works like this: The software company creates offer Provides it to the selling partner The selling partner adds a margin Presents it to the customer The customer approves Purchases via Marketplace Microsoft collects payment Microsoft pays the margin to the selling partner Microsoft pays the software company The graphic uses MPO to mean multiparty private offer. Multiparty private offer simplifies partner-to-partner transactions by providing a structured framework for pricing, margin management, and payments through Microsoft Marketplace. Creating new revenue opportunities, the selling partner sets its own margin. There is no direct settlement between partners. For IP co-sell eligible offers, the transaction counts toward the customer's Azure/MACC consumption. Another path to market We also covered resale enabled offer. Resale enabled offer is a model in which a software company grants resale rights to a reseller partner, and the reseller sells it to customers as its own product. A key difference between a multiparty private offer and a resale enabled offer is that settlement between the software company and the resale partner takes place outside Marketplace. Microsoft collects payment from the customer and pays the resale partner through Marketplace. For illustration, let's look at the resale enabled offer transaction. In the resale enabled offer model, reseller partners purchase and resell solutions through their own commercial relationships, giving them greater flexibility in how revenue is recognized and managed. Note: Tax responsibilities and revenue recognition depend on the transaction structure, contractual terms, and applicable tax laws and accounting standards. Please consult your tax and accounting advisers. The graphic uses REO to mean resale enabled offer. The "2-tier" model that works for Japan One of the most significant opportunities for Japan is the ability to support existing distributor-reseller business models through Marketplace. By combining resale enabled offer and multiparty private offer, software companies can extend their reach through established channel ecosystems, helping partners scale faster and engage more customers. The players are the software company, a first-tier selling partner (distributor), a second-tier selling partner (reseller), and the customer. The first half is the resale enabled offer; the second half is the multiparty private offer. Contracting with hundreds of resellers one by one isn't realistic so the software company contracts only with the Distributor and reaches the market through the Distributor's reseller network. It helps partners scale through existing distributor and reseller networks, expanding market reach without requiring one-to-one contracting relationships. The graphic uses REO for resale enabled offer and MPO for multiparty private offer. Comparing partner growth models The following table compares the partner growth model. Note: Participation is subject to the applicable registration and eligibility requirements; MACC credit applies only to eligible solutions and qualifying purchases; and IP co-sell eligibility is determined at the solution level. Please check the official multiparty private offer participation requirements, resale enabled offer participation requirements, and MACC eligibility conditions. Item Multiparty private offer Resale enabled offer Cloud solution provider (CSP) private offer Microsoft licensing program Pay-as-you-go (PAYG), Enterprise Agreement (EA), Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA) PAYG, EA, MCA CSP Eligible sellers All Microsoft partners All Microsoft partners CSP partners Counts toward customer MACC (IP co-sell eligible) Yes Yes No IP co-sell eligible Yes Yes No Available to EA / SCE (Server and Cloud Enrollment) customers Yes Yes No Available to CSP customers No No Yes In a multiparty private offer, the software company creates and publishes the offer and sets the partner price and offer terms, while the selling partner handles the sale to the customer and sets the margin. The split of roles is what differs from selling solo. Note that multiparty private offer and resale enabled offer are IP co-sell eligible; cloud solution provider is not, a key differentiator. Q&A from the audience Here are representative questions from the day. Q. Will the consumption tax collection model become Microsoft-managed? Not at this time. This stems from Japan's tax system rather than a Marketplace design choice. For multiparty private offers, software companies and selling partners each need to assess their tax responsibilities according to their role in the transaction. Tax responsibilities and revenue recognition depend on the transaction structure, contractual terms, and applicable tax laws and accounting standards. Please consult your tax and accounting advisers. The same applies when considering resale-enabled offers. Q. As a reseller, can I offer multiparty private offer to my existing customers? Yes. Multiparty private offer has no "new customers only" restriction. You can offer it to existing customers as well. It applies to customers with Azure agreements such as Enterprise Agreement (EA), Microsoft Customer Agreement for Enterprise (MCA-E), or indirect Enterprise Agreements. For customers on Cloud Solution Provider Agreements, use cloud solution private offer instead of multiparty private offer. Q. What changes most now that multiparty private offer supports Japan? Two things. First, you can now sell "multiparty private offer-only" solutions that resale enabled offer couldn't handle before. Second, two-tier distribution becomes possible. Previously you could only insert one reseller partner, but resale enabled offer and multiparty private offer helps a distributor and reseller structure. Three key takeaways Microsoft Marketplace helps software companies, distributors, and resellers scale partner-led growth across Japan. Partners can pursue larger cloud and AI opportunities through MACC-aligned Marketplace transactions and co-sell engagement with Microsoft. Distributor and reseller ecosystems can expand market reach more efficiently through Marketplace-supported channel models. Marketplace in Japan is growing at a pace that stands out even globally. The general availability of multiparty private offer in Japan is a big step toward accelerating that growth together with our partners. Thank you to everyone who joined. For questions or discussion, please reach out via the resources and contact below. Resources Microsoft Marketplace documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/marketplace/ MPO overview (Microsoft Learn): https://learn.microsoft.com/partner-center/marketplace-offers/multiparty-private-offers-overview MPO for software companies / Selling Partners (Microsoft Learn): https://learn.microsoft.com/partner-center/marketplace-offers/multiparty-private-offers-for-isvs MPO FAQ (Microsoft Learn): https://learn.microsoft.com/partner-center/marketplace-offers/multiparty-private-offers-faq REO overview (Microsoft Learn): https://learn.microsoft.com/partner-center/marketplace-offers/resale-enabled-offers-overview Channel-led Resources Hub: https://aka.ms/channel-ledresources Eligible Selling Partner List: https://aka.ms/MPOEligiblePartnerList Customer eligibility check (POP re-check): https://aka.ms/poprecheck Frontier Accelerate for Marketplace: https://partner.microsoft.com/en-us/partnership/frontier-accelerate-for-marketplace Contact (multiparty private offer/resale enabled offer eligibility and applications): channelready@microsoft.com 1 Source: Omdia, Partner Ecosystem Multiplier – The Microsoft Marketplace Opportunity Whitepaper, December 2025. Results are not an endorsement of Microsoft. Any reliance on these results is at the third party’s own risk. 2 Source: Microsoft internal data, measured by year-over-year Marketplace Billed Sales FY24–FY26, 3 Source: July 2026 announcements, Azure IP Co-sell Program Guide: Marketplace-First asset (Aug 19, 2026)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.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.Four things leading partners teach their sellers to turn a Marketplace listing into co-sell growth
About the author: Reis Barrie is the Founder and CEO of Carve Partners, a growth advisory firm that helps software companies build and scale their Microsoft partnerships. Reis and his team have deep expertise in co-sell, Marketplace, Partner Center, and incentive programs helping software development companies handle both the strategy and the operational work underneath it, end to end. Carve works with some of the fastest-growing partners in the Microsoft ecosystem, and Reis is a regular voice in the broader partner community. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Software companies are under pressure to reach more customers, accelerate sales cycles, and grow recurring revenue. Leading partners respond by creating repeatable buying experiences that help customers discover, purchase, and deploy solutions more efficiently through Microsoft Marketplace. Becoming transactable is an important milestone, but it is only the beginning. The next step is building Marketplace into the company’s go-to-market motion so sellers can connect customer needs with an efficient path to purchase. Microsoft Marketplace supports this motion by connecting customer interest, commerce, and opportunities to co-sell with Microsoft and its partner ecosystem. When sellers understand how to position Marketplace, qualify opportunities, and use available incentives, a live offer can become a foundation for repeatable growth. This post explores: Why the sales momentum is the actual work, not the listing itself The four things leading partners train their sellers to do Key indicators to evaluate and strengthen Marketplace performance across your pipeline What the partners who get there fastest do differently By the end, you should have a clearer view of where your sales motion is working and where it can be strengthened. Who this is for This advice is for you if you're already transactable and Azure IP co-sell eligible. If you're not there yet, go get that first; nothing below substitutes for it. If you're close, the fastest first transaction is usually a customer you already have moved onto Marketplace at their next renewal. The moment it lands, Microsoft sellers can see you. The opportunity Once an offer is established, the goal is to build sales momentum, improve forecasting, and give customers a buying experience aligned with how they prefer to purchase technology. Leading partners treat Marketplace as part of their go-to-market strategy, not simply as a publishing milestone. They prepare sellers to introduce Marketplace naturally in customer conversations and explain how an eligible purchase may apply toward a customer’s Azure commitment. That fluency can help customers move from interest to purchase more efficiently while creating opportunities for co-sell engagement and business growth. What leading partners train their sellers to do 1. Build Marketplace into the sales process Marketplace should be incorporated into discovery and qualification rather than treated as a separate sales motion. Two useful conversation starters are: Discovery: “Does your organization have a Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment?” Positioning: “An eligible purchase through Microsoft Marketplace may count toward your Azure commitment, helping you maximize an investment you have already made.” Sellers do not need to manage every transaction detail. Establish a clear handoff so the seller identifies the opportunity, introduces the customer value, and connects the appropriate partnerships or operations team to support the transaction. Before publishing detailed eligibility or transaction guidance, confirm it against current Microsoft documentation. 2. Make account insights accessible to sellers Give sellers relevant Marketplace and account insights before customer conversations. Depending on the benefits and data available to your organization, useful CRM fields may include: Marketplace purchase indicators Azure commitment information Microsoft account alignment Relevant propensity or engagement signals These indicators should guide prioritization rather than serve as absolute qualification rules. Account context, customer needs, purchase readiness, and an active sales opportunity should remain part of the assessment. 3. Help sellers identify strong co-sell opportunities Train sellers to evaluate whether an opportunity has a clear customer need, an active buying motion, and a specific reason for Microsoft engagement. Useful considerations may include: Whether the customer has an Azure commitment Whether Microsoft is actively engaged with the account Whether the customer has experience purchasing through Marketplace Whether the opportunity aligns with shared customer and business outcomes These indicators can help sellers prioritize opportunities, but they should not be presented as a definitive co-sell eligibility test. When engaging a Microsoft seller, lead with customer context, demonstrated progress, and a specific request. Use partner-led visibility when no direct seller action is needed and request active engagement when there is a clear role for Microsoft. 4. Build repeatable programs around customer incentives Customer incentives can support qualified opportunities when they address a defined deployment, migration, or adoption need. They should complement the customer value proposition rather than replace it. Create a consistent program with: An owner: One person or team responsible for available funding and program guidance Clear criteria: Published guidance describing suitable use cases and approval requirements Tracked outcomes: Visibility into which opportunities received support and how that support contributed to the result Confirm current availability, eligibility, and terms before referring to specific funding or sponsorship programs. Indicators that can strengthen Marketplace performance Common opportunities for improvement include: Treating an offer as a source of demand without connecting it to a broader go-to-market motion Limiting Marketplace expertise to operations teams Requesting active co-sell engagement without a clear role for Microsoft Failing to incorporate available account insights into seller preparation Applying incentives before an opportunity is qualified Allowing outdated opportunities to remain in the pipeline Waiting for inbound interest rather than building momentum through existing customer relationships What leading partners do differently Fluency, account insights, qualification, and incentives work best as a connected system. Seller fluency makes account insights actionable. Better insights support stronger qualification. Strong qualification helps teams apply incentives more effectively. Leading partners tend to: Treat Marketplace as part of the sales process Give sellers useful account context before customer conversations Align co-sell requests to customer and Microsoft priorities Manage incentives through clear ownership and criteria Build early momentum through active customer relationships At Carve Partners, we help software companies makes these practices repeatable by improving seller readiness, integrating account insights into sales workflows, strengthening qualification, and establishing practical incentive programs. Join our How leading partners drive co-sell success with Marketplace session on September 10th at 8:30 AM PT. We will explore how these practices work in real scenarios and share practical considerations for strengthening your Marketplace sales motion. Resources Azure Consumption Commitment benefit: how Marketplace purchases count toward a customer’s commitment Co-sell requirements: what it takes to reach co-sell ready and Azure IP co-sell eligible status Marketplace Rewards: the benefits that unlock as your Marketplace business grows Private offers overview: custom pricing and terms for specific customers and partnersMicrosoft 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.Activating channel partners on Microsoft Marketplace: A sales and marketing playbook
You already sell through channel partners today. Now, you can bring those partnerships into Microsoft Marketplace and jumpstart new revenue streams. This playbook provides guidance and ready-to-use assets to help software companies recruit, enable, and grow channel and distribution partnerships through Microsoft Marketplace. Customize these marketing materials to enable your channel to sell your cloud and AI solutions through Microsoft Marketplace. Microsoft continues to invest in channel-led sales through Marketplace, making it easier for software companies, channel partners, and distributors to work together at scale. The value for channel partners Streamline transactions, payments, and customer procurement through a single commercial platform. Access customers looking to apply their Azure consumption commitments toward eligible third-party solutions. Expand sales opportunities across markets with built-in support for cross-currency transactions and global commerce. Get the marketing materials for channel-led sales. Implement your Marketplace channel strategy This playbook provides step-by-step guidance and customizable assets to help software companies build and scale a channel-led sales motion through Marketplace. Use the guidance, templates, and tools to recruit, enable, and grow channel partnerships that support your go-to-market strategy. Step 1: Identify your target markets Start by identifying which countries have the highest revenue potential and where your existing channel partners already have customer traction. Map your current channel footprint by auditing where your channel partners are actively selling today, and which markets are generating the most partner-sourced revenue. These are good target markets in which to start a Microsoft Marketplace channel-led sales motion. Microsoft Marketplace provides multiple sales motions for software companies to engage with channel partners and distributors. As you define your channel partner recruitment strategy, select the right model. Next, determine what solutions you want your distributors or channel partners to sell. Use multiparty private offers to go-to-market together with channel partners on specific customer opportunities. Use resale enabled offers to enable channel partners to resell your solution at scale to customers. For markets that have resale enabled offers and multiparty private offers available, engage your distributors to scale through their channel partners. See available markets here. Step 2: Build your target partner list Select a shortlist of existing partners to onboard first, based on their market coverage, current depth of partnership with your company, and readiness or openness to selling through Marketplace. Create a list of your current channel partners who sell your software in your target markets. Segment partners based on their customer base size in your target markets. Prioritize partners with proven sales capabilities and customer relationships with Microsoft customers. If you need help prioritizing partners, Microsoft publishes a list of eligible channel partners each month, which is a good starting point for identifying channel partners engaged with Marketplace. If you plan to sell with resale enabled offers, you may choose to prioritize partners with whom you have existing direct payment relationships. If you want to sell through distributors, prioritize partners based on the strength of their reseller community. Resources: Channel partner outreach email template to engage existing and prospective channel partners about reselling your solutions through Microsoft Marketplace. Target channel partner list template to prioritize and track target channel partners by country, resale motion, and relevant solutions. Step 3: Articulate the value to your channel partners Marketplace helps channel partners participate in more opportunities by streamlining procurement and payments, unlocking access to customers with Azure commitments, and making it easier to sell across borders through a global commercial platform. Use the Microsoft co-branded partner enablement pitch deck template to help your channel partners understand the opportunity. Step 4: Set up preferred deal construct(s) with your target partners Depending on your chosen sales model(s), ensure that your partners have completed your company’s requirements. You should first agree on pricing and terms and conditions for reselling your software through Marketplace. If using resale enabled offers, you will need to sign appropriate agreements outside of Marketplace. Agreements between parties must be in place before authorizing a channel partner for resale enabled offers. These agreements should specify who is responsible for the Microsoft Marketplace agency fee and payout mechanisms between you and the channel partner. If your channel partners are outside the United States, they may be able to take advantage of tax treaty benefits. For resale enabled offers, authorize your target partners and create and manage resale enabled offers in Partner Center. You will also need your channel partner’s seller ID to create resale enabled offers. For multiparty private offers, ensure that your target partners have met all prerequisites to sell multiparty private offers to customers in your target markets. Your channel partners with a tax profile in the United States need to file resale certificates with Microsoft. Guide your channel partners to contact channelready@microsoft.com for support with tax and payment profile pre-requisites. Step 5: Enable channel partner sales teams Once your partners are authorized to resell through Microsoft Marketplace, the next step is to help them sell your products to their customers through Marketplace. Enable your channel partners on why this motion matters, how to position your offer to their customers, and how to grow their revenue through Marketplace-led sales with you. Enable channel partner sellers with a simple sales enablement kit that provides clear messaging on how to pitch your product, why customers should buy through Microsoft Marketplace, how the partner can attach services, and how your incentives and programs apply. Provide them with a clear process for contacting you with questions, deal support requests, sales blockers, and run regular sales enablement sessions at the start of the motion to quickly enable your channel partners’ sales team(s) to sell your offers on Marketplace. Offer sales incentives to your channel partners’ sales teams, such as SPIFFs, bonuses, and revenue sharing opportunities, which motivate your channel partners’ sales teams to identify and close Marketplace opportunities. Share leads and map accounts together. Compare customer and prospect lists to identify account overlaps and prospects that may have pre-committed cloud budget that could be used to purchase your solution via Marketplace. If you participate in Marketplace Rewards, use the customer propensity list to prioritize customers. Use available Microsoft incentives and resources to help your channel partners sell your products to their customers. As a best practice, remove internal channel conflict by working with your finance and sales operations teams to ensure your direct sales team is not penalized when a channel partner closes a Marketplace deal. Use the Internal sales enablement template to ensure your internal sales and channel teams are enabled on the channel-led Marketplace opportunity and operational steps. Resources: Sales enablement kit for channel partners: Microsoft co-branded partner enablement pitch deck template to help your channel partners understand the Microsoft Marketplace opportunity, value proposition for working with you, and how to get started. Customer-facing brief that channel partner sellers can use to promote your solutions to their customers. Internal sales enablement template to train your internal sales and channel teams on your Microsoft Marketplace channel-led sales motion Step 6: Track pipeline, optimize, and scale Track and measure Marketplace activities with your channel partners, including pipeline and sales by country, to identify which partners are the most active, which countries are driving the most revenue, where deals are progressing and where additional channel partner enablement is needed. You can also track metrics such as average deal size and time to close for Marketplace versus non-Marketplace deals, percentage of pipeline and revenue utilizing pre-committed cloud spend, and the impact of sales incentives on driving adoption of Marketplace channel-led sales. Use Microsoft Partner Center Insights to monitor sales, customer acquisition, and channel partner performance in the Insights workspace. Use the Referrals space to see if your channel partners’ customers and prospects have pre-committed cloud budget that they could use to purchase your solution. Based on early results of your Microsoft channel-led sales motion, build your ideal target partner profile, optimize your channel sales collateral and incentives, and expand your target partner list in your target markets. Reach out to your existing channel partners at scale using the channel partner outreach email and LinkedIn ad templates to drive awareness of your Marketplace channel-led sales motion. Resources: Channel partner outreach email template to engage existing and prospective channel partners about reselling your solutions through Microsoft Marketplace. Channel partner outreach LinkedIn ad template to capture the attention of existing and prospective channel partners by highlighting the opportunity to sell your solution through Marketplace and attach services. In summary Select your markets: identify the countries where you want to activate Microsoft Marketplace channel-led sales with your existing channel partners. Build your target partner shortlist: select 3-5 channel partners to activate first, starting with those who have existing customers and pipeline in your target markets. Articulate the value to your channel partners: reach out to your target partners and share the opportunity to transact through Marketplace. Choose your deal construct(s): decide which Marketplace channel-led sales models best fit your channel strategy and your channel partners’ sales motions. Activate your Marketplace channel-led sales motion: use this channel recruitment playbook to authorize, onboard and enable your channel partners at scale. Optimize and scale: use early learnings to refine your strategy and content, activate additional existing channel partners to your Marketplace channel-led sales motion, and recruit net new channel partners to expand your ecosystem of Marketplace channel-led sales partners. Assets to help you activate your Microsoft Marketplace channel-led sales motion Multiparty private offer channel partner onboarding guide Resale enabled offer channel partner onboarding guide Repository containing: Internal sales enablement template to train your internal sales and channel teams on your Microsoft Marketplace channel-led sales motion Target channel partner list template to prioritize and track target channel partners by country, resale motion and relevant solutions Channel partner outreach email template to engage existing and prospective channel partners about reselling your solutions through Microsoft Marketplace Channel partner outreach LinkedIn ad template to capture the attention of existing and prospective channel partners by highlighting the opportunity to sell your solution through Marketplace and attach services Microsoft co-branded partner enablement pitch deck template to help your channel partners understand the Microsoft Marketplace opportunity, value proposition for working with you, and how to get started Customer-facing brief that channel partner sellers can use to promote your solutions to their customersFirm AI for professional services: governed, agentic workflows built on Microsoft Azure
In this installment of our Partner Spotlight series, we’re highlighting partners building industry-focused AI solutions and bringing them to customers through Microsoft Marketplace. I connected with Richard Baskerville from Intapp to learn how the company is delivering Firm AI—governed, agentic capabilities designed specifically for professional and financial services firms—while aligning with Microsoft Azure for security, scale, and enterprise procurement. Intapp’s approach shows what it looks like to pair deep vertical workflow expertise with a trusted cloud platform so customers can adopt AI in a way that is both practical and accountable. About Richard Baskerville Richard Baskerville is a Senior Director at Intapp, where he helps shape strategic AI alliances across the Microsoft ecosystem and beyond. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ [JR] Tell us about Intapp. What inspired the founding of the company, and what problems do your solutions help customers solve? [RB] Intapp was founded on a durable observation: professional firms—law firms, accounting practices, private capital firms, and investment banks—operate differently than general enterprises. Their workflows are shaped by client relationships, professional obligations, and regulatory requirements that generic software was never designed to handle. Our founders saw that these firms were either building bespoke systems at enormous cost or forcing themselves into enterprise tools that didn’t fit. Today, Intapp delivers Firm AI—governed AI purpose-built for professional services. Our solutions span the full firm lifecycle: business development through Intapp DealCloud, time capture and billing through Intapp Time, and risk and compliance management across Intapp Conflicts, Intake, Terms, Walls, and Employee Compliance. Underpinning it all is Intapp Celeste, our agentic AI platform, which puts AI to work on the specific workflows that drive firm performance—while keeping humans accountable and in control. For firms where every engagement carries professional liability, that governance layer isn’t a feature; it’s the foundation. [JR] What industries or types of organizations do you primarily serve today? [RB] Intapp serves professional and financial services firms exclusively. That focus is intentional—and it’s what makes us different. Our customers are law firms, accounting and consulting practices, investment banks and advisory firms, private capital managers, and real assets firms. Many are among the largest in their categories globally. These firms share characteristics that set them apart from general enterprises: partnership structures, billable-hour economics, client conflict management, regulatory oversight, and relationship networks spanning decades. Generic CRM or ERP tools aren’t built for these dynamics. Intapp is. That vertical depth—built over more than 20 years—is what Firm AI means in practice: AI that understands the context of a law firm partner’s client obligations or a dealmaker’s fund-level requirements, not just the general shape of business software. [JR] What were your initial expectations for Microsoft Marketplace when you first started your journey? [RB] Our initial expectation was straightforward: Marketplace would give us a cleaner path to transact with customers already operating inside the Microsoft ecosystem. Many of our customers—large law firms and financial services firms—had already committed significant Azure spend through enterprise agreements. Marketplace offered a way to meet them commercially where they already were. What we underestimated was how much Marketplace would shape the broader partnership. We went in expecting a distribution channel. What we found was a framework that connected co-sell, Azure consumption alignment, and joint go-to-market in ways that changed how our teams engaged. The commercial mechanics—particularly MACC drawdown eligibility—became a real conversation-opener with procurement and finance stakeholders, not just a contract path. [JR] What applications do you have available in Microsoft Marketplace, and how do they help customers? [RB] Intapp has 12 SaaS solutions available in Microsoft Marketplace today, transacted via private offers. They span the full professional services firm lifecycle—from relationship intelligence and deal management with Intapp DealCloud, to time capture with Intapp Time, to risk and compliance management across Intapp Conflicts, Intake, Terms, Walls, and Employee Compliance. Because we focus exclusively on professional and financial services, customers aren’t buying horizontal software adapted for their industry; they’re buying solutions designed for their workflows, compliance obligations, and client structures. Looking ahead, Intapp Celeste—our agentic AI platform—will be available in Marketplace via a consumption-based, metered model. That structure matches how agentic AI gets used: variably, tied to real firm activity, and governed end-to-end. [JR] What were the biggest lessons you learned early on when selling through Marketplace? [RB] Three lessons stood out early: Listing is the beginning, not the end. Initial traction required deliberate investment in co-sell enablement—ensuring Microsoft field teams could position Intapp clearly, not just point to a catalog entry. Specificity wins. Our customers are sophisticated buyers. What worked was leading with vertical relevance—speaking directly to the compliance requirements of a law firm or the relationship-data challenges of a private capital manager. Private offers require commercial fluency. Helping customers understand how Intapp maps to Azure commitments—and helping Microsoft sellers tell that story—made a material difference in deal velocity. [JR] How has your business changed with a transactable offer on the Marketplace? [RB] Transactable offers have changed how deals close. Customers with existing Azure commitments can apply Intapp spend against their MACC, removing a procurement obstacle that previously added months to cycles. Finance and procurement can work within familiar Microsoft frameworks rather than running separate vendor onboarding. Marketplace has also expanded our reach. Microsoft’s field organization has relationships we can’t replicate at scale, and co-sell has helped translate that reach into qualified pipeline—especially in segments where we previously had limited coverage. And the signal matters: being transactable in Marketplace reinforces that Intapp is an enterprise-grade partner, not a niche point solution. [JR] How has collaborating with Microsoft sellers impacted your Marketplace growth? [RB] Microsoft sellers are the activation mechanism for our Marketplace offers. Without field alignment, a listing is a catalog entry. With it, it becomes a joint pipeline motion. We’ve invested in enablement—giving sellers the vertical context to position Intapp credibly in front of legal and financial services CIOs, and making it easy to bring us into deals where Azure capabilities are already in the conversation. That alignment shows up in specific segments. In private capital and investment banking, Microsoft enterprise relationships often predate ours—co-sell provides warm introductions backed by a trusted infrastructure partner. In legal, where Microsoft 365 is near-universal, that adjacency and deep interoperability creates natural entry points. Co-sell turns those adjacencies into active pipeline rather than theoretical opportunity. [JR] What has made the co-sell relationship with Microsoft particularly valuable for Intapp? [RB] Co-sell works because it’s structurally aligned, not just commercially convenient. Microsoft’s investment in these verticals—through industry clouds, compliance frameworks, and dedicated field teams—maps directly onto Intapp’s customer base. We’re selling into the same firms, with the same platform expectations underpinning both offerings. What makes it particularly valuable is the mutual trust transfer. Firms hold Microsoft to a high standard for security, data governance, and regulatory compliance. When Microsoft sellers bring Intapp into the conversation, that credibility extends to us and compresses the trust-building phase of an enterprise cycle—especially in regulated industries. [JR] How does Microsoft Marketplace fit into Intapp’s long-term growth strategy? [RB] Marketplace is central to how we scale Firm AI globally. Our ambition is to be the governed AI platform of record for professional firms across legal, private capital, accounting, and advisory. Helping customers decrement MACC through Marketplace purchases is a clear win-win because it aligns platform investment with workflow outcomes. The upcoming Marketplace availability of Intapp Celeste which will offer different commercial models for customers (e.g. consumption based) marks the next phase. As Celeste deepens integration with Microsoft 365, Teams, and Azure AI services, the commercial and technical stories converge—customers can both buy and operate within an architecture where Firm AI and Microsoft’s platform reinforce each other. [JR] What advice would you give other SDCs who are just starting their Microsoft Marketplace journey? [RB] Three things matter most early on: Earn the co-sell relationship before you need it. Invest in enablement early so Microsoft sellers have enough vertical context to represent your value clearly. Get your commercial model right for the channel. Understand how private offers interact with Azure commitments, and plan for consumption-based pricing where it fits AI usage. Lead with a sharp point of view. The partners who gain traction fastest are the obvious choice for a specific industry workflow or problem—know what that is and communicate it consistently. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Closing reflection Intapp’s Marketplace journey shows that industry-specific, governed AI wins when it’s paired with an enterprise platform customers already trust. By making solutions transactable—especially through private offers that align to customer’s existing Azure commitments—Intapp reduces procurement friction and accelerates adoption. And like many successful partners, their growth ultimately comes down to enablement: clear vertical messaging and tight co-sell alignment that turns Marketplace presence into a real, qualified pipeline.How to get heard by Microsoft and win more together
At Ultimate Partner LIVE Bellevue, May 11-13, some of the sharpest practitioners in the Microsoft ecosystem are coming together to share what works. These are candid, practitioner-led sessions built for senior leaders who need to walk away with something they can use, not a framework to revisit in six months. 🏛️ Sessions Worth Your Time 💰 Marketplace Meets AI: The New Route to Partner Revenue Cyril Belikoff, VP Microsoft Azure · Jon Yoo, CEO Suger Cyril Belikoff helped architect the unified Microsoft Marketplace and launched the resale enabled offer, which lets channel partners bundle software development company solutions and transact against Azure commit. Within the 1st week of GA, partners were already processing deals at scale. Cyril joins Vince Menzione and Jon Yoo, CEO of Suger, on Day 1 to cover where the AI-driven marketplace motion is heading and what partners need to do now to capture their share of the revenue flowing through it. Cyril’s advice for the partner still on the sideline is direct: do not try to boil the ocean. Get listed. Create offerings. Figure out 1 or 2 deals, transact them, and see the opportunity. This session gives you the map. 🎯 From Attention to Trust: The New Rules of Hyperscaler Go-To-Market Ashleigh Vogstad, CEO Transcends · Leigh Ann Campbell, Principal REV Alliances We are no longer in an attention economy. You are not competing to be seen. You are competing to be trusted, and the shift has a specific mechanism. AI agents are already making procurement decisions using verified signals: co-sell track records, Partner Center data, marketplace history, certifications. The partners building that record now are building an advantage that compounds quickly and is difficult to replicate later. Leigh Ann Campbell has driven over $200 million in influenced and net-new revenue through the Microsoft partner ecosystem. She knows what happens to a referral the moment it lands in Partner Center and what you need to do to make sure it does not die there. Ashleigh Vogstad, CEO of Transcends, brings the broader GTM lens on how the trust economy is changing what buyers respond to and where most partner marketing misses the mark. 🚀 Partner to Pipeline: Activating your GTM Strategy Reis Barrie, CEO Carve Partners · Greg Goldkamp, Sr. Director Microsoft This is the rare combination of a partner who has built real pipeline through Microsoft’s co-sell motion and a Microsoft leader who can tell you directly what gets field attention and what gets ignored. Most software companies approach co-sell as a relationship exercise. The ones generating real pipeline treat it as a system. They know which solution plays are active in the current fiscal year. They show up in seller conversations before a deal is open. They make it easy for a Microsoft seller to bring them in because the pitch is already mapped to what that seller is measured on. This session covers how to build that system, from first registration in Partner Center through closed pipeline. 🔗 From Connector to Catalyst: Today’s Alliance Manager Erin Figer, Founder CORE Consulting · Christine Bongard, CEO The WIT Network · Steven Karachinsky, CEO ZIRO Erin Figer helped build the co-sell practices at Microsoft, AWS, and Google Cloud when those programs were still being designed. She brings a reframe that changes how the best alliance teams operate: before you can market with a hyperscaler, you have to market to them. Treat Microsoft like a customer. Understand their priorities, their fiscal calendar, their field incentives. Build the internal credibility that gets you pulled into deals instead of chasing them. Joined by Christine Bongard and Steven Karachinsky, this session covers what the transition from connector to catalyst looks like in practice and what separates the alliance managers who generate revenue from those who manage relationships. 💡 Why the practitioner track matters These are not panel discussions with safe answers. This audience asks direct questions, and the speakers in these sessions are prepared to give direct answers. These sessions run across both days alongside 2 full tracks of mainstage content covering marketplace, distribution, AI strategy, and Microsoft’s channel priorities heading into FY27. 📅 UP LIVE Bellevue · May 11–13, 2026 InterContinental Hotel, Bellevue, WA 🌟 Exclusive discount for Microsoft partners Use code ULTIMATEVIP50 at checkout for a special discount reserved for Microsoft partners. 👉 Register for UP LIVE Bellevue Ultimate Partner® is the premier independent platform for technology partnership leaders, uniting the hyperscaler ecosystem to achieve their greatest results through partnering. An official Microsoft GPS recognized community.Optimizing Azure spend with Microsoft Marketplace
As someone deeply involved with Microsoft Marketplace product marketing team, I was excited to host our recent customer office hour session with Trunal Bhanse, CEO of Clazar. Our conversation focused on using Microsoft Marketplace to optimize Azure spend. The session explored how organizations can leverage Marketplace as a strategic procurement engine and maximize their cloud investments. Setting the stage: Marketplace as a growth engine Every organization today is striving to become a frontier firm—enriching employee experiences, reinventing customer engagement, and reshaping business processes. With AI at the center of transformation, the question often arises: should we build or buy AI solutions? If buying, how do we procure them efficiently and securely? That’s where Microsoft Marketplace comes in. It’s your trusted source for cloud solutions, AI apps, and agents, offering the largest catalog in the industry. Marketplace is fully integrated with Microsoft Cloud, providing a seamless experience from discovery to deployment. Whether you need standard contracts, private offers, or multi-year agreements, Marketplace adapts to your procurement needs and ensures your transactions are visible in the Azure cost management portal. Azure spend optimization: The power of Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC) A major focus of our session was the Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC). This agreement allows organizations to commit to a certain level of Azure consumption in exchange for discounted rates. The beauty of MACC is that eligible Marketplace transactions decrement your commitment dollar-for-dollar. That means when you purchase MACC-eligible solutions through Marketplace, you’re directly funding your cloud investments and maximizing your discounts. Our conversation covered how to identify MACC-eligible solutions using tools like Azure Marketplace Compass, the Azure portal, and Marketplace storefront. With over 4,000 eligible solutions available, most organizations can find the software they need and align it with their MACC commitments. This approach is especially valuable at fiscal year-end or when budgets are tight, allowing you to leverage your commitment for critical investments. Operationalizing Marketplace procurement To truly optimize spend companies should start with an inventory of all solutions currently deployed or planned for procurement across their organization. By mapping this inventory against MACC-eligible offers, they can ensure every purchase maximizes commitment and discounts. Security and governance are also paramount. Marketplace enables role-based access controls and private marketplaces, so only authorized employees can procure approved applications. This walled-garden approach gives administrators full control over what’s available for procurement. Partner solutions and automation To bring the MACC optimization process to life, Clazar provided a live demonstration of their platform which specializes in automation of this process. Their solution enables organizations to seamlessly match their software inventory against MACC-eligible offers, giving procurement and finance teams consolidated visibility into spend and streamlining the entire procurement workflow. With robust integrations for single sign-on-systems and automated dashboards, Clazar empowers customers to instantly identify eligible applications and make faster, more informed decisions about their Azure Marketplace investments Microsoft Marketplace is more than a procurement platform—it’s a strategic lever for optimizing Azure spend, accelerating innovation, and simplifying operations. By aligning purchases with MACC commitments, organizations unlock savings, streamline processes, and gain unparalleled visibility into their cloud investments. To learn more, watch the full recording of our conversation here: Using Microsoft Marketplace to optimize Azure spend - Microsoft Marketplace Community Resources Microsoft Marketplace: Microsoft Marketplace | cloud solutions, AI apps, and agents Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC) benefit: Azure Consumption Commitment Benefit - Marketplace customer documentation | Microsoft Learn Cost management for Microsoft Marketplace purchases: Cost management for Microsoft Marketplace purchases - Marketplace customer documentation | Microsoft LearnWhat partners need to know before Microsoft’s new fiscal year
At Ultimate Partner LIVE Bellevue, May 11–13, a lineup of senior Microsoft executives will take the mainstage to share what is shifting, what it means for your business, and how the most aligned partners are responding. Here is who to know. Stephen Boyle, CVP, Enterprise Partner Solutions Stephen leads Microsoft’s enterprise partner sales organization and brings a direct view of how the ecosystem is performing at the highest levels. In his fireside with Vince Menzione, he will share what the most successful partners are doing differently as AI moves from a conversation to a core business motion. For any partner navigating co-sell, enterprise alignment, or ecosystem positioning heading into FY27, this is the session that sets the frame. Alex Zagury, CVP, Global Channel Sales Alex brings a perspective most Microsoft leaders do not have, more than a decade at Cisco where she built a $9B+ partner-managed business and led the integration of the $28B Splunk acquisition. She joined Microsoft to apply that experience to the indirect channel. Her session covers FY27 channel priorities: where Microsoft is investing, what the most successful CSP and indirect partners are doing right now with AI and Copilot, and why the partners who have moved to an outcomes-based model are already seeing compounding growth. Jose Gomez Cueto, General Manager, Americas SMB The $777B SMB opportunity is Microsoft’s largest addressable market, and Jose leads it across the Americas. His session addresses what it means for an SMB customer to become a Frontier Firm, and why MSPs are the critical link in making that happen. He will also share how Microsoft moved faster to bring SMB-specific AI products to market than it ever has before, and what that signals for the rest of FY27. Cyril Belikoff, VP, Microsoft Azure and Industry Clouds Cyril has been at the center of some of the most significant structural changes Microsoft has made to how partners transact. He helped architect the unified Microsoft Marketplace and launched the Resale Enabled Offer, which enables channel partners to bundle ISV solutions and transact against Azure commit. His session addresses where the AI-driven marketplace motion is heading and what partners need to do now to capture their share of the revenue flowing through it. More Microsoft on the Agenda Microsoft leaders Greg Goldkamp, Monica French, Erwin Visser, Mira Ayad, and others will deliver practical, execution-focused content across co-sell, distribution, the SMB channel, and AI strategy throughout both days. This is not a product showcase or a keynote built for an audience of thousands. It is a room of 250+ senior partner executives, 2 days of mainstage and spotlight sessions, and direct access to the Microsoft leaders whose priorities will shape the next 12 months. 📅 UP LIVE Bellevue · May 11–13, 2026 InterContinental Hotel, Bellevue, WA 🌟 Exclusive discount for Microsoft partners Use code ULTIMATEVIP50 at checkout for a special discount reserved for Microsoft partners. 👉 Register for UP LIVE Bellevue Ultimate Partner® is the premier independent platform for technology partnership leaders, uniting the hyperscaler ecosystem to achieve their greatest results through partnering. An official Microsoft GPS recognized community.
