How Certified Software Designations accelerates Azure Marketplace success at Stibo Systems
🎉 Proud moment at Stibo Systems! We’ve officially earned the Microsoft Solutions Partner Designation with Certified Software status for our Master Data Management solution across Retail AI, Manufacturing AI, and Financial Services AI. Great to know that Microsoft recognizes the quality, security, and performance of our AI roadmap. The Certified Software badge is highly valuable for sales teams at Stibo Systems, our Alliance Partners and Microsoft sellers for several strategic reasons: --- 🔑 1. Builds Customer Trust The Certified Software designation signals that Stibo Systems solution meets Microsoft’s rigorous standards for security, performance, and interoperability. This credibility helps reduce buyer hesitation and accelerates decision-making. --- 🚀 2. Differentiates in a Crowded Market With many vendors offering similar solutions, the Solutions Partner status sets our offering apart. It shows that Stibo Systems is aligned with Microsoft’s strategic priorities, especially in AI and cloud innovation. --- 💼 3. Opens Co-Selling Opportunities Certified partners are eligible for Microsoft co-sell programs, where Microsoft sales teams actively promote our solution to their customers. This can expand our reach and shorten sales cycles. --- 🌍 4. Increases Visibility Certified solutions are featured in the Microsoft Commercial Marketplace, giving us exposure to a global audience. This can drive inbound leads and support international expansion. Learn more about how Stibo Systems boosts growth, deal size with Marketplace Rewards
Prioritize your pipeline to sell more with less effort
Not all deals are created equally—some more likely to sell through Marketplace, others more likely to catch a sellers' attention. We'll share how to assess and prioritize your pipeline so you can focus on the deals most likely to convert. Learn: How to spot high-impact deals most likely to close via Marketplace. How to filter out distractions and stop wasting time on low-probability opportunities. How to identify what Microsoft sellers actually care about so your deals get noticed. Aug 13 - 10 AM PST | 1 PM EST ➡️ Learn more and registerMCAPS Start recap for software development companies
Microsoft just kicked off its new fiscal year with big updates at MCAPS Start — but what do they really mean for software development companies? In this webinar, we’ll break down the key announcements and share Carve’s expert take on what matters most for software development companies. Walk away with clear guidance on how to align your strategy with Microsoft FY26 priorities. We'll cover: What changed (and what didn’t). Where software development companies should focus time and resources. How to think about co-sell, marketplace, and solution plays. If you’re building your Microsoft partnership and want clarity for FY26 —this session is for you. Register hereMCAPS Start recap for software development companies
July 23 - 10 AM PST | 1 PM EST Microsoft just kicked off its new fiscal year with big updates at MCAPS Start — but what do they really mean for software development companies? In this webinar, we’ll break down the key announcements and share Carve’s expert take on what matters most for software development companies. Walk away with clear guidance on how to align your strategy with Microsoft FY26 priorities. We'll cover: What changed (and what didn’t). Where software development companies should focus time and resources. How to think about co-sell, marketplace, and solution plays. If you’re building your Microsoft partnership and want clarity for FY26 —this session is for you. Register hereAccelerate your growth on Azure Marketplace [French]
Hi everyone, If you’re a French speaker looking to ramp up on Azure Marketplace, join us today at 15:00 CET for a focused, no-fluff webinar. We’ll hit the accelerator from four angles: Fundamentals, fast – a concise refresher to get everyone on the same page Co-sell the Microsoft way – practical examples that actually land deals Resell like BeCloud – tactics for turning Marketplace listings into revenue Archera’s best practices – proven plays you can put to work tomorrow Cut the guesswork—come ready to level up. Registrations: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/fa1f174d-6e04-4dcd-8eb7-cf95ea0d1ac9@cc399a02-f38a-4820-a991-894e8c59d676.Lock in marketplace terms for up to five years with multiyear contract durations
Co-authored by Trevor_Yeats We’re excited to announce that the Microsoft marketplace now supports multiyear contract durations—enabling customers and partners to lock in terms and pricing for up to five years. New options include four and five-year terms for SaaS and Professional Services, and two, four, and five-year terms for Virtual Machine Software Reservations (VMSR). These contract durations are available globally across all marketplace-supported currencies. The value for your customers and for you With multiyear contract durations, customers can buy with confidence knowing they will have stability and continuity of service, making it easier to plan and forecast expenses and lock in substantial savings that often come with longer contracts. Partners benefit by supporting customers’ budget needs, strengthening customer relationships, reducing administrative burdens, and growing reliable revenue streams. “Our customers value five-year contracts for the stability and long-term value they provide. With multiyear contracts now available in Microsoft marketplace, we can better align with their operational timelines, reduce renewal cycles, and focus on building lasting relationships—while driving predictable revenue.” Sue Wilkinson, Global Director of Partners, IFS How it works To enable multiyear contract durations, software partners must take the following steps: Create a public offer with multiyear contract durations. Partners must ensure their public offers include extended contract terms before they can create private offers with those durations. Partners have two options: Update an existing public plan to support new options for extended durations (i.e., four and five-year options for SaaS offers and two, four, and five-year options for VMSR), or Create a new public plan that includes multiyear contract durations. Create private offers with multiyear contract durations. Once a public offer with multiyear contract durations is published, partners can configure private offers that leverage those durations. Notes: Existing customer agreements cannot be modified mid-term to extend contract length. Customers must cancel their current plan and purchase a new one that includes the desired extended duration. Multiyear contract durations for CSP offers will be enabled later this summer. Until then, partners can create new offers without opting to resell through CSP to take advantage of extended contract durations. Creating multiyear contracts with flexible billing schedules Partners can create private offers that combine multiyear contract durations with flexible billing options—like quarterly, semiannual, or bimonthly—making it easier to align with customer needs and streamline sales. “Microsoft’s recent launch of multiyear contracts and flexible billing has been a game changer, simplifying the buying process and enhancing the customer experience. We can now build private offers in the Microsoft marketplace in a more natural way that mirrors our contracts in the platform.” Sue Wilkinson, Global Director of Partners, IFS Learn more about flexible billing schedules and capturing the marketplace opportunity. Eligibility for multiyear contracts and how to get started Any company who is part of the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program can sell on the marketplace with multiyear contract durations. Details are provided in our documentation, but at a high-level: Be a member of the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program (it’s free to join) Sign the marketplace publisher agreement Publish your public offer with multiyear contract durations. Sell private offers with multiyear contract durations. In addition, we have many support resources for partners depending on where they are on their marketplace journey. For example, software development companies can join ISV Success, within the Partner Program, for tools and resources that help them publish their solution and maximize reach through the marketplace. Learn more by visiting: Microsoft commercial marketplace transact capabilities FAQs: https://aka.ms/multiyear-FAQsGet co-sell ready with enablement, executive alignment, and cross-functional collaboration
Is your Organization Co-Sell Ready? So many of us have heard about the value that a strong co-sell GTM motion can have as part of your scaling strategy. After all, the opportunity – represented by many dollar signs - to tap into the hyperscaler ecosystem is hard to ignore. Numerous experts have published great, data-infused content quantifying this opportunity, and because these folks have already done this hard work - I don’t have much to add there. But is your organization truly ready to execute and realize any of this value? That’s where I can help - having built one very successful co-sell program with Microsoft (and one that was not so successful). Standing up a co-sell program will likely require challenging existing norms within your business. It's not just about having a great product or being listed on Azure Marketplace; it's about activating every part of the business in coordination. This may be entirely new and unfamiliar for your finance team, deal desk, sellers and even your customers. For simplicity's sake, I am closely associating co-sell with the ability to sell through Marketplace. Over the past few years, Marketplace has grown in importance for Microsoft, much like it has for many of the fastest scaling companies in the world - just look at Wiz. These questions - while not exhaustive - will help you think ahead, identify potential gaps, and assess your organizational readiness to build your best-fit co-sell strategy: Overall Strategy Is high growth or ensuring profitability the larger goal? Are you going after sales-led Enterprise customers or a PLG (product-led growth) motion? Do you have a clearly defined partnership strategy and line of reporting? How much of the business value is cemented by services vs SaaS? Product & Technology Is your product built on Microsoft’s technology stack and if so, what solutions? What is the sign-up & implementation workflow for new customers? What runs on Azure, and is this running on your tenants, the customer’s tenant, or a hybrid set up? How open is your product organization to sharing the product roadmap? Legal & Privacy & Compliance What does your contracting process look like? Are you open to using Microsoft’s standard marketplace terms and conditions? What does an ordinary infosec / privacy review look like for your customers? What legal requirements are critical for your product’s functionality- and does this align with what is contained in a standard marketplace T&C? Finance What are your booking rules and requirements? What is the margin on your product? How and when are your sales reps compensated – (e.g., are you comp neutral)? What is your stance and capability to offer spiffs to your sellers? Operations (Sales and otherwise) How are you operationalizing lead sharing, and who owns this? What does your CRM hygiene and sales cycle look like? What does the process from quote-to-proposal look like? How and where would Marketplace purchases fit into your existing sales process? Sales / Revenue / Customer Success What are you selling, and to whom? How comfortable are your customers with Marketplace? Are your sellers experienced in co-selling with other partners and do your sellers have clear expectations for what they can gain through co-sell? What about the channel - how do reseller motions and referrals fit in? Marketing Do you already have great materials packaged for partners and customers? Are you verticalized in your marketing & messaging approach? Do you have a dedicated partner marketing function? Are you delivering thought leadership on key verticals and solution areas - and if so, how does this align to Microsoft’s highest priority topics? A couple of closing thoughts: You’ll need to align and collaborate with more teams than you might think - because this may represent a significant change. Change is even harder when people don’t understand how it impacts them, and the people needed to make it happen. Gain support by building a clear strategy and setting clear expectations of what to expect from month-1, month-12, month-18 and beyond. You need to establish what "good looks like" and be prepared to back this up with data. It takes a village to raise a GTM strategy. Thinking ahead will help you prevent something that is unfamiliar from becoming something that is uncomfortable. Learn more If you're interested in learning strategies for building your co-sell approach, I invite you to join me on June 18 to hear tips and insights from our experience creating a successful co-sell program—including common pitfalls to avoid. You can register here. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Mike Marzano leads global cloud, data, and platform alliances for the Experience Intelligence Platform, Contentsquare. Over the past three years, he has built and scaled Contentsquare’s Microsoft co-sell and marketplace motion from the ground up—driving over $40 million in billed revenue through Marketplace and high-impact field alignment. A member of the Microsoft Retail Partner Advisory Council, Mike brings two decades of enterprise SaaS experience to his work, combining sharp execution with a deep understanding of how to unlock customer value through co-sell and Marketplace programs. He lives in New York City with his wife and 2yr old son. Contentsquare is a leader in digital analytics, empowering businesses of all sizes with the insights they need to understand customers and deliver seamless experiences at scale. Its all-in-one experience intelligence platform provides rich and contextual insight into customer behaviors, sentiment, and intent, across all channels, helping businesses continuously deliver the right experience on web, mobile, and apps. More than 1.3M websites worldwide rely on Contentsquare’s AI-powered platform to grow their business, drive customer loyalty, and operate with greater efficiency in a constantly changing world. To learn more, visit www.contentsquare.comJoin us at Microsoft's campus for the Ultimate Partner LIVE event!
The countdown is on - Ultimate Partner LIVE in Redmond, WA on May 1st – 2nd is fast approaching, and you won’t want to miss it! This is the event for connecting with Microsoft executives, partners, and industry experts driving ecosystem growth and shaping the future. Join us as we take over the iconic Microsoft Conference Center for two action-packed days. It’s your opportunity to engage directly with Microsoft leaders, learn from expert panel discussions, immerse yourself in hands-on workshops, and experience a targeted partnering experience. Microsoft’s ongoing support of Ultimate Partner, along with its sponsorship of the Ultimate Partner LIVE event, highlights the importance of ecosystem-led growth. A special thank you to all the Microsoft leaders below who plan to take the stage and those who coordinate behind the scenes to make this event a success. Over 30 industry-leading speakers and award-winning partners will grace the stage and share insights that will shape the future of cloud go-to-market strategies. The two-day agenda will cover topics such as: Prepare Your Microsoft Business for FY26 The Marketplace Ecosystem Opportunity The State of the Marketplace Ecosystem Microsoft’s AI & Software Vision Forging the New World of Data & AI Defining the Marketplace of the Future for SMBs The Power of Partnerships: Building AI Together Perspective of a Microsoft Marketplace POTY Award Winner Embracing Change and Pivoting for Success Acre of Diamonds: How to Leverage the Opportunity with Microsoft Unlocking the Opportunity Through Ecosystem Thinking The Partner Perspective for Ecosystem Thinking Future of Distribution Co-Selling Journey Celebrating Microsoft: 50 Years of Tectonic Shifts And more! Why This Event is Critical: We are standing at a pivotal moment: AI is advancing faster than most organizations can keep up with. Accelerate Microsoft FY25 Q4 priorities and understand FY26 opportunities. Microsoft Marketplace is poised for explosive growth. Go-to-market success now demands tighter alignment and precision from partners than ever before. Why You Can’t Afford to Miss This Event:  Exclusive Access to Microsoft Decision-Makers The executives setting the agenda for FY26 will be in the room. You’ll gain clarity on FY26. Nicole Dezen, Chief Partner Officer & CVP Global Partner Solutions will kick us off, and you will hear from leaders across the Software, Services, Reseller, Marketplace, and Sales Organizations. Know exactly how to align your business, resources, and messaging to what Microsoft actually cares about this fiscal year. Interactive Workshops to Sharpen Your Skills How to co-sell smarter with Microsoft How to design GTM plays that convert How to win with commercial marketplace motions With Industry Experts like Reis Barrie, CEO of Carve Partners, John Jahnke, CEO of Tackle.io, Sam Gong, SVP Marketing at WorkSpan, Rebecca Jones, Chief Growth Officer of Bridge Partners, Erin Figer, Founder of Core Consulting, and leaders from The Partner Masters, Suger and more hosting immersive workshops, be prepared to learn and implement. Proven Frameworks for Delivering Results Vince Menzione will share his 7 Principles of Successful Partnerships—developed from working with top-performing partners across the ecosystem. Other experts will share frameworks for marketplace, co-selling, GTM, and more Networking Opportunities to Accelerate Your Business This will be a curated executive room where you'll connect with partner leaders, advisors, and Microsoft stakeholders in high-trust conversations that spark real opportunities. You’ll leave with a tighter, more strategic network—and future deals in motion. An Intentionally Designed Experience with Real-World Impact Every detail of this event—from the location in Redmond to the experience design—is built to support meaningful conversations, clarity, and action. What People Say: “What an incredible experience at the Ultimate Partner Live Executive Summit. Two days packed with relationship building, business growth, and learning – it felt like months of progress compressed into 2 days.” Steven Karachinsky, CEO at Ziro “Really loved the vibe and amazing conversations with the partners at the Ultimate event! I think you absolutely have the right formula to create impact for the entire ecosystem with such a gathering.” Sandy Gupta, VP, Ecosystems of Global Software Companies at Microsoft “The event was informative, insightful, and inspiring. Your ability to put into words the tectonic shift we are all experiencing is refreshing! Thanks for being the trailblazer by providing thoughtful content and curated partner experiences. We have all been craving this for so long.” Regina Manfredi, EVP, General Manager at Crayon Group US “Attending this event was like striking gold 🙂 As a startup founder focused on co-sell and partnership, the validation and insights I gained at this event were invaluable; the future of partnerships and alliances is clearly bright. Vince Menzione, you are truly a powerhouse, and I wish you continued success! Most importantly, thank you for streaming the entire event, was truly incredible.” Archana Vadya, Founder & CEO at PartneRite “A big shout out to Vince Menzione for bringing this scale event (Ultimate Partner LIVE in Dallas) to life! It was a mega effort, and the results were amazing. Just look at the abundance of LinkedIn posts! It was an absolute pleasure sharing the stage with so many incredible speakers and colleagues from Microsoft and several of our partners like WorkSpan, Carve Partners, BDO, EY, Archive360, Sage, PartnerTap.” Kevin Peesker, (former) President, SMC - Small, Medium, Corporate Business at Microsoft This will prove to be the most valuable two days for your business in the first half of 2025. Ultimate Partner LIVE is a premium, focused, two-day immersive experience that will equip you with the tools and insights to lead through change and drive measurable results in FY26. Register now and use code ULTIMATEVIP50 at checkout for an exclusive discount.Meet customer business needs with flexible billing schedules in the marketplace
Co-authored by Trevor_Yeats Today, we’re announcing that Microsoft now offers flexible billing schedules through private offers to better align with customer needs. Flexible billing schedules are available globally to all marketplace-supported currencies. Watch these demo videos to learn more about flexible billing schedules. The value for your customers and for you With flexible billing schedules, customers can buy with confidence knowing that private offers can be customized for virtually any contract value and billing timeline to align with their requirements. Partners can tailor customer private offers and multiparty private offers to meet those requirements. This streamlines sales and accelerates deal velocity. With over 100 partners in our private preview, we’re excited to make this capability publicly available. Many of these partners have achieved remarkable success, closing deals worth millions of dollars. “Flexible billing in Microsoft marketplace has significantly improved how our sales teams engage with customers. It allows them to meet each organization's and customer's procurement needs, whether it's aligning with fiscal year budgets or accelerating project timelines from evaluations to implementations. Additionally, it helps with managing cloud commitment benefits. This flexibility has made it easier for our customers to purchase and deploy solutions faster, without waiting for specific budgets to become available. We can now set up flexible billing schedules to accommodate their needs.” Brett Ferancy, Global Alliance Leader, Abnormal AI Example use cases See below for some real-world examples of how partners and customers are leveraging flexible billing. Variable pricing with specific dates. In this example, the customer pays a setup fee at the start of billing, followed by variable pricing throughout the contract to match consumption patterns and budget cycles. 3-year deal $80M total Notes Immediate charge when billing starts $2M Setup fee – 1 st month 01 Jan 2025 $5M Year 1 installment #2 15 Jul 2025 $3M Year 1 installment #3 01 Jan 2026 $10M Year 2 installment #1 15 Jul 2026 $10M Year 2 installment #2 01 Jan 2027 $20M Year 3 installment #1 15 Jul 2027 $30M Year 3 installment #2 Variable quarterly billing. In this example, the customer pays a setup fee at the start of billing, followed by variable pricing each quarter. 1-year deal $10M total Notes Immediate when billing starts $2M Q1 01 Jun 2025 $3M Q2 01 Sep 2025 $2M Q3 01 Dec 2025 $3M Q4 Delayed start for billing. In this example, the customer gets the first two months free, followed by varied payments throughout the contract to match budget cycles 2-year deal $25M total Notes Immediate when billing starts $0M Free – 2 months 01 Mar 2024 $10M Year 1 fee 15 Jan 2025 $5M Year 2 installment 1 01 Jul 2025 $10M Year 2 installment 2 How it works To start using flexible billing for private offers: The software partner creates a private offer in the marketplace. Currently flexible billing supports SaaS flat rate offers, VM software reservations, and professional services. Partner must choose “Customize SaaS plans and Professional Services” or “Customize VM software reservations” when creating a new private offer. On the configure pricing page, under “billing frequency,” the partner will select “flexible schedule when the contract duration is 1-year or greater.” The software partner creates the billing schedule with up to 70 installments up to $100,000,000 USD, or any of the currencies supported by marketplace, over the length of the deal. There is also an option to book an immediate charge when billing starts or delay the first charge to a date in the future. Private offers can have up to ten included product plans. Each plan has its own billing frequency and may include a unique flexible schedule. A flexible schedule does not apply to all plans included in the private offer and must be set up independently. The software partner can also create a schedule in their customer’s local billing currency using the market pricing template. The customer accepts and purchases the private offer with the flexible billing schedule. For a multiparty private offer, the process is the same except: The software partner sends the private offer to the channel partner. The channel partner adds their price adjustment percentage aligned to the flexible billing schedule and passes it to the customer. Eligibility Any company who is part of the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program can sell on the marketplace through private offers with flexible billing. Details are provided in our documentation, but at a high-level: Be a member of the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program (it’s free to join) Sign the marketplace publisher agreement Publish your offer Sell private offers with flexible billing In addition, we have many support resources for partners depending on where they are on their marketplace journey. For example, software development companies can join ISV Success for tools and resources that help them publish their solution and maximize its reach on the marketplace. Get started with flexible billing on marketplace We invite you to start leveraging these new improvements to flexible billing today. Learn more by visiting aka.ms/flexbill-docs.Co-sell Coaching: Episode 2, Abnormal Security - AMA
PLEASE NOTE: If you are planning to attend this event, please either use the 'Add to calendar' option below the "Attend" button, or create your own calendar reminder. Clicking attend will not automatically add this event to your calendar, and you will not receive any email notifications reminding you about the event. Join us for Co-sell Coaching, where your peer Microsoft partners will walk you through their best practices on how to co-sell effectively through the marketplace. Our second community event in this series will feature Brett Ferancy, Global Alliance Leader at Abnormal Security. Join to learn: The value of co-selling with Microsoft Proven best Practices for effective co-sell execution Scaling through the marketplace and multiparty private offers (MPOs) Each Co-sell Coaching event features a live Q&A with Microsoft partners and Microsoft subject-matter experts.
