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94 TopicsCSP August 2026 Monthly Partner Update
This month's updates covered important changes to agreements, security requirements, pricing capabilities, growth programs, and promotional offers that enable partners to increase customer adoption and make the most of upcoming CSP opportunities. Please use the survey link to share your feedback on these updates Survey Link. Visit the Launch Enablement Guide for additional readiness resources, guidance, and partner actions. This Month's Topic: Promotion Capabilities Consumption-based and per-user New Azure promotion capabilities will enable percentage-based discounts across eligible consumption scenarios, including pay-as-you-go, reserved instances, and pre-purchase plans, with discovery and redemption experiences available for sandbox testing. Upcoming per-user promotion enhancements will support more precise customer targeting by seat count and introduce greater flexibility for qualifying customers in new-to-offer scenarios. Watch the video for more details. If the player doesn’t load, open the video in a new window: Open video Important Links Visit the Azure promotions learn documentation Refer the https://aka.ms/Azure-Promos-FAQ Need More Information? Visit the Launch Enablement Guide for additional readiness resources, guidance, and partner actions.Account Suspended Despite Compliance – Seeking Clarification and Reinstatement
Hello Microsoft Community, My company’s Partner Center account currently shows a Suspended status for both the Indirect Reseller and Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider programs, even though we believe we’ve met all requirements. What we’ve done: Completed all security requirements (MFA enabled, security contact designated) Verified business and legal information is up to date Ensured there are no outstanding payments or compliance issues We received a notice about CSP indirect reseller eligibility (USD 1,000 revenue requirement), but our partner confirms our license spend exceeds this threshold. Our questions: Why is the account still suspended if we’ve addressed the stated requirements? Is there a hidden or unaddressed compliance issue? What specific steps must we follow to have the suspension lifted? Can Microsoft reinstate the account once we provide evidence of compliance? We’re unable to perform critical operations like assigning licenses or accessing partner benefits while suspended. Has anyone experienced a similar situation? Any guidance from Microsoft moderators or the community would be greatly appreciated.Customer CUSTOMER_NAME notified of anomalous activity in Azure subscription
How do others feel about the alerts showing up in the Partner Center? We’ve detected suspicious or malicious activity in this Azure subscription. The customer of this subscription has been notified. What suspicious or malicious activity did microsoft detect you ask? An important security update is available for your Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) resource(s). That's right, there is no suspicious or malicious activity. Microsoft wants people to install an out of band security update and thought sending a notification to all azure customers was the best way to ensure that happened. Half the clients that received this alert aren't even running windows servers! Those that are running windows servers do not have the WSUS role installed. All the clients Microsoft alerted us about to suspicious activity in their subscriptions... Don't use WSUS We did have the pleasure of manually closing every single alert as "ignore" and I'm delighted to know that these alerts didn't count towards the security requirement to have an avg response time of less than 24h. I thought the partner security alerts were to notify us of critical issues microsoft detected in azure subscriptions. This, does not appear to be that. Am I missing something? thoughts?experiences with “MS incentives new experience”
Dear Microsoft, dear fellow partners, Please find below first experiences with the new "incentives experience" where the annual incentives guide was replaced with a website. This fine product can be found at: https://incentiveguide.partner.microsoft.com/en-US/ Site only shows a video, no matter which link you click. We want text, not video. I want the CSP M365 incentives info, not that video overlay again. 2. Site refers to a ‘product addendum’ but no such is found in the guide itself (it is in the MCI collection on OpsReadiness luckily - https://assetsprod.microsoft.com/mpn/en-us/microsoft-commerce-incentive-product-addendum.xlsx ) 3. The MCI collection (https://partner.microsoft.com/en-US/asset/collection/microsoft-commerce-incentive-resources#/) links to various files/links. The link to the FY27 coop guide is broken ☹ (https://incentiveguide.partner.microsoft.com/en-US/fy27-co-op/how-to-use-the-co-op-guidebook) p- luckily the definitions of what cannot be found are present (at https://incentiveguide.partner.microsoft.com/en-US/additional-terms-and-definitions/glossary-cooperative-marketing-funds) 4. There are no rates mentioned in the website/download of the guide. For CSP you would need to view the MSFY27 documentation in collection mentioned earlier we eagerly await an updated & improved version of this site!experiences with “MS incentives new experience”
Dear Microsoft, dear fellow partners, Please find below first experiences with the new "incentives experience" where the annual incentives guide was replaced with a website. This fine product can be found at: https://incentiveguide.partner.microsoft.com/en-US/ Site only shows a video, no matter which link you click. We want text, not video. I want the CSP M365 incentives info, not that video overlay again. 2. Site refers to a ‘product addendum’ but no such is found in the guide itself (it is in the MCI collection on OpsReadiness luckily - https://assetsprod.microsoft.com/mpn/en-us/microsoft-commerce-incentive-product-addendum.xlsx ) 3. The MCI collection (https://partner.microsoft.com/en-US/asset/collection/microsoft-commerce-incentive-resources#/) links to various files/links. The link to the FY27 coop guide is broken ☹ (https://incentiveguide.partner.microsoft.com/en-US/fy27-co-op/how-to-use-the-co-op-guidebook) p- luckily the definitions of what cannot be found are present (at https://incentiveguide.partner.microsoft.com/en-US/additional-terms-and-definitions/glossary-cooperative-marketing-funds) 4. There are no rates mentioned in the website/download of the guide. For CSP you would need to view the MSFY27 documentation in collection mentioned earlier we eagerly await an updated & improved version of this site!Transitioning from Direct Bill to Indirect Reseller
I am sharing our experience regarding transition from DB to IR started 4 months ago to understand the better approach to manage our partner centers in the future. We started transitioning from Direct Bill to Indirect Reseller in November 2025. We currently have: one PGA with two different associated CSP PLAs: Direct Bill PLA and Indirect Reseller PLA. We operate with two different Partner Centers: "first" PC used for the PGA and the Direct Bill PLA "second" used for the Indirect Reseller PLA At the moment, everything is working correctly, as we are actively transferring customers from the Direct Bill model to the Indirect Reseller model, Incentives for the Indirect Reseller (PLA IR) are being received correctly, designations are managed under the PGA tenant, ecc. Regarding TTM, we exceed the 1M‑dollar requirement, but only at the PGA level, as it currently includes both DB and IR revenue. Do you know whether Microsoft requires the 1M‑dollar threshold to be met at the PGA level by combining DB and IR revenue, or if only DB revenue counts for maintaining Direct Bill status? Our other question concerns the end of the customers migration, considering that the Direct Bill PLA will eventually become restricted or revoked. Whether it is recommended to continue using two separate Partner Centers, first for Membership, Incentives, Designations, Earnings, and overall partner management and the second exclusively for CSP Tier-2 customer management. Or whether you suggest alternative or better scenarios for managing the Partner Center structure once the transition is fully completed. Tks for feedback and information. FabrizioSolvedPartner Collaboration – Copilot AI Readiness Sprint (MPN ID: 7110817)
Hello Microsoft Partner Community, We’re seeing increasing demand from clients exploring Microsoft 365 Copilot — and a consistent gap in readiness across licensing, data, governance, and security. ArcSecureAI (MPN ID: 7110817) is offering a virtual Copilot AI Readiness Sprint designed to support partners working with SMBs, nonprofits, and organizations preparing for adoption. What the sprint includes: • Readiness assessment (licensing, data, governance, workflows) • Security and Zero Trust alignment review • Identification of automation opportunities (Power Automate + Copilot Studio) • Scored readiness report (0–100) • Practical 30–60–90 day adoption roadmap Partner collaboration options: • White-label delivery • Co-delivery with CSPs and MSPs • Fast turnaround (typically 48–72 hours) • Microsoft-aligned approach Goal: Help partners start the Copilot conversation with structure, deliver immediate value, and position follow-on services. If you’re currently working with clients evaluating Copilot, I’d be open to connecting and exploring collaboration opportunities. – Sreita Wheeler ArcSecureAI LLC MPN ID: 7110817Unified for Partners (UfP)
Hello! A few months ago at Microsoft Ignite, Dan Rippey shared an update on The Future of Partner Support - Customer + Partner + Microsoft. Dan brought 'Unified for Partners' center stage and mentioned that Microsoft is going into listening mode and taking partner feedback. It's easy to share feedback with Microsoft by visiting booths at Ignite. What are some ways partners can share feedback with Dan and others at Microsoft year round? For reference, we have a signed NDA with Microsoft if that helps! My first thought are the two community calls that were running for most of 2025. They were the CSP Technical Training Series and Microsoft Partner Community Q&A Call. However, I don't see any upcoming events scheduled... Thanks! -jonURGENT: CSP Direct-Bill Termination. Mistakenly. Support Exhausted, Customers at Risk. MSFT, Help
We are a longstanding Microsoft partner (AOS-G and CSP Direct Bill) and urgently need escalation. Our support channels, including GetHelp escalation, have been unable to resolve or explain an unexplained and unwarranted termination notice, and the 30-day clock is running. This directly impacts our mutual customers and if not resolved ASAP. What Happened January 29, 2026: We received a 30-day termination notice stating we have not met CSP direct bill eligibility requirements. We are indeed compliant and believe this is an error. We provided evidence of compliance to Support and GetHelp several times, but no one has been able to identify what requirement we allegedly fail to meet or propose a solution. They continually say they are working on the issue and will get back to us in a couple days. Notably, we did not receive a 90-day or 60-day advance notice as required by Microsoft's documented process for at risk Direct Sell partners. We confirmed via Exchange message trace that no related emails were received in the prior 90 days. January 20: Nine days before the notice, we began receiving Error 715-123220 preventing us from adding new customers in Partner Center, suggesting our capabilities were already restricted before we were even notified. Tickets Needing Escalation #1 — GetHelp #11414107 / Support Request #2602030010000038 CSP Direct Bill termination notice. No substantive response beyond "we are working on it." #2 — GetHelp #11412447 / Support Request #2601200010001797 Error 715-123220 preventing new customer additions since January 20. Same status. Microsoft, please help: We request these tickets be escalated to the appropriate CSP or Legal team for immediate review and to stop the termination process ASAP. Any Microsoft staff who can assist — we would be deeply grateful! Thank you, sincerely. ShaySolvedUnified for Partners (UfP) - Pricing
We are a Microsoft Direct CSP currently purchasing Premier Support for Partners (PSfP). With Premier support we are allowed 30 cases/year and after that you have to pay approx. $650/case. We do a good job of handling issues on our own and only open tickets on our customers behalf as a last resort. We will have approx. 20 cases this year and won't need to purchase any additional. Under (UfP), based on the datasheet released we will qualify for a 40% discount on the Licensing & Azure rates. With the 40% discount our annual costs will increase 8x what we are currently paying. Our cost/case will go up to $12,725(1,800% increase) Is Microsoft trying to put their existing CSPs out of business with this pricing model? We have been driving new business and been a model partner. We have already had to deal with the complications of all of the risk and additional issues brought on by NCE and now we are going to be price gouged for support. The marketing materials are trying to make this look like a benefit to us when in fact it is the complete opposite. Will there be exceptions to this new pricing model? It made a lot more sense to charge CSPs per case they open above the 30 allowed. Why wouldn't Microsoft just increase the cost of the additional cases? This would make CSPs double think about opening a case that they may be able to solve on their own. (UfP) is going to punish the good CSPs by spreading the cost of companies abusing the system across the board. We would love to have the opportunity to express our concerns with a Microsoft representative in the CSP program. We have already made our PDM and Success Manager aware of the impact that this will have.Solved