AI-powered acceleration: Scale faster in Microsoft Marketplace
Go beyond the basics of listing and explore what truly drives velocity. For SaaS companies, the Microsoft Marketplace is no longer just a procurement convenience, it’s a strategic revenue engine. Yet while publishing a listing is simple, reaching that first transaction quickly is what separates software development companies who scale from those who stall. Dive into operational readiness, CRM-native automation, seller engagement, trust signals, and AI-enabled acceleration. Whether you're just getting started or looking to optimize your Marketplace motion, this session will provide you with information that will turn your first sale into a repeatable growth engine. What we will cover Accelerate your launch. Learn how embedded deep links and guided tasks cut down publishing time from weeks to hours. Ask AI, get answers. Find out how to access expert marketplace knowledge 24/7; no docs, no guesswork. Stay on track. See how automated roadmaps and adaptive progress tracking keep you from missing critical steps. Ready to turn your sales into repeatable growth engine? Join us December 4 at 9:00 AM PST to learn more and ask questions. How do I participate? Select Add to calendar to save the date, then click the Attend button to save your spot, receive event reminders, and participate in the Q&A.* If you can’t make the live event, don’t worry. You can post questions in advance and catch up on the answers and insights later in the week. * Don’t’ see the Attend button? Sign in to your Marketplace Tech Community account or Register for the Tech Community and join the conversation! Where do I post my questions? Scroll to the bottom of this page and select Comment. This session will be recorded and available on demand immediately after airing. It will feature AI-generated captions during the live broadcast. Human-generated captions and a recap of the Q&A will be available by the end of the week.Ignite 2025: Drive the next era of software innovation with AI
Artificial intelligence is unlocking new possibilities and redefining what’s achievable. Software companies, startups, ISVs and AI Natives are leading the charge, using AI to speed up delivery, scale effectively, and unlock new business potential. Microsoft empowers software companies to unlock growth through AI-driven innovation, empowers their developers to ship faster and scale through programs, incentive and Microsoft Marketplace. There is clear momentum in AI innovation, led by forward-thinking software companies. For instance, Microsoft Marketplace now offers 4,000+ AI Apps and Agents—more than any other marketplace—as well as additional cloud solutions designed to help customers accelerate their innovation. Software company acceleration at Microsoft Ignite. This week at Ignite, Microsoft is empowering software companies across three key areas: 1. Unlock growth with AI Software companies can access a broad choice of models, tailor them to their use case, and create AI apps and agents that deliver outcomes while using responsible AI to protect data and reduce risk. New announcements: Unified tools catalog in Microsoft Foundry (Public preview) New Microsoft Foundry updates in preview will enable developers to enrich agents with real-time business context, multimodal capabilities and custom business logic through a unified Tools catalog of Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers built with security and governance in mind. The catalog includes Unified tool discovery, deep business integration, new tools for prebuilt AI services, and custom tool extensibility. Managed instance on Azure App Service (Public preview) Enables organizations to move web applications to the cloud with just a few configuration changes, saving the time and effort of rewriting code. Whether .NET web apps are running on-premises or in virtual machines, developers will be able to modernize them into a fully managed platform-as-a-service (PaaS) environment and future-proof their infrastructure. The result is faster app modernization with lower overhead and access to cloud-native scalability, built-in security and Azure’s AI capabilities. Cohere joins Microsoft Foundry’s first-party model lineup (Public preview) Cohere’s leading language models (Command A, Embed 4 and Rerank) are now available directly from Azure, giving customers fast, secure, and compliant access without third-party dependencies. Delivered with Azure-native governance, observability, networking, and billing, Cohere on Azure enables organizations to build high-performance retrieval, classification, and generation workflows at enterprise scale. Introducing Anthropic's Claude models in Microsoft Foundry (Public preview) Microsoft and Anthropic are expanding their existing partnership to provide broader access to Claude for businesses. Customers of Microsoft Foundry will be able to access Anthropic’s frontier Claude models including Claude Sonnet 4.5, Claude Opus 4.1, and Claude Haiku 4.5. This partnership will make Claude the only frontier model available on all three of the world’s most prominent cloud services. Azure customers will gain expanded choice in models and access to Claude-specific capabilities. 2. Accelerate development Ship faster with AI-assisted workflows, build across clouds and open-source stacks, and use databases that speed data access and analysis to quickly move from prototype to production. New announcements: Systems innovation (Private preview) Remote storage throughput of up to 20 GBps, up to 1 million remote storage IOPS and network bandwidth of up to 400 Gbps, enabling significant performance improvements for the latest Azure VM series. Azure Boost is a server subsystem designed by Microsoft consisting of purpose-built software and hardware that offloads server virtualization processes traditionally performed by the hypervisor and host OS. Various storage and network intensive workloads will benefit the most from these new performance specifications. Microsoft Defender for Cloud + GitHub Advanced Security (Preview) With Microsoft Defender for Cloud and GitHub Advanced Security, you can protect cloud-native applications across the full app lifecycle from code to cloud. This natively integrated solution helps connect software developers and security teams while staying in the tools they use every day; to prioritize the most critical risks exposed in production and fix these risks faster with AI-powered remediation. Azure HorizonDB PostgreSQL (Private preview) A new PostgreSQL cloud database service delivering high speed and elastic scalability for building or modernizing mission-critical applications. Integrated with Microsoft Foundry, Microsoft Fabric, Visual Studio Code and more, Azure HorizonDB streamlines development. Modern authentication with Microsoft Entra ID and security features like Microsoft Defender and private endpoints support enterprise-grade protection. 3. Scale with confidence Turn innovation into revenue with Microsoft Marketplace by expanding your reach through the partner ecosystem, unlocking go-to-market benefits, and differentiating with offers that stand out. New announcements: Global release of Microsoft Marketplace (General availability) Microsoft Marketplace — your trusted source for cloud solutions, AI apps, and agents — is now globally available following its launch in the United States in September. All traffic from legacy storefronts (Azure Marketplace and AppSource) is now redirected to Marketplace.Microsoft.com. Featuring the industry’s largest catalog of AI apps and agents, Marketplace extends the Microsoft Cloud, helping customers accelerate their AI-first transformation with tens of thousands of vetted solutions from our partner ecosystem. These solutions integrate easily with Microsoft products, delivering faster time-to-value. Microsoft Agent 365 (Preview) Extend the existing infrastructure that you use for managing people to agents. Agent 365 equips your agents with the same apps and protections, tailored to agent needs, saving IT time and effort on integrating agents into business processes. It includes leading Microsoft security, productivity and collaboration solutions: Defender, Entra and Purview to protect and govern agents; Microsoft 365 productivity and collaboration apps and Semantic Index to accelerate their productivity; and Microsoft 365 admin center to manage agents. We're already seeing great examples from Devin, Genspark, Glean, Kasisto, Manus AI, n8n, ServiceNow, Workday, and more. Unified programs for software companies – App Accelerate (Public preview) Our Partner Program is focused on delivering more value for software companies, and we’ve identified an opportunity to simplify the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program (MAICPP) offers available to software companies today. We're announcing a new offering for software development companies, available in 2026—combining incentives, benefits, and co-sell resources across existing offerings such as ISV Success, and Marketplace Rewards—into one streamlined pathway for partners. App Accelerate brings together ISV Success, Marketplace Rewards, and more into a single-entry point, creating a unified and simplified experience to help partners accelerate their growth through Microsoft Marketplace. Early access to co-sell benefits (Pilot) As part of our new unified offer, we’re creating an additional route for software companies to access co-sell benefits. This pathway is designed for partners who may not have reached the $100K milestone in Marketplace Billed Sales (MBS) or Azure Consumed Revenue (ACR) but demonstrate readiness in other critical areas. This early access option is nomination-based, with eligibility determined by criteria such as Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC), customer traction, and pipeline strength. Resale enabled offers (General availability) Analysts estimate nearly 60% of cloud marketplace business will be channel-led by 2030. With a partner ecosystem of 500K+ —Microsoft Marketplace is fully embracing the channel-led Marketplace opportunity with the general availability of resale enabled offers. Resale enabled offers enable software companies to empower channel partners to manage their Marketplace listings through a repeatable model designed for scale. This helps software companies break through to new markets without adding overhead while channel partners maintain their customer relationships while getting the added value of Marketplace. Sales of eligible solutions also count toward customers’ Azure consumption commitments, opening the door to larger, more strategic deals funded by pre-committed cloud budgets—creating stickier relationships and fueling growth. Featured Ignite sessions Whether you're attending Ignite in person or joining online, these sessions are designed to help software companies build smarter, scale faster, and unlock new growth opportunities. Tuesday, November 18 – 1:00pm PT Agents, apps, and acceleration: Helping software companies grow Explore the opportunity for AI apps and agents. Learn how to build experiences that matter and get best practices from other leading software companies. Wednesday, November 19 – 10:15am PT Benefits for accelerating software company success Discover resources available across the build, publish, and grow journey in MAICPP. Hear how peers are using AI investments and go-to-market benefits to grow. Wednesday, November 19 – 5:00pm PT Executing on the channel-led Marketplace opportunity for partners Discover practical strategies across diverse dealmaking scenarios to grow business and deepen Microsoft partnerships. Keep the momentum going—explore more Ignite sessions and activities created with software companies in mind. Let’s create the future together You are redefining what’s possible with AI. Microsoft is here to help you create the future. Get started Get resources to help grow your software development company Use ISV Success to build faster with AI tools, services, and expert support Publish your solution and reach millions of customers on the Microsoft Marketplace Access App Advisor and get step-by-step guidance to build, publish, and sell your app or agentAI innovation takes center stage at Microsoft Ignite
Artificial intelligence is transforming how software companies build, scale, and deliver solutions. At Microsoft Ignite, we announced new tools and programs to help developers accelerate innovation responsibly, from AI-powered workflows and unified tools in Microsoft Foundry to Cohere’s language models on Azure. Plus, the global launch of Microsoft Marketplace brings the industry’s largest catalog of AI apps and agents, enabling partners to reach new customers and unlock growth. Explore the latest announcements and learn how to ship faster, scale confidently, and turn AI innovation into business impact. Read the full articleFrom AI to ecosystem strategy: Why UP LIVE Reston was a game-changer
On Oct 28–29, Carahsoft hosted Ultimate Partner LIVE at their incredible Reston, VA facility — a high-impact, two-day experience designed to empower ecosystem partners to lead through change. With keynotes from top Microsoft leaders, immersive workshops, and a curated executive audience, this wasn’t just another conference — it was a strategic accelerator for the future of partnering. Here are the top 7 insights from Ultimate Partner LIVE Reston 1. Microsoft’s vision: Ecosystem leadership in action The event kicked off with a powerful keynote from Craig Abod, President of Carahsoft, who reminded attendees to “know the business you're in, and know where you're going.” His disciplined approach to scaling — from $2B to $10B — set the tone for strategic focus and execution. His advice to “take care of your $2K customers, they’ll become $50K customers” was one of the most quoted lines of the event. Microsoft leaders then took the stage to amplify the momentum: Erwin Visser- GM, SCP Channel, challenged attendees to embrace co-innovation, stating, “In 10 years, the world’s top 50 brands don’t even exist yet.” Matt Berg- Global Sales Leader, AI Workforce SME&C, emphasized the importance of scaling success through Copilot and secure AI adoption. Pat Primavera- Americas ISV Channel Sales Leader Applications and Infrastructure, shared the origin story of Microsoft’s co-sell practices, highlighting how transparency and shared learning fuel ecosystem growth. Together, their insights framed a clear call to action: the time to build is now, and the future belongs to those who lead with purpose, partnership, and velocity. 2. AI is reshaping the partner ecosystem AI isn’t just a tech trend — it’s a business revolution. From Copilot to Agentic AI, Microsoft and its partners are leading the charge in redefining how innovation is delivered. Systems integrators (SIs) are at the forefront of AI experimentation, signaling a shift in who drives transformation. The message was clear: “Don’t wait for the next wave. Be the wave.” 3. The lines between partner roles are blurring The partner landscape is being rewritten. Today, partners play an average of 3.2 roles — ISV, MSP, SI, and more. The traditional definitions are fading fast. The winners will be those who adapt their models to stay relevant as these worlds collide. As one speaker noted, “Modern sales is an ecosystem play.” 4. Relationships are the real currency Jay McBain- Chief Analyst, Channels, Partnerships & Ecosystems at Omedia & Canalys, nailed it: “The difference between contacts and contracts is the letter R — Relationships.” His “7 Spheres of Influence” framework — advisors, analysts, ISVs, influencers, integrators, peers — was widely referenced as a guide to navigating modern partnerships. Trust and influence are now central to deal-making, and the ecosystem is the engine that drives it. 5. The buyer has changed permanently Only 5% of buyers are ready to buy now, and 90% will choose from their “Day 1 list.” With 51% of B2B buyers being millennials, early relationship-building is no longer optional — it’s essential. Partners must engage long before a formal buying process begins. The takeaway? If you’re not already on their radar, you’re already too late. 6. The time to build with AI is now From Copilot to secure chat and Agentic AI, Microsoft’s message was clear: the opportunity to build, launch, and scale new solutions is unbridled. Business-led innovation > tech-led innovation. AI isn’t just about automation — it’s about reimagining how work gets done and delivering real business outcomes. Partners were encouraged to adopt AI-first strategies and start building now. 7. Community beats chaos Transformation fatigue is real. Burnout is real. But UP LIVE Reston was described by attendees as “the jolt I didn’t know I needed.” Amid the noise of the industry, the event provided a space for authentic conversations, collaboration, and inspiration. From hallway chats to workshops, the energy was electric. The message was clear: community still matters, and we are truly better together. Special thanks to Craig Abod and the Carahsoft team for their generous support and leadership throughout the event. Carahsoft was honored with Ultimate Partner’s 2025 Partner of the Year Award, recognizing their outstanding commitment to building lasting relationships across the partner ecosystem. If you missed UP LIVE Reston, you can catch the event recordings here: Ultimate Partner LIVE: Reston - Oct. 28 Ultimate Partners LIVE: Reston - Oct. 29Explore Marketplace and partner innovations at Microsoft Ignite 2025
Are you coming to Microsoft Ignite? Microsoft Marketplace has an expanded space in the Hub, in addition to a full slate of must-watch breakout and theater sessions. We are thrilled that the following software companies will be joining Marketplace in the Hub to showcase their cutting-edge solutions: Ada Agentic CX for the world’s most personalized customer experiences Contentsquare Better digital experiences, made easier and faster with AI Delinea Your next AI innovation is our next identity to protect Fivetran Moves, transforms, and activates data to power AI innovation Moveworks The AI Assistant platform for your entire workforce ntegral Empowering the future of cloud innovation Parloa AI agents that elevate every customer conversation Profisee Build trusted data to operationalize AI and accelerate innovation Sight Machine Industrial transformation at the speed of AI with enterprise scale Sitecore Digital experiences so powerful they connect the world Unily The #1 enterprise employee experience platform Zammo.ai Build AI agents with just your words, any channel, any use case If you’ll be joining us at Microsoft Ignite in San Francisco, make sure you stop by our Marketplace space in the Hub from November 18-20 to: Connect directly with Microsoft subject matter experts ready to help you become Marketplace-ready and accelerate your business growth Explore AI-powered solutions from featured partners, all available in Microsoft Marketplace Experience live demos, interactive showcases, and receive hands-on guidance Grab a sweet treat with the return of our famous Marketplace donut wall Not able to attend in person? Breakout sessions will be streamed live for digital attendees and available on demand. Learn more about the value in purchasing through Marketplace in these breakout sessions: BRK213: Microsoft Marketplace: Your trusted source for cloud and AI solutions BRK215: Boost cloud and AI ROI using Microsoft Marketplace If you're a software company looking to sell through Marketplace, these sessions are for you: BRK424: Marketplace success for partners—from SMB to Enterprise BRK420: Executing on the channel-led marketplace opportunity for partners As a trusted source for cloud solutions, AI apps, and agents, Marketplace is an extension of the Microsoft Cloud, where we collaborate with our partner ecosystem to bring their innovations to our customers globally. Whether you’re looking to innovate, scale, or simply get inspired, Marketplace is your destination at Microsoft Ignite. Register today.How to structure your Microsoft Partner Center account for long term success
A well-defined Microsoft Partner Center account is critical for smooth operations, marketplace success, and an overall better experience in the portal. But with multiple configuration options, identifiers, and account relationships to understand, it’s easy to get lost in the details. In this discussion, we’ll walk through how to set up and organize your Microsoft Partner Center account for operational efficiency and marketplace success. What we will cover Understand account structures and publisher configurations Working with important identifiers used in account management and support scenarios Scenarios and best practices for long-term successful management of your accounts By the end, you’ll know exactly how to structure your Microsoft Partner Center account so that it supports your organization’s needs today and scales with you as you grow in the Microsoft ecosystem. Ready to optimize your Partner Center account? Join us November 4th at 9:00 AM PST to learn more and ask questions. How do I participate? Select “Add to calendar” to save the date, then click the “Attend” button to save your spot, receive event reminders, and participate in the Q&A. If you can’t make the live event, don’t worry. You can post your questions in advance and catch up on the answers and insights later in the week. This session will be recorded and available on demand immediately after airing. Where do I post my questions? Scroll to the bottom of this page and select “Comment.” This event will feature AI-generated captions during the live broadcast. Human-generated captions and a recap of the Q&A will be available by the end of the week.🎉 Celebrate Excellence at the Microsoft Switzerland Partner of the Year Awards 2025!
Microsoft Switzerland is thrilled to invite you to our Partner of the Year Award Celebration 2025 – Partner Day! Join us in person as we recognize the extraordinary achievements, innovation, and impact of our Swiss partner community. This special celebration is our way of saying thank you for driving success and shaping the future with us. 📅 Date: Thursday, November 27, 2025 🕐 Time: 1:30 PM – 7:00 PM (GMT+01:00) 📍 Location: Hyatt Regency Zurich Airport The Circle The Circle Convention Center The Circle 41 8058 Zürich Airport, Switzerland 👉 Register now – limited seats available! Hosted by Catrin Hinkel, CEO of Microsoft Switzerland Andrew Reid, Commercial Partner Lead, Microsoft Switzerland 🏆 Awards Categories We’re excited to announce winners across 11 local categories that showcase innovation, excellence, and partnership impact: Switzerland Partner of the Year AI Excellence Azure Migration M365 Copilot Modern Work Security Business Applications Transformation & Innovation Marketplace Champion Social Impact Startup of the Year 👉 Register now 🗓 Event Agenda 01:30 PM – 02:00 PM | Check-in 02:00 PM – 02:30 PM | Welcome by Catrin Hinkel 02:30 PM – 04:00 PM | Winners Announcements 04:00 PM – 05:00 PM | Break & Networking 05:00 PM – 07:00 PM | Flying Dinner & Networking ℹ️ Important Details This exclusive in-person event is reserved for Microsoft partners and nominees. Registrations will be accepted on a first come, first served basis, with priority given to winners and nominees. We can’t wait to celebrate your success, share your stories, and connect over a shared vision for growth and innovation. ➡️ Register now to secure your spot Let’s celebrate partnership, innovation, and impact — together.
New To The Community
Hello ISV Success Community, As a new member to the community, I decided to start with an introduction. I’m Aubin Bakana, Founder and CTIO (Chief Technology & Innovation Officer) of Baobab Logix LTD, now based in Leeds, UK. I lead technology and innovation, driving solutions that are secure, ethical, and intelligent. At Baobab Logix, we’re building future-ready platforms that empower businesses to thrive. One of our flagship innovations is KeepComm Intel, a next-generation contact center solution that combines AI-driven automation with human-in-the-loop architecture for speed, accuracy, and trust. As a Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Expert, Harvard CS50 certified, and full-stack developer, I bring deep technical expertise and a vision for sustainable innovation. I’m here to connect, collaborate, and share insights with fellow innovators who believe in shaping technology for good. Looking forward to engaging with this amazing community and exploring opportunities to build impactful solutions together! thank you.Your front row seat to Ultimate Partner® LIVE starts now!
In just a few days, Ultimate Partner® LIVE goes live from Reston, VA with its most impactful agenda yet. Top performing partners including Veeam, Accenture, Carahsoft, Cisco, SHI, ServiceNow, Commvault, and Siemens will share how they've overcome challenges and built lasting success. Microsoft experts will also join for candid, unscripted conversations about what it really takes to thrive in today's Hyperscaler ecosystems. The entire event will be streamed live for free — making partner mastery accessible to everyone. Join the livestream. Be inspired. Become the Ultimate Partner. October 28th Livestream October 29th LivestreamChannel strategy, accreditation, and real results — All at UP LIVE Reston
FY26 Is the Year to Lead with Capability FY26 is here — and Microsoft is investing more than ever in partner-led growth. From expanded co-sell motions to marketplace acceleration and capability development, the message is clear: partners who demonstrate value through accreditation and specialization are leading the way. According to Microsoft’s FY26 Partner Strategy Update (July 2025), accredited partners are seeing 3x higher engagement in co-sell motions and 2x faster time-to-market in the commercial marketplace. These metrics reflect a growing emphasis on partner capability, specialization, and alignment with Microsoft’s GTM priorities. That’s why ISSI’s workshop at Ultimate Partner LIVE: Reston is a must-attend for partners looking to align with Microsoft’s FY26 strategy and drive measurable business impact. Making Accreditation Work for Partners and Vendors ISSI has spent years helping IT service organizations and hyperscalers build smarter, more effective partner channels. Their consulting and auditing services focus on transforming partner programs — not just for compliance, but for impact. Their workshop, Driving Channel & Customer Value with Partner Accreditation, will explore: How accreditation programs are designed and optimized Case studies from both a hyperscaler and a partner organization How partners can assess the relevance of accreditation to their business Ways to improve technical and business capabilities through structured programs ISSI’s recent article “The Ways That Partners Can Make Money” outlines five core ways partners generate revenue: Resale Managed Services IP Monetization Marketplace Success Co-Sell Engagement Accreditation amplifies each of these models. It builds trust, proves capability, and unlocks deeper engagement with vendors like Microsoft. Why Attend UP LIVE: Reston ISSI’s workshop is just one part of a much larger conversation happening at UP LIVE: Reston. With over 42 speakers — including leaders from Microsoft, AWS, Elastic, Carahsoft, and more — the event brings together the most accomplished voices in partnering: Jay McBain Canalys (part of Omdia)), Erwin Visser (Microsoft), Pat Primavera (Microsoft), and Darryl E. Peek II (Elastic) the innovators building the future of co-sell and marketplace success — Rebecca Jones (Bridge Partners) Reis Barrie (Carve Partners), Erin Figer (CORE Consulting LLC), and Sam Gong (WorkSpan) the leaders transforming GTM and channel execution — Craig Abod (Carahsoft), Shane Wilson (Cohesity), Scott Sacket (AvePoint), Tarek Shamounki (ServiceNow), Erika Irby (Veeam Software) Expect: Real conversations about what’s working now in co-sell, marketplace, and GTM execution Actionable insights from strategists, innovators, and channel leaders A community of peers who are shaping the future of partner success Whether you're a partner looking to refine your strategy or a vendor seeking stronger channel performance, UP LIVE is the place to connect, learn, and lead. The Takeaway Accreditation isn’t just a badge — it’s a business accelerator. ISSI’s work shows how structured partner programs can unlock new revenue streams, improve delivery quality, and align with Microsoft’s evolving priorities. If you’re serious about driving channel and customer value in FY26, don’t miss ISSI’s workshop — and don’t miss UP LIVE: Reston. ISSI manages client-specific programs that enable industry leaders to quantify, asses, and improve the quality of services available to partner organizations migrating or managing customer workloads. Visit www.issi-inc.com or contact them at asales@issi-inc.com to learn more. ⭐ SPECIAL OFFER As a valued Microsoft partner, Ultimate Partner is offering a 15% discount on general passes to experience UP LIVE. 👉 Register HERE USE CODE: ULTIMATEVIP15 at checkout If you are unable to attend, join us via the live stream: Ultimate Partner LIVE: Reston
