Office hours for partners: Marketplace rewards for FY26
If you are a software company or channel partner selling through the Microsoft commercial marketplace, don’t miss our first Office Hours session of the new fiscal year! We start with an update on Marketplace Rewards for channel partners, which is now generally available for FY26. We then dive into the following topics and answer your questions live: Marketplace Rewards benefit tiers and changes from the pilot program Essential tips for utilizing Microsoft Azure Sponsorship to win multiparty private offer deals Lessons learned from successful partners Where can I access the deck? Click here to download the slides presented in this session of Office Hours. When is the next Office Hours session? Bookmark the Marketplace Community for announcements about upcoming Office Hours events.Certified Software Designations: FY26 Benefits Updates
If you are a software development company selling through the Microsoft commercial marketplace, don’t miss this office hours session. Learn how to stand out to Microsoft customers and sellers -- and unlock the top-tier of benefits available to software development company partners. Walk away with a better understanding of: Certified software designation: What it is and why it matters FY26 updates: New benefits and incentives for designated partners Getting started: Steps to begin your designation journey Where can I access the deck? Click here to download the slides presented in this session of Office Hours. When is the next Office Hours session? Bookmark the Marketplace Community for announcements about upcoming Office Hours events.Meet with us in Vegas! Marketplace sponsoring Channel Partners Conference
The Microsoft Marketplace team is excited to sponsor the Channel Partners Conference & Expo, April 13–16 at the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas, and connect with the advisors, resellers, and services partners who are delivering value for customers every day. We want to meet you! Throughout the week, Marketplace experts will lead sessions, host conversations at our booth, and support private meetings to help you activate and accelerate your Marketplace strategy. Read the blog to learn how to connect with us and even get FREE or DISCOUNTED passes if you're a channel partner: Microsoft Marketplace at Channel Partners Conference & Expo 2026 | Microsoft Community HubMicrosoft Marketplace at Channel Partners Conference & Expo 2026
If you’re a channel partner, you’ve probably felt the shift: customers are relying on trusted advisors like you now more than ever as they transition to an AI-first world. As part of this change, channel‑led sales through Microsoft Marketplace have grown rapidly over the past year, fueled by new offer constructs and simplified procurement paths that make it easier for partners to source, bundle, and deliver the cloud and AI solutions customers need, while accelerating deals and expanding their services footprint. To continue to drive momentum with channel-led sales, the Marketplace team is excited to sponsor the Channel Partners Conference & Expo, April 13–16 at the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas, and connect with the advisors, resellers, and services partners who are delivering value for customers every day. How to engage with Microsoft Marketplace at the event We want to meet you! Throughout the week, Marketplace experts will lead sessions, host conversations at our booth, and support private meetings to help you activate and accelerate your Marketplace strategy. ✔ Join our sessions Keynote interview: Scaling channel impact in an AI-first world with Microsoft Marketplace Tech sponsor session: Unlock the channel opportunity through Microsoft Marketplace Theater session: 5 tips for channel success through Microsoft Marketplace ✔ Visit us onsite Stop by our booth (#1536) to meet experts and learn how partners are using Marketplace to: Pair your solutions with vetted offerings Accelerate vendor relationships Scale faster with bigger deals ✔ Request a private meeting If your team will be in Las Vegas, we’d love to connect. Submit a meeting request here. Register with our sponsor discount code As a Platinum Sponsor, we’re pleased to offer complimentary Expo + Keynote passes and discounted Standard and Premium passes. Use code “Microsoft” when registering here. We hope to see you in Las Vegas!Leading through disruptive change: What partners need now
On February 25th, Ultimate Partner is hosting its annual Executive Winter Retreat in Boca Raton, Florida. We are excited to welcome Nina Harding, CVP, Americas Global Partner Solutions, as this year’s keynote speaker. Nina will share key customer insights during this period of rapid transformation and highlight the critical role partners play in driving meaningful business outcomes. Over the past several months, one thing has become clear: AI is no longer an abstract conversation. Customers are asking how to run it securely, measure its impact, and scale it across their organizations. At the same time, partners are looking for ways to convert the momentum from the Microsoft AI Tour into real execution. Nina will discuss what executives are prioritizing right now, how Agentic AI is reshaping expectations, and how partners can help customers realize measurable value. She will be joined on stage by a strong lineup of Microsoft leaders—Katharine Kennedy, Jason Rook, Erwin Visser, and Steve Cohen—each bringing a real-world perspective on what it takes to build successful, durable partnerships. These leaders will help partners focus on the drivers of momentum: Translating AI strategy into actionable partner plans Understanding how marketplaces now dominate transactions Leveraging ecosystem orchestration as a competitive advantage Navigating a buyer who thinks, evaluates, and purchases differently This retreat is intentionally designed for execution—not theory, not product announcements, and not high-level dialogue. It is a forum where partners gain clarity on how to build, sell, and deliver with Microsoft in 2026. Learn more about Ultimate Partner here: Events - Ultimate Guide to Partnering®Simplify buying and accelerate AI adoption through Microsoft Marketplace
February 25, 2026 |10:00 AM PST Join this month's Microsoft Marketplace customer office hour to explore practical AI use cases available through the Marketplace - from prebuilt AI apps and agents to AI-powered solutions that simplify buying and deployment Learn more and sign up to attend this online event or watch the recording after the session. Accelerating AI adoption through Microsoft Marketplace | February 25, 2026 - Microsoft Marketplace CommunityAgentic AI security: Prompt injection and manipulation attacks
As AI apps and autonomous agents gain more reasoning and independence, they also open new pathways for adversarial attacks. Join this webinar and hear how the most critical risks are broken down—prompt injection, goal hijacking, and memory poisoning—and how they the impact real AI applications. Learn practical defenses your teams can implement today, including input validation, behavioral detection, and robust architectural patterns that keep agentic systems aligned and secure. Learn more and sign up to attend this webinar or watch the recording after. Agentic manipulation: Prompt injection, goal hijacking & memory poisoning | Microsoft Community HubMarketplace trainings and events calendar
-Welcome to our calendar for accessing upcoming Marketplace trainings and events, along with links to recent resources. This page is a go-to resource for discovering training sessions and events designed specifically for software development companies related to Microsoft Marketplace. Whether you’re building innovative solutions or publishing to the commercial marketplace, you’ll find content to help you stay ahead in today’s fast-moving tech landscape. We’ve organized dedicated areas for partners and customers, making it easy to find sessions most relevant to your needs. Some events are upcoming, while others are past recordings that remain valuable for learning and growth. This page is updated frequently with new opportunities. Be sure to subscribe for notifications; instructions are provided at the bottom of this post. Explore the upcoming AI events below, revisit past sessions, and feel free to comment with any questions. ****Sessions updated as of 02/20/2026**** Partner and Channel Partner sessions Upcoming sessions Date Time Area Title Description Link 02/25/26 8:30 AM PST Partner Session Inside Azure IP co-sell: What high-performing software developers do differently Get an inside look at the signals Microsoft uses to evaluate Marketplace and Azure IP co-sell readiness with insights from Barbara Treviño of Labra. Learn what top software companies do differently to accelerate approvals and boost GTM impact. Partner session 03/18/26 8:30 AM PST Office Hours Marketplace Office Hours for Partners Tune in for updates, insights, and live Q&A to help you sell through Microsoft Marketplace. Topic TBD. March 2026 Office Hours 04/15/26 8:30 AM PST Office Hours Marketplace Office Hours for Partners Tune in for updates, insights, and live Q&A to help you sell through Microsoft Marketplace. Topic TBD. April 2026 Office Hours 05/20/26 8:30 AM PST Office Hours Marketplace Office Hours for Partners Tune in for updates, insights, and live Q&A to help you sell through Microsoft Marketplace. Topic TBD. May 2026 Office Hours 06/17/26 8:30 AM PST Office Hours Marketplace Office Hours for Partners Tune in for updates, insights, and live Q&A to help you sell through Microsoft Marketplace. Topic TBD. June 2026 Office Hours Recent Recorded Sessions Date Area Title Description Link 02/18/26 Office Hours (Partner) How to build a Microsoft Marketplace channel practice Building a successful Marketplace practice takes the right people, process, and strategy working together. Learn how top performing partners organize their teams across alliances, operations and leadership View the recording 1/21/26 Office Hours (Partner) Microsoft Partner Center reporting Get to know the Partner Center Insights and Earnings workspaces. Walk through Earnings, Customer, Order, Usage and Revenue reports. View the recording 12/18/25 Office Hours (Partner) Introducing resale enabled offers Explore resale enabled offers through Microsoft Marketplace. View recording 12/04/25 Partner Session AI-powered acceleration: scale faster on Microsoft Marketplace Go beyond listing basics and explore how Microsoft Marketplace can act as a strategic revenue engine. View recording 11/04/25 Partner Session How to structure your Microsoft Partner Center account for long-term success Learn best practices for setting up your Partner Center account for operational and marketplace success. View recording 08/28/25 Office Hours (Partner) Certified software designations: FY26 benefits updates Overview of certified software designations and FY26 benefit updates. View recording Customer sessions Upcoming sessions Date Time Area Title Description Link 02/25/26 10:00 AM PST Office Hours (Customer) Marketplace Office Hours for Customers Tune in for updates, insights, and live Q&A to help use Microsoft Marketplace. Topic TBD. February 2026 Customer Office Hour 03/25/26 9:30 AM PDT Office Hours (Customer) Marketplace Office Hours for Customers Tune in for updates, insights, and live Q&A to help use Microsoft Marketplace. Topic TBD. March 2026 Customer Office Hour 04/29/26 8:30 AM PDT Office Hours (Customer) Marketplace Office Hours for Customers Tune in for updates, insights, and live Q&A to help use Microsoft Marketplace. Topic TBD. April 2026 Customer Office Hour 05/27/26 8:30 AM PDT Office Hours (Customer) Marketplace Office Hours for Customers Tune in for updates, insights, and live Q&A to help use Microsoft Marketplace. Topic TBD. May 2026 Customer Office Hour 06/24/26 9:30 AM PDT Office Hours (Customer) Marketplace Office Hours for Customers Tune in for updates, insights, and live Q&A to help use Microsoft Marketplace. Topic TBD. June 2026 Customer Office Hour Recorded sessions Date Area Title Description Link 01/28/26 Office Hours (Customer) Optimize cloud cost and performance Learn proven strategies to accelerate time-to-value for cloud and AI investments using Microsoft Marketplace. View the recording 12/11/25 Office Hours (Customer) Chart your AI app and agent strategy Insights into build, buy, or blend approaches for AI apps and agents using Microsoft Marketplace. View recording 07/30/25 Office Hours (Customer) FinOps and the Microsoft Marketplace Learn how Microsoft Marketplace supports FinOps practitioners and accelerates AI transformation. View recording Subscribe to this post If you're not already a Tech Community member, create an account at techcommunity.microsoft.com. Select Subscribe from the three‑dot menu in the upper‑right corner of this post. Under Notification Settings, choose to be notified of edits and comments, and select whether you'd like updates immediately, daily, or weekly (weekly recommended). You can also subscribe to the entire Marketplace Community via the Marketplace Community homepage. ``Agentic manipulation: Prompt injection, goal hijacking & memory poisoning
As AI apps and autonomous agents gain more reasoning and independence, they also open new pathways for adversarial attacks. This webinar breaks down the most critical risks—prompt injection, goal hijacking, and memory poisoning—and explains how they impact real AI applications. Learn practical defenses your teams can implement today, including input validation, behavioral detection, and robust architectural patterns that keep agentic systems aligned and secure. Learn more and registerMarketplace Partner Digest
Welcome to the February edition of the Marketplace Partner Digest. This month’s roundup brings together the most important Microsoft Marketplace updates, program changes, and partner‑focused resources to help you strengthen your co‑sell motions, optimize your listings, and accelerate revenue through Microsoft Marketplace. Inside, you’ll find insights from Microsoft leaders on Marketplace’s role in driving partner profitability, key updates to specializations and Partner Center workflows, new App Advisor capabilities to streamline publishing, and a full lineup of upcoming events designed to support your Marketplace and AI go‑to‑market strategies. Whether you're planning your next offer, refining operations, or prepping your teams for FY26 execution, these updates will help you take clear, actionable steps to grow your business. Microsoft Marketplace as a modern growth engine A recent Marketplace blog post from Microsoft’s own Darren Sharpe explores how Microsoft Marketplace has become a core engine for business growth—enabling earlier co-sell alignment, accelerating deal velocity, and expanding partner reach through ecosystem channel-led sales motions. Unlocking scalable growth through Microsoft Marketplace Register for the February 18 Marketplace office hour: How to build a Microsoft Marketplace channel practice In his blog post yesterday, Mason McCoy, Director of Partner Experiences at Microsoft, highlighted why Microsoft Marketplace has become a true profitability multiplier for partners. As organizations build AI first strategies, Marketplace is accelerating how partners scale solutions, reach customers, and shorten time to value. To better understand the overall value of Marketplace, we asked Omdia to study the partner revenue opportunity. The Omdia study found that among partners that sell through Marketplace (compared to direct go-to-market and sales motions): 88% report revenue growth 75% close deals faster 69% secure larger deals 👉 Unlocking the profitability multiplier: Maximizing revenue with Microsoft Marketplace 👉 Explore the full Omdia report App Advisor updates Choose the right offer type when publishing your solution App Advisor now helps partners quickly determine which Marketplace offer type best aligns with their solution, business model, and go-to-market approach. With App Advisor, partners can: Receive scenario-based offer type recommendations Save time during planning and pre-publishing Reduce uncertainty when aligning to the right Marketplace motion Read how to leverage App Advisor from Microsoft's Brady Bumgarner 📱Try App Advisor for yourself Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program updates SAP on Microsoft Azure specialization ⚙️Microsoft is updating the SAP on Microsoft Azure specialization to make it more accessible while maintaining strong capability standards. Key changes: 🔽 Lower ACR requirement: ACR threshold reduced from $30,000 → $7,500 over three months. ⚡ Streamlined skilling verification: Required Microsoft learning coursework can now be validated directly within Partner Center, eliminating the need to provide evidence during the third-party audit. Microsoft Azure VMware Solution specialization ⚙️The skilling requirements for the Microsoft Azure VMware Solution specialization will change in January 2026. Microsoft is updating this specialization to make it easier to obtain. Key changes: ❌Technical Assessment removed: The Azure VMware Solutions (AVS) Technical assessment requirement will be removed from the skilling requirements ❌ Broadcom Certification requirements removed: The Broadcom certification requirements will also be removed, which were previously checked as a portion of the audit 👉 Learn more Partner Center updates Smarter referral submissions The first phase of enhancements to the Referrals workspace launched in January and will continue over the coming months. A couple noteworthy updates include: ⚙️ Automated completeness checks Inbound co-sell referrals now undergo automated validation to ensure required data is included before they progress—no additional partner action needed. This update improves data quality and lays the groundwork for future capabilities such as: Real-time referral insights Quality scoring More intelligent routing 👉 Learn more ✅ Marketplace purchase intent now mandatory for API-submitted co-sell referrals As of January 5, the "Marketplace Intent" field is required for all API and connector‑based submissions of IP co-sell opportunities. This field captures the customer’s intention to purchase via Microsoft Marketplace, with accepted values: Yes; No; Have not decided This change improves data consistency, downstream reporting, and alignment with Microsoft field sellers. 👉 Learn more Events Ultimate Partner session with Microsoft’s Cyril Belikoff On January 13, Ultimate Partner hosted a livestream conversation where Omdia’s Chief Analyst Jay McBain unpacked his 2026 predictions across cloud, AI, co‑sell, Marketplace, and broader ecosystem shifts, while Microsoft’s Cyril Belikoff, VP of Commercial Cloud & AI Marketing, outlined key Microsoft changes coming in 2026 and how partners can align their go‑to‑market strategies to stay ahead. 🎥 Watch on demand Marketplace office hours Microsoft continues to host regular Marketplace office hours for both partners and customers. We've highlighted the most recent topics below. To register for upcoming sessions and find a list of past events available on demand visit the Marketplace training and events calendar. 💡Tip: Forward these session links to relevant team members within your organization. Marketplace reporting in Partner Center Streamed live on January 21, 2026, Justin Royal and David Najour Jr. kicked off the new year with a focused walkthrough of Microsoft Marketplace reporting in Partner Center. The session broke down how partners can use the Insights and Earnings workspaces, which roles and permissions unlock access, and how to interpret the most important reports—including Earnings, Customers, Orders, Usage, and Revenue—to better understand performance and identify growth opportunities across their Marketplace motions. This session is great for alliance managers, sales operations and finance teams. 🎥 Watch on demand Cloud cost optimization for customers Streamed live on January 28, 2026, this session—presented by Kristyn Maddox and Justin Royal—focused on practical strategies customers can use to optimize cloud cost and improve workload performance. The conversation walked through actionable techniques and Microsoft cost management tools built into Azure portal that help organizations take control of resources, reduce unnecessary spend, and ensure their cloud environments are operating efficiently. This session is great for FinOps leaders and IT directors. 🎥 Watch on demand Upcoming events Register for the next Partner Marketplace office hour for partners scheduled February 18, 2026 Inside Azure IP co-sell: What high-performing software developers do differently February 25, 2026 Join guest speaker Barbara Treviño, Labra, to get an inside look at signals Microsoft uses to evaluate Marketplace and Azure IP co-sell readiness. 📅 Microsoft AI Tour February brings a series of in‑person opportunities for partners to connect with Microsoft experts through the Microsoft AI Tour. 📍February 2026 Tour Locations: 🇸🇦 Riyadh — February 11 🇧🇷 São Paulo — February 11 🇲🇽 Mexico City — February 12 🇬🇧 London — February 24 🇩🇪 Munich — February 25 🇳🇴 Oslo — February 25 🇪🇸 Madrid — February 26 👉 Find your city and register Partner actions for February Top 5 actions to take this month Align GTM and sales teams on the Omdia Microsoft Marketplace findings to sharpen FY26 Marketplace motions. Use App Advisor before publishing any new offers or offer updates. Update your co-sell submission workflows to ensure Marketplace Intent is captured. Re-evaluate specialization plans in light of updated SAP on Azure and AVS requirements. Register for relevant events—especially AI Tour stops and Marketplace office hours.
