Accelerate your AI go-to-market strategy with Microsoft Marketplace
AI innovation is moving faster than ever but building a successful AI solution requires more than choosing the right model. From development and deployment to discovery, customer adoption, and monetization, every decision plays a role in bringing AI-powered solutions to market. In this insightful article, Microsoft Marketplace experts explore how software companies can accelerate AI development by leveraging the Microsoft ecosystem, including Azure AI Foundry, Microsoft Copilot, and Microsoft Marketplace. Learn how to evaluate models, choose the right Marketplace offer type, improve solution discoverability through Intelligent Discovery, and build customer trust through secure-by-design practices. Whether you're enhancing an existing application with AI or developing a new AI-native solution, this article provides practical guidance for connecting innovation with commercial success helping you learn how Microsoft Marketplace can help transform your AI innovation into scalable business growth. Read the full article An overview of accelerating AI development with Microsoft MarketplaceMicrosoft Marketplace Partner Digest
April kickstarts a face-paced quarter of accelerated opportunity as partners line up new co‑sell motions and expand channel‑led sales—including resale‑enabled offers—to reach more customers across global markets, all while rapidly building and publishing transactable AI apps and agents to Microsoft Marketplace to meet growing customer demand. ✨ Microsoft Cloud AI Partner Program This month brings several important updates to Specializations and Solutions Partner designations, including revised performance criteria for the Small and Midsize Business Management specialization and new skilling options across Modern Work, Teams, and Digital & App Innovation. Microsoft is also evolving specializations to better reflect the shift toward AI—introducing the Secure AI Productivity specialization, retiring the Adoption and Change Management specialization, and preparing to merge several existing specializations into streamlined, solution‑aligned offerings. Learn more 🆕 What’s new in Partner Center MFA enforcement for Partner Center APIs Partner Center is now enforcing multifactor authentication (MFA) for all app + user API calls, with full enforcement as of April 1, 2026. Any requests made without a valid MFA token will be blocked with a 401 response and error code 900421. All APIs already support MFA, so update your systems now to avoid disruptions, strengthen security, and align with Partner Center requirements. Learn more 📈 Go-to-market with Microsoft Marketplace Microsoft has released a new collection of Azure go‑to‑market assets built specifically for SMB audiences, giving partners step‑by‑step guidance, tailored messaging, and ready‑to‑use materials to drive demand in a rapidly expanding market projected to surpass $1 trillion by 2030. This content library equips distributors, resellers, and service providers with everything needed to engage SMB customers at scale—from solution plays and sales resources to campaign‑ready materials—helping partners build pipeline, deepen customer conversations, and grow recurring cloud revenue. Partners can explore the full Azure SMB content collection to activate these assets in upcoming campaigns and accelerate their cloud practice growth. Explore resources to engage Azure SMB customers Reduced Microsoft Dragon Copilot pricing Partners can now access a full library of Dragon Copilot training and go‑to‑market resources, including sales pitch decks, messaging and positioning guides, demo materials, FAQs, data sheets, infographics, and more—each with detailed descriptions to help teams understand how and when to use them. These materials are designed to help Dragon Copilot partners confidently market, sell, and support the solution with consistent, enterprise‑ready content. Access Dragon Copilot partner assets Plus, new Microsoft Dragon Copilot partner resources Additionally, Microsoft has announced a reduced list price for the Dragon Copilot per‑user license, effective May 1, 2026, across all current geographies. This update simplifies pricing, expands competitiveness, and retires the separate Physician Practice offer, consolidating all capabilities into the standard license. A new per‑encounter consumption model for ambient and generative AI capabilities will also launch on May 1, making usage easier to understand and manage. Together, these changes create a more streamlined, cost‑effective path for partners to drive Dragon Copilot adoption and growth. Read the announcement Marketplace offer optimization recommendations in App Advisor Microsoft has introduced a new AI‑powered Marketplace listing optimization capability in App Advisor, giving partners instant, personalized recommendations to improve the clarity, quality, and discoverability of their public Marketplace listings. The tool evaluates listings across six key categories—from value proposition to grammar—and provides targeted guidance aligned with Marketplace best practices, helping partners iterate faster without manual review cycles. Available free and on demand in the US, this capability enables continuous optimization so partners can strengthen engagement, improve search visibility, and stand out in an increasingly competitive catalog. Get recommendations for your Marketplace offer 💡Stay up to date with regular Partner Center announcements 📅 Marketplace events The Marketplace trainings and events calendar is updated with new trainings, live demos, and partner‑focused sessions designed to help software companies and channel partners accelerate co‑sell, private offers, and Marketplace‑first sales growth. Catch up on recent webinars and register for upcoming events that break down proven strategies, best practices, and highlight tools and resources to strengthen your Marketplace motions. Recent events Why Azure belongs in your multi-cloud strategy April 2, 2026 This event helps Marketplace‑aligned software companies understand why incorporating Azure into their multi-cloud strategy can boost customer acquisition, deal velocity, and co‑sell success. Partners will hear how to replicate solutions for Azure, tap into Microsoft funding programs, leverage tools that speed time‑to‑market, and convert modernization efforts into sustained Marketplace growth 🎥 Watch the recording Upcoming events Seamless private offers: From creation to purchase and activation April 15, 2026 (8:30 AM PDT) Next week’s session with Stephanie_Brice and Chr_Brown will provide partners an end‑to‑end look at how to execute seamless private offers—from creating them in Partner Center to extending them across channel‑led sales motions such as multiparty private offers, CSP private offers, all the way through customer purchase and activation. With a live demo, guidance on resale enabled offers and flexible billing schedules, and time for Q&A, attendees will see exactly how private offers work in practice to streamline deal execution and accelerate Marketplace business growth. Register to attend Maximize selling with Microsoft and Marketplace ROI April 28, 2026 (8:30 AM PDT) Partners will learn how to simplify their Microsoft co‑sell motions, unlock underutilized incentives, and automate manual Partner Center tasks using WorkSpan. Drawing on workflows that have powered more than $5B in co‑sell revenue, this session covers how to apply for Azure sponsorship, earn and activate Marketplace Rewards benefits, and use WorkSpan’s AI‑powered platform to drive earlier seller actions and stronger partnership execution. It’s a practical guide to capturing more value from the Microsoft ecosystem. Register to attend Revisit past sessions and see the full calendar of Marketplace community events for partners and customers. Whether you’re expanding co‑sell motions, publishing new AI‑powered solutions, optimizing private‑offer execution, or tapping into updated programs like Dragon Copilot, the opportunities to reach more customers and accelerate growth continue to expand. As always, we welcome your insights and feedback—let us know what topics you’d like to see covered in a future post so we can continue shaping this digest around what matters most to you.Microsoft Marketplace Partner Digest
March marks a strong quarter of momentum across the Microsoft Marketplace ecosystem, with partners scaling their businesses while delivering high quality customer experiences—directly, through the channel, and alongside Microsoft. From monetizing AI innovation to streamlining post purchase workflows and co-selling motions, partners continue to turn Marketplace readiness into real, repeatable growth. This month’s digest highlights the insights, updates, and opportunities helping software companies meet customers where and how they choose to buy. Articles worth reading As more partners race to build AI apps and agents, the real differentiator is turning that innovation into recurring revenue through scalable sales motions. Microsoft’s Brady Bumgarner shares how App Advisor helps teams think about monetization well before they publish an offer, empowering partners to launch with confidence and scale faster. 🚀 Learn more about AI app and agent monetization Brady also breaks down how combining Marketplace transactable offers with Azure IP co-sell readiness turns co-selling into a true growth engine. More partners are leveraging the insights and guidance available through App Advisor to build repeatable co-selling muscle memory. 🔄️See how co-selling with Microsoft can accelerate your business growth As customers move to AI‑first architectures, cloud cost optimization is becoming a core decision lens—not just an operational concern. In this post, Justin Royal explores how customers are rethinking cost, performance, and governance as continuous disciplines. For sellers, this has clear implications: customers increasingly expect flexibility in how solutions scale, perform, and are paid for, and those expectations should shape how software companies build, package, and position offers on Marketplace. 💸 Explore how customers are optimizing cloud spend as AI adoption scales Accelerate your Marketplace growth by delivering a seamless customer experience after the click. Marketplace Fulfillment APIs automate activation, entitlement, and subscription management so you can reduce friction, speed time‑to‑value, and scale globally with confidence. Explore how these APIs—and new Microsoft reference code—help product teams integrate faster and support every customer at every stage. 🔍 Discover how Marketplace Fulfillment APIs streamline and automate critical post purchase workflows Marketplace updates Dragon Copilot solutions in Microsoft Marketplace On March 5, we announced preview of Dragon Copilot solutions for Microsoft Marketplace. This enables software companies to build and sell AI apps and agents that integrate with Dragon Copilot, while allowing customers to discover and purchase solutions that work with their existing Microsoft investments. Software companies can build and publish their solutions using one of three offer types: Dragon Copilot Physician Apps and Agents (in preview now) Dragon Copilot Clinical App Connectors (coming soon) Dragon Copilot Radiology Apps and Agents (coming soon) Dragon Copilot is built for care teams including physicians, nurses, and radiologists and is already operating with more than 100,000 clinicians relying on it daily to support care for millions of patients each month. Steps you can take to get started: Read through our documentation on how extensions for Dragon Copilot work and how to build your own Check out the sample repo with sample code, and more Contact dragon_extensions@microsoft.com to inquire about joining preview 🐉 Learn how Dragon Copilot solutions are modernizing Healthcare Recent events How to build a Microsoft Marketplace channel practice In his recent webinar, Darren Sharpe highlights how partners are increasingly building their channel businesses with Microsoft Marketplace at the core—using it as a channel-led, Marketplace delivered growth engine. As buying shifts toward lineofbusiness leaders and decentralized procurement, Marketplace brings together discovery, governance, and enterprise purchasing in one place. Darren shares how partners that align sales, alliances, and operations around Marketplace are better positioned to drive repeatable growth, meeting customers where and how they choose to buy. 🎥 Watch on demand Inside Azure IP co-sell: What high-performing software companies do differently Get an insider’s view of what truly moves the needle for Microsoft Marketplace and Microsoft Azure IP co-sell success. Guest speaker Barbara Treviño breaks down the signals Microsoft prioritizes when assessing submission strength—helping software development companies understand what great looks like across architecture, messaging, evidence, and sequencing. You’ll learn why high performing software development companies approach readiness differently, and how that difference translates directly into smoother approvals and stronger GTM impact. 🎥 Watch on demand AI-powered automation for Marketplace private offers and IP co-sell Learn how software development companies can use AI-powered automation to simplify buying through Microsoft Marketplace, streamline Microsoft Marketplace private offers, and maximize the effectiveness of co-selling opportunities. Join Jon Yoo, Co-Founder & CEO at Suger, as he explores how reducing operational friction in Partner Center can help you accelerate deal velocity, improve collaboration with Microsoft sellers, and drive Azure adoption. 🎥 Watch on demand 📅 Coming up Partner office hour Build, publish, and optimize Marketplace offers with App Advisor Wednesday, Mar 18, 2026, 8:30 AM PDT Tune in for live demos and proven best practices on using App Advisor, Microsoft’s guided experience for Microsoft Marketplace success! Learn what App Advisor is, how it works, and how it can help partners accelerate Marketplace offer creation. Walk through key stages of the experience from validating value to publishing and optimizing your listing. ➡️ Get the meeting details Customer office hours Charting your AI strategy for manufacturing with Marketplace Wednesday, Mar 25, 2026, 9:30 AM PDT Build, buy, or blend? Gain the insights you need as a manufacturer to scale AI apps and agents across the factory floor using Microsoft Marketplace. We’ll go beyond AI theory and focus on practical manufacturing scenarios—connecting factory equipment, IoT, and enterprise systems into a unified foundation that enables analytics, digital twins, and AI agents. ➡️ Get the meeting details In-person events Channel Partners Conference & Expo 2026 Microsoft Marketplace is sponsoring Channel Partners Conference & Expo 2026 in Las Vegas, with interactive sessions, booth conversations, and private meetings focused on helping channel partners understand how Marketplace can simplify software purchasing for their customers. Partners can expect to learn how the expansive catalogue of products and services available from thousands of software companies delivered through channel-led sales capabilities are Marketplace enabled and accelerate AI‑ and cloud‑led sales through Marketplace. 📆 April 13-16, 2026 📍The Venetian Resort, Las Vegas ➡️ See the details and learn how to register Microsoft AI Tour Our series continues, coming to more cities around the globe. Bringing in‑person opportunities for partners to connect with Microsoft experts, explore innovation and get inspired. ➡️ Find your city and registerDecember 2025
Microsoft Ignite 2025 - Marketplace highlights Microsoft Ignite was packed with announcements and insights for Marketplace partners. From new commerce capabilities to AI-driven innovations, here are some key takeaways: Global expansion of Microsoft Marketplace - Microsoft announced that the reimagined Microsoft Marketplace, which launched in the U.S. earlier this year, is now globally available. This expansion includes new APIs for distribution partners, enabling them to link their own cloud marketplace with Microsoft’s, opening significant opportunities for software companies in SMB and mid-market segments. 🎬 Watch a recorded webinar with TD SYNNEX on the power of distribution to accelerate SMB marketplace sales. Global availability of Resale Enabled Offers - This capability allows software development companies to and channel partners to resell software solutions directly through Marketplace, simplifying transactions, expanding reach, and scaling revenue. 👉 Read more about this announcement and get started Introducing App Accelerate - A unified offer that brings together incentives, benefits, and co-sell support across the Microsoft Cloud. App Accelerate provides end-to-end technical guidance, developer tools, and go-to-market resources so software development companies can innovate and scale. Previews are beginning now, with full availability planned for 2026. ✅ Sign up to receive updates Enhanced Partner Marketing Center - Discover, customize, and launch campaigns faster with intelligent search and AI-powered tools—all on one connected platform. The current Partner Marketing Center will remain available as the new and enhanced Marketing Center platform launches in early 2026 with 24 campaigns-in-a-box, aligned to FY26 solution plays. ✨ Get ready for the new era of partner marketing Frontier Partner badge – New customer-facing badges recognize top services, channel, and software development company partners that are driving AI transformation with customers and offer them an opportunity to differentiate themselves from the competition. 🛡️Differentiate your AI-first leadership Catch up on Microsoft Ignite sessions Ignite 2025 delivered powerful insights and announcements for Marketplace partners, and now you can catch up on the sessions you missed. Explore these recorded keynotes to learn about new capabilities, partner programs, and strategies to accelerate growth through Microsoft’s ecosystem. Ignite opening keynote Ignite partner keynote: Powering Frontier Partnerships Additionally, we’ve compiled recordings of relevant Marketplace partner and customer sessions so you can watch on-demand. Revisit Marketplace-focused sessions and resources. Just look for the ✨ icon below. Partner sessions: PBRK415 Grow your business with Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program Find out how the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program helps you grow with new benefits, designations, and skilling opportunities. This session covers updates like the Frontier Partner Badge, Copilot specialization, and streamlined Marketplace engagement—all designed to accelerate your AI transformation journey. PBRK416 Accelerate Growth through Partner Incentives Explore how Microsoft is boosting partner growth with streamlined incentives, AI-first strategies, and new designations like Frontier Distributor. This session covers expanded investments in Azure Accelerate, Copilot solutions, and security practices—plus insights on how to capitalize on evolving programs and co-sell opportunities. PBRK417 Partner: Connect, Plan, Win – Enhancing Co-sell Engagement Discover how to enhance collaboration, optimize joint efforts, and drive success in shared initiatives. Gain insights into improving interactions with Microsoft sellers and leveraging opportunities, along with guidance on proactive co-selling to align your goals with Microsoft's for sustained growth. PBRK418 Partner: Benefits for Accelerating Software Company Success Learn about the resources and benefits available for software development companies across all stages of the build, publish and grow journey in MAICPP. Whether you’re developing a new agent solution or working toward a certified software designation, there are targeted skilling opportunities, technical resources, and GTM benefits to help. Tap into new investments for AI apps and agents and hear from your peers on how they’ve used rewards such as customer propensity scores and Azure sponsorship. PBRK419 SI & Advisory Partner Readiness: Accelerating the Journey to Frontier Understand how Microsoft is empowering our SI and advisory partners to accelerate frontier firm readiness for our Enterprise customers by driving AI transformation with agentic solutions and services. ✨PBRK420 Executing on the channel-led marketplace opportunity for partners See how Microsoft’s unified Marketplace drives partner growth with resale-enabled offers, creating scalable channel sales and co-sell opportunities. This session shares practical steps to build a sustainable Marketplace practice and leverage the partner ecosystem for greater reach and profitability. PBRK421 Enabling a thriving partner ecosystem: New CSP Authorization Criteria Dive into what’s new for Cloud Solution Providers, including updated authorization requirements and designations that help you stand out. This session covers steps to choose the right tier, build trust as a customer advisor, and prepare for growth with AI-driven solutions and Copilot offerings. PBRK422 The Future of Partner Support: Customer + Partner + Microsoft Discover ‘Unified for Partners,’ Microsoft’s new support model designed for CSP partners to deliver customer success at scale. This session introduces the Support Services designation, offering faster response times, financial incentives, and integrated tools to strengthen your support capabilities. PBRK423 Partner Execution at Scale with SME&C Explore growth opportunities in the high-potential SME&C segment. This session highlights investments in co-selling, AI-first strategies, and what it means to become ‘customer zero,’ with examples of frontier firms driving innovation at scale. ✨PBRK424 Marketplace Success for Partners—from SMB to Enterprise Learn how to build, publish, and monetize AI-powered solutions through Microsoft Marketplace. This session shares a proven approach to align your Marketplace strategy with your sales motion and unlock new revenue opportunities. PBRK272 Accelerate Secure AI: Microsoft’s Security Advantage for Partners Explore Microsoft’s integrated security solutions and learn how to help customers strengthen their defenses in the AI era. This session highlights partner opportunities, resources to grow your security practice, and what it takes to lead as a next-generation security partner. Customer Sessions: ✨Microsoft Marketplace: Your trusted source for cloud solutions, AI apps, and agents | STUDIO47 Hear from Cyril Belikoff, VP of Commercial Cloud & AI Marketing, sharing the reimagined Microsoft Marketplace—the gateway to thousands of AI-powered apps, agents and cloud solutions—all built to accelerate innovation and drive business outcomes. Discover how customers benefit from faster deployment, seamless integration with Microsoft tools, and trusted solutions, and how partners can scale their reach, accelerate sales, and tap into Microsoft’s global ecosystem. Azure Accelerate in action: Confidently migrate, modernize, and build faster Join Cyril Belikoff for a rapid Q&A that spotlights real-world customer success and the transformative impact of Azure Accelerate. Hear how customers like Thomson Reuters achieved breakthrough results with our powerful offering that provides access to Microsoft experts and investments throughout your Azure and AI journey. ✨BRK213 Microsoft Marketplace: Your trusted source for cloud and AI solutions Discover how the reimagined Microsoft Marketplace is reshaping the future of cloud and AI innovation. In this session, we’ll explore how Microsoft Marketplace—unifying Azure Marketplace and Microsoft AppSource—empowers organizations to become Frontier Firms by streamlining the discovery, purchase, and deployment of tens of thousands of cloud solutions, AI apps, and agents. ✨BRK215 Boost cloud and AI ROI using Microsoft Marketplace As organizations embrace an AI-first future, cloud adoption is accelerating to drive innovation and efficiency. This session explores practical strategies to optimize cloud investments—balancing performance, scalability, and cost control. Learn how Microsoft Marketplace enables rapid solution deployment while maintaining governance, compliance, and budget discipline. Build a resilient, cost-effective cloud foundation that supports AI and beyond. Community Recap Partner of the Year Award Winners Congratulations to the winners and finalists of the 2025 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards in the Marketplace category! 🏆 Explore all winners and finalists Fivetran earned the top honor as Marketplace Partner of the Year for its innovation in automating data movement on Microsoft Azure, enabling enterprises to accelerate AI and analytics initiatives. Varonis Systems Inc. and Bytes Software Services were recognized as finalists for delivering exceptional solutions and driving customer success through Marketplace. What’s Coming Up AI-powered acceleration: Scale faster in Microsoft Marketplace 📆 Thursday, December 04, 2025, at 9:00 AM PST Microsoft Marketplace is no longer just a procurement convenience; it’s a strategic revenue engine. 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. Scale smarter: Discover how resale enabled offers drive growth 📆 Friday, December 05, 2025, from 11:00 - 12:00 PM GTM+1 Discover how resale enabled offers help software development companies to scale through the Microsoft Marketplace by simplifying transactions, expanding reach and accelerating co-sell opportunities. Chart your AI app and agent strategy with Microsoft Marketplace 📆 Thursday, December 11, 2025, from 8:30 - 9:30 AM PST Organizations exploring AI apps and agents face a critical choice: build, buy, or blend. There’s no one-size-fits-all—each approach offers unique benefits and trade-offs. Tune in for insights into the pros and cons of each approach and explore how the Microsoft Marketplace simplifies adoption by providing a single source for trusted AI apps, agents, and models. Office hours for partners: Marketplace resale-enabled offers 📆 Thursday, December 18, 2025, at 8:30 AM PST Tune in to explore resale enabled offers through Microsoft Marketplace. This recently announced capability enables software companies to expand into new markets globally, at scale, and without additional operational overhead. Dive deep into the workflow and requirements for these deals. Learn about reporting and best practices from those that are already selling globally with resale enabled offers. Microsoft Ignite will return to San Francisco next year 📆 November 17-20, 2026 Sign up now to join the Microsoft Ignite early-access list and be eligible to receive limited‑edition swag at the event. 💬 Share Your Feedback! We truly appreciate your feedback and want to ensure these Partner Digests deliver the information you need to succeed in the marketplace. If you have any feedback or suggestions on how we can continue to improve the content to best support you, we’d love to hear from you in the comments below!An overview of accelerating AI development with Microsoft Marketplace
“The best Marketplace listings explain what the solution does, who it serves, and the outcomes it helps customers achieve.” - Felipe Ospina The new reality of AI development The pace of AI innovation continues to accelerate. New models, frameworks, and development tools are arriving at an extraordinary rate, creating new opportunities for software companies to bring intelligent products to market. But delivering an AI-powered solution requires more than selecting a model and writing code. Developers must decide how to package their solution, how customers will consume it, how it will be discovered, and how to create a path from innovation to revenue. Microsoft Marketplace is increasingly becoming part of that journey. By bringing together cloud and AI solutions, developer tools, distribution channels, and commercialization capabilities, Marketplace helps software companies move from experimentation to customer adoption through a connected Microsoft Cloud experience. Building an AI solution starts with the right foundation Many development teams work across multiple services and providers as they create AI apps and agents. Models may come from one vendor, observability tools from another, databases from a third, and cloud infrastructure from yet another source. As AI projects grow, teams often spend as much time managing supporting services as they do building differentiated customer experiences. Microsoft Marketplace offers an alternative approach by helping developers source cloud and AI solutions directly within the Microsoft ecosystem. Models, developer tools, databases, analytics platforms, and observability solutions can be provisioned into Azure environments while remaining connected to existing development workflows. This creates an experience where developers can focus more of their energy on creating value for customers and less on stitching together disconnected processes. The importance of model selection One of the most important choices in any AI project is model selection. The model that delivers the best outcome is not always the largest model or the most recognizable name. Performance, cost, specialization, and intended use case all play a role in determining whether a model supports long-term product success. Through Azure AI Foundry, developers can compare models against specific scenarios and evaluate performance characteristics alongside cost considerations. This provides a data-driven approach to selecting the right model rather than relying on assumptions alone. The ability to evaluate, provision, and iterate on models creates flexibility for software companies. A solution can begin with one model, evolve toward a different provider, or expand into industry-specific variants while maintaining a consistent development experience. For teams building products in healthcare, financial services, legal services, and other specialized domains, that flexibility can play an important role in creating differentiated solutions. Not every AI journey starts from scratch There is a common assumption that success in AI requires building an entirely new product. In reality, many software companies already have established applications, existing customer relationships, proven workflows, and trusted user experiences. For these organizations, adding AI capabilities to an existing product may create a faster path to growth. Others may choose to build entirely new AI-native agents and applications designed around emerging user experiences. Both approaches can be successful. The key is aligning the strategy to business goals, product differentiation, and desired time to market. What matters most is making intentional architectural and commercialization decisions early in the process. Choosing the right Marketplace offer type One of the most practical lessons for developers is that commercialization planning should begin while the product is being designed, not after development is complete. Microsoft Marketplace provides multiple offer types; each designed for different deployment and customer scenarios: SaaS offers are often a strong fit for applications hosted and operated by the software company. Container offers can support customers that require solutions to run within their own environments. Managed applications provide a model where customers control their Azure environment while the publisher operates the solution. Apps, agents, and connectors for Microsoft Copilot help publishers bring experiences directly into Microsoft 365 and Copilot workflows. These decisions influence architecture, deployment patterns, customer onboarding, billing approaches, support models, and go-to-market strategies. Determining the right path early helps create alignment across the entire product lifecycle. Publishing is about more than listing a product A successful AI solution needs visibility. Publishing through Marketplace is not simply about adding a product to a catalog. It is about connecting a solution to customers already working across Azure, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Copilot, Azure AI Foundry, and Microsoft partner channels. This approach allows software companies to publish once while creating opportunities for discovery across multiple Microsoft experiences. For developers and technical founders, this changes how go-to-market planning can be approached. Instead of building entirely separate distribution channels, organizations can focus on strengthening the product while benefiting from distribution pathways already connected to Microsoft Marketplace. The opportunity is not just Marketplace itself. The opportunity is reaching more customers, scaling product-led growth, and extending innovation through Microsoft's commercial ecosystem. Why intelligent discovery matters As the number of cloud and AI solutions continues to grow, discoverability becomes increasingly important. Intelligent Discovery, currently in preview, is designed to help customers describe business needs using natural language and receive relevant solution recommendations. Instead of relying only on traditional keyword searches, customers can search based on intent. For publishers, this creates an important responsibility. Product descriptions, use cases, categories, industries, and solution details become critical signals that help customers find the right offering. Clear, accurate descriptions are no longer just product marketing assets. They are part of the discovery experience itself. The more clearly a solution explains the problem it solves, the audience it serves, and the outcomes it supports, the better positioned it is to surface in relevant customer searches. Trust is built into the product AI adoption depends on trust. Customers are evaluating more than model quality. They are also evaluating security, privacy, governance, documentation, support readiness, and operational maturity. That is why secure-by-design principles should be considered from the beginning. Identity management, tenant isolation, least-privilege access controls, encryption, secure integrations, secrets management, and responsible AI practices all contribute to building customer confidence. The same principle applies to Marketplace readiness. Complete solution information, accurate support resources, strong documentation, and thoughtful onboarding experiences help customers evaluate and adopt solutions more effectively. Final thoughts AI development is no longer just about choosing a model or deploying infrastructure. Success increasingly depends on how effectively software companies connect development, publishing, discovery, customer adoption, and monetization. Microsoft Marketplace brings those elements together through a platform that helps software companies source cloud and AI solutions, publish offers, reach customers across Microsoft experiences, and grow through Microsoft's commercial ecosystem. We recently hosted a Marketplace community event that dove deeper into accelerating AI development and how Marketplace can support your next stage of AI development, publishing and growth. The complete office hour session offers additional guidance, examples, and recommendations for turning innovative ideas into scalable business opportunities. Watch and learn From AI evaluation to deployment with Microsoft MarketplaceSee how Copilot in 30 helps partners turn AI interest into adoption
Microsoft is making it easier than ever for CSP partners to accelerate SMB AI adoption. The new Copilot in 30 program combines a 25-user, 30-day Microsoft 365 Copilot Business trial with partner-ready resources, adoption guidance, and conversion support to help customers move from AI curiosity to measurable business value. Backed by significant FY27 investments, updated SMB offers, incentives, skilling, and go-to-market resources, this initiative provides a repeatable framework for driving Microsoft Copilot adoption and long-term customer success. Learn how to identify high-potential opportunities, guide customer evaluations, and convert trials into lasting deployments. 👉 Read the full article: https://partner.microsoft.com/en-US/blog/article/Copilot-activation-for-Fy27What's preventing your Marketplace growth engine from scaling?
Many SDCs know where they want to go with Marketplace, but struggle to turn individual activities into a repeatable growth motion. The latest in the Sell more with App Advisor blog series, asks: ✅ What part of your Marketplace journey is most repeatable today? ✅ Where do you still rely on manual effort or tribal knowledge? ✅ If you could eliminate one friction point between building, publishing, and growing, what would it be? Read the blog and share your thoughts: Build a Repeatable Marketplace Growth Engine with App Advisor The responses could generate useful insights for future Marketplace content and help identify common challenges across the community!Build a repeatable Marketplace growth engine with App Advisor to sell more
Publishing your offer is only the beginning. Learn how App Advisor helps software development companies build a repeatable Marketplace growth engine with curated go-to-market guidance, Marketplace Insights, AI-powered optimization, and proven best practices that drive long-term visibility, engagement, and revenue growth.How multiparty private offers are unlocking new channel growth opportunities in Australia
As Microsoft Marketplace continues to evolve as a strategic go-to-market platform, the introduction of multiparty private offers (MPOs) in Australia is creating new opportunities for software companies, resellers, distributors, managed service providers, and systems integrators to collaborate more effectively. This new capability enables multiple partners to participate in a single Microsoft Marketplace transaction, helping simplify procurement, streamline commercial workflows, and strengthen partner-to-partner collaboration. By bringing software solutions, implementation expertise, managed services, and Microsoft cloud investments together through one purchasing experience, organizations can focus on delivering customer outcomes rather than managing transactional complexity. In this article, explore how multiparty private offers support channel-led growth, when to use MPOs versus resale-enabled offers, how Azure benefit eligible solutions can enhance customer conversations, and the foundational steps partners should take to build a scalable Marketplace strategy. Read the full article to learn how Australian partners can leverage Microsoft Marketplace to accelerate growth, expand customer reach, and create repeatable go-to-market motions powered by collaborative selling. Read the blog Multiparty private offers are creating new opportunities for channel-led growth in AustraliaMultiparty private offers are creating new opportunities for channel-led growth in Australia
The launch of multiparty private offers in Australia marks more than the availability of a new Microsoft Marketplace capability. It signals a meaningful shift in how software companies, channel partners, distributors, and Microsoft can collaborate to deliver customer outcomes through a single commercial experience. For years, many partner-led software transactions followed a fragmented model. A software company sold the application. A reseller owned the customer relationship. A services partner supported deployment or implementation. The customer then had to navigate separate commercial relationships, invoices, and procurement steps. Each participant added value, but the commercial process often created unnecessary complexity. Multiparty private offers help address that challenge by bringing software companies and channel partners into one Marketplace transaction. The model gives partners a more structured way to collaborate on customer opportunities, align commercial roles, and simplify procurement through Microsoft Marketplace. For partners developing a Marketplace strategy in Australia, this capability creates a practical path to combine software, customer expertise, implementation knowledge, and Microsoft cloud investments into a more cohesive go-to-market motion. Microsoft Marketplace is becoming a go-to-market platform Organizations are modernizing infrastructure, strengthening security, and improving data and analytics capabilities while looking for simpler ways to procure and deploy cloud solutions. Software remains a critical part of these initiatives, but customers often need more than a single application. They need software, implementation expertise, managed services, and customer-specific customization to come together in a practical solution. Microsoft Marketplace provides a framework for bringing those elements together. Software companies can publish applications through Marketplace while channel partners contribute implementation expertise, managed services, and customization for regulatory or proprietary needs. Microsoft cloud services provide the platform foundation, and Marketplace creates the commercial pathway that supports the software solution. This approach allows partners to move beyond individual product conversations and focus on solving broader business challenges. Instead of discussing a single application, partners can bring together software from relevant software companies with Azure, security, data and analytics capabilities, implementation support, and customer-specific customization. The result is a larger customer conversation centered on outcomes rather than individual technologies. Multiparty private offers bring multiple partners together in one transaction Multiparty private offers are designed to support collaborative selling through Microsoft Marketplace. The workflow begins when a channel partner identifies a customer opportunity. That opportunity may come from a software renewal, an Azure modernization project, a security initiative, or a broader business transformation need. After the opportunity is qualified, the channel partner engages the software company. The software company creates a multiparty private offer in Partner Center and extends it to the channel partner. The channel partner can then customize the offer, add margin, and present the final customer-ready offer through Marketplace. Once the customer accepts and purchases the offer, Microsoft manages invoicing and payment processing. Microsoft collects payment from the customer and distributes funds according to the transaction structure. This approach reduces operational complexity while preserving the commercial role of both the software company and the channel partner. For customers, the value is a more streamlined purchasing experience. They can acquire a partner-led software solution through a single Marketplace transaction instead of coordinating separate commercial relationships across multiple providers. For partners, the value is a clearer structure for collaboration, margin, customer engagement, and participation in Microsoft Marketplace-led sales motions. Channel-led growth is central to Marketplace success Successful software adoption rarely happens without partner expertise. Customers often depend on trusted advisors, managed service providers, systems integrators, distributors, and resellers to evaluate technology options, design solutions, manage implementation, and optimize long-term value. Multiparty private offers recognize that reality by placing the channel partner directly inside the Marketplace transaction. Rather than operating outside the software sale, the channel partner can participate in the commercial workflow and contribute differentiated customer value. For software companies, this model can extend reach through the Microsoft partner ecosystem. Channel partners often have established customer relationships, industry expertise, and delivery capabilities that help software companies enter or expand within target markets. For channel partners, multiparty private offers create a more direct way to participate in Marketplace software transactions. Partners can strengthen customer relationships, collaborate more closely with software companies, and engage Microsoft sellers around opportunities that align with eligible Marketplace offers. The result is stronger commercial alignment across the organizations responsible for delivering customer outcomes. Partners should choose the Marketplace offer model that fits the sales motion Resale enabled offers and multiparty private offers both support channel-led Marketplace selling, but they serve different collaboration patterns. Resale enabled offers are useful when a software company wants to delegate more of the transaction workflow to a trusted channel partner or distributor. In that model, the reseller assumes greater responsibility for creating the offer, managing the customer transaction, and handling partner-to-partner financial arrangements outside Microsoft’s direct view. Multiparty private offers are better suited to collaborative selling scenarios where both the software company and the channel partner remain actively involved in shaping the customer opportunity. The software company creates the offer and sends it to the channel partner, while the channel partner customizes and presents the offer to the customer. Partners deciding between the two models should evaluate several practical factors: The level of collaboration required between the software company and channel partner. Existing distributor or reseller relationships. Preferred payment and revenue recognition models. Geographic availability of each Marketplace capability. Customer purchasing agreements, including whether the customer buys through an Enterprise Agreement, Microsoft Customer Agreement, or Cloud Solution Provider motion. Whether the software company or channel partner needs to manage more of the commercial workflow. Multiparty private offers do not replace resale enabled offers. They expand Marketplace flexibility by giving partners another way to structure customer engagements based on the relationship, transaction model, and customer buying path. Azure benefit eligible offers can strengthen customer conversations Azure benefit eligible offers play an important role in Marketplace transactions because many enterprise customers have Microsoft Azure consumption commitments, commonly referred to as MACC. When customers purchase eligible solutions through Microsoft Marketplace, those purchases can contribute toward fulfilling their Azure consumption commitments. This creates a practical connection between software procurement and cloud investment strategy. Instead of treating a software purchase and an Azure commitment as separate discussions, customers can evaluate how Marketplace procurement may support both technology needs and existing Microsoft cloud commitments. For software companies and channel partners, this context can make customer conversations more relevant and actionable. If a customer has a MACC, partners can prioritize Azure benefit eligible offers and explain how Marketplace purchasing may help the customer apply eligible spend toward that commitment. This is especially important in enterprise sales cycles, where procurement efficiency, budget alignment, and cloud investment optimization can influence how customers evaluate software options. Repeatable Marketplace growth starts with partner readiness Channel partners that want to transact multiparty private offers must complete foundational Marketplace readiness steps. They need to be Microsoft partners, enroll in commercial Marketplace through Partner Center, receive a seller ID, and complete the associated tax and payment profile. Completing these steps helps partners become eligible to participate in multiparty private offer transactions. It can also support broader Marketplace engagement, including Marketplace Rewards and engagement with Microsoft sellers on eligible Marketplace opportunities. Readiness alone, however, is not enough to build a sustainable Marketplace business. Partners also need strategic focus. Rather than pursuing every software vendor relationship, channel partners should prioritize software companies that align with their customer base, delivery capabilities, and growth priorities. A security-focused partner may choose to build relationships with cybersecurity software providers. A data modernization partner may focus on analytics, monitoring, or data platform providers. An application development partner may look for software companies that complement application development, monitoring, or modernization work. By selecting aligned software relationships and creating repeatable solution patterns, partners can turn Marketplace from a transaction channel into a scalable go-to-market motion. The future of Marketplace collaboration is already taking shape Customer interest in Marketplace procurement is increasing as organizations seek more agile purchasing experiences and faster deployment timelines. Industries ranging from financial services to education and mining are exploring how Marketplace can help them simplify procurement and accelerate technology adoption. At the same time, Microsoft sellers are becoming increasingly aligned to Marketplace-driven opportunities, creating additional incentives for collaboration across the ecosystem. Together, these trends point toward a future where Marketplace serves not only as a procurement destination but also as the foundation for solution selling across software companies, distributors, channel partners, and Microsoft teams. Watch the full session to explore the complete Marketplace opportunity The launch of multiparty private offers in Australia creates new possibilities for software companies, distributors, managed service providers, systems integrators, and resellers seeking to expand their Marketplace business. By enabling collaborative selling, simplifying transactions, and aligning customer procurement with Azure investments, multiparty private offers provide a framework for building stronger customer solutions through Microsoft Marketplace. To hear the complete discussion, explore the decision frameworks, and learn directly from the Microsoft experts who shared these insights, watch the full Marketplace partner office hour session and continue the conversation in the Marketplace community. Watch and learn Multiparty private offers through Marketplace: channel growth in Australia
