E3 Growth Accelerator Use Case
Dear team, We are a Distributor and we would like your precious assistance when it comes to the Growth accelerator for M365 E3. More specifically, we won the transition of a case moving from EA to CSP, with the initial license/subscription transfer happening during June 2026. Furthermore, we will be moving under our tenant the majority of the remaining M365 E3 licenses (approx. 3.000 seats) within December 2026. Following this mid-term seat expansion of M365 E3, we would like to understand how and if the growth accelerator will be applied/implemented. Few questions on this one: How will this mid-term expansion affect the growth accelerator? When will we receive back the incentive/rebate for this transaction? Let's kick start this discussion as we need to make decisions the soonest possible. Thank you so much in advance for your continued support and collaboration! Warm regards, Nick
Can Marketplace Become the Trusted Delivery Ecosystem for Specialized Microsoft Services?
Over the past several years, Azure Marketplace has become an increasingly important mechanism for connecting customers, partners, publishers, and Microsoft. As Marketplace adoption grows, I have been reflecting on one aspect of ecosystem collaboration. Many customer initiatives involve multiple organizations, each with different responsibilities, commercial models, onboarding requirements, and procurement processes. This raises an interesting question for the community: Can Azure Marketplace play a larger role in reducing operational friction between Marketplace participants who are already transacting through the platform? Potential outcomes could include: Faster customer project execution. Simpler cross-organizational collaboration. Greater adoption of Marketplace-transactable solutions. Reduced administrative overhead. Increased Marketplace transaction activity. From a Marketplace ecosystem perspective, reducing friction between participants may create value for customers, partners, publishers, and Microsoft alike. I would be interested in learning: Whether others have encountered similar challenges. Whether existing Marketplace capabilities already address this area. Which future improvements would have the greatest impact. Looking forward to hearing the community's perspective.Free webinar Aug 5: What actually changed in FY27 for software companies co-selling with Microsoft
Microsoft's fiscal year just reset. MCAPS Start laid out new seller priorities, refreshed solution plays, and shifts to the programs and incentives software companies rely on. And there's more moving underneath than what made the announcements. We're hosting a free, live session on August 5 to break it down for ISVs co-selling with Microsoft. The angle isn't a news recap of what changed. It's what to do about it. For every shift that matters, we cover the specific move to make. What we'll get into: - The FY27 changes that actually affect your partnership and co-sell motion (and the ones that just sound like they do) - What each shift means for how you share deals, engage sellers, and position your solution this year - A prioritized action list you can start working the same day Who it's for: software companies co-selling with Microsoft, including partnership leads, alliance managers, and co-sell teams who want to start FY27 with a plan rather than a backlog. The FY27 Playbook for Software Companies: What Changed and What to Do About It Wednesday, August 5 · 1:00 PM ET · 60 minutes · Free Register: https://www.carvepartners.com/upcoming-webinars/fy27-playbook-for-software-companiesOptimizing Azure spend with Microsoft Marketplace
As someone deeply involved with Microsoft Marketplace product marketing team, I was excited to host our recent customer office hour session with Trunal Bhanse, CEO of Clazar. Our conversation focused on using Microsoft Marketplace to optimize Azure spend. The session explored how organizations can leverage Marketplace as a strategic procurement engine and maximize their cloud investments. Setting the stage: Marketplace as a growth engine Every organization today is striving to become a frontier firm—enriching employee experiences, reinventing customer engagement, and reshaping business processes. With AI at the center of transformation, the question often arises: should we build or buy AI solutions? If buying, how do we procure them efficiently and securely? That’s where Microsoft Marketplace comes in. It’s your trusted source for cloud solutions, AI apps, and agents, offering the largest catalog in the industry. Marketplace is fully integrated with Microsoft Cloud, providing a seamless experience from discovery to deployment. Whether you need standard contracts, private offers, or multi-year agreements, Marketplace adapts to your procurement needs and ensures your transactions are visible in the Azure cost management portal. Azure spend optimization: The power of Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC) A major focus of our session was the Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC). This agreement allows organizations to commit to a certain level of Azure consumption in exchange for discounted rates. The beauty of MACC is that eligible Marketplace transactions decrement your commitment dollar-for-dollar. That means when you purchase MACC-eligible solutions through Marketplace, you’re directly funding your cloud investments and maximizing your discounts. Our conversation covered how to identify MACC-eligible solutions using tools like Azure Marketplace Compass, the Azure portal, and Marketplace storefront. With over 4,000 eligible solutions available, most organizations can find the software they need and align it with their MACC commitments. This approach is especially valuable at fiscal year-end or when budgets are tight, allowing you to leverage your commitment for critical investments. Operationalizing Marketplace procurement To truly optimize spend companies should start with an inventory of all solutions currently deployed or planned for procurement across their organization. By mapping this inventory against MACC-eligible offers, they can ensure every purchase maximizes commitment and discounts. Security and governance are also paramount. Marketplace enables role-based access controls and private marketplaces, so only authorized employees can procure approved applications. This walled-garden approach gives administrators full control over what’s available for procurement. Partner solutions and automation To bring the MACC optimization process to life, Clazar provided a live demonstration of their platform which specializes in automation of this process. Their solution enables organizations to seamlessly match their software inventory against MACC-eligible offers, giving procurement and finance teams consolidated visibility into spend and streamlining the entire procurement workflow. With robust integrations for single sign-on-systems and automated dashboards, Clazar empowers customers to instantly identify eligible applications and make faster, more informed decisions about their Azure Marketplace investments Microsoft Marketplace is more than a procurement platform—it’s a strategic lever for optimizing Azure spend, accelerating innovation, and simplifying operations. By aligning purchases with MACC commitments, organizations unlock savings, streamline processes, and gain unparalleled visibility into their cloud investments. To learn more, watch the full recording of our conversation here: Using Microsoft Marketplace to optimize Azure spend - Microsoft Marketplace Community Resources Microsoft Marketplace: Microsoft Marketplace | cloud solutions, AI apps, and agents Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC) benefit: Azure Consumption Commitment Benefit - Marketplace customer documentation | Microsoft Learn Cost management for Microsoft Marketplace purchases: Cost management for Microsoft Marketplace purchases - Marketplace customer documentation | Microsoft Learn
A note about the FY26 Build and Publish Incentive
For anyone here who is/was Top Tier in FY25: You ARE eligible for the Build and Publish incentive (up to $100k) through 31 December - even though you might have been told otherwise. I mention this here because we were initially told "No, you are not eligible because you still need to have an Azure or industry CSD." Took a wee bit of perseverance, but we broke through the denials and received confirmation yesterday that the incentive is on its way to us. Probably a niche scenario, but please do feel free to message me if you were also told no on this incentive - I'll be happy to share how we got to 'yes.' #marketplacechampions #sponsored
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.Eligible Microsoft Marketplace partners with MCA customers now to benefit from accelerated payouts
Microsoft Marketplace partners transacting with Microsoft Customer Agreements (MCA) customers can now benefit from accelerated payouts. This enhancement is intended to support improved cash flow and greater predictability, with daily payment processing that shortens the average time to receive funds. To learn more about how accelerated payouts work and how to view payouts with transactions for a given month, read the full announcement article. Announcing accelerated payouts to Microsoft Marketplace partners with MCA customers | Microsoft Community HubAnnouncing accelerated payouts to Microsoft Marketplace partners with MCA customers
Co-authored by Trevor_Yeats We’re excited to share that accelerated payouts are now available for partners making Microsoft Marketplace transactions with MCA (Microsoft Customer Agreement) customers. This new capability is designed to improve partner cash flow and make payments more predictable, with daily payouts that reduce the average time to receive funds. How accelerated payouts work Eligible partners will automatically get daily payouts for all offer types (SaaS, VMSR, etc.), pricing models (seat-based, metered), and deal types (public offers, private offers, private plans)—across all markets and currencies supported by Microsoft Marketplace. There is no action required by partners to benefit from accelerated payouts. Daily MCA payouts will show up as separate entries in the payments summary tab of your Partner Center earnings dashboard, right next to your monthly payouts. In addition, you’ll also see a new field called “estimatedPaymentDate” in the Earnings Report. Notes: Partners will not receive accelerated payouts for their very first payment from Microsoft. Accelerated payouts only apply after a partner has already received at least one payout. Partners may experience possible payout delays following a payment instrument change such as a change in bank or tax profile. Partners will continue to receive monthly payouts for EA transactions. Since payout times for EA customers are already compressed, daily payouts are not needed. How can a partner see all the payouts with transactions for a given month? Some partners reconcile their payouts monthly and would like to see all the payouts with transactions for a given month. Here’s how to do it: Option 1: Select custom dates Go to the Earnings Report In the upper right corner, you can filter by time period. Select “custom” and enter the start date and end date for a given month. Now you will be able to see all payouts with transactions for a specified month. Then select “Apply” in the bottom left. Note: this only shows customer transactions for the month you have selected. Option 2: Search for the first three letters of a month in Payment ID Go to the Earnings Report In the upper right corner, you can filter by payment ID. Type in the first three letters of a month and hit search. For example, for September, type in “sep” and you will be able to see all payouts with transactions for a specified month. Make sure you select the correct payment year. Then select “Apply” in the bottom left. Once you have applied filters, you can download the report. In the Earnings Report, select “Download Report”. Then select “Earnings – Marketplace” and you will be able to download a report with your custom filters. How to get started in Microsoft Marketplace Any company who is part of the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program can sell on the marketplace and benefit from accelerated payouts. Details are provided in our documentation, but at a high-level: Be a member of the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program (it’s free to join) Sign the marketplace publisher agreement Publish your public offer and sell private offers as needed. In addition, we have many support resources for partners depending on where they are on their marketplace journey. For example, software development companies can join ISV Success, within the Partner Program, for tools and resources that help them publish their solution and maximize reach through the marketplace. Learn more by visiting: Payout schedules and processes - Marketplace publisher | Microsoft Learn https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/partner-center/marketplace-offers/payment-thresholds-methods-timeframes#number-of-days-for-payments-to-reach-payout-account
