Microsoft Marketplace Partner Digest
What's new in Marketplace Convert more buyers into customers Microsoft recently expanded Marketplace listing capabilities with enhancements to free trials and the introduction of an option to request private offers, giving partners more ways to engage buyers at different stages of the purchasing journey. Customers can now discover and evaluate solutions through expanded trial experiences and transition more easily into paid subscription discussions by requesting custom pricing and terms directly from your Marketplace listings. ✨ Help customers evaluate your solution with free trials What's new On July 23 we announced the release of Marketplace enhanced trial capabilities. Customers can try solutions with confidence with the free trials in Microsoft Marketplace. Trials are available for multiple offer types, including SaaS, Azure virtual machines, Dynamics 365, and Power BI offers. New capabilities include: Custom meter trials: Partners can configure trials for SaaS solutions with metered pricing. Flexible trial durations: Partners can now configure SaaS trial durations from 1 to 180 days. Partner analytics: Partners can access SaaS trial analytics - including free trials initiated, active free trials, free trials converted, free trials not converted, and average trial duration - all within Partner Center Insights workspace. Customer discovery and management: Customers can better discover and manage trials. Upgrade to paid subscription during trial: Customers can upgrade to paid subscription at public pricing any time during a SaaS trial. Why it matters With enhanced trial capabilities in Microsoft Marketplace, partners can run self-service trials that make it easier for customers to try before they buy — whether for metered, per-user, or flat-rate pricing offers. Marketplace gives partners one place to manage trials end to end — from provisioning and mid-trial changes to insights — while improving offer discoverability through improved search, filters, and dedicated trial badges. Recommended action Review your Marketplace offers and trial strategy. For eligible SaaS offers, evaluate whether free trials can help you engage with more qualified buyers, faster. 📖 Learn more about free trials for SaaS ⚡ Customers can now request a private offer on Marketplace What’s new As of July 20, you can add a private offer request option directly on your Marketplace product pages. Customer requests are captured as Marketplace leads in referrals workspace and connected customer relationship management (CRM) integrations you’ve setup. This setting is disabled by default. You can easily activate it for applicable public offers. Why it matters More and more customers are seeking customized contracts and subscription pricing and terms tailored to their individual needs. This simple call to action reduces friction and helps you start the conversation with prospective buyers. Recommended action In the Marketplace offers workspace of Partner Center, update each of your offers for which you provide customers private offers. Enable the Request Private Offer setting and republish the offer. Events Recent events Multiparty private offers expand channel growth opportunities in Australia, Japan and South Africa Multiparty private offers continue to help software companies accelerate channel-led sales through Microsoft Marketplace. This past month, we hosted two region-focused Marketplace office hours sessions designed to help partners better understand local market opportunities, engage distributors and resellers, and scale Marketplace transactions through channel ecosystems in Australia and Japan. Whether you're looking to expand an existing Marketplace motion or explore new geographic opportunities, these sessions will provide practical guidance and market-specific insights to help you grow. See a list of currently supported countries/regions. Check out the recorded sessions: • Channel growth in Australia (English) • Channel growth in Japan (Japanese) Helping developers build, monetize, and scale AI solutions with Marketplace Discover how Microsoft Marketplace helps software companies access AI models and developer tools, accelerate application development, and reach customers through Microsoft's global commercial ecosystem. Learn how to monetize applications and agents without building and maintaining your own commerce and distribution infrastructure. Watch the recording Upcoming events Build AI-powered solutions, monetize through Microsoft Marketplace, and scale revenue through Microsoft expertise, skilling, and investments. Frontier Accelerate for Marketplace is an upcoming unified offering for software development companies to bring AI-powered solutions to market, drive customer acquisition and revenue growth, and scale through Microsoft Marketplace with technical guidance, skilling, and investments aligned to every stage of growth. 📆 Join us on August 26th before general availability to learn about the new offering, benefit alignment, migration guidance, and enrollment requirements. Next steps Turn insights into FY27 success — starting today. Ready to carry the momentum forward from MCAPS Start for Partners? Get everything you need to refine and execute your FY27 strategy in the Partner Activation Zone, including session recordings, ready-to-use playbooks, and tools to start building pipeline. Leverage your Marketplace Rewards benefits Discover use cases and how to leverage your Azure sponsorship. With Marketplace Rewards Azure sponsorships, eligible software development companies can increase sales through Microsoft Marketplace by using the sponsorships for customer deployments tied to Marketplace deals—and to offset infrastructure costs from eligible free trial offers. 📍Review the Marketplace Rewards Azure sponsorship policy guide for the latestMicrosoft 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 registerMicrosoft Marketplace 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.December 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!Welcome to the FY26 Q1 Partner Digest!
Stay up to date on the latest Microsoft Marketplace news, tools, and resources to help you grow your business. Subscribe to the Partner Digest label to never miss an update. 🚀 Noteworthy Highlights Introducing Microsoft Marketplace: Growth starts here. Turn your agents and other cloud-based innovations into sales, at scale, with Microsoft Marketplace. Learn more Updated Agreement: The Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program Agreement has been updated, effective September 22, 2025. Review now Partner Center Security: Multifactor authentication (MFA) is now required for Partner Center access. API enforcement beings April 2026. Learn more App Advisor Enhancements: Six new features help software developers build, publish, and sell apps faster and smarter on the Microsoft Marketplace. Explore now Fabric Extensibility Toolkit: Software companies can help customers bring apps to Fabric, speed development, and integrate workloads. Get started today Azure AI Foundry Updates: Now featuring GPT-5, OpenAI gpt-oss, Foundry Local support, and a new Browser Automation tool to help you build intelligent agents using natural language. Learn more Partner Center AI assistant: Now localized and smarter than ever with support for additional languages, providing quick answers to your day-to-day questions. Learn more Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program Concierge: Your go-to resource for all program related desk engagements, streamlined and more impactful than ever. Learn more 🌟 Microsoft partner resources: New for FY26 MCAPS Start recap Microsoft kicked off FY26 with a bold vision for partner growth in the AI era. Nicole Dezen outlines how partners can lead with innovation and scale impact. Explore strategic solution areas, expanded MAICPP investments, and GTM support.👉 Read the full post New benefits & resources New AI-powered benefits and tools are here to help partners thrive. Julie Sanford details how to get Azure credits, Copilot seats, and custom GTM materials to accelerate agentic AI adoption.👉 Read the full post Blog Series & Playbooks: Catch up on our Cloud and AI Platforms blog series. Part one: Capturing the market opportunity Part two: Migrations & Modernizations Explore the latest Cloud and AI platforms and Agentic AI partner playbooks which includes key skilling resources, investments, win formulas and more. Unlock your Microsoft AI Cloud potential with Partner Skilling Hub: Visit our skilling hub for the latest training resources to earn designations and specializations. Explore the most recent skilling blog for key skilling-related announcements. Incentives ISV Success Advanced Package: Top-performing partners with Certified Software Designations can qualify for financial incentives to build AI solutions or migrate customers to Azure. The package supports every stage of ISV Success. Learn more. Migration Incentives: New end-customer migration incentives are now available to help software companies and advanced specialized system integrators securely and efficiently move software companies’ end customers to modern applications running on Azure. See Azure Incentives > ISV Engagements tab in the incentive guide for details. 🗓️ Events & Office Hours June-September recaps June: The Microsoft Marketplace Ecosystem Opportunity Explore how AI is reshaping solution development and customer engagement in this conversation with Cyril Belikoff, Microsoft’s new leader for Marketplace. Learn how the marketplace is simplifying procurement and accelerating growth. A “lightbulb moment” for the industry and the critical role partners play in delivering innovation on Microsoft’s platform. 👉 Watch the recording July: Marketplace Rewards FY26 Learn how channel partners can benefit from multiparty private offers and new rewards tier thresholds to unlock $200K in sponsorship. 👉 Watch the recording August: Co-Sell Blueprint & Certified Designations Gain real-world co-sell strategies and learn about Microsoft’s Customer Engagement Methodology from industry experts. Plus, get the latest on Certified Software Designation benefits for FY26. 👉 Watch the recording from Ultimate Partner session on Co-sell 👉 Watch the recording on Certified Software Designations and download the slide deck 📖Explore Microsoft Customer Engagement Methodology (MCEM) September: Migrate and Modernize Summit Our Sep 23-24 event is now available online to help services partners learn how agentic AI can boost their agility by moving to the cloud quickly and effectively. Catch the replay. Upcoming Events Microsoft AI Tour for Partners is back- Join a free, one-day event to accelerate your AI journey with sales best practices, growth opportunities, hands-on labs, and technical deep dives. Discover upcoming events in cities around the globe. Join the Fabric Global Hack (Sept 15–Nov 3, 2025) to build data and AI solutions with Microsoft Fabric, collaborate globally, and compete for prizes up to $10,000. Participants get 50% off Fabric certifications. Join us at the Azure Dev Summit from October 13-15, a Microsoft-sponsored event designed for developers, architects, and technology leaders. Explore the latest in Azure, .NET, and Microsoft AI, gain insights from inspiring speakers, and connect with peers driving innovation. Participate in AgentCon 2025 by Global AI Community—a global series of one-day conferences designed exclusively for developers building the future with autonomous AI agents. 🔥 Microsoft Ignite 2025 Microsoft Ignite 2025 will empower you to get the edge you need to drive impact in the era of AI. Join us in San Francisco or attend virtually from November 18-21 to bolster your knowledge, build connections, and explore emerging technologies. Hear from Microsoft executives and other leaders on their vision for AI. Explore the latest in Cloud and AI platforms, AI business solutions, and Security. Celebrate the winners and finalists of Partner of the Year Awards 👉 Register now and stay up to date with event news at Microsoft Ignite Unplugged. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Stay tuned to the https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/marketplace-blog/bg-p/MarketplaceBlog for upcoming recaps and new office hour announcements. 💬 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!Microsoft Marketplace Partner Digest
In this edition of the Microsoft Marketplace Partner Digest, you'll find essential announcements, events, and key updates designed to drive your business forward, accelerate deal closures, and maximize your Marketplace success. Partner Center announcements As we kick off the new fiscal year, we're building upon a quarter that delivered valuable enhancements for both Marketplace partners and customers. We’ve focused on expanding partner-led growth across regions, simplifying SaaS transactions, and helping you improve co-sell outcomes. 🌍 Multiparty private offers expand across EMEA and APAC On May 27, Microsoft Marketplace expanded multiparty private offers to 30 countries in Europe, with availability in Australia, Japan, and South Africa coming July 15. Read the blog to discover how we are enabling new opportunities for channel-led growth through Marketplace. Why it matters Software companies gain more opportunities to reach new customers and drive growth without adding operational complexity. Channel partners differentiate their offerings with vetted software solutions while maintaining customer relationships. Recommended action Microsoft’s Jason Rook breaks down six practical steps to activate your channel strategy through Microsoft Marketplace, helping software companies recruit, enable, and scale partner-led growth. 📗Get the playbook 🌏 Resale enabled offers support expands to New Zealand Microsoft continues expanding channel-led sales opportunities by making resale enabled offers available through Microsoft Marketplace to customers in New Zealand as of May 26. Why it matters Channel partners can create and manage offers directly, without relying on software companies to build bespoke private offers. For software companies, resale enabled offers provide a scalable way to grow through trusted channel partners and expand into new markets. 👉 Learn more 📆 Custom contract lengths As of July 6, custom contract lengths for private offers are generally available. Partners can now create private offers with custom contract lengths of up to 10 years in Microsoft Marketplace. Why it matters Flexibility to better meet customer requirements Ability to configure contract durations from 1 to 120 months Define non-standard contract lengths, like 18 months or 45 months Support for both SaaS and professional services transactions 👉 Read the announcement ⚡ Auto activation for SaaS offers On May 18, Microsoft released the optional auto activation for SaaS offers, streamlining customer's Marketplace purchase and onboarding experience. What’s new Billing and subscription activation can now begin immediately when a customer completes a purchase Partners receive a real-time webhook signal to trigger onboarding Available for both public and private offers Default behavior For existing plans auto activation is off, unless you enable it When creating new plans auto activation is on, by default, unless you disable it Why it matters Reduces friction between purchase and onboarding Improves revenue predictability with immediate billing Enables a faster, more seamless customer experience Recommended action Evaluate your SaaS offers and enable auto activation where it aligns with your onboarding model. Make sure your sales and customer guidance reflect the updated experience. 👉 Learn more 🔔 Improve referral quality to accelerate co-sell deals Microsoft has updated how inbound co-sell referrals are reviewed and processed to improve speed and alignment with Microsoft account teams. What’s changing All referrals are now automatically checked for completeness and quality at submission. To avoid delays, ensure every referral includes: Solution area / play Estimated deal value Estimated close date (valid future date) Clear customer need and business context Customer contact (or consent to share later) Why it matters Submitting complete referrals helps you: Get faster seller engagement Reduce rework and follow-ups Improve acceptance rates Move deals forward more predictably Recommended action Audit your referral submission process and ensure these five fields are consistently included across all deals. 👉 Learn more about managing co-sell opportunities ⚠️ Review: Ensure the right contacts receive important partner communications Now is a great time to take care of digital housekeeping. Microsoft is reminding partners to review assigned Partner Center roles and email configurations to avoid missing critical notifications and account updates. Why it matters Having assigned roles like global admin or billing admin does not guarantee email delivery. If accounts aren’t configured correctly, you and your team may miss time-sensitive notifications. Missing communications can result in missed compliance deadlines or delayed actions that may impact your business. Recommended actions Verify your primary contact email is up to date Ensure role-based accounts can receive emails Add Microsoft system emails as safe senders Review role guidance on Microsoft Learn ✨ Bonus: Sign up for the monthly Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program newsletter to stay informed of updates, incentives, and partner opportunities. It’s an easy way to get partner news delivered directly to your inbox. Events Recent events Marketplace as a FinOps platform Explore how Microsoft Marketplace helps simplify purchasing, centralize billing, and better align software investments to optimize cloud spending. As organizations scale cloud and AI investments, managing spend across tools and vendors becomes more complex. Tune in to learn practical ways to better understand the ROI of your organization’s cloud and AI investments. You will walk away with actionable insights to use Microsoft Marketplace as part of your FinOps strategy 📽️ Watch the recording The Marketplace playbook for channel-led sales Get step-by-step guidance and go-to-market resources to help you recruit and activate partners for channel-led sales through Microsoft Marketplace. Through resale enabled offers and multiparty private offers, software companies can empower partners to sell on their behalf to drive scale, reach new markets, and unlock new co-sell opportunities. In markets where both resale enabled offers and multiparty private offers are available, software companies can also scale through distributors, who can activate their broader channel networks. 📽️ Watch the recording Multicurrency transactions explained As Marketplace adoption continues to grow more partners are navigating sales that involve multiple currencies, local customer invoicing, and evolving seller of record responsibilities. Understanding how currency exchanges impact private offers, partner payments, and customer billing is critical to successfully managing Marketplace transactions across global geographies. 📽️ Watch the recording Upcoming events Channel growth in Australia ⌚Wednesday, July 15 at 9:30 AEST Microsoft Marketplace provides several ways for partners to collaborate and grow through the channel. With multiparty private offers launching in Australia on July 16, alongside resale enabled offers, this expansion helps partners strengthen customer relationships, fuel more partner-to-partner opportunities, simplify transactions, and find new growth opportunities. Leave with practical guidance on how these capabilities work together and how to put them into action. 📆 Save to your calendar MCAPS Start for Partners 📆 Wednesday, July 22 from 7:00 – 11:00 am PDT MCAPS Start for Partners gives software companies an early look at Microsoft’s FY27 priorities, investments, and growth opportunities. Learn how AI innovation and agentic applications are creating new customer demand, discover marketplace and co-sell opportunities to expand reach, and explore strategies to modernize, differentiate, and grow your business in the year ahead. 👉 Learn more and register today 🚀 Closing thoughts The last quarter delivered meaningful platform enhancements to make Microsoft Marketplace easier to scale, faster for customers to discover solutions and transact, and more effective for partners to manage business. 👍 Take the next step Explore new regions for multiparty private offers and resale enabled offers Review your strategy for activation of customer SaaS subscriptions Improve your co-sell submission quality Small changes in these areas can have a big impact on your pipeline, conversion, and overall Marketplace success.Explore what’s new for Microsoft Marketplace partners in April 2026
The latest Microsoft Marketplace Partner Digest is now live—featuring key updates to partner Specializations, new Partner Center MFA requirements, and go-to-market resources designed to help software development companies build, publish, and scale transactable AI solutions. Catch up on the latest program changes and Marketplace opportunities to support your AI and co-sell strategies. 👉 Read the full article: Microsoft Marketplace Partner Digest | April 2026 | Microsoft Community Hub
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.
