December edition of Microsoft Marketplace Partner Digest
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!AI-powered maintenance management with Microsoft Azure
Welcome to another edition of our Partner Spotlight series, where we showcase the innovators transforming maintenance and field service operations through the Microsoft Marketplace. Each feature uncovers the unique journey of a partner leveraging the Microsoft ecosystem to deliver AI-powered solutions and transactable offers that simplify enterprise adoption and accelerate digital transformation. In this article, I connected with Benjamin Schwärzler from Workheld, a Vienna-based SaaS provider redefining maintenance management for asset-intensive industries. We explore their origin story, their evolution as a Microsoft partner, and how they’re helping organizations bridge the gap between shopfloor execution and strategic decision-making—all within a secure, Azure-powered environment. About Ben [BS]: Benjamin Schwärzler is the CEO of Workheld, a Vienna-based SaaS company redefining how industrial enterprises manage maintenance and field service operations. With a strong background in digital transformation and enterprise software strategy, Benjamin has led Workheld’s evolution from a start-up to a trusted Microsoft partner serving global industry leaders such as voestalpine. Under his leadership, Workheld has become a pioneer in digital shopfloor enablement—combining AI-driven insights with seamless execution to improve efficiency, transparency, and safety in industrial maintenance. His work focuses on bridging the gap between operational excellence and digital innovation, empowering technicians and managers alike with intuitive, data-driven tools. Benjamin is passionate about advancing smart manufacturing and asset management through technology partnerships and ecosystem collaboration. His strategic vision has positioned Workheld at the forefront of Microsoft’s Marketplace, where it now serves as a reference case for how industrial SaaS providers can accelerate enterprise adoption through transactable marketplace solutions. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ [JR]: Tell us about your organization. [BS]: Workheld is a leading SaaS provider focused on digital solutions for maintenance and field service operations. Founded in Vienna, Austria, Workheld empowers industrial enterprises to plan, execute, and analyze maintenance and asset management processes with full transparency. Our platform, from within a secure, Microsoft Azure-based environment unites digital work orders, smart scheduling, and AI-driven insights—bridging the gap between the shopfloor and strategic decision-making. [JR]: What inspired the founding? [BS]: Workheld was born from a simple observation: while industrial production processes had undergone massive digitalization, maintenance operations remained largely analog. We saw an opportunity to create a solution that not only digitizes workflows but also connects people, data, and machines in a way that drives measurable efficiency gains. [JR]: What does your app do, and who is it designed for? [BS]: Workheld serves asset-intensive industries such as manufacturing, energy, and infrastructure. Workheld Flow connects maintenance teams, planners, and managers in one unified platform—delivering visibility from the field to the executive level. We started as a digital work order system and have grown into a full-fledged maintenance and asset management platform. Today, Workheld is an ecosystem—connecting technicians, planners, and management dashboards, with seamless integration into ERP systems and industrial IoT data streams. We help companies overcome fragmented communication, manual reporting, and inefficient resource allocation. With Workheld, teams can schedule, document, and analyze maintenance tasks in real time—reducing downtime and enabling data-driven decisions. [JR]: What technologies or Microsoft services does it leverage? [BS]: Workheld is built on Microsoft Azure, leveraging services such as Azure App Services, Azure SQL Database, and Azure Active Directory for secure and scalable operations. We are also integrating Azure AI Services for intelligent recommendations and predictive maintenance insights. [JR]: Can you describe your journey in publishing a transactable offer? Why did you decide to publish transactable, and what challenges did you face? [BS]: Enterprise customers increasingly want trusted, secure, and simplified procurement. By publishing a transactable offer, we aligned with our customers’ Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC) and eliminated procurement barriers—making it easier for enterprises to buy and deploy Workheld within their existing Microsoft ecosystem. Navigating the technical and legal aspects of the transactable setup required close collaboration with Microsoft’s partner success team. We leveraged Microsoft’s resources, including Marketplace Rewards and technical documentation, to streamline the process and ensure compliance. [JR]: What publishing advice would you give to new partners? [BS]: Invest early in making your offer transactable—it dramatically increases customer trust and speeds up enterprise sales. Collaborate closely with Microsoft’s Marketplace team and focus on aligning your solution with customer MACC priorities. [JR]: How are you using AI in your app development? [BS]: We are incorporating Azure OpenAI Service and Azure Machine Learning to power intelligent assistant features within Workheld—such as AI-guided troubleshooting, natural language work order generation, and contextual recommendations during maintenance execution. Microsoft’s AI documentation, Azure partner webinars, and early access programs have been instrumental in helping us integrate and test AI components efficiently and responsibly. [JR]: What business outcomes have you seen from integrating AI? [BS]: AI reduces reporting time for technicians by up to 60% and enhances the accuracy of maintenance insights. It also allows managers to identify recurring issues faster, improving asset availability and reducing downtime. [JR]: What business impact have you seen since publishing on the Marketplace? [BS]: The Marketplace has transformed how we approach enterprise deals. Our first six-figure transaction with voestalpine demonstrated that Marketplace deals can accelerate procurement, align with customer MACC targets, and enhance trust across IT and procurement departments. [JR]: How has transacting directly on the Marketplace influenced your strategy? [BS]: It has become a key pillar of our go-to-market approach for enterprise customers. We now plan all major deals with Marketplace alignment in mind, enabling faster approvals and improved positioning within Microsoft’s co-sell ecosystem. [JR]: What key takeaways would you share with other partners? [BS]: Success in the Marketplace is about customer alignment and ecosystem thinking. It’s not just a sales channel—it’s a trust signal. Publishing a transactable offer opens the door to larger enterprise opportunities and deeper collaboration with Microsoft. [JR]: How has your Marketplace experience shaped your roadmap? [BS]: The Marketplace is now central to our global expansion strategy. We’re extending our platform with AI and IoT capabilities to further strengthen our position as the go-to maintenance management solution within the Microsoft ecosystem. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Resources Join ISV Success - Build and publish applications and agents faster with powerful AI developer tools, consultations, and technical guidance—then grow your sales through Microsoft Marketplace Join the marketplace community - Access resources for every stage of the journey on the Microsoft Marketplace, provide feedback, and engage with other partners and Microsoft subject-matter experts focused on your success. Microsoft Marketplace - Your trusted source for cloud solutions, AI apps, and agents Paths for partnership - Learn more about the ways you can partner with us—from building and selling solutions to differentiating your business with a Solutions Partner designation.
Boost SaaS revenue with Microsoft Marketplace: A step-by-step guide
About the author: Manesh Raveendran is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Spektra Systems, a partner-focused cloud solutions company that simplifies cloud sales adoption and helps cloud-based businesses accelerate their growth. He specializes in thought leadership and in building end-to-end technology solutions across cloud computing, data platforms, and DevOps, with a strong focus on hybrid workloads. Manesh works closely with CXOs to understand business problems and designs systems that drive customer success through Spektra Systems’ innovative cloud solutions and services, including SaaSify, CloudLabs and CSP Control Center. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ For SaaS companies, the Microsoft Marketplace has evolved from being a procurement convenience to becoming a strategic revenue engine. But while publishing a listing is easy, closing the first transaction quickly is what separates software development companies who scale on Marketplace from those who stall. That first transaction isn’t just revenue. It’s a signal: Your offer flows through Microsoft’s procurement rails. Your finance, legal, and operations stack is aligned. Microsoft sellers trust they can bring you into deals. Buyers trust Marketplace as their procurement path. Furthermore, transactable offers close faster because they simplify legal review, leverage committed cloud spend and integrate into enterprise procurement. Many software companies go live on Microsoft Marketplace but fail to reach their first transaction quickly. Some stall for months because of fragmented processes, delayed financial setup, or a lack of alignment with Microsoft’s co-sell engine. Others underutilize the marketplace’s full potential because they treat it as a digital storefront rather than an integrated revenue channel. This blog aims to close that gap. It goes beyond “how to list” and focuses on what really drives velocity: operational readiness, CRM-native automation, seller engagement, trust signals, and AI-enabled acceleration. In this blog, we’ll walk through: The step-by-step journey from publishing your transactable offer to your first Microsoft sale. Common pitfalls that delay the first transaction and how to avoid them How CRM-native automation can accelerate finance, legal, and operations readiness for transactable offers Why field seller alignment and partner incentives are critical to activating the Microsoft ecosystem. How AI copilots and agents are changing the game for marketplace GTM. By the end, you’ll have a clear, actionable blueprint for moving from “just listed” to “revenue in hand” and turning your first sale into a repeatable growth engine. Listing readiness and execution: Step-by-step for publishing your offer Most first-sale delays don’t happen after publishing. They happen before the offer goes live. Getting listing readiness right can cut weeks off your timeline. Get the account setup right Have a Partner Center publisher account with your company verified and enrolled in the Microsoft Marketplace. Assign the right roles in Partner Center (e.g., Owner, Marketplace Admin, and for payments Finance Contributor). These are required to configure payments and publish offers. Decide offer type and monetization strategy early Pick your offer type carefully (SaaS, VM, Managed App, Container). If your goal is to accelerate revenue, transactable SaaS offers using Microsoft’s Standard Contract tend to have the lowest procurement friction. Align your pricing model (seat-based, usage, flat, or hybrid) with enterprise buying behavior and potential private offer flexibility. Complete legal, finance, and tax setup upfront Configure and validate payout and tax accounts before creating the offer. Decide whether to use the Standard Contract (fastest buyer approval) or a custom EULA (more control, more delays). Define internal ownership between finance, legal, and GTM teams. Create the offer shell in Partner Center with listing details Create a new SaaS offer in Partner Center and provide the Offer ID and Offer alias to create the shell. Complete the offer listing details with name, description, categories, keywords, logos/screens, (optional) videos. These are what customers see in the storefront. Select markets/regions, audience, and any reseller/CSP availability where supported. (Exact toggles vary by offer type; the goal is to ensure the offer is visible where you sell.) Build the listing like a sales asset A Marketplace listing is not a product brochure, it’s the first deck Microsoft sellers and buyers see. Open with a sharp value proposition. Add pricing clarity or private offer options. Include visuals (architecture diagrams, screenshots, etc.). Add security and compliance details. Link to deployment guides and onboarding documentation. Test before you publish Run through test purchases and fulfillment callbacks. Validate offer visibility, legal terms, pricing flows, and payout readiness. Involve your finance and ops teams before pressing “Submit.” Software companies that complete listing readiness thoroughly typically reach first sale in a few days post-publish, versus weeks or months when key steps are deferred. Making an offer transactable: Speed starts here Publishing a Marketplace listing is like setting up a storefront. But a transactable offer turns that storefront into a fully operational sales channel. Technical execution: Fulfillment & integration For SaaS offers, integrate the SaaS Fulfillment API v2: Implement landing page and webhook endpoints to handle provisioning. Automate activation, change, and cancellation flows. Ensure your finance systems can reconcile Marketplace invoices and payouts. Commercial execution: Pricing & packaging for enterprise buyers Offer transparent, scalable plans buyers can commit to confidently. Design for private offers: custom pricing, terms, or multi-year deals. Ensure deployment is frictionless; buyers expect immediate activation. Aligning with seller & buyer behavior Transactable offers allow Microsoft sellers to retire quota faster which can be a huge incentive. Buyers prefer using committed cloud spend on pre-approved contracts. Simplicity wins: fewer legal redlines, faster billing, and predictable usage. Using Microsoft’s Standard Contract instead of custom terms can cut procurement timelines drastically. Co-sell readiness ensures sellers can bring you into opportunities quickly. Common pitfalls that delay first sale velocity Not every software company reaches their first sale smoothly. In fact, many delays stem from operational and technical issues, not lack of demand. Some of the most common pitfalls include: Delaying payout and tax setup: Without validated financial configuration, your offer can go live but won’t be able to transact. This is one of the biggest and most common delays. Weak or incomplete listings: If your listing doesn’t clearly communicate value, pricing, deployment, and security posture, neither sellers nor buyers will engage confidently. Fulfillment gaps: A broken or manual provisioning flow can derail the first transaction at the worst possible moment. Automation here is essential. Lack of CRM integration: Marketplace opportunities stuck in a separate portal often get ignored or delayed, leading to poor forecasting and slower deal cycles. No seller activation: Simply going live won’t bring in deals. Without proactive enablement, Microsoft field sellers won’t prioritize your offer. Legal complexity: Custom legal terms add friction for buyers and sellers. Using Microsoft’s Standard Contract accelerates procurement significantly. Over-reliance on “organic” traffic: Marketplace is not a “list and wait” channel. The first sale almost always needs to be driven intentionally. Most of these pitfalls are fully preventable with early planning, operational alignment, and a revenue-first listing strategy. Here’s how modern software companies are solving these common challenges, with AI copilots and CRM-native workflows. CRM-native automation to streamline first marketplace sale Once your offer is live, speed to first transaction depends on how efficiently you can move from buyer intent to recorded revenue. This is where CRM-native automation bridges the gap, connecting Marketplace activity with your core GTM and operational systems. When Marketplace deals don’t connect to your CRM, they fall into operational dead zones that slow execution and create unnecessary manual work: Data entry and updates are done twice, once in CRM and then again in the Partner Center Manual processes introduce errors and inconsistencies. Seller response time slows because opportunities aren’t visible. Finance teams chase payouts and reconciliation weeks after closing. GTM leadership lacks visibility into true pipeline attribution and revenue impact. In short, disconnected systems mean disconnected teams and that’s the biggest drag on first-sale velocity. But CRM-native automation streamlines the transactable offer process in more than one way, including: Automated offer creation For most software companies, the first Marketplace transaction happens through a private offer, not a public click-to-buy. CRM-native automation lets you generate, customize, and track private offers directly inside your CRM, eliminating manual Partner Center steps and accelerating deal velocity. Advanced workflows also integrate co-sell automation, so partner managers and Microsoft field sellers are looped in automatically. Real-time deal visibility As soon as a buyer initiates a transaction or engages through a private offer, the status is instantly logged in your CRM through bi-directional sync. Sellers and RevOps no longer have to check Partner Center manually. This eliminates lag between buyer intent and seller follow-up, often shaving days off deal cycles. Unified forecasting and attribution Marketplace opportunities flow directly into your primary CRM pipeline. GTM and revenue leaders can forecast Marketplace deals alongside direct sales, using the same dashboards and metrics. Marketplace revenue is no longer a black box sitting outside the funnel. Financial reconciliation without chaos Payout reports, tax records, and revenue recognition tie directly to opportunity records. Finance teams don’t need to manually match spreadsheets or chase payouts. Marketplace revenue is reconciled automatically with clean data, reducing delays and errors. Better seller incentives and co-sell alignment When Marketplace deals show up in seller dashboards and reports, they’re treated like legitimate, quota-retiring opportunities. This increases seller participation and encourages field teams to bring software companies into opportunities earlier. Co-sell notifications can be automated, ensuring partner managers, sellers, and Microsoft teams are always aligned. A fully operational CRM-native Marketplace motion typically includes: Automated private offer generation through Marketplace Streamlined co-sell opportunity signals from CRM to align Microsoft sellers and accelerate joint pipeline. Deal stage mapping aligned with GTM and RevOps workflows. Automated approval, legal, and finance processes. Integration with payout and tax reporting for real-time revenue recognition. Alerts and dashboards for sellers, RevOps, and partner managers. Direct linkage with co-sell opportunities and field seller engagement. AI agents & Copilots: Driving faster listing readiness For most software development companies, listing and selling on Microsoft Marketplace is complex because the steps are fragmented. Legal, technical, operational, and GTM readiness often move at different speeds. This is exactly where AI agents and copilots transform the motion from manual and reactive to predictable and orchestrated. AI Agents can act as a purpose-built companion for software companies, like SaaSify AI Companion can generate tailored, prioritized roadmaps based on your GTM maturity, offer type, and launch goals. Here’s how AI agents can accelerate GTM readiness: Personalized Roadmaps: AI generates a launch plan with 50+ tasks, customized to your offer type, stage, and objectives. These aren’t static lists, they adapt dynamically as you progress. Guided Execution: Every task includes step-by-step guidance, deep links to Microsoft resources, contextual recommendations, and real-time AI assistance. Dependency & Risk Management: Visual progress indicators, dependencies, and conditional logic ensure you never miss a critical step. Potential blockers are flagged early with no need for external consultants Flexible Engagement: Software companies can choose between self-service (full control) or assisted onboarding (expert + AI), allowing different team structures to move at the same velocity. AI copilots don’t just accelerate readiness; they reduce errors, compress planning cycles, and create predictability. Listing to first sale on Microsoft Marketplace: An inflection point The first Marketplace sale isn’t just a transaction. It’s the moment your GTM motion proves it can run on Microsoft’s procurement rails. It’s the point where sellers start to pull you into deals, buyers see Marketplace as a trusted procurement path, and your internal teams gain confidence in a repeatable channel. The software companies who reach this point fastest aren’t necessarily the ones with the biggest budgets or teams. They’re the ones who: Treat listing readiness as a strategic launch, not an operational checkbox. Invest early in transactability to minimize friction for buyers and sellers. Avoid common operational pitfalls that slow most launches down. Use AI copilots to orchestrate readiness instead of relying on manual project management. Implement CRM-native automation so every signal flows seamlessly into their revenue engine. Marketplace is not a “list and wait” channel. It’s a GTM motion that rewards precision, alignment, and speed. That’s where SaaSify plays a catalytic role. SaaSify AI Companion enables self-service readiness with guided, step-by-step launch roadmaps, while the SaaSify GTM Platform automates the operational backbone of transactable offers, from private offer creation to co-sell workflows and payout reconciliation. This combination helps software companies cut time-to-first-sale dramatically, reduce execution overhead, and scale Marketplace revenue motions with confidence. In today’s Marketplace-driven economy, the winners aren’t just those who list fast, they’re the ones who operationalize faster, automate smarter, and sell through Microsoft as a scalable, repeatable growth engine. To learn more and ask questions, attend the AI-powered acceleration: Scale faster in Microsoft Marketplace | Microsoft Community Hub session on December 4 th . If you are unable to attend, the session will be recorded for on demand viewing after. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Resources Microsoft Marketplace Trusted source for cloud solutions, AI apps, and agents Microsoft Marketplace - Marketplace publisher | Microsoft Learn How to guides for working in Microsoft Marketplace ISV Success Discover offers and benefits of ISV Success to help you take your apps and agents to the next level.Lock in marketplace terms for up to five years with multiyear contract durations
Co-authored by Trevor_Yeats We’re excited to announce that the Microsoft marketplace now supports multiyear contract durations—enabling customers and partners to lock in terms and pricing for up to five years. New options include four and five-year terms for SaaS and Professional Services, and two, four, and five-year terms for Virtual Machine Software Reservations (VMSR). These contract durations are available globally across all marketplace-supported currencies. The value for your customers and for you With multiyear contract durations, customers can buy with confidence knowing they will have stability and continuity of service, making it easier to plan and forecast expenses and lock in substantial savings that often come with longer contracts. Partners benefit by supporting customers’ budget needs, strengthening customer relationships, reducing administrative burdens, and growing reliable revenue streams. “Our customers value five-year contracts for the stability and long-term value they provide. With multiyear contracts now available in Microsoft marketplace, we can better align with their operational timelines, reduce renewal cycles, and focus on building lasting relationships—while driving predictable revenue.” Sue Wilkinson, Global Director of Partners, IFS How it works To enable multiyear contract durations, software partners must take the following steps: Create a public offer with multiyear contract durations. Partners must ensure their public offers include extended contract terms before they can create private offers with those durations. Partners have two options: Update an existing public plan to support new options for extended durations (i.e., four and five-year options for SaaS offers and two, four, and five-year options for VMSR), or Create a new public plan that includes multiyear contract durations. Create private offers with multiyear contract durations. Once a public offer with multiyear contract durations is published, partners can configure private offers that leverage those durations. Notes: As of October 31, multiyear contract durations are available for CSP offers. Existing customer agreements cannot be modified mid-term to extend contract length. Customers must cancel their current plan and purchase a new one that includes the desired extended duration. Creating multiyear contracts with flexible billing schedules Partners can create private offers that combine multiyear contract durations with flexible billing options—like quarterly, semiannual, or bimonthly—making it easier to align with customer needs and streamline sales. “Microsoft’s recent launch of multiyear contracts and flexible billing has been a game changer, simplifying the buying process and enhancing the customer experience. We can now build private offers in the Microsoft marketplace in a more natural way that mirrors our contracts in the platform.” Sue Wilkinson, Global Director of Partners, IFS Learn more about flexible billing schedules and capturing the marketplace opportunity. Eligibility for multiyear contracts and how to get started Any company who is part of the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program can sell on the marketplace with multiyear contract durations. 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 with multiyear contract durations. Sell private offers with multiyear contract durations. 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: Microsoft commercial marketplace transact capabilities FAQs: https://aka.ms/multiyear-FAQsBuild smarter, publish faster: Here’s what’s new in App Advisor
App Advisor just got a major upgrade - and it’s changing the game for software development companies building apps and agents for the Microsoft Marketplace. Since its MVP launch in January 2024, App Advisor has helped thousands of partners like you streamline their journey. 💬 What partners are saying App Advisor isn’t just a tool - it’s a game-changer. Here’s what partners have shared about their experience: “I appreciate that App Advisor curates the content for the partner since the amount of data available is just so vast. It does a great job of curating for them based on their goals.” Frank Valdivieso, President & CEO, Gryphon Consulting ⚡What’s new? Smarter focus, faster execution, and scalable growth Now, with six new features launched in the US (and global availability coming soon), App Advisor is making it easier than ever to stay focused, move faster, and scale smarter with apps and agents. Here’s what’s new: 🛠️ In-app marketplace offer creation Start your marketplace journey directly within App Advisor - no context switching required. You can now initiate offer creation for popular offer types without leaving the platform. Not signed up to publish - no problem! App Advisor can get you signed up and on your way to creating your offer. 🚀 Tailored recommendations by marketplace offer type Confidently align your app with the right marketplace offer and pricing model using our interactive wizard. Get personalized recommendations based on your app profile and program membership - and fast-track publishing to launch sooner. 📁 Multi-project save with Partner Center linking Advance multiple apps and agents from a single, centralized experience. Save guidance across projects and link each to its Partner Center offer for seamless continuity. 🎯 Membership-based guidance Receive personalized guidance based on your ISV Success or Marketplace Rewards membership. App Advisor adapts its recommendations to help you make faster, smarter decisions. ✅ ISV Success sign-up integration Sign up for ISV Success and resume your workflow without disruption. Unlock benefits like cloud credits, technical consults, and go-to-market resources - all without breaking your build flow. 🎥 Embedded video playback Explore how to build, publish, and grow your apps and agents with step-by-step video guidance. Watch demos and guidance videos directly within App Advisor. Stay in flow with seamless, distraction-free learning, all while keeping the AI-powered assistant visible and ready to help. Ready to accelerate your marketplace success? Dive into App Advisor today to build, publish, and sell transactable offers with clarity, speed, and confidence. Make sure you check out the new Microsoft Marketplace - the single destination to find, try, and buy AI apps, tools, and agents. Read the blog to learn more. Ready to level up with App Advisor? Watch this quick video and unlock what’s next!The Marketplace Partner Digest | May 2025
Welcome to the monthly partner release notes for the Microsoft marketplace! The marketplace is central to how we help you reach more customers, simplify sales, and drive growth. Dive into this month’s roundup of announcements and updates to stay informed about the latest marketplace developments. Don’t miss an update! Subscribe to the “Partner Digest” label to get notified whenever a new Marketplace Partner Digest hits the community blog. Check out this community post for how-to guidance on configuring your settings. 🚀 Noteworthy Highlights Flexible billing improvements now available in the marketplace We're excited to announce improvements to flexible billing for private offers are now generally available. With supported scenarios for quarterly, semiannual, bimonthly billing, and much more, flexible billing for private offers makes it easier to align customer payments to unique budget cycles. The value for you and your customers: With flexible billing schedules, customers can buy with confidence knowing that private offers can be customized for virtually any contract value and billing timeline to align with their requirements. For partners, you can tailor customers’ private offers and multiparty private offers to meet unique business requirements, helping you to unlock larger deals by aligning with customer billing expectations, while streamlining sales and accelerating deal velocity. Resources: For more on how to build a flexible billing schedule, check out the documentation at aka.ms/flexbill-docs. Learn more by checking out these demo videos for examples of how partners and customers are using flexible billing. 🌟 ️Partner Resources Discover exclusive resources designed to help you maximize your success in the marketplace! Explore our latest resources, blogs, and much more below: Partner blog series: Capturing the marketplace opportunity by selling path Dive into our four-part blog series to explore how you can grow your business across different marketplace selling paths. Whether you're just getting started or refining your marketplace strategy, these blogs are a great place to find guidance. Part one: Explores how adopting the marketplace as a core go-to-market strategy can help you close deals faster and increase deal sizes. Part two: Delves into the power of always-on selling with the digital self-serve motion to help you grow your pipeline. Part three: Offers tips and insights to maximize success when selling with channel partners through multiparty private offers. Part four: Focuses on strategic co-selling with Microsoft field sellers to accelerate enterprise-grade deals through the Microsoft marketplace. Co-sell Coaching Series Hosted in the Marketplace Community, Co-sell Coaching features Microsoft partners walking you through their best practices on how to effectively co-sell through the Microsoft marketplace. These sessions also include live Q&A with Microsoft subject-matter experts. The next session is scheduled for June 18 th featuring Contentsquare. Stay tuned for this session and catch up on past sessions on-demand: Episode 1: Carve Partners Episode 2: Abnormal Security Episode 3: Silverfort Mastering the Marketplace webinars Whether you’re new to the marketplace or focused on growing sales, our Mastering the Marketplace webinars cover a broad range of business and technical session topics to help accelerate your marketplace success. Check out these upcoming webinars, register, and mark your calendars. All times are listed in Pacific Time. June 3 at 9 AM: Learn how to use the multiparty private offers campaign in a box June 9 at 9 AM: ISV to CSP private offers - experience walkthrough June 11 at 9 AM: Unlocking sales through the marketplace Access the full library of webinars, including live and on-demand options at aka.ms/MTMwebinars. 🔮 Marketplace Events Marketplace Office Hours June 12, 2025, 8:30 am PST: Customer office hours Q&A: what we learned at FinOpsX Get a recap of insights from the FinOpsX 2025 event on what we learned from practitioners on best practices to manage cloud, SaaS, and AI investments. Discover strategies we shared on how to unlock faster time-to-value by using the marketplace to source thousands of pre-vetted solutions that accelerate AI transformation while better managing technology spend. Invite your customers to register and view previous sessions office hours session on-demand here. Prepare for the 2025 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards The Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards (POTYA) are driven by a self-nominating process and acknowledge outstanding successes and innovations by partners across our global ecosystem. We especially encourage nominations for the Marketplace Partner of the Year Award, which recognizes partners that have embraced the Microsoft marketplace as core to their GTM strategy. The nomination window for this year’s program is June 18 – July 18, 2025, but you can prepare now by reviewing the guidelines for all awards. Partners can contact potyasup@microsoft.com with any questions. 💬 Share Your Feedback! We truly appreciate your feedback and want to ensure these Partner Release Notes 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! Thank you!Exciting updates to the ISV Success Visual Studio benefit!
We have some fantastic news to share with you. 🎉 The ISV Success Visual Studio benefit is getting an upgrade! Starting in March, you will still have access to Visual Studio Enterprise and Azure DevOps and we're rolling out a host of new training and community benefits that will supercharge your development experience. These exciting new benefits will be available in Partner Center, making it easier than ever to access everything you need to excel in your development journey. Here's a sneak peek at what's coming your way: New Training Benefits - Sharpen your skills with a variety of training courses tailored to help you stay ahead in the ever-evolving tech landscape with exclusive discounts on DevForge and DomeTrain. DevForge's expert led courses, featuring renowned educator Tim Corey. Unlock a library of developer upskilling resources, from comprehensive master courses to specialized trainings. Explore DevPass Dometrain Pro led by industry veteran Nick Chapsas, Dometrain courses are designed to teach you actionable skills and real-world practices, as if you were paired with a skilled senior engineer in a real modern company. Browse Dometrain courses New Community Benefits - Engage with like-minded professionals and get your technical questions answered in our vibrant community forums. Microsoft Q&A: Have a technical product question? Find it on Microsoft Q&A – the home for technical questions and answers at Microsoft. Microsoft Tech Community: Connect and engage with fellow users and Microsoft technical experts on best practices, design architecture and the latest updates. Developer Community: Post questions, find answers and share your knowledge in the Developer Community forums. Azure Community: Get help directly from the Azure team within these select forums. Concierge Chat: Available 27/7. Chat with us for assistance finding technical documentation product information or using your subscription benefits. Chat assistance is provided in English **Important ** Please be aware that, going forward, these benefits will not be available for previous versions of Visual Studio and Visual Studio for Mac. We're thrilled to bring you these enhancements and can't wait to see the amazing things you'll achieve with them. Stay tuned for more updates and happy coding!Exciting update: New Advanced Package benefit for ISV Success participants!
We are delighted to share yet another exciting benefit for our ISV Success program participants. In our ongoing commitment to support ISVs, we are introducing a new Advanced Package Benefit that could significantly enhance your development projects. NEW – Advanced Package Benefit - $25,000 USD ISV Success participants with an Azure, Security, or Industry AI certified software designation may now be eligible for additional Azure Sponsorship, providing another $25,000 USD, totaling an impressive $50,000 USD when combined with the Expanded and Core benefits packages. This substantial sponsorship aims to help you maximize the potential of Azure and drive innovation in your projects. Determine your eligibility To find out if you qualify for this advanced benefit, please reach out to your Build and Publish Engagement Manager. They will assist you in understanding the eligibility criteria and guide you through the process of applying for this additional Azure Sponsorship. At ISV Success, we are dedicated to offering valuable resources and support to help you achieve your development goals. Don't miss out on this exceptional opportunity to enhance your productivity and bring your projects to life with the power of Azure. To learn more about the ISV Success offering, go to https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/isv/isv-successEnhanced marketplace value calculator now available
What’s new in the marketplace value calculator? The calculator keeps the features that we released in September 2024, including the ability to enter a few simple data points and see exactly how many direct value benefits, cloud, credits, and incentives your business can unlock with the Microsoft commercial marketplace. You’ll still be able to plug in projections and see how benefits and free products outweigh small marketplace fees. But we’ve enhanced the calculator to provide even more value: Optional logic built in for business cases: We know that not all businesses are the same. So, we’ve introduced additional logic to both the revenue and deal-based model. You can get a more granular picture of costs and benefits personalized to the expenses that your business has to make a better-informed decision. Exportable presentation-ready decks: Need to present on the business case and don’t have much time? No problem. You can now get a full deck to present (in addition to the one-page data breakdown) to show your team the value that Microsoft commercial marketplace affords you. No additional work is required from you, other than clicking a button. If you’d like to edit after you’ve download, you have the ability to edit, delete, or add slides as needed. Additional fees and benefits represented: The initial release of the marketplace calculator proved so popular that we’ve added more benefits and fees. These can help your team see a 3-year long-range view of fees including renewal fees, operational costs, and deal velocity. With these additions your team can get a clearer picture of how much your business can benefit from selling on the commercial marketplace. Check out the enhanced calculator. How it works The marketplace value calculator, found here, still works with a simple design. Start by choosing your benefits, enter a few pertinent numbers with your chosen revenue model, New: After entering your numbers, click on Optional fields to add more information (to get a more granular picture), After saving, you can click Calculate to see the projections for 3-year totals and by year, Click on Read full report to see a line-item calculation of costs and benefits, New: When you click on Export report, you’re given the choice of a pdf, line-item one-pager, or a Marketplace value presentation. This editable PowerPoint presentation is ready for you to hand off to your team or allows you to edit to add or change what you need. And that’s it, in under 10 minutes, you can have a full business case with data-driven specifics ready for your team to look at! What you’ll get when you use the calculator You still get a strong data-driven business case of working with Microsoft. However, you now have more than just numbers, you have a more robust picture of your business costs to be offset by all the benefits that Microsoft has for your business in offerings. So, what are you waiting for, go use the marketplace value calculator and wow your team today. We look forward to helping you build a more complete picture of how working with Microsoft benefits your business. You can also join ISV Success to get access to over $126K USD in cloud credits, AI services, developer tools, and 1:1 technical consults to help you replicate your app and publish to Azure Marketplace.
