Join SQL Modernization Day on October 20, 2026, to explore Azure SQL migration, AI apps, and new modernization tools for customers.
Help your customers modernize SQL: Join the SQL Modernization Day livestream on Oct 20. Your customers’ SQL Server estates are ready for their next move, and SQL Modernization Day can help you guide them there. Join the Microsoft SQL team for a no-cost, half-day livestream on Microsoft Reactor on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, from 9:00 AM–1:00 PM PT. Across eight sessions, you’ll explore: The full modernization path: moving SQL Server to Azure SQL, Azure SQL Managed Instance, Azure Virtual Machines, and SQL database in Microsoft Fabric. Building AI apps once customers land in Azure. The new SQL modernization agent, in public preview, delivered as skills that plug into any interface that supports skills, starting with GitHub Copilot CLI and Visual Studio Code. Expanded Azure Arc migration, in public preview, to migrate multiple instances at once to Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Database Hyperscale, or Azure SQL Managed Instance. With SQL Server 2016 now out of support, this is a timely resource to share with customers still running it. Register today and invite your customers to join you. If you can’t make it live, every session will be available on YouTube after the event. Disclaimer: The SQL modernization agent and multi-instance Azure Arc migration to Azure SQL Database and Hyperscale are in public preview. Preview features are subject to change and may have limited availability. Agenda and speakers are subject to change. Participation is subject to the Microsoft Reactor Code of Conduct, linked on the registration page. Register for the livestreamPartner Blog | Attain the skills to scale AI innovation and customer impact
Customers are extending Copilot, agents, and intelligent applications across more teams, workflows, and business processes. As adoption grows, customers need partners who can connect these capabilities with the data, cloud infrastructure, and governance required to deliver value at scale. For Microsoft partners, this creates opportunities across the customer lifecycle. Sales teams need the expertise to identify and position AI solutions, technical teams must design secure, integrated architectures, and delivery teams need the skills to implement, manage, and optimize solutions as customer requirements evolve. Building on August's foundational AI skilling and September's focus on customer execution, October brings new opportunities to deepen expertise across Copilot, agents, data, and cloud modernization. This month's learning journeys, live events, and resources give partners practical ways to build team capabilities, and partner benefits packages help put those skills to work. With discounted Microsoft product licenses, Azure credits, and technical consultations, teams can practice on the same technologies they deliver to customers. Expand Copilot and agent capabilities Role-based learning journeys provide sales, technical, and delivery teams with the knowledge to position solutions, guide adoption, and deliver implementations across enterprise and small and medium-sized business (SMB) customers. Build Copilot expertise across customer segments Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption creates opportunities for partners to guide customers from initial deployment to broader use across their organizations. For enterprise customers, the Copilot Learning Journey (Sales Ready) prepares sales teams to identify opportunities and position Microsoft 365 Copilot, while the Copilot Learning Journey (Project Ready) develops the technical skills to implement and extend solutions. Partners serving SMB customers can follow tailored paths through the Copilot SMB Learning Journey (Sales Ready) and Copilot SMB Learning Journey (Project Ready), building the commercial and technical expertise to address the needs of smaller organizations. Starting at just $350/year, partner benefits packages make it easier to apply these journeys inside the business first. Partner Success Expanded Benefits includes Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses and a monthly Copilot Credit capacity pack for Microsoft Copilot Studio, so teams can build hands-on experience with deployment, adoption, and cost governance before leading customer projects. Continue reading herePartner Blog | Build. Monetize. Scale. Frontier Accelerate for Marketplace launches to power software companies on Microsoft Marketplace
For software development companies building the next generation of AI-powered apps and agents on the Microsoft Cloud, getting a solution ready for customers is only part of the commercial journey. Publishing, becoming transactable, reaching customers, aligning with Microsoft sellers, and building Marketplace momentum all require different resources as their business progresses. Today, we are announcing the availability of Frontier Accelerate for Marketplace, a new Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program experience that brings those resources into one connected journey, while providing updated benefits and additional value. The experience follows three stages: Build & Publish, where partners prepare their solutions for Microsoft Marketplace and transactability; Grow, where they turn Marketplace presence into customer acquisition, transactions, and early commercial momentum; and Differentiate, where they build on established Marketplace performance through deeper go-to-market engagement, benefits, and opportunities to further differentiate their solution. As partners progress, a unified Partner Center experience connects guidance, skilling, Marketplace resources, and milestone-based benefits to the stage their business has reached. Eligible partners can choose the level of engagement that fits their strategy: The no-cost experience provides self-service tools, guidance, skilling, and milestone-based benefits that expand as partners progress through the Marketplace journey and meet applicable performance milestones. Frontier Accelerate for Marketplace Premium is available for a fee and adds deeper Microsoft engagement and investment across the journey. Eligible Premium partners can access up to $30,000 in Azure sponsorship for eligible build and test activities, along with technical consultations and a named engagement manager. 1 As they move into growth, Premium partners also receive customer propensity scoring, immediate access to Partner Marketing Center Pro, and additional go-to-market guidance and benefits. Both experiences follow the same Build & Publish, Grow, and Differentiate journey, giving partners the flexibility to choose the level of guidance and investment that fits their business. Continue reading herePartner Blog | Build the skills to turn AI opportunity into customer execution
Customers are moving from AI interest to implementation. They want to understand where AI can create meaningful business value, which solutions fit the opportunity, and how to deploy, secure, govern, and scale those solutions with confidence. For partners, readiness now must extend across the customer journey. Sales teams need the skills to identify and position the right opportunity. Technical teams need the depth to design it. Delivery teams need practical experience to turn a promising AI conversation into a successful customer project. Building that capability takes time and investment, and you do not have to fund it alone. One of the best ways to get skilling is through partner benefits packages: bundled, discounted offerings of licenses, credits, and support that help your teams skill, build, and grow faster. Pair the learning journeys below with the benefits your organization is eligible for, and training turns into customer-ready delivery in the same quarter. This month’s skilling opportunities connect those capabilities. Whether you are building a Microsoft Copilot practice, expanding into agents, serving small and medium-sized business (SMB) customers, or developing deeper Frontier Transformation engineering expertise, the goal is the same: build skills you can apply in your next customer engagement. Build Copilot and Cowork skills around the customer opportunity Microsoft 365 Copilot Cowork creates new opportunities to connect AI with the work customers need to get done. For partners, the starting point is the customer scenario: where could delegated, AI-powered work create value, and what skills does your team need to take that opportunity from conversation to implementation? Continue reading herePartner Blog | Plan today, grow tomorrow: Turn partner investments into sustained demand
The customer journey is changing, and partners have more opportunities to influence technology decisions across it. But taking advantage of those opportunities requires more than individual campaigns or one-time investments. Recent Omdia research maps 28 critical presales touchpoints, with additional customer success opportunities after the sale. Yet 62% of partners surveyed invest 10% or less of their marketing budgets in demand generation. For FY27, we see three areas that can reinforce one another: build the expertise customers increasingly expect, invest in sustained demand generation around the challenges they need to solve, and apply those capabilities to opportunities such as Microsoft Copilot and Frontier Transformation. 1. Build the expertise customers increasingly expect As AI becomes part of more business decisions and processes, customers are looking for partners that can connect technology to specific industries, workflows, and business challenges. That makes skilling a business investment. Marketing teams need enough technical and industry fluency to communicate value clearly. Sales and presales teams need to connect customer priorities to solutions. Technical teams need the depth to design and deliver them, while customer success teams need the expertise to drive adoption and identify opportunities to extend value. Start with the customer opportunities you want to pursue, then identify where your teams need greater depth. The Microsoft Partner Skilling Hub provides partner-focused learning across Microsoft Cloud solution areas, roles, and technical certifications. For partners that have earned co-op, eligible Partner AI Adoption activities may also provide an opportunity to build AI capability within your own organization. Applying AI and agents to your internal workflows can give your teams practical experience that strengthens customer conversations. Review the current Microsoft Commercial Partner Incentives Guide for applicable eligibility and requirements. 2. Invest in sustained demand generation around customer challenges Expertise creates more value when customers can discover it throughout their buying journey. Omdia's research shows that buyers use sources ranging from AI tools and search engines to social media, events, peer groups, partners, review sites, and digital marketplaces. A single webinar, email, or paid activation is unlikely to carry that entire journey. That makes isolated tactics less effective than a connected program that builds relevance and trust over time. Continue reading here
