Customer Expansion Opportunity Blocked by Licensing Transition Policy
Where do we get assistance when Partner Support resources are Policy blocked: a { text-decoration: none; color: #464feb; } tr th, tr td { border: 1px solid #e6e6e6; } tr th { background-color: #f5f5f5; } We have a 26-user Financial Services customer in CA currently annual licensed on Microsoft 365 E3. The customer wishes to modernize and expand its Microsoft investment through: Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption Expanded security capabilities Additional Purview workloads SharePoint storage expansion (5TB) Migration from competitor ShareFile to Microsoft 365 The resulting solution increases Microsoft's footprint, strengthens customer security posture, and displaces a competitive platform. However, the customer's economics require transitioning from Microsoft 365 E3 to Microsoft 365 Business Premium. Current guidance received through Partner Support is that E3 to Business Premium represents a downgrade and therefore is not permitted. Business Impact The current position creates a conflict between policy enforcement and customer growth objectives. Without flexibility: Customer may delay adoption of Copilot. ShareFile displacement opportunity is reduced. Microsoft security expansion is reduced. Customer perception of Microsoft licensing flexibility is negatively impacted. With flexibility: Customer remains on Microsoft platform. Security posture improves. Additional Microsoft workloads are adopted. Competitive platform is displaced. Annual Microsoft revenue increases materially. Customer Profile Industry: Financial Services User Count: 26 Eligible for Business Premium user limits Existing Microsoft customer Strategic security and compliance requirements Requested Guidance We are requesting executive review of a licensing path that enables: Transition from E3 to Business Premium. Expansion into Copilot. Expansion into security and compliance workloads. Migration from ShareFile into SharePoint. Our goal is not cost reduction but overall Microsoft platform expansion and improved customer outcomes.Partner Blog | Copilot monetization for SMBs: Convert renewal momentum into wins
Partners serving small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) continue to tell us that customers are excited about AI, but they want clear guidance on what to buy, how to buy it, and how to justify the investment. For partners, this creates a critical opportunity to simplify the path to decision and translate that momentum into measurable wins. This is the third installment in our Copilot series focused on SMB monetization. Earlier posts covered how Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat introduces AI in an approachable way and how Microsoft 365 Copilot Business embeds AI into everyday work, and how agents extend AI into core processes. This month, we are focusing on the moment that matters most: converting interest into action. Stage 3: Empower & Achieve is the inflection point Stage 3 of the Microsoft Customer Engagement Methodology (MCEM), Empower & Achieve, is built for customers approaching a decision point. This is where partners can accelerate deals and create a more predictable path to conversion. As customers evaluate their options, partners can help move them forward by: Bundling Microsoft 365 Copilot Business with Microsoft 365 at renewal or upgrade moments Reducing friction with promotion kits, in-market offers, and CSP incentives Reinforcing value with ROI tools, business case builders, and customer success stories These actions help simplify decision-making while addressing the two things SMB buyers care most about: clarity and confidence. This is also where Customer Zero partners stand out. By sharing first-hand experience with Copilot, partners can bring practical insights into conversations and build the trust customers need to move forward. With the recent announcements on transitioning Microsoft 365 Business with Copilot promotion bundles into two durable SKUs, partners are well positioned to help organizations scale from intent to action, while giving organizations the controls to scale AI responsibly. Stage 3 is also where you can align go-to-market efforts to a repeatable framework. When you consistently apply the Empower & Achieve motion, you can improve conversion at renewal and upgrade moments, strengthen your value story, and create a clear on ramp to ongoing adoption and expansion. Continue reading blog herePatner Case Study | Pax8
From their early days of selling Microsoft licenses to becoming a leading cloud commerce marketplace, Pax8 has always centered their business on the Microsoft partner experience. And their future-focused, partner first approach is redefining what it means to be a modern Cloud Solution Provider (CSP). For Pax8, the next evolution of that role is the Managed Intelligence Provider (MIP)—a partner that moves beyond managing systems to orchestrating intelligence and delivering measurable business outcomes with AI. While Pax8 delivers critical value through the streamlined billing and provisioning of Microsoft licenses, they also know that real business transformation doesn’t happen just because you’ve purchased software—it happens because of everything that comes after the sale. That’s why they invested heavily in enablement, education, and professional services. And that’s why today, they’re successfully cultivating an ecosystem that drives meaningful, scalable growth for partners and customers alike. Grounded in their experience as a member of the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program, Pax8’s approach has changed the trajectories of organizations like Sourcepass, a US-based managed services provider (MSP). Together, Sourcepass and Pax8 are making enterprise-grade AI accessible to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs)—but they’re going beyond traditional deployments. They’re delivering functional, agentic solutions designed to help customers realize value and support recurring service opportunities. Navigating AI adoption in the SMB reality SMBs are under constant pressure to do more with less, and the business outcomes they need the most—efficiency, strong security, scalable growth—are the exact outcomes AI can deliver. But with limited budgets, it’s hard for SMBs to justify the spend without clear proof of value—no matter how interested they might be. “SMBs hear about AI and want to be part of the wave,” said Elliott Eliason, Productivity Solution Consultant at Pax8, “but they don’t want to spend thousands without getting results back.” And once they’ve made an investment in AI, they likely lack the internal resources to operationalize it. That includes preparing data governance, validating security controls, and teaching teams new workflows. For a partner like Sourcepass, who primarily serves SMBs, this means their customers need trusted, strategic advisors who can guide them in turning AI’s potential into tangible outcomes. Continue reading here Explore all case studies or submit your own Subscribe to case studies tag to follow all new case study posts. Don't forget to follow this blog to receive email notifications of new stories!Pitch Maker Agent: Turn Copilot Chat Signals into Microsoft 365 Copilot Deals
Executive Summary Customers are already using free Copilot Chat at scale, but adoption is often ungoverned and disconnected from the Microsoft 365 workloads where measurable productivity and risk controls live. The Pitch Maker Agent (BETA) helps partners convert Partner Center Copilot growth opportunity signals into customer-ready narratives—reducing pitch preparation from days to minutes and improving consistency across stakeholders (replace with your measured baseline). What it enables (partner outcomes) Turn raw usage signals into an executive business case with clear opportunity, risk, and next steps. Standardize value conversations across IT and business buyers while keeping customer context specific. Accelerate conversion from exploration to governed deployment by anchoring on Microsoft 365 workloads. Why it’s different Evidence-led: uses Partner Center Copilot growth opportunities (ASPX) signals rather than generic prompts. Buyer-ready: outputs a structured narrative (not a feature list) designed for executive alignment and action. Inputs required Partner Center Copilot growth opportunities export (all columns) for the target customer. The Opportunity: From AI Exploration to Enterprise Direction The move from free Copilot Chat to Microsoft 365 Copilot is a timing advantage: customers have intent and familiarity, but need a governed path that ties AI to real work in Teams, Outlook, Excel, and beyond. Advisory gap: translate usage metrics into business insight executives can fund. Governance gap: balance opportunity with security, compliance, and lifecycle controls. Workflow gap: connect AI usage to measurable outcomes inside Microsoft 365 workloads. How the Agent Works (BETA) The Agent follows a simple, repeatable flow to generate an executive-ready pitch narrative from Partner Center Copilot growth opportunity signals. See the agent in action below. In three steps Upload the Partner Center Copilot growth opportunities export (all columns). Run the Agent to translate usage signals into a customer-specific executive narrative. Use the generated business case, recommendations, and next steps in the customer conversation. What the Output Enables Translate Partner Center signals into a fundable business case, faster. Improve executive alignment by presenting opportunity, risk, and plan in one narrative. Increase repeatability across accounts with a consistent structure and messaging. The figure below illustrates how the Agent turns usage signals into a concise, executive-ready pitch narrative and action plan. Figure 1. From Copilot Chat signals to an executive pitch narrative and next-step plan. For customers, the conversation shifts from features to outcomes—clear productivity impact, role-based change, and risk-aware governance. Deployment and Execution The Agent is delivered as a solution package and deployed through Copilot Studio with a straightforward publish-and-run flow. Prepare Partner Center ASPX export (all columns) and validate sensitivity labels. Import the solution package into Copilot Studio. Verify dependencies, publish the Agent, and enable access in Microsoft 365 Copilot and Teams. Run the guided pitch flow by uploading customer data and capturing the narrative output. The run guide provides step-by-step visuals for data preparation, import, publication, and how to use the output in customer conversations. Why This Matters for Partner Practices The Pitch Maker Agent (BETA) supports a repeatable value motion: identify opportunity, align stakeholders, and move customers from experimentation to governed Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption. Higher conversion: clearer executive rationale anchored in evidence and outcomes. Lower effort: less time drafting, more time on discovery and delivery. Better governance: built-in prompts to address risk, readiness, and controls early. Call to Action This week: 15-minute start Locate the solution package and run guide in the Agent folder. Deploy the Agent in Copilot Studio and publish to Microsoft 365 Copilot/Teams. Export Partner Center Copilot growth opportunities data and validate sensitivity labels. Upload the dataset and generate a customer-specific executive pitch narrative. Resources Helpful links to learn more and access supporting materials: Partner Center Copilot growth opportunities data GitHub repository Overview: Run guidePartner Blog | Partner-led momentum, broader availability for SMB: Microsoft 365 Business with Copilot
Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are entering a new phase of AI adoption. It is no longer defined by experimentation. It is about moving from individual use cases to everyday, scalable impact as organizations move toward Frontier Transformation. Recent findings from the 2026 Work Trend Index Annual Report reinforce what many partners are already seeing with customers. 58% of AI users say they are already producing work they couldn’t a year ago, and 66% report spending more time on higher-value work as AI takes on execution. For partners serving SMB customers, this marks a clear inflection point. The opportunity is to move beyond access to AI and focus on empowering SMBs to scale and operationalize it by simplifying buying conversations, driving more predictable renewals, and building on existing services around AI-powered productivity and secure operations. These trends are already starting to be reflected across our partner ecosystem. In December, we introduced Microsoft 365 Copilot Business to streamline AI adoption for SMBs and support a clearer partner-led motion. Partners who were early adopters validated strong and growing demand. This momentum signals a broader shift in how work is evolving. AI delivers the most value when it is embedded in the everyday flow of work and surrounded with the right security, governance, and business context built in from day one. SMB customers want a straightforward buying experience, predictable renewals, and a consistent way to deploy across users and locations without adding complexity. Building on that momentum, we are evolving our approach to unlock more partner-led opportunities with new SKUs built for the way SMB customers buy and renew. They give partners an always-on offer that can be standardized across accounts and carried confidently into renewal conversations. What is launching on July 1 Starting July 1, 2026, we are transitioning the promotional bundles into two durable SKUs, available at the current promotional price point, giving partners a more consistent and scalable way to drive adoption and renewal opportunities with customers. Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Copilot: $23.50/user/month 1 (1–300 seats, annual subscription with annual billing) Microsoft 365 Business Premium with Copilot: $32/user/month (1–300 seats, annual subscription with annual billing) We are also launching a new 25% promotional offer on Microsoft 365 Business Basic plus Microsoft 365 Copilot Business ($21/user/month, 1–300 seats, for annual subscription with annual billing), available through December 31, 2026. This provides a clear entry point for Business Basic customers who would like to get started with Copilot. In addition, the current 15% promotional offer on Microsoft 365 Copilot Business ($18/user/month, 1–300 seats, for annual subscription with annual billing) has also been extended through December 31, 2026, providing partners with more opportunities to scale AI adoption and build pipeline. We encourage partners to lead with Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Copilot or Business Premium with Copilot as integrated offerings for productivity, AI, and security, designed to support partner-led SMB conversations. Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard, and Premium also remain available as standalone plans for customers who prefer to purchase Copilot separately. This gives you flexibility to meet customers where they are. Continue reading hereHelp Shape the Future of Microsoft Teams for Small and Medium Businesses
Have you ever wished Microsoft Teams worked just a little better for the way your SMB customers run their business? Maybe you've thought: “It would be great if Teams could do this…” “This workflow would be so much simpler if…” “Why isn’t there a feature for…?” Now’s your chance to directly influence what comes next. Microsoft is inviting Small and Medium Business (SMB) partners to join the Teams SMB Partner Advisory Council (PAC) — a simple, low-effort way to share real-world feedback with the product team and help shape the Teams roadmap for SMB customers. What is Teams SMB PAC? Our Teams SMB Partner Advisory Council (PAC) brings together a Microsoft partners who: Work with SMB customers implementing Teams Have insights into the challenges SMBs face when adopting collaboration tools Want to help improve the products they rely on Through monthly virtual sessions, participants get the opportunity to: ✅ Preview upcoming features and improvements ✅ Provide feedback during early stages of product development ✅ Share what’s working well — and what isn’t ✅ Highlight real-world business scenarios that should be better supported ✅ Influence priorities for SMB-focused innovation in Teams This isn’t a sales call or a support channel — it’s a direct line to the Teams product team. What’s the Commitment? We know you are busy. That’s why participation is designed to be: Flexible – Virtual meetings combined with async conversation Low effort – No prep required for most sessions Conversational – Small-group discussions, not presentations Most sessions are informal and focused on understanding how Microsoft can better support you and your SMB customers. Your input helps ensure we build features that reflect how SMBs actually work — not just how software assumes they do. Why Join? Participants often tell us that one of the biggest benefits of joining the PAC is the opportunity to: Get early visibility into what’s coming next Understand where Teams development is headed Provide feedback that directly reaches the team building the product Help shape experiences that impact SMB customers worldwide Your perspective matters — and it can directly shape the future of Teams for SMB. Trusted by partners across regions including EMEA, APAC, and North America. Interested in Participating? If you'd like to be considered for the Microsoft Teams SMB Partner Advisory Council, simply fill out this short interest form: 👉 Express your interest to join the Teams SMB Advisory Board Once submitted, our team will review your response and follow up with more information on next steps.AI Is the Headline — but Readiness Is the Real Story for MSPs
AI is everywhere right now. Customers are asking about Copilot. They’re curious about automation. They want faster, smarter ways to work. And on the surface, it all feels exciting—and urgent. But when you spend time with MSPs, a different story often emerges. Behind the AI curiosity are environments that aren’t quite ready. Devices are managed inconsistently. Identity hygiene varies by tenant. Security baselines drift over time. And for MSPs, holding all of this together manually—customer by customer—simply doesn’t scale. That gap between AI ambition and operational reality is becoming one of the most important conversations MSPs can have today. Why AI Success Still Comes Down to the Basics AI doesn’t fail because of a lack of innovation. It fails because the fundamentals aren’t in place. Without secure identities, compliant devices, and consistent policies, AI initiatives struggle to move beyond pilots—or worse, introduce new risk. That’s why so many Copilot conversations eventually circle back to the same question: Are we actually ready for this? This is where MSPs play a defining role. Not as AI hype merchants, but as partners who help customers build the foundation that makes AI practical, secure, and sustainable. At the center of that foundation sits Microsoft Intune. Microsoft Intune: Essential, but How Do You Scale? Microsoft Intune is already included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium. Many customers own it. Many MSPs support it. Yet adoption and consistency remain uneven. The challenge isn’t Intune itself—it’s the operational model. Managing Intune tenant by tenant, navigating multiple portals, and maintaining consistency across customers creates friction for MSPs. It’s time‑consuming, error‑prone, and difficult to turn into a repeatable service. And yet, Intune is critical. It’s the control plane for users, devices, access, and security—everything AI depends on to work safely at scale. Without Intune done right, AI readiness remains theoretical. Why the Partnership Matters: Microsoft Intune and AvePoint Elements This is why our partnership with Microsoft matters so much. Microsoft Intune provides the foundation. AvePoint Elements makes it scalable for MSPs. AvePoint Elements acts as the MSP operating layer on top of Intune—helping partners standardize, automate, and manage Intune across multiple customer tenants from a single platform. For MSPs, that translates into something very tangible: Less manual effort and portal hopping Consistent Intune baselines across customers Automated user and device lifecycle management Reduced drift, better efficiency, and healthier margins Instead of Intune being “work you absorb,” it becomes something you can package, repeat, and build a business around. From One‑Time Setup to Ongoing Value What we’re seeing with leading MSPs is a mindset shift. Intune is no longer treated as a one‑off deployment. It becomes a managed service—part of a broader story around security, governance, and AI readiness. That might mean standardized Intune onboarding, continuous device and identity hygiene, or positioning Copilot readiness as an ongoing engagement rather than a project. The outcome is powerful and familiar to MSPs who’ve made this transition before: Predictable recurring revenue Operational scale without linear headcount growth Stronger customer trust A clear path from security to AI enablement The Moment for MSPs Customers don’t just want access to AI. They want confidence that it’s being deployed responsibly. MSPs who can provide that confidence—by grounding AI adoption in strong Intune foundations—will stand out in the next phase of the market. That’s exactly what the partnership between Microsoft Intune and AvePoint Elements is designed to enable. A Note for MSP Partners If you’re an MSP thinking about how to: Scale Microsoft Intune delivery Reduce operational friction And turn AI readiness into a repeatable service This is a conversation worth leaning into now. Because in the age of AI, the partners who win won’t just deploy new tools—they’ll make them work in the real world. Join us for “From Copilot to Catalyst: How MSPs Turn AI Readiness Into Recurring Revenue” and explore how Microsoft Intune and AvePoint Elements work better together—helping you turn AI readiness into real, sustainable growth.From Copilot to Catalyst: How MSPs Turn AI Readiness Into Recurring Revenue
AI interest is surging—but most customers aren’t ready to scale it securely or successfully. Gaps in device management, identity hygiene, data governance, and operational consistency often stall AI initiatives before they deliver real value. For Managed Service Providers, this challenge creates a powerful opportunity. In this webinar, you’ll learn how MSPs are using Microsoft Intune as the foundation for helping manage and secure devices, and extending it with AvePoint Confidence Platform: Elements Edition to standardize, automate, and scale AI-ready environments across customer tenants. Together, they enable MSPs to move beyond one-off AI projects and deliver AI readiness as a repeatable, revenue-generating managed service. This session focuses on turning AI demand—starting with Copilot—into a long-term services motion that improves margins, reduces operational friction, and positions your MSP as a trusted AI partner. In this webinar, you will learn how to: Turn AI readiness into recurring revenue Learn how MSPs are packaging AI readiness—starting with Copilot—into repeatable, high-margin managed services customers renew and expand. Scale securely without adding overhead See how Microsoft Intune, extended with AvePoint Confidence Platform: Elements Edition, enables standardized, automated delivery across multiple customer tenants. Move from AI pilots to real outcomes Get a practical blueprint to replace one-off AI projects with scalable services that position your MSP as a trusted AI partner. Register now: From Copilot to Catalyst: How MSPs Turn AI Readiness Into Recurring RevenueMicrosoft Partners: Accelerate Your AI Journey at AgentCon 2026 (Free Community Event)
Recently, a customer asked me a question many Microsoft partners are hearing right now: “We have Copilot — how do we actually use AI to change the way we work?” That question captures where we are in the AI journey today. Organizations have moved past curiosity. Now they’re looking for trusted partners who can turn AI into real business outcomes. That’s why events like AgentCon 2026 matter. A free, community-led event built by practicioners AgentCon is not a traditional conference. It’s a free, community-driven global event organized by the Global AI Community together with Microsoft partners and ecosystem leaders. Simply put: it’s for the community, by the community. Across cities worldwide, developers, consultants, architects, and Microsoft partners come together to share practical experiences building with AI agents, Copilot, and the Microsoft platform. The focus isn’t theory — it’s implementation: What worked What didn’t What partners can apply immediately with customers This peer learning model reflects how many of us actually grow in the Microsoft ecosystem: by learning from other partners solving real problems. Why this matters for Microsoft partners The opportunity for partners is evolving quickly. Customers aren’t just asking about AI tools — they’re asking how to redesign processes, automate work, and unlock productivity using AI-powered solutions. The Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program emphasizes partner skilling and helping customers realize value from AI investments. Community events like AgentCon accelerate that learning by bringing partners together to exchange proven approaches and practical insights. When partners upskill faster, customers succeed faster. Why attend AgentCon is designed to help partners move from AI awareness to AI delivery. As an attendee, you can expect: Practical sessions and demos from practitioners Real-world AI and agent scenarios Direct conversations with builders and peers New collaboration and co-sell opportunities You’ll leave with ideas and approaches you can bring directly into customer engagements. Why speak AgentCon thrives because partners share openly with one another. If you’ve implemented Copilot, explored AI agents, or learned lessons from customer deployments, your experience can help others accelerate their journey. Speaking at AgentCon allows you to: Share your expertise with the global partner community Build credibility within the Microsoft ecosystem Create new partnerships and opportunities Contribute to collective partner success You don’t need a perfect story — just an honest one others can learn from. Join the global AgentCon community AgentCon 2026 events takes place around the world including these upcoming events: March 9 - New York: https://aka.ms/AgentconNYC2026 April 11 - Hong Kong: https://aka.ms/AgentconHongKong2026 April 16 - Seoul: https://aka.ms/agentconLondon2026 April 22 - London: https://aka.ms/agentconSeoul2026 Each event is locally organized, community-led, and free to attend. Help shape the next phase of AI adoption AI transformation is happening now — and Microsoft partners play a critical role in guiding customers forward. AgentCon is an opportunity to learn together, share experiences, and strengthen the partner ecosystem driving AI innovation. 👉 Register or apply to speak: https://aka.ms/agentcon2026 We hope you’ll join us — and be part of the community helping customers turn AI potential into real impact.Partner Blog | Copilot monetization for SMBs: Start with Copilot Chat, scale with agents
This post kicks off a five-part series for Microsoft partners on the Copilot monetization opportunity for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Each post follows a repeatable approach aligned to the Microsoft Customer Engagement Methodology (MCEM) and the Win Formula—from building credibility as Customer Zero to driving adoption and measurable outcomes, then extending value with agents and specializations. If you’re looking for practical ways to turn your customers’ AI interest into secure, scalable outcomes and repeatable revenue, you’re in the right place. SMBs want proof, not hype. They want an AI path that fits how they work today, stays governed, and delivers results. SMBs are the backbone of the global economy, accounting for 90% of all firms with around 400 million enterprises worldwide, according to the World Economic Forum’s SME Resource Hub. At the same time, 82% of leaders are rethinking core aspects of their strategy and operations, under constant pressure to do more with less. That combination is driving a shift from AI curiosity to AI decisions. Continue reading here
