Solutions Partner program FAQs

The partner capability score measures performance, skilling, and customer success. This holistic measurement provides you with flexibility to demonstrate your knowledge, skills, and experience.

The partner contribution indicator is no longer used. Instead, we use a holistic measurement called the partner capability score, which measures performance, skilling, and customer success categories aligned with each solution area. A minimum of 70 points (with points in each category and subcategory) out of a possible 100 points is needed to attain a Solutions Partner designation.

To attain a Solutions Partner designation, you need to earn a minimum of 70 points (with points in each category and subcategory) out of the possible 100 points that are available.

Admins can sign in to the Solutions Partner page in Partner Center to see how their organization is progressing toward the Solutions Partner designation.

Performance and Customer Success subcategories are typically refreshed by the 20th of every month. However, there might be extra minor data refreshes throughout the month.

Skilling subcategories are typically refreshed within 10 days after certification is completed.

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Yes, you can earn partial points in whole increments. For example, if a metric requires three customer adds with a total of 30 total points and you obtain one customer add, you earn 10 of the 30 total points.

If your organization doesn't have the 70 points required to meet the Solutions Partner designation, you can sign into the Solutions Partner page in Partner Center for guidance on how you can improve your score in each of the categories: performance, skilling, and customer success.

To attain a Solutions Partner designation, at least 70 out of a possible 100 points are required. Partners need to have points in all subcategories. The associated Solutions Partner designation becomes the prerequisite for specializations and expert programs. For example, to earn the Calling for Microsoft Teams specialization, a partner would first need to attain the Solutions Partner for Modern Work designation, then meet the specialization requirements, which are otherwise unchanged.

For more information on the requirements, visit the specialization pages on the Microsoft partner website.

No. Specializations and expert programs continue to be a way to further differentiate your organization's deep technical expertise.

Solutions Partner designations are the first opportunity to differentiate your organization's capabilities in delivering customer success. To attain a Solutions Partner designation, at least 70 out of a possible 100 points are required. Partners need to have points in all subcategories. The associated Solutions Partner designation becomes the prerequisite for specializations and expert programs.

For example, to earn the Calling for Microsoft Teams specialization, a partner would first need to attain the Solutions Partner for Modern Work designation, then meet the specialization requirements, which are otherwise unchanged. For more information on the requirements, visit the specialization pages on the Microsoft partner website.

If your organization meets requirements for the Solutions Partner designation, you immediately receive the corresponding customer-facing badge.

On your anniversary date, not beforehand, we check if you still meet the requirements. If you do, you retain the Solutions Partner designation and corresponding badge after paying the annual fee.

We recognize that Solutions Partner designations are primarily for partners providing services, but all partners are welcome to participate in Solutions Partner designations and our broader partner program that offers extra benefits.

For example, new features and functionality are now available to help ISVs sell more with Microsoft through our commercial marketplace. For services partners who focus on small and medium business, there's a path within the Solutions Partner for Modern Work.

The Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program is designed for all partners, including you and your resellers.

• For your resellers: Resellers can join the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program and attain the various designations within it as they align to their organizational goals and priorities. Resellers should refer to all materials and resources in the Training Gallery and Partner Center to learn more about what the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program means for them.
• For your work directly with customers: If in addition to your work as an Indirect Provider, you also have a direct-to-customer business for your services, software solutions, or devices, you can attain the various designations within the partner program as they align to your organizational goals and priorities. Refer to Partner Center and the Training Gallery to learn more about what the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program means for your customer-facing business.
• For your work as an Indirect Provider: To better recognize and support your work within your business model as an Indirect Provider, we're prioritizing planning for a designation that recognizes the skill, capabilities, resources, and support provided by Indirect Providers to the resellers in your channel. We're also exploring avenues for making your reseller scores available to you to help your support and grow your resellers. In your work with your resellers regarding the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program, refer to the materials in the Training Gallery as your primary source of detail, and use Partner Center to review your resellers' scores with them.

The Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program is designed for all partners. Whether you build and sell services, software solutions, or devices, our partner-focused business platform opens the door to the Microsoft ecosystem of resources, tools, and opportunities to support your success on the Microsoft Cloud. To better support any ISV that wants to work with us, we're investing in programs, resources, and initiatives that meet you where you are. For more information, see ISV growth.

ISV Success is open to all ISV partners to help them access benefits to build and publish apps faster, accelerate innovation, and reach more customers. ISV Success includes Marketplace Rewards.

We also have industry designations to differentiate solutions based on partners' demonstrated performance with customers, technical maturity, and customer success. We prioritize industry designations anchored on the Microsoft Industry Clouds and align across the Solutions Partner and ISV programs to help partners further differentiate their organization's capabilities and marketplace offers. To learn more, see Requirements for becoming a Solutions Partner with certified software for Industry AI.

Customers want to work with partners who have the right skills and capabilities to meet their needs, along with demonstrated ability to deliver customer success. The Solutions Partner designations clearly differentiate you from your competition. By attaining a Solutions Partner designation, you demonstrate your commitment to skilling and training and highlight the innovations and successful solutions you're building and delivering that contribute to customers' success.

By attaining Solutions Partner designation, you demonstrate your organization's breadth of capabilities in delivering customer success in the solution area aligned to how Microsoft goes to market. That is valuable for you, because it's where we see customer demand, and where the opportunity is for partners to scale to meet customer needs.

To learn more about the Solutions Partner designations, visit the Microsoft partner website.

You can track your progress toward earning a Solutions Partner designation by signing into Partner Center and navigating to the Solutions Partner page.

The Solutions Partner designations benefits include internal use licenses (IUR) and other familiar benefits such as go-to-market services and resources, support, and more. All Solutions Partner designations include benefits such as marketing, support, and advisory benefits. Each designation also has specific incremental benefits.

To learn more about Solutions Partner benefits, visit the benefits guide on the Microsoft partner website.

Designation badges and benefits are attained on the partner global account (PGA) level, badges, and benefits can be distributed to the partner location accounts (PLAs) that are associated to the PGA. It is at the discretion of the PGA regarding how to distribute benefits to PLAs.

To learn more about the relations between PGA and PLA, see Two levels of MPN partner accounts.

If a partner has multiple PGAs, they can choose to consolidate by following the steps in Merge accounts.

Each solution area has its own customer-facing badge, which indicates the Solutions Partner designation. There's also a Solutions Partner for Microsoft Cloud badge, for partners who attain all six Solutions Partner designations.

Badge use guidelines can be downloaded from Logo Builder; also see Microsoft Trademark and Brand Guidelines. Color and black and white versions of the badging are available for download from Logo Builder in Partner Center once partners attain designations.

The current annual price or cost to attain a Solutions Partner designation is $4,730 USD or equivalent in local currency plus applicable taxes if any. This is aligned to the existing fees to attain a legacy gold competency.

For partners who attain a Solutions Partner designation, the required annual fee is based on the benefits selected and is due at your existing anniversary date (as listed in membership page in Partner Center).

For example, if you choose the Solutions Partner designation benefits, you pay an annual fee of $4,730 USD (or equivalent, local fees vary) aligned to the legacy gold competency fee.

You can choose to attain one Solutions Partner designation, or more, if applicable to your business. Once you attain a Solutions Partner designation, subsequent Solutions Partner designations can be attained, after requirements are met, with no extra fee.

The annual fee for the Solutions Partner designation, regardless of how many designations, is $4,730 USD (or equivalent, as local fees can vary). This amount is aligned to the legacy gold competency fee. If a partner earns subsequent designations, they don't need to pay the fee again.

Solutions Partner designations are anchored on the Microsoft Cloud in six solution areas and are aligned to how Microsoft goes to market. By attaining Solutions Partner designations, you can demonstrate your organization's capabilities in delivering customer success in the solution areas.

This is valuable for you because it's where we see customer demand and where opportunity exists for partners to scale and meet customer needs.

There are six Solutions Partner designations available for partners: Data & AI (Azure), Digital & App Innovation (Azure), Infrastructure (Azure), Business Applications, Modern Work, and Security. Each of these designations aligns to a specific solution area offered by Microsoft.

A Solutions Partner designation helps to identify partners with experience in high-demand Microsoft Cloud solution areas and those who delivered successful customer outcomes. Success measures are customer success, skilling, and performance.

Solutions Partner designations replaced competencies and badges, which are no longer valid as of 2022. To see how the Solutions Partner designations map to legacy silver and gold competencies, see Solutions Partner designations and legacy competencies.

Once you attain a Solutions Partner designation, specializations further validate and differentiate your deep technical experience and expertise.

Specializations demonstrate your ability to deliver project-based services related to specific technical scenarios aligned to the solutions areas, and with how we go to market. Earning a specialization strengthens and differentiates you from your competition in areas with high customer demand. We also have corresponding badges and benefits.

To learn more about specialization benefits, see the specialization overview.

The Solutions Partner designation becomes the first opportunity for you to demonstrate your breadth of skills, knowledge, and set yourself apart from the competition. Once you attain a Solutions Partner designation, you can further differentiate your deep technical expertise and experience with specializations (formerly called advanced specializations) and through the Microsoft Azure Expert Managed Service Provider program.

If you earn a subsequent designation in between anniversary dates, you can access the subsequent benefits immediately. You don't have to wait until your upcoming anniversary date.

The designation is valid until the anniversary date of when the first designation was attained. For example, if a Solutions Partner for Modern Work designation is attained November 2024, and then Business Applications is attained January 2025 and Security in February 2025, all three designations have the same anniversary date of November 2025.

The benefits of the Solutions Partner designation include many of the same benefits that today's competency program partners are accustomed to:

• product benefits (formerly known as IUR), composed of Azure credits
• cloud service subscriptions
• On-premises licenses
• marketing (or go-to-market) benefits
• support and advisory benefits composed of technical presales and deployment services and technical support

Each of six solution partner designations also has specific incremental benefits. Download the license table to understand the distribution of benefits across each solution area.

Eligibility for specializations is based on the Solutions Partner designation you earned. For specializations aligned to more than one Solutions Partner designation, partners need only attain one of the required Solutions Partner designations. For a list of specializations and the corresponding eligible solutions Partner designations, see Use Partner Center to apply for specializations and check their status.