Solutions Partner for Data & AI, Infrastructure, and Digital & App Innovation
Appropriate roles: Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program partner admin
This article describes the Microsoft Solutions Partner program for all three areas of Azure:
- Data & AI
- Infrastructure
- Digital & App Innovation
Each of those three areas has its own, separate Microsoft Solutions Partner designation. To earn the Microsoft Solutions Partner designation for one of those Azure areas, your partner capability score must meet the qualification requirements for that area. Your scores for Performance, Skilling, and Customer success, which are measured automatically, determine your eligibility.
- There are common requirements and thresholds for metrics in the Performance and Customer Success categories.
- There are separate certification requirements in the Skilling category.
To attain a Solutions Partner designation, you must:
- Earn a minimum of 70 points.
- Have one or more points for each of the following five metrics:
- Performance
- Skilling: intermediate certifications
- Skilling: advanced certifications
- Customer success: usage growth
- Customer success: deployments
The following sections describe these requirements and metrics in detail.
Your partner capability score calculates from data already recorded in Partner Center. You can track your progress toward attaining a Solutions Partner for any of the three solution areas by using the information in this article.
Qualification track classification
Microsoft classifies your organization as either Enterprise or Small and Medium Business (SMB) based on revenue and customer base.
You're classified as SMB, if your organization's total Azure Consumed Revenue (ACR) over the last 12 months is less than USD 1 million AND more than 80% of your customers are under the SMB segment. Otherwise, you're classified as Enterprise.
For the ACR calculation, the following Partner association types determine the sum of ACR over the last 12 months, across the entire customer base:
- CSP (CSP Tier 1, CSP Tier 2)
- Digital Partner of Record (DPOR)
- Partner Admin Link (PAL)
The latest month's data determines the Customer base calculation. This screenshot shows you an example qualification track.
Note
The points a partner earns can differ based on the Qualification Track classification. Performance and Skilling thresholds are different for Enterprise versus SMB.
Performance
The Performance category measures your organization's ability to increase the number of customers who use Azure services and workloads. The Net customer adds metric is the only metric in the Performance category.
Net customer adds
Scoring:
Each net new customer contributes 10 points, up to a maximum of 30 points.
Calculation:
Net customers added = (Eligible Customers last month) – (Eligible Customers same month last year)
*Eligible Customers:
Enterprise
Eligible customers: The number of unique customer tenants contributing at least USD1,000 Azure Consumed Revenue (ACR) in one of the last two months from eligible Azure services associated with eligible offers for specific partner association types.
SMB
Eligible customers: The number of unique customer tenants contributing at least USD500 Azure Consumed Revenue (ACR) in atleastat least one of the last two months from eligible Azure services associated with eligible offers for specific partner association types.
- Eligible workloads: All Azure Service Level 2 services are eligible workloads. (Workload eligibility is subject to change. Check frequently to ensure that you have the latest workload eligibility information.) For the list of Azure services bundled at Second-highest level, see Directory of Azure Cloud service. For example, find Azure Machine Learning in the section AI + Machine Learning.
- Eligible offers: All offers are eligible except Support, Internal, Benefit Program, and Trial.
- Eligible association types: CSP (CSP Tier 1 and CSP Tier 2), Digital Partner of Record (DPOR), Partner Admin Link (PAL)
Skilling
The skilling category uses the number of certified persons in an organization as a measure of partner capabilities and skills.
There are two metrics in this category:
The required certifications are different for each of the three Azure areas, as described in the following sections.
Intermediate certifications
Here are the intermediate certifications requirements.
Data & AI
Enterprise
Scoring formula:
- Each certified individual contributes up to four points.
- Your organization can earn up to a maximum of 40 points from 10 individuals who meet the following certification requirements.
Score calculation:
To earn points for this metric, follow these steps:
Step 1: Required certifications:
- At least two people must complete the Azure Administrator Associate certification.
- Completing this step doesn't earn points but it's mandatory before points are awarded in step 3.
Step 2: Required certifications:
- At least two people must complete the Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification.
- Completing this step doesn't earn points but it's mandatory before points are awarded in step 3.
Step 3: Other certifications:
- Certified individuals (the same or different people as in step 1 or step 2) must complete at least one of the following certifications:
- Azure Database Administrator Associate
- Azure AI Engineer Associate
- Azure Data Scientist Associate
- Azure Data Engineer Associate
- Data Analyst Associate
- Dynamics 365 Customer Insights (Data) Specialty
- Azure Cosmos DB Developer Specialty
- Each certified individual adds up to four points in step 3.
Important Considerations:
- Steps 1 and 2 are mandatory: You must complete step 1 and step 2 before earning any points in step 3.
- Individuals can be counted across steps. A person can count toward multiple steps, but only once per step.
Examples:
Example 1:
- Step 1: Two people complete the Azure Administrator Associate certification, but you don't earn any points.
- Step 2: Three people complete step 2, earning 12 points.
- Step 3: Two people complete Azure Solutions Architect Certification, but you don't earn any points.
- Total points = 12.
Example 2:
- Step 1: Two people complete the Azure Administrator Associate certification, but you don't earn any points.
- Step 2: Two people, the same two, complete Azure Solutions Architect Certification, but you don't earn any points.
- Step 3: Two people, the same two, complete step 3, earning eight points.
- Total points = 8.
Example 3:
- Step 1: Two people complete the Azure Administrator Associate certification, but you don't earn any points.
- Step 2: No individual completes Azure Solutions Architect Certification.
- Step 3: Two people complete step 3.
- Total points = 0 because step 2 wasn't completed.
Example 4:
- Step 1: One person completes the Azure Administrator Associate certification.
- Step 2: Two people complete Azure Solutions Architect Certification, but you don't earn any points.
- Step 3: Two people complete step 3.
- Total points = 0 because step 1 wasn't completed. At least two people must complete the certification.
SMB
Scoring:
- Each certified individual earns four points.
- You can earn up to 40 points from 10 certified individuals.
Score calculation
To earn points for this metric, follow these steps:
Step 1: Required certifications:
- At least one person must complete the Azure Administrator Associate certification.
- Completing this step earns four points, even if more than one person completes it.
Step 2 Required certifications:
- At least one person must complete the Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification.
- Completing this step earns four points, even if more than one person completes it.
Step 3: Other certifications:
- Certified individuals (the same or different people as in step 1 or step 2) must complete at least one of the following certifications:
- Azure Database Administrator Associate
- Azure AI Engineer Associate
- Azure Data Scientist Associate
- Azure Data Engineer Associate
- Data Analyst Associate
- Dynamics 365 Customer Insights (Data) Specialty
- Azure Cosmos DB Developer Specialty
- Each certified individual adds up to four points in step 3
Important Considerations:
- Steps 1 and 2 are mandatory: You must complete step 1 and step 2 before earning any points in step 3.
- Cap on step 1 total points: No matter how many people complete step 1, you earn a maximum of four points.
- Cap on step 2 points: No matter how many people complete step 2, you earn a maximum of four points.
- Individuals can be counted across steps. A person can count toward multiple steps, but only once per step.
Examples
Example 1:
- Step 1: Two people complete the Azure Administrator Associate certification, but you earn four points due to the cap.
- Step 2: Two people complete Azure Solutions Architect Certification, but you earn four points due to the cap.
- Step 3: Three people complete step 2, earning 12 points.
- Total points = 20.
Example 2:
- Step 1: Two people complete the Azure Administrator Associate certification, but you earn four points due to the cap.
- Step 2: Two people, the same two, complete Azure Solutions Architect Certification, but you earn four points due to the cap.
- Step 3: Two people, the same two, complete step 3, earning eight points.
- Total points = 16.
Example 3:
- Step 1: Two people complete the Azure Administrator Associate certification, but you earn four points due to the cap
- Step 2: No individual complete Azure Solutions Architect Certification
- Step 3: Two people complete Step 3
- Total points = 4 because only step 1 counts. Step 2 wasn't completed so you get no points for step 3.
Example 4:
- Step 1: No individual completes the Azure Administrator Associate certification.
- Step 2: No individual completes Azure Solutions Architect Certification.
- Step 3: Two people complete step 3.
- Total points = 0 because steps 1 and 2 weren't completed.
Digital & App Innovation
Step 1: Required certifications:
Enterprise:
Scoring:
- Each certified individual contributes up to four points.
- Your organization can earn up to a maximum of 20 points from five individuals who meet the following certification requirements.
Score Calculation
To earn points for this metric, follow these steps:
Step 1: Required certifications:
- At least two people must complete the Azure Administrator Associate certification.
- Completing this step doesn't earn points but it's mandatory before points are awarded for step 2.
Step 2: Other certifications:
- Certified individuals (the same or different people as in step 1) must complete at least one of the following certifications:
- Azure Developer Associate
- Power Platform Developer Associate
- Each certified individual adds up to four points in step 2.
Important Considerations:
- Step 1 is mandatory: You must complete step 1 before earning any points in step 2.
- Individuals can be counted across steps. A person can count toward both steps, but only once per step.
Examples:
Example 1:
- Step 1: Two people complete the Azure Administrator Associate certification, but you don't earn any points.
- Step 2: Two people complete step 2, earning eight points.
- Step 3: Three people complete step 2, earning 12 points.
- Total points = 20.
Example 2:
- Step 1: Two people complete the Azure Administrator Associate certification, but you don't earn any points.
- Step 2: Same two people (or different people) complete step 2, earning eight points.
- Total points = 8.
Example 3:
- Step 1: One person completes the Azure Administrator Associate certification.
- Step 2: Two people complete step 2.
- Total points = 0 because step 1 wasn't completed.
SMB
Scoring:
- Each certified individual contributes up to four points.
- Your organization can earn up to a maximum of 20 points from five individuals who meet the following certification requirements.
Score Calculation
To earn points for this metric, follow these steps:
Step 1: Required certifications:
- At least one person must complete the Azure Administrator Associate certification.
- Completing this step earns four points, even if more than one person completes it.
Step 2: Other certifications:
- Certified individuals (the same or different people as in step 1) must complete at least one of the following certifications:
- Azure Developer Associate
- Power Platform Developer Associate
- Each certified individual adds up to four points in step 2.
Important Considerations:
- Step 1 is mandatory: You must complete step 1 before earning any points in step 2.
- Cap on step 1 total points: No matter how many people complete step 1, you earn a maximum of four points.
- Individuals can be counted across steps. A person can count toward both steps, but only once per step.
Examples:
Example 1:
- Step 1: Two people complete the Azure Administrator Associate certification, but you earn four points due to the cap.
- Step 2: Two people complete step 2, earning eight points.
- Total points = 12.
Example 2:
- Step 1: Two people complete the Azure Administrator Associate certification, earning four points.
- Step 2: Same two people (or different people) complete step 2, earning eight points.
- Total points = 12.
Example 3:
- Step 1: One person completes the Azure Administrator Associate certification, earning four points.
- Step 2: Two people complete step 2, earning eight points.
- Total points = 12.
Example 4:
- Step 1: No individual completes the Azure Administrator Associate certification.
- Step 2: Two people complete step 2.
- Total points = 0 because step 1 wasn't completed.
Infrastructure
Enterprise
Scoring:
- Each certified individual contributes up to four points.
- Your organization can earn up to a maximum of 20 points from five individuals who meet the following certification requirements.
Score Calculation:
To earn points for this metric, follow these steps:
Step 1: Required certifications:
- At least two people must complete the Azure Administrator Associate certification.
- Completing this step doesn't earn points but it's mandatory before points are awarded for step 2.
Step 2: Other certifications:
- Certified individuals (the same or different people as in step 1) must complete at least one of the following certifications:
- Azure Network Engineer Associate
- Azure Stack Hub Operator Associate*
- Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate
- Each certified individual adds up to four points in step 2.
- *This certification retired on July 31, 2023. It remains eligible for partner capability score points through July 2024.
Important Considerations:
- Step 1 is mandatory. You must complete step 1 before earning any points in step 2.
- Individuals can be counted across steps. A person can count toward both steps, but only once per step.
Examples:
Example 1:
- Step 1: Two people complete the Azure Administrator Associate certification, but you don't earn any points.
- Step 2: Two people complete step 2, earning eight points.
- Total points = 8.
Example 2:
- Step 1: Two people complete the Azure Administrator Associate certification, but you don't earn any points.
- Step 2: Same two people (or different people) complete step 2, earning eight points.
- Total points = 8.
Example 3:
- Step 1: One person completes the Azure Administrator Associate certification.
- Step 2: Two people complete step 2.
- Total points = 0 because step 1 wasn't completed.
SMB
Scoring:
- Each certified individual contributes up to four points.
- Your organization can earn up to a maximum of 20 points from five individuals who meet the following certification requirements.
Score Calculation
To earn points for this metric, follow these steps:
Step 1: Required certifications:
- At least one person must complete the Azure Administrator Associate certification.
- Completing this step earns four points, even if more than one person completes it.
Step 2: Other certifications:
- Certified individuals (the same or different people as in step 1) must complete at least one of the following certifications:
- Azure Network Engineer Associate
- Azure Stack Hub Operator Associate*
- Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate
- Each certified individual adds up to four points in step 2.
- *This certification retired on July 31, 2023. It remains eligible for partner capability score points through July 2024.
Important Considerations:
- Step 1 is mandatory. You must complete step 1 before earning any points in step 2.
- Cap on step 1 total points: No matter how many people complete step 1, you earn a maximum of four points.
- Individuals can be counted across steps. A person can count toward both steps, but only once per step.
Examples:
Example 1:
- Step 1: Two people complete the Azure Administrator Associate certification, but you earn four points due to the cap.
- Step 2: Two people complete step 2, earning eight points.
- Total points = 12.
Example 2:
- Step 1: Two people complete the Azure Administrator Associate certification, earning four points.
- Step 2: Same two people (or different people) complete step 2, earning eight points.
- Total points = 12.
Example 3:
- Step 1: One person completes the Azure Administrator Associate certification, earning four points.
- Step 2: Two people complete step 2, earning eight points.
- Total points = 12.
Example 4:
- Step 1: No individual completes the Azure Administrator Associate certification.
- Step 2: Two people complete step 2.
- Total points = 0 because step 1 wasn't completed.
Advanced certifications
Data & AI
Advanced certifications aren't applicable to the Data & AI solution area.
Digital & App Innovation
Enterprise
Scoring:
- Each certified individual contributes up to four points.
- Your organization can earn up to a maximum of 20 points from five individuals who meet the following certification requirements.
Score Calculation:
To earn points for this metric, follow these steps:
Step 1: Required certifications:
- At least two people must complete the Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification.
- Completing this step doesn't earn points but it's mandatory before points are awarded for step 2.
Step 2: Other certifications:
- Certified individuals (the same or different people as in step 1) must complete at least one of the following certifications:
- Azure IoT Developer Specialty*
- Azure DevOps Engineer Expert
- Power Platform Solution Architect Expert
- Each certified individual adds up to four points in step 2.
Important Considerations:
- Step 1 is mandatory. You must complete step 1 before earning any points in step 2.
- Individuals can be counted across steps. A person can count toward both steps, but only once per step.
Examples:
Example 1:
- Step 1: Two people complete the Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification, but you don't earn any points.
- Step 2: Two people complete step 2, earning eight points.
- Total points = 8.
Example 2:
- Step 1: Two people complete the Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification, but you don't earn any points.
- Step 2: Same two people (or different people) complete step 2, earning eight points.
- Total points = 8.
Example 3:
- Step 1: One person completes the Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification.
- Step 2: Two people complete step 2.
- Total points = 0 because step 1 wasn't completed.
SMB
Scoring:
- Each certified individual contributes up to four points.
- Your organization can earn up to a maximum of 20 points from five individuals who meet the following certification requirements.
Score Calculation:
To earn points for this metric, follow these steps:
Step 1: Required certifications:
- At least one person must complete the Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification.
- Completing this step earns four points, even if more than one person completes it.
Step 2: Other certifications:
- Certified individuals (the same or different people as in step 1) must complete at least one of the following certifications:
- Azure IoT Developer Specialty*
- Azure DevOps Engineer Expert
- Power Platform Solution Architect Expert
- Each certified individual adds up to four points in step 2.
Important Considerations:
- Step 1 is mandatory. You must complete step 1 before earning any points in step 2.
- Cap on step 1 total points: No matter how many people complete step 1, you earn a maximum of four points.
- Individuals can be counted across steps. A person can count toward both steps, but only once per step.
Examples:
Example 1:
- Step 1: Two people complete the Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification, but you earn four points due to the cap.
- Step 2: Two people complete step 2, earning eight points.
- Total points = 12.
Example 2:
- Step 1: Two people complete the Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification, earning four points.
- Step 2: Same two people (or different people) complete step 2, earning eight points.
- Total points = 12.
Example 3:
- Step 1: One person completes the Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification, earning four points.
- Step 2: Two people complete step 2, earning eight points.
- Total points = 12.
Example 4:
- Step 1: No individual completes the Azure Administrator Associate certification.
- Step 2: Two people complete step 2.
- Total points = 0 because step 1 wasn't completed.
Infrastructure
Enterprise:
Scoring:
- Each certified individual contributes up to four points.
- Your organization can earn up to a maximum of 20 points from five individuals who meet the following certification requirements.
Score Calculation:
To earn points for this metric, follow these steps:
Step 1: Required certifications:
- At least two people must complete the Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification.
- Completing this step doesn't earn points but it's mandatory before points are awarded for step 2.
Step 2: Other certifications:
- Certified individuals (the same or different people as in step 1) must complete at least one of the following certifications:
- Azure Virtual Desktop Specialty
- Azure for SAP Workloads Specialty
- Each certified individual adds up to four points in step 2.
Important Considerations:
- Step 1 is mandatory. You must complete step 1 before earning any points in step 2.
- Individuals can be counted across steps. A person can count toward both steps, but only once per step.
Examples:
Example 1:
- Step 1: Two people complete the Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification, but you don't earn any points.
- Step 2: Two people complete step 2, earning eight points.
- Total points = 8.
Example 2:
- Step 1: Two people complete the Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification, but you don't earn any points.
- Step 2: Same two people (or different people) complete step 2, earning eight points.
- Total points = 8.
Example 3:
- Step 1: One person completes the Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification.
- Step 2: Two people complete step 2.
- Total points = 0 because step 1 wasn't completed.
SMB
Scoring:
- Each certified individual contributes up to four points.
- Your organization can earn up to a maximum of 20 points from five individuals who meet the following certification requirements.
Score Calculation
To earn points for this metric, follow these steps:
Step 1: Required certifications:
- At least one person must complete the Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification.
- Completing this step earns four points, even if more than one person completes it.
Step 2: Other certifications:
- Certified individuals (the same or different people as in step 1) must complete at least one of the following certifications:
- Azure Virtual Desktop Specialty
- Azure for SAP Workloads Specialty
- Each certified individual adds up to four points in step 2.
Important Considerations:
- Step 1 is mandatory. You must complete step 1 before earning any points in step 2.
- Cap on step 1 total points: No matter how many people complete step 1, you earn a maximum of four points.
- Individuals can be counted across steps. A person can count toward both steps, but only once per step.
Examples:
Example 1:
- Step 1: Two people complete the Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification, but you earn four points due to the cap.
- Step 2: Two people complete step 2, earning eight points.
- Total points = 12.
Example 2:
- Step 1: Two people complete the Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification, earning four points.
- Step 2: Same two people (or different people) complete step 2, earning eight points.
- Total points = 12.
Example 3:
- Step 1: One person completes the Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification, earning four points.
- Step 2: Two people complete step 2, earning eight points.
- Total points = 12.
Example 4:
- Step 1: No individual completes the Azure Administrator Associate certification.
- Step 2: Two people complete step 2.
- Total points = 0 because step 1 wasn't completed.
Customer success
The customer success category measures your ability to:
- Increase the use of Microsoft products (Usage growth)
- Expand Microsoft Azure services and workloads utilized by customers (Deployments)
The score calculation for Usage Growth and Deployments metrics is the same for both Enterprise and SMB.
Usage growth
The usage growth customer success metric measures your ability to increase the use and consumption of qualifying products. You earn points for growth in ACR (Azure consumed revenue) across all of your qualifying customer tenants. Each one percent growth in ACR contributes one point, up to a maximum of 20 points.
Scoring:
Percentage usage growth = (Total qualifying ACR last month - Total qualifying ACR same month last year) * 100 / (Total qualifying ACR same month last year)
Qualifying ACR:
Qualifying ACR is total ACR for the trailing 12 months across the entire customer base from eligible Azure services associated with eligible offers for specific partner association types.
Total ACR must be at least USD1,000 to qualify for scoring.
- Eligible Azure services: All Azure Service Level 2 services are eligible.
- Eligible Offers: All offers are applicable except Support, Internal, Benefit Program, and Trial.
- Eligible association types: Eligible attributions for all Azure areas include: CSP Tiers 1 and 2, Digital Partner of Record (DPOR), Partner Admin Link (PAL)
Deployments
The deployments metric measures the number of advanced Azure services represented in ACR over the last 12 months. An Azure service is defined as a unique, top-level Azure workload indicated by the Service Level 2 data for the deployed tenants. Each eligible deployment contributes two points, up to a maximum of 10 points.
Eligible deployments: Eligible deployments: The number of unique Azure services across the entire customer base contributing more than zero ACR over last 12 months from eligible Azure services associated with eligible offers for specific partner association types.
- Eligible Azure services: All Azure Service Level 2 services are eligible except Virtual Machines and Virtual Machines Licenses. For the list of Azure services bundled at Second-highest level, see Directory of Azure Cloud service. For example, find Azure Machine Learning in the section AI + Machine Learning.
- Eligible offers: All offers are eligible except Support, Internal, Benefit Program, and Trial.
- Eligible association types: CSP (CSP Tiers 1 and 2), Digital Partner of Record (DPOR), Partner Admin Link (PAL)
Data freshness:
- The Performance and Customer Success subcategories typically refresh by the 20th day of every month. But there might be other minor data refreshes throughout the month.
- Skilling subcategories typically refresh within 10 days after certification completes.
Enrollment Track:
The Enrollment track signifies your enrollment into this solution area. The Enrollment track is visible only if you're enrolled in that solution area. Once your organization enrolls in this solution area, the Enrollment Track remains unchanged for one year until the next renewal. The Enrollment track is computed as SMB, if you qualified as SMB at least once during the qualification eligibility window. In the scores history panel, you should have at least one SMB in the six rows. If your organization qualifies as Enterprise all throughout the qualification eligibility window, the Enrollment track computes as Enterprise.
