Recent Discussions
ISV Success FAQ: Are their limitations for use of the Azure Sponsorship credits?
Q: Are their limitations for use of the Azure Sponsorship credits (offered as part of ISV Success)? A: Azure Sponsorship must be used within 12 months of joining the ISV Success program. Due to current technical limitations Azure Sponsorship also can not be used on Microsoft Customer Agreements (MCA) or Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) agreements. Azure Sponsorship also can not be used to purchase Reserved Instances (RI) or (Reserved Capacity (RC). Note: this FAQ is relevant to participants in ISV Success. Learn more about ISV Success here.How do you actually unlock growth from Microsoft Teams Marketplace?
Hey folks 👋 Looking for some real-world advice from people who’ve been through this. Context: We’ve been listed as a Microsoft Teams app for several years now. The app is stableactively usedand well-maintained - but for a long timeTeams Marketplace wasn’t a meaningful acquisition channel for us. Things changed a bit last year. We started seeing organic growth without running any dedicated campaignsplus more mid-market and enterprise teams installing the apprunning trialsand even using it in production. That was encouraging - but it also raised a bigger question. How do you actually systematize this and get realrepeatable benefits from the Teams Marketplace? I know there are Microsoft Partner programsco-sell motionsmarketplace benefitsetc. - but honestlyit’s been very hard to figure out: - where exactly to start - what applies to ISVs building Teams apps - how to apply correctly - and what actually moves the needle vs. what’s just “nice to have” On top of thatit’s unclear how (or if) you can interact directly with the Teams/Marketplace team. From our perspectivethis should be a win-win: we invest heavily into the platformbuild for Teams usersand want to make that experience better. Questions to the community: If you’re a Teams app developer: what actually worked for you in terms of marketplace growth? Which Partner programs or motions are worth the effortand which can be safely ignored early on? Is there a realistic way to engage with the Teams Marketplace team (feedback loopsprogramsoffice hoursetc.)? How do you go from “organic installs happen” to a structured channel? Would really appreciate any practical advicelessons learnedor even “what not to do” stories 🙏 Thanks in advance!
Looking for advice on collaborating with complementary Microsoft partners
a { text-decoration: none; color: #464feb; } tr thtr td { border: 1px solid #e6e6e6; } tr th { background-color: #f5f5f5; } Hi everyone 👋 My name is Martin Rojze. I’m focused on the Microsoft data platformwith a specialization in Microsoft Fabric and Power BI. My work is centered on helping organizations designimplementand scale modern analytics and reporting solutions on Azurewith a strong emphasis on real world business outcomes rather than just dashboards. As demand for end to end solutions continues to growI’m looking to deepen collaboration with complementary Microsoft partnersfor example partners who focus on Dynamics 365 or Business Central Data engineeringdata scienceor AI App development including Power Appscustom appsor ISVs Securitygovernanceor change management I’d really appreciate advice from partners who have successfully built co sell or referral relationshipsspecifically What has worked and what has not when partnering with other Microsoft partners How you structure collaboration so it’s mutually beneficial and scalable Tips on aligning around go to marketco sellingor delivery without stepping on each other’s toes If you’re a partner interested in collaborating around Fabric and Power BI led analytics engagementsor if you’re willing to share lessons learnedI’d love to connect and learn from your experience. Thanks in advance and looking forward to the discussion. MartinIssues with Support
Hi we have been a partner for yearsbut lately there has been some issues with our account we have a few support tickets and the tickets stay open with no activitywe also tried to get our partner manager to help (we got a new one this Jan) and they could/did not do anything eitherjust wanted to check with the community if y'all had any advice on this and how we can get this escalated since some of the tickets do have some business impact to our day to day businessTurn Microsoft Marketplace into a true growth engine
Many software companies publish their solution in Microsoft Marketplace and wait—hoping growth will follow. The fastest‑growing partners take a different approach. By combining a transactable Marketplace offer with Azure IP co‑sell eligibilitysellers unlock a powerful growth engine. Co‑sell ready offers consistently drive larger dealsfaster close ratesand direct access to Microsoft’s field sellerswhile allowing customers to apply purchases toward their Azure commitments. When Marketplace and co‑sell work togetherpartners move fastersell biggerand accelerate their enterprise sales motion. Read the full article and learn more about accelerating growth through the Microsoft Marketplace: Accelerate massive growth by co-selling through Microsoft Marketplace with App Advisor guidancePipeline Prioritization with Marketplace Propensity Scoring
A note of gratitude to the Marketplace Rewards team + a recommendation for my partner peers: Marketplace Propensity Scoring has proven to be an exceedingly powerful tool for prioritizing pipeline and accelerating sales cycles. Offered as a Marketplace Rewards benefitpropensity scoring provides you with a score that ranks your pipeline prospects by their likelihood (0 to 100) to transact through Marketplace. We combine this with our co-sell conversations a) to help our buyer identify who on their own IT team has the necessary permissions to buy through Marketplace and b) to gain insight into the customer's MACC status (ieare they behind pace and therefore keen to decrement via Marketplace purchases). We've shaved a full month off our historical sales cycle since implementing this into our process three quarters ago. Side note on another way valuable way to use this benefit: We also lead with Marketplace in opportunities with a propensity score of 0. Three times we've been successful in being a customer's first-ever Marketplace transaction. It took a lot more effortbut we do it because it demonstrates for our Microsoft friends our commitment to the co-sell motion . . . and they LOVE it when we help them establish a precedent on which they can build the customer's Marketplace muscle. #MarketplaceChampions
Partner Support Services Designation Public Preview Deck + Nomination Form
There is a new Partner Support Services Designation in Public Preview. Partners who earn a Support Services designation will be given access to Microsoft tools and resources to enhance their support capabilities. Badging for the designation will help partners differentiate their organizations with customers and in the Microsoft commercial marketplace. Read more here.
Issue Accepting Microsoft Partner Agreement
Hellohaving an issue accepting the cloud partner agreement while enrolling in Partner Center. I am currently applying for our company's driver signing permissions on Microsoft. While filling out information on the following webpage: https://partner.microsoft.com/en-us/dashboard/account/exp/enrollnow/partnerI encountered an issue. When the webpage pulled our company name from Dun & BradstreetMicrosoft deemed our company name invalid. I noticed that there is a comma in the nameas shown in the screenshot. Howeverwhen we applied for a signature from DigiCertwe used the same company name with the comma as the signing name. ThereforeI cannot remove the comma at this point because if I doMicrosoft might reject the signed certification file later due to a mismatch in the company name. Could you help resolve this issue?TSP Renewal – Can Purchase Option Be Available After Membership Expiry?
If a Training Services Partner did not purchase exam vouchers in the last 12 months and the renewal date is 18th February 2026but they complete the other two requirements and purchased 200 vouchers in February 2026the dashboard will update only next month. Since there is a 30-day grace period (also got expired)the membership may expire before the dashboard updates. In this caseonce the data updates in Marchcan the partner still renew the membership? Will the purchase/renewal option still be available after expiry? Or do they need to follow a different re-enrollment process? Please advise.
Hardware workspace "account deactivated" - cannot submit driver for attestation signing
Hello I am reaching out regarding an issue with our Partner Center Hardware workspace that is preventing us from submitting drivers for attestation signing. Issue: When navigating to the Hardware workspace in Microsoft Partner Centerwe receive the following error message: "Our records indicate that you have already enrolled into this program but your program registration is deactivated." We are completely unable to access the Hardware dashboard or submit any driver CAB files for attestation signing. What we have already completed: EV code signing certificate is active (DigiCert Trusted G4 Code Signing RSA4096 SHA384 2022 CA1expires 2027-02-18) Hardware program appears as enrolled in Partner Center Programs page Attempted to create a support case via Services Hub - blocked due to no eligible support plan Posted on Microsoft Learn Q&A: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5787516/ Questions: Why has our Hardware workspace been deactivated? How can we reactivate it to proceed with driver attestation signing? Is there a specific support channel for Hardware Dev Center account issues without requiring a paid support plan? Any guidance or assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Character limited for Partner Support Ticket notes
When updating a partner center support ticket from the Partner Center (https://partner.microsoft.com/dashboard/v2/support/servicerequests) Howeverthe textbox for adding a new note from the portal has a max length of 80 characters. Has anyone else noticed this? I shared this observation with the partner center support team a while ago and learned that the portal is working as intended. The web portal should only be used for adding short notes. For longer notespartners should update the ticket via email. I hoped my feedback might reach someone that could make this improvement to the partner experiencebut it's taking longer than expected. Has anyone else noticed this issueor am I the only partner that finds this behavior less than ideal? On more than one occasion I have modified the HTML using the browser dev tools by changing the maxlength="80" to "maxlength="800" and didn't have any trouble adding the longer note. Has anyone else run into this challenge and used the a workaround like the one I used?Net Customer Adds - encouraging the wrong culture?
We're a Microsoft Partner that focuses on delivering excellent service to our SMB clients. This involves making sure they're as secure and compliant as they can beand that they understand how to use the vast array of modern workplace tools to maximum advantage. Our primary Solutions Partner Designation is therefore Modern Work (SMB). Our staff are keen on learning so we have maximum points for intermediate and advanced certifications. We are continuously helping our clients to exploit the modern work tools so deployment scores are excellent. We also help our clients ensure those tools are adopted into the everyday flow of work so usage growth is huge. BUTgiven our focus is implementing more Microsoft workloads into existing customersrather than adding more customersour Net Customer Adds score is 0putting our designation at risk (as you have to score points in every area to renew). I do feel we're effectively being penalised by Microsoft for concentrating on helping clients get the most out of their offeringsrather than just selling licenses. And after raising this with themit sounds like there's nothing we can do other than simply keep our fingers crossed that a month of high net customer adds drops off the rolling 12 month window before our renewal date for us to maintain our designation. The skillingdeploymentand usage requirements all make sense as they're about providing a good service and ensuring adoption by the end customerbut net customer adds clearly puts selling over service which isn't our culture or business model (or that of many smaller partners). In chatting to other partnersmany are choosing not to renew their SPD's for similar reasons so I'm hoping the relevant decision makers will listen to this feedback and review the scoring. What do you think?
February Incentive Payment Not Received – Unable to Create Support Ticket
Hello Team We have not received the incentive payment for February and would like assistance reviewing this issue. Our organization meets the requirements under the App Innovation solution area and is eligible to receive Azure-related incentives. Howeverthe February payment has not been deposited. Additionallywe are unable to create a support ticket in Partner Center because the AI Assistant interface prevents access to the support request page. Could you please check if there are any issues with our eligibilitypayment profileor required documentationor help escalate this matter to the appropriate support team? Thank you.AZ-900 - Correct Lab Usage?
Hello The Courseware Title Plan Courseware Title Plan | Microsoft Community Hub lists Microsoft Learn as the correct source for labs for AZ-900. Howeveras some of us knowit was unceremoniously cut. What is the correct method for labs for this class now? Also my followup question which I feel like I have asked before but get a new answer each time- Can a TSP/MCT decide they dont want to use labs because it costs money? Or if a lab is listed in the title planare they expected to use it to be KPI eligible?
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Recent Blogs
- Boost your growth and reach more customers by replicating your AWS app to Azure to sell through Microsoft Marketplace. This guide will introduce the essential building blocks required for a smooth re...Mar 022026
- To ensure our program offerings align with customer and market demandwe regularly review our applied skilling and certification requirements for Solutions Partner designations and retire certain ce...Mar 022026
