If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed by the flurry of recent announcements from Microsoft, you’re not alone. In the past few weeks, major updates have landed across awards, investments, offers, and incentives, each packed with opportunity, but also complexity. For partners trying to focus on revenue, customers, and growth, keeping up with these shifts can feel like a second full-time job.
Here’s a high-level look at what’s new:
🏆 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards: Nominations Now Open
Summary: Submissions are officially open as of June 18 for the 2025 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards. This is a high-visibility opportunity to showcase innovation and impact to Microsoft leadership, customers, and the ecosystem. Finalists and winners receive global recognition from Microsoft, visibility within the partner ecosystem and Microsoft field teams, opportunities to build credibility with customers, enhanced market presence, and business momentum. Winners will also receive a Microsoft Ignite exclusive Partner of the Year Award winners’ experiences.
These awards do more than celebrate success, they influence perception, pipeline, and partnership momentum. But standing out requires more than just great results. It takes a deep understanding of what Microsoft values most.
I've reviewed these nominations when I was at Microsoft and our team knows exactly how to position your impact in a way that resonates. Our team is happy to help you craft a submission that wins.
💸 CSP Investments: Microsoft Is Doubling Down
Summary: Microsoft is ramping up its investment in the CSP model, particularly around Modern Work and seat-based offers, with enhanced programs and incentives designed to reward deeper customer engagement and higher-value services. These include 3 year subscription terms in CSP, simplifying renewals and upgrades, changed eligibility thresholds for FY26.
This signals a major opportunity for CSPs to unlock more funding and support but also introduces a wave of changes that require careful navigation.
We help CSPs understand what’s changed, what they’re eligible for, and how to align business models to capture more of the available value.
🌩️ What’s New in Azure Partner-Led Offers
Summary: Microsoft has launched new capabilities and enhancements to Azure partner-led offers, including updates to private offers, solution accelerators, and customer lifecycle incentives, all aimed at helping partners drive Azure consumption with greater autonomy and impact.
These include updates to offerings like Azure Migrate and Modernize, and Azure Innovate, as well as SMB pathways and incentives. They also include increased payouts and new offerings to accelerate your growth. But with new motion types and requirements, it’s easy to miss the nuances that determine whether your solution qualifies or how to take it to market.
We decode these changes and help you act on them, whether you’re scaling an existing offer or just starting to build your Azure motion.
🚀 New Benefits, Events, and Opportunities for Partners
Summary: Microsoft has refreshed its partner benefits portfolio with updated go-to-market support, skilling resources, marketplace incentives, and exclusive events, aimed at helping partners scale faster and differentiate more effectively.
The include fantastic capabilities such as replicating your offerings on other clouds on Azure so that you can expand your customer base to the Microsoft ecosystem seamlessly. There are also new specializations that will be released in Microsoft's new FY starting in July 2025, allowing you to stand out from the crowd.
The problem? Not every partner knows which of these apply to them or how to activate them efficiently.
We make it easy to cut through the noise and prioritize what will actually grow your business. From optimizing benefits to unlocking invite-only opportunities, we act as your partner program concierge.
We’re Your Easy Button
You’re building a business. We make sure Microsoft’s ever-evolving partner program works for you, not against you.
Our team includes former Microsoft execs and operators who’ve helped hundreds of partners win awards, unlock funding, accelerate Azure offers, and turn benefits into revenue. We know what’s possible, because we’ve built it or done it.
👉 If you’re unsure how these changes impact your business or just need help making sense of it all, let’s talk. We’re here to help you move faster, maximize your opportunity, and avoid costly missteps.
Image credits: The Hangover
