From Microsoft Gold Partner to Solutions Partner in the Microsoft Cloud Partner Program

Cloud technology is the new "normal" for manufacturers and customers

The IT industry is driving the global economy with new innovations. Microsoft is one of the big players in digitization and new technologies. The growing use of cloud technologies by companies of all sizes also puts the cloud at the center of Microsoft’s new partner program. The Microsoft Azure cloud is one of the big players and the benefits for users of Microsoft products are obvious. Software, IT infrastructure and expertise in implementation and use – all from a single source. With the MCPP, Microsoft is thus taking into account the changing role of IT at customers and making it easier to find the right Microsoft partner.

Partners must prove their expertise in a new and more detailed way

The new partnership model is based on six areas of expertise, so-called designations. These replace Microsoft Gold Partner status. Lower partner levels, such as Silver Partner, will no longer exist in the future. This raises the bar for partnerships.

Microsoft has not only changed the name of the partnership model, but also the conditions that must be met in order to achieve this partnership.

Each designation is divided into three categories: Performance, Skilling and Customer Success. Performance measures new customers in the last 12 months, Skilling measures the expertise proven by certain certificates (similar to the old partner model) and Customer Success measures the successfully implemented customer projects.

This makes the customer and his satisfaction an integral part of the partnership process. From Microsoft’s point of view, it is plausible that sales (of Microsoft products) will also count towards a partner certificate in the future. For IT consulting firms in particular, however, this requirement means a complication, since product independence for consulting firms represents a large part of their market quality.

One consolation may be that Microsoft partners must achieve at least 70 out of 100 possible points in order to receive the title "Solution Partner" for a competence area. So Microsoft allows some leeway here.

Solution competence is the key to the future partnership model

It is significant that the future relevant competence areas for a partnership all come along as "Solution". This visually moves the product certifications (for individual Microsoft products), which have been in the foreground up to now, somewhat into the background and focuses on the thematically structured solution competence of the partner companies. The fact that behind each "solution" the corresponding Microsoft products are also waiting to be used does not detract from this. Partners can distinguish themselves as specialists and customers can pick them up right there.

Interview with Andre Thiemann, Microsoft partnership representative at noventum consulting:

What will change for our customers?

What does this mean for product-independent consulting?

As a Microsoft partner, you are explicitly focusing on Microsoft and thus on Azure, aren’t you?

Is the end of on-premises near?

Read the full article and interview in nc360°, the noventum consulting Info-Platform.