Highlights:

  • Microsoft recently announced an expansion of the Solutions Partner designations, which were introduced to help customers more accurately identify the partner companies that can most assist them.
  • Microsoft announced that it is extending the scope of its artificial intelligence services for partners, including ChatGPT in the Azure Open AI Service.

Microsoft Corp. has updated its Cloud Partner Program, giving partners new ways to stand out in the marketplace with their unique goods and services.

When it was introduced in October 2022, the Cloud Partner Program was positioned as an advancement of the previous Microsoft Partner Network. Microsoft recently announced an expansion of the Solutions Partner designations, which were introduced to help customers more accurately identify the partner companies that can most assist them. This shows that the industry is still evolving.

The designations are intended to help partners demonstrate their abilities in delivering customer success within six key solution areas, according to Nicole Dezen, Microsoft’s Chief Partner Officer and Corporate Vice President of Global Partner Solutions. Microsoft is now broadening these designations to distinguish independent software vendors or those business partners who concentrate solely on creating software. The new ISV designations include categories like industry, use cases across industries, and particular business-leader imperatives like marketing and sales.

Dezen explained, “These designations distinguish an application’s specific capabilities and help customers identify proven solutions for their business needs.”

Partners can also distinguish themselves in the market with new Business Applications specializations demonstrating companies’ expertise and experience in specific technical scenarios. They are aligned with the Business Applications solution area for Microsoft Dynamics 365 and will help customers find ideal partners, according to Dezen.

Finance specializations are for partners who can demonstrate knowledge, substantive experience, and documented success in Dynamics 365 Finance; Sales specializations are for partners who have proven experience in customer experience transformation; Service specializations are for partners who have experience delivering personalized services; and Supply Chain specializations are for partners who have the expertise and documented success in Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management.

According to Dezen, Microsoft’s Cloud Partner Program now offers 28 specializations, providing partners many options for demonstrating their expertise to customers.

Microsoft partners will soon be able to emphasize their diversity and efforts to advance “social good” and differentiate themselves through their expertise. Customers will find diversely led companies and solutions in Microsoft’s commercial marketplace more easily; as a result, it is hoped.

Dezen said, “Inclusion fosters innovation, and many customers are looking to find partners that align to their business values. This is why we are enabling partners to submit relevant diversity and social good business classifications in Partner Center, which will appear in their business profile in the marketplace.”

Dezen said that although many of Microsoft’s partners are direct rivals, the company still hopes to promote greater cooperation. To achieve this, it is launching multiparty private offers. This brand-new service enables partners to collaborate, develop unique offers with unique payouts, and market their products directly to Microsoft customers via its cloud marketplace. In the spring, multiparty private offers will go live in the preview. Later this year, they will become generally available.

Last but not least, Microsoft announced that it is extending the scope of its artificial intelligence services for partners, including ChatGPT in the Azure Open AI Service. Microsoft announced that beginning in April, partners can apply for preview access to GPT-4, a more potent large language model created by OpenAI LP, which created ChatGPT. GPT-4 will allow partners to create predictive models, automate procedures, and enhance decision-making for themselves and their clients.

Dezen said, “We believe AI will fundamentally change every software category, unlocking a new wave of productivity growth. We are committed to empowering partners to harness the power of this innovation on behalf of customers around the world, while helping them navigate this new era of technology.”