During the first day of Microsoft's partner conference, Microsoft Inspire, the tech giant revealed the launch of the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program.
The program will use the entire partner lifecycle, including onboarding, skilling, go-to-market, incentives and co-selling, while leveraging Microsoft AI and the Microsoft Cloud, according to the company.
Microsoft's AI-Focused Partner Program
Nicole Dezen, chief partner officer and corporate vice president, global partner solutions, Microsoft, commented:
“Our customers are eager to experience the benefits of AI. In fact, 9 out of 10 leaders believe AI will give their organization a competitive edge. And employees are ready to embrace AI, with 70% saying they would delegate as much work as possible to AI to lessen their workloads.”
Partners get the value and benefits of the previous program plus access to new offerings and benefits specific to AI, Microsoft said. All existing partners will be moved to the new program effective immediately, and they will all maintain their existing benefits and designations, according to Microsoft.
The program will provide AI-focused offerings and benefits to help partners adopt the technology. The recently launched AI Transformation Playbook provides guidance, while the Azure specialization demonstrates deep expertise. Marketing resources are available, and partners can engage with the Security Copilot council. AIM accelerates cloud migration with AI integration.
Additional Partner Updates
Microsoft announced several additional partner updates at Microsoft Inspire.
They include the general availability of ISV Success, a program providing ISV partners with product and cloud benefits, technical consultations, and sales and marketing support through the Microsoft commercial marketplace. Partners in ISV Success will also gain access to GitHub Copilot by the end of 2023, the company said.
Additionally, multiparty private offers enable collaborative selling of customized deals within the Microsoft commercial marketplace.
