Microsoft’s partner ecosystem operates under the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program. Partners may qualify under Enterprise or SMB paths.
Solution Areas
1. Infrastructure (Azure)
2. Digital & App Innovation (Azure)
3. Data & AI (Azure)
4. Security
5. Modern Work
6. Business Applications
SMB Path – General Summary
1. Lower thresholds for certifications, growth, and customer additions.
2. Requires a Partner Capability Score of 70/100.
3. Metrics include Skilling, Performance, and Customer Success.
4. SMB path is intended for partners serving 11–300 seat organizations.
Simplified Requirements by Solution Area
Infrastructure (Azure)
1. Skilling: 2 intermediate certs + 1 advanced.
2. Performance: $25K Azure growth.
3. Customer Success: 10 net new customers.
Digital & App Innovation
1. Skilling: 2 intermediate + 1 advanced.
2. Performance: $25K Azure growth.
3. Customer Success: 10 deployments.
Data & AI (Azure)
1. Skilling: Data Engineer / AI Engineer certs.
2. Performance: $25K AI/data consumption.
3. Customer Success: 10 customers using AI/data services.
Security
1. Skilling: Security Administrator + Cybersecurity Architect.
2. Performance: SMB customer adds.
3. Customer Success: 10 deployments.
Modern Work
1. Skilling: Microsoft 365 admin certs.
2. Performance: Seat additions in the SMB range.
3. Customer Success: 10 customers with increased usage.
Business Applications
1. Skilling: Dynamics 365 certs.
2. Performance: $25K revenue from workloads.
3. Customer Success: 10 customers.