What’s New for Microsoft Azure Partners in 2025: SMB Paths, Incentives

Microsoft has continually evolved to better serve its partners and customers. The Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program is a key part of this innovation, offering a framework for partners to build, sell, and differentiate their solutions. Recognizing the importance of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), Microsoft has introduced updates aimed at streamlining processes and unlocking new growth opportunities for Microsoft Azure partners. These partners can attain the Azure Solutions Partner designation, which helps SMBs identify trusted experts to achieve their goals. This designation also offers valuable benefits, including go-to-market resources, sales tools, and incentives, all aimed at expanding customer reach and driving business growth.

Key Takeaways

• Microsoft has introduced a new, streamlined SMB path to help partners who primarily work with small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) attain Azure Solutions Partner designations.

• This SMB path includes tailored requirements, such as a reduced threshold for customer adds ($500 ACR per month) and adjusted skilling criteria, making it easier for SMB-focused partners to qualify.

• The SMB path applies to Azure designations in Data & AI, Digital & App Innovation, and Infrastructure and is active as of January 31, 2025.

• Partners who qualify for the SMB path and attain a designation receive the same designations and benefits as those on the Enterprise path.

• Benefits of attaining a designation include access to go-to-market, sales, new incentives, and product resources.

• Microsoft is expanding the Azure Migrate, Modernize, and Azure Innovate partner-led offerings to include smaller engagement sizes tailored for SMB segments.

• These expanded SMB offers become available starting March 1, 2025, for Azure Solutions Partners enrolled on the SMB path.

• Infrastructure designations unlock Azure Migrate and Modernize, while Data & AI or Digital App Innovation designations unlock Azure Innovate offers.

• A Cloud Accelerate Factory benefit provides no-cost deployment assistance from Microsoft experts to help partners jump-start Azure projects across various services.

• The Cloud Accelerate Factory supports partners in areas like discovery, assessment, migration, and landing zone setup, helping them offload tasks and increase capacity.

• Microsoft has increased partner incentives for Azure VMware Solution (AVS) scenarios, offering potential earnings of up to $175,000 for partner-led engagements.

• These increased AVS incentives are specifically mentioned for SMB partners with Azure specializations and Solutions Partner designations.

• An SMB path for the Solutions Partner for Security designation is also in progress and is expected to be available later in 2025.

• Partners can access details about these offers, check their progress toward designations, and nominate projects within the Partner Center.
  

SMB Path to Azure Solutions Partner Designations

A key highlight of the recent updates is the introduction of a streamlined path specifically for Microsoft Azure partners who primarily work with SMBs and smaller customers. This SMB path for Azure Solutions Partner designations is designed with tailored requirements to simplify the qualification process. It acknowledges that the business models and customer engagement patterns of partners serving SMBs often differ from those serving larger enterprises.

The SMB path is not entirely new; it was already active for the Business Applications and Modern Work solution areas. Now, as of January 31, 2025, the SMB path for Azure Solutions Partner designations is available across the core Azure solution areas: Data & AI (Azure), Digital & App Innovation (Azure), and Infrastructure (Azure).

Understanding which path applies to your organization is straightforward. The SMB path is designed for Microsoft Azure partners who meet the following criteria:

• Have less than $1 million in Azure Consumed Revenue (ACR) in the trailing 12 months.

• Have 80% or more of their total customer count in the SMB/SMC customer segments.

In contrast, the Enterprise path is for partners who have:

• Greater than $1 million in ACR in the trailing 12 months.

• Or more than 20% of their total customer count in the Enterprise customer segment.

A key difference for the SMB path is the reduced threshold for customer adds, lowered from $1,000 ACR to $500 ACR per month. This makes it easier for partners with smaller customers to achieve ACR growth.

Additionally, skilling requirements have been adjusted to help smaller partners, including earning points for some prerequisite certifications and needing fewer certified individuals compared to the Enterprise path.

Both the SMB and Enterprise paths lead to the same Solutions Partner designations and benefits. Partners must still achieve a total of 70 points across performance, skilling, and customer success categories, with at least 1 point in each subcategory, to earn their designation, demonstrating their capabilities and unlocking enhanced program benefits.

Expanded Incentives and Partner-Led Offerings for the SMB Market

Attaining an Azure Solutions Partner designation, particularly via the new SMB path, unlocks access to expanded incentives and partner-led offerings specifically tailored for the SMB and SMC segments. Microsoft is significantly expanding the Azure Migrate and Modernize and Azure Innovate partner-led offerings to help Microsoft Azure partners drive business in these crucial customer segments.

Starting March 1, 2025, Microsoft Azure partners who have attained a corresponding Azure Solutions Partner designation on the SMB path can unlock these new, smaller-sized Azure Migrate and Modernize and Azure Innovate offers. Specifically:

• Infrastructure designations unlock access to Azure Migrate and Modernize offers.

• Azure Data & AI or Digital & App Innovation designations unlock access to Azure Innovate offers.

These new engagements represent "small" (S) and "extra small" (XS) sized offerings, making them more suitable for the typical project scope and budget of SMB customers. Examples of these new SMB-sized engagements include:

Azure Migrate and Modernize SMB Offers:

• Infrastructure and Database Migration XS (SMB)

• Infrastructure and Database Migration S (SMB)

• Infrastructure and Database Migration with Microsoft Defender for Cloud XS (SMB)

• Infrastructure and Database Migration with Microsoft Defender for Cloud S (SMB)

Azure Innovate SMB Offers:

• Analytics Deployment XS (SMB)

• Analytics Deployment S (SMB)

• Build & Modernize AI Apps Deployment XS (SMB)

• Build & Modernize AI Apps Deployment S (SMB)
  

These new engagements are available within the Partner Center once a partner is enrolled in Microsoft Commerce Incentives (MCI). They follow the same customer and claiming eligibility requirements as the current Azure Migrate and Modernize and Azure Innovate partner-led engagements. Partners can find detailed information on accessing these incentives directly in the Partner Center.

To further support Microsoft Azure partners in leveraging these opportunities, Microsoft also offers valuable go-to-market resources like partner-ready campaigns in a box. These resources provide high-quality, customizable content and tools, including ready-to-launch campaigns tailored specifically to drive growth within the SMB sector, helping partners effectively engage and expand their customer base.

Accelerating Projects with Cloud Accelerate Factory

A significant benefit available within the Azure Migrate and Modernize and Azure Innovate framework is the Cloud Accelerate Factory, formerly known as Cloud Migration Factory. This program is designed to jump-start Azure projects with no-cost deployment assistance from Microsoft experts. It's a powerful tool for Microsoft Azure partners looking to accelerate customer cloud and AI transformation initiatives.

The Factory offers several distinct benefits to partners:

Zero-cost assistance Get assistance from Microsoft experts to deploy over 30 Azure services via joint delivery with an Azure partner, regardless of the project size. (Note: Availability may vary depending on region and language support.)

Accelerate deployments Utilize industry best practices developed over thousands of customer engagements to complete deployments in weeks. Expert support is based on proven best practices and may vary depending on project needs.

Maximize investments Prioritize funding and skilled resources for the more advanced components of projects to boost business impact.

The Cloud Accelerate Factory is available for Microsoft Azure partners who have attained Azure designations and specializations. Access has been simplified and is available directly within the Microsoft Commercial Incentives (MCI) portal in the Partner Centre.

It's important to understand the partner's role when engaging the Factory: partners still own the project end-to-end. The Factory experts provide support in select areas like discovery, assessment, migration, and landing zone setup. This model allows partners to stay in the driver's seat, leading their customers through the entire process from discovery to post-migration services.

By tapping into the expertise provided by the Factory, Microsoft Azure partners can:

• Offload repeatable tasks, freeing up their own expert talent.

• Increase capacity to take on more projects.

• Extend their reach with global delivery assistance in markets where they may not have a deep bench.

• Prioritize their expert talent where they need it most.
  

This empowers partners to focus on what they do best: solving complex challenges, delivering custom solutions, and guiding their long-term cloud strategy. Zero-cost deployment assistance is subject to eligibility requirements and may not be available for all projects or in all regions.

Increased Opportunities with Azure VMware Solution (AVS)

Beyond the core migration and modernization offerings, Microsoft is also creating significant opportunities for Microsoft Azure partners in specific, high-demand scenarios. One such area is Microsoft Azure VMware Solution (AVS).

Recent changes by Broadcom to VMware Cloud Foundation licensing have prompted many customers to reevaluate their virtualization options. Given that a significant portion of on-premises Windows Servers and SQL Servers run on VMware (75% according to Microsoft internal data), this presents a massive market opportunity for Microsoft Azure Partners.

AVS offers a Microsoft-managed VMware environment directly within Azure, providing a seamless way for customers to migrate or extend their existing VMware workloads to the cloud. To help partners capitalize on this market demand, Microsoft is increasing its investments and partner payments for Microsoft Azure VMware Solution (AVS) scenarios.

For AVS partner-led engagements, Microsoft Azure partners can now maximize their earning opportunities with increased incentives of up to $175,000. These incentives are accessible through an easy-to-navigate hub designed to empower frictionless experiences at scale. This increased investment in AVS incentives creates meaningful opportunities for partners, especially SMB partners with Azure specializations and Solutions Partner designations, to engage customers and grow their cloud businesses.

Coming Soon: SMB Path for Security

Microsoft's commitment to providing tailored paths for SMB-focused partners extends beyond Azure infrastructure and applications. The sources indicate that the SMB path for the Solutions Partner for Security designation is also in progress. While an exact date is not specified, it is expected to be available later this year.

This future update will provide Microsoft Azure partners specializing in security solutions for SMBs with a more accessible route to validate their expertise and attain a designation that differentiates their security capabilities in the market. To prepare for the launch of this SMB Security path, partners are encouraged to register for Certification Weeks. These five-day training events are designed to help partners prepare for advanced role-based certifications necessary to meet the skilling criteria for attaining a designation.

Conclusion: Microsoft's Commitment to Partner Growth

Microsoft is dedicated to supporting its partners and fostering growth, especially in AI and digital transformation. Key initiatives include the new SMB path for Azure Solutions Partner designations, enhanced Azure Migrate and Modernize offerings tailored for SMBs, no-cost deployment assistance through the Cloud Accelerate Factory, and increased incentives for AVS scenarios. These initiatives aim to empower Microsoft Azure partners to deliver essential solutions and expertise for customer success. Microsoft will continue to invest in partner-led offerings and benefits to help Azure partners thrive and grow their businesses.