Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program: Partner Associations
Estimated Read Time: 4 minutes
Intended Audience: Microsoft Partners
Revised August 2023
The Microsoft Partner Network evolving to become the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program has brought about many changes. In our previous blogs, we discussed how to earn your Partner Capability Score (PCS) and the benefits that you are entitled to with the updates to the program.
We briefly touched on the types of Partner association mechanisms (CPOR, DPOR, PAL, CSP, and TPOR). Since associations are an important part of your Partner Capability Score points, let’s break them down further.
Claiming Partner of Record (CPOR) in the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program
CPOR counts towards the Partner Capability Scores (PCS) for Modern Work, Business Applications, and Security to give Partners recognition for servicing a customer’s Microsoft Cloud environment.
Each customer can have one CPOR per workload or product, which can count towards a partner’s net customer adds, deployments, and usage growth.
Some types of CPOR allocate incentives while others recognize Partner-associated revenue, but are not eligible for incentives. There are 3 different types of CPOR, including:
- Online Services Usage (OSU): For Modern Work and Security, OSU allows incentive associations and usage associations per workload and is licensing agnostic. For Business Applications, OSU only allows incentive associations per subscription under Enterprise Agreement and CASA/EES licensing. If you drive your customer’s adoption and usage of an eligible product or workload, associate with them via the usage option.
- Online Services Advisor (OSA): Also known as OSA Sell, this CPOR allows incentive associations and revenue associations per subscription under Enterprise Agreement, CASA/EES, and Web Direct (MOSA). If you influenced your customer’s selection of an eligible product, associate with them via the pre-sales option.
- RevRec: This CPOR only allows revenue associations per subscription under Enterprise Agreement, CASA/EES, and Web Direct (MOSA). If you influenced your customer’s selection of an eligible product as a Business Influencer, associate via the revenue association option.,
Under Microsoft 365, usage recognition is available for Modern Work, Security, and Business Applications for Partners to claim the work they are driving with their customer and be recognized as their partner of record by Microsoft. Usage associations may earn incentives, whereas with revenue recognition, Partners can achieve recognition and contribute to demonstrating impact with their customers but will not earn incentives.
In both cases, recognition for non-incentivized workloads gets recognized automatically and Proof of Execution (POE) is not necessary.
Digital Partner of Record (DPOR) in the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program
DPOR counts towards the Partner Capability Score for Data & AI, Digital & App Innovation, Infrastructure, Modern Work, and Business Applications by associating servicing Partners to a customer’s Microsoft Cloud subscription.
Each customer can only associate one DPOR per subscription, and it is intended to associate consulting or management Partners with a customer’s relevant Azure footprint while the customer is engaged with the Partner.
The Digital Partner of Record is the Partner who helps the customer design, build, deploy, or manage a solution that they have built on the service, not the partner who sold the subscription. For Solutions Partners, DPOR is an effective way to register a role in cloud subscriptions to earn points for customer-centric Partner Capability Score metrics. You can ask your customers to designate you as their Partner of Record for subscriptions that you are helping them deploy or for solutions that you are helping to design, build, and manage.
Partners benefit by being designated as a DPOR because it allows them to qualify for Solutions Partner Designations and enables reporting that shows them the revenue, usage, and consumption they are driving. These insights can be leveraged for cross-selling opportunities and engagement of customers that are at risk of not renewing their partnership.
Customers also benefit by designating their Partner as a DPOR because with the access to performance and usage data, Partners can provide better services and support to help them optimize their usage for the desired business outcome.
Partner Admin Link (PAL) in the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program
By using PAL, Partners can associate their Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) ID with the credentials they use for service delivery to act on behalf of the customer to manage, configure, and support both modern commerce platform (Azure plan) subscriptions and Business Applications services, including Power Platform and Dynamics 365 Customer Insights. PAL can be associated with a few Solutions Partner Designations including Business Applications, Data & AI, Digital & App Innovation, Infrastructure, and Security.
PAL is unique in that it allows for different Partners to get recognized for the same customer engagement, meaning that multiple Partners can be associated to the same workload and still get credit.
PAL is built into Azure, Power Platform, and Customer Insights to be used when a Partner delivers services within a customer’s production environment.
Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) in the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program
CSP can be associated with Business Applications, Data & AI, Digital & App Innovation, Infrastructure, and Modern Work. The Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider Program allows Partners to be more involved with their customer’s business, beyond just reselling licenses.
Some other key benefits given to partners of the CSP Program include:
- Owning the customer lifecycle relationship to offer unique cloud-based solutions
- Creating cloud subscriptions and partner offers to grow annuity-based revenue
- Supporting the customer as the first point of contact
- Building differentiated hybrid solutions powered by Azure
There are two models in the CSP Program: Direct Bill and Indirect Reseller. The Direct Bill model is for Partners who want to own the end-to-end lifecycle of the customer relationship and sell directly to customers to own all sales, billing, provisioning, and support. The Indirect Reseller model is for Partners who want to leverage the support of an indirect provider who can provide technical training and assistance, market solutions, and assist with credit and financing.
With these associations available to Partners, you have the flexibility to choose the one you feel is most beneficial for your business. You can check out the Solutions Partner Associations playbook to learn more about the benefits and association process for each.
Transactional Partner of Record (TPOR)
Registered licensing solution providers who have sold a cloud subscription and were associated with the subscription at the time of transaction can qualify at the Transactional Partner of Record (TPOR).
Partners can earn as a TPOR on Enterprise Agreement (EA) transactions where they have not been listed as a DPOR.
End customers can enter EAs directly with Microsoft or through Licensing Solution Providers (LSPs), which are Partners authorized by Microsoft to be named as the Partner of record in enterprise licensing deals. If the transaction is conducted through Microsoft, an Enterprise Direct Advisor (EDA) gets assigned at the time of the transaction, becoming the TPOR. If they are conducted through an LSP, the LSP is associated as the TPOR. Any subscription activity activates the TPOR association of the enterprise agreement.
Adapt & Thrive with the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program
We are aware that with this restructuring of the Microsoft Partner Network to the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program, Partners are having to quickly adjust to all the modifications, which is why the Mavens are here to support you during this transition and all the changes that come with it. We can help you stand out in the sea of software sameness as you navigate Partner associations to increase your Partner Capability Score and achieve a Solutions Partner Designation.
Whether you are a Microsoft Cloud Solutions Provider (CSP), Microsoft Managed Service Provider (MSP), Microsoft Value Added Reseller (VAR), Microsoft Independent Software Vendor (ISV), Microsoft Systems Integrator (SI), or a Microsoft Reseller, our team of experts can help.
Keep an eye on our blog for more insights and updates or reach out to us directly with your questions about Partner associations in the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program.
