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FY27 MCI Funding -Same Budget, Different Pockets

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 12:50:36 GMT

Microsoft changed the incentive rates on 1 October. Three months into the financial year. If that caught you mid-deal, you weren't alone, which is why October's Oaka Partner Insights went back over MCI funding when we'd normally have moved on to something new.

Lindsay Climson walked through the changes by solution area, with Kate Balgowan, Head of Cloud Alliances at Arrow, covering the CSP rebate side. The short version is in the title. Microsoft insists there's no less money on the table this year. It has just been moved into different pockets, and more of it now pays out for what happens after the deal rather than for the deal itself.

These are the parts worth acting on.

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The sun came out just in time for our annual Summer Social at Bondi Green. Hosted with Seer 365 and sponsored by our friends at TrueCommerce , iDynamics Business Solutions , Yavrio - Open Banking , Vertex Inc. , Xe.com , Formpipe , Revolent Group , and Binary Stream Software - Microsoft ERP Solutions , the aim was, as always, to keep things simple - no slides. no presentations or pitches - just great conversation and a few cocktails, all enhanced by the gorgeous backdrop of the canal, thanks to Bondi Green's superb location.

These kinds of nights are a reminder that real community matters. Thanks to everyone who joined us - if you'd like to join us next year, please just let us know at info@oaka.studio .

Co-op: the money you've already earned

In one week we spoke to five partners who didn't know they should be claiming co-op. As Lucy said on the call, if she had a pound for every partner asking how to get more money out of Microsoft, she'd be living on a yacht somewhere.

Here's how it works. CSP rebates are paid on a 60/40 split. The 60% lands in your bank 45 days after the month it was earned. The 40% builds up in a co-op bucket over the half. Reach $10,000 and it becomes claimable in Partner Center from 15 February, against activity from 1 January, or 15 August against activity from 1 July depending on which half of the year you're in. Fall short and it's simply paid as cash in month seven.

Before you assume there's nothing there, check three things:

You're enrolled in Microsoft Commerce Incentives. If you're transacting CSP and you aren't, the money disappears into the ether.
Your banking and tax profiles are set up.
You're looking in the right place. Co-op management opens on a blank page. Click the small eye icon marked Program view, then Microsoft Commerce Incentives, and look for a little pie chart. Check the earning period and every location ID too, especially if you've acquired other partners. There may be pots hiding under each one.

What's changed for FY27:

Allocated resource is capped at 50% of your co-op. Microsoft has said that will drop again in FY28, so if co-op covers someone's salary, you have a year to plan. Sales and marketing skilling courses are required to claim, though marketing skilling is waived for H1.
Multi-touch campaigns need paid media. LinkedIn ads or a Sales Navigator licence both count.
Venues should lean educational. Less football stadium, more learning.
A detailed invoice is now the preferred proof of execution. Say what happened, when, who attended and what Microsoft content was used. Keep the photos and registration pages on file for two years anyway, as audits have been hinted at.

Microsoft's own research says the best-performing partners put their co-op into demand generation. And unlike MDF, co-op asks for evidence that the activity happened, not MQL or SQL targets.

Don't let the tail wag the dog

Lucy closed on her soapbox, and it's worth repeating. Part of the reason Oaka exists is to demystify all of this. But the incentives shouldn't be setting your strategy.

A specialisation costs real money in audits, certifications and customer growth. Whether the juice is worth the squeeze depends on what you're trying to build as a business, not on what Microsoft happens to be paying for this half. If you'd like help working that out, get in touch.

In the meantime, bookmark the incentives guide at aka.ms/incentivesguide. Lindsay calls it the incentives bible. She may have it memorised.

AI Business Solutions: paying for what happens next

Copilot funding now sits under Frontier Accelerate for Copilot rather than Copilot Jumpstart. If you were a Jumpstart partner in FY26 you've been grandfathered in, but only until 31 December. After that you need the M365 Copilot specialisation, which means an audit. Audits cost money and take time, so if yours isn't booked, consider this your nudge.

The Copilot deployment accelerator now pays in two milestones. The first lands when the engagement is done. The second arrives six months later, and only if the customer's usage has grown to target. Claims per tenant have dropped from four to two, with only one live at a time.

A few things are already tripping partners up:

T-shirt sizes are locked once you nominate. Overshoot and you won't be paid more when the customer buys double. Undershoot and you'll miss the second milestone.
Licences must be bought in the same calendar month. 100 seats on 30 September and 200 on 1 October don't make 300. Twenty-four hours apart, still no.
Partner Center's eligibility check is optimistic. It shows every CSP deployment accelerator as available, but the customer only qualifies once they've bought the right number of licences in the last two months. Worth a word with your sales team before anyone over-promises.
FY26 engagements count towards your 33% performance rate. Microsoft tracks it quarterly and will pause you if you fall short. You'll find it under Insights, then MCI performance.

Strategic 500 customers are excluded from Frontier Accelerate funding across the board, and Microsoft Elevate customers (education and non-profit) from most of it. More on the exception below.

There is good news for SMB-focused partners. The Business Premium deployment accelerator only needs a Modern Work Designation, not a specialisation. Sell 50 or more seats and that's $2,000 towards deployment, plus another $1,600 if you're displacing Google Workspace. Conversion bonuses like this run across the solution areas, with Salesforce, SAP and Genesys named on the Dynamics side.

Lucy put it plainly on the call. This funding isn't just a reason to get in front of a customer. Microsoft is checking whether it drives the outcome it paid for, and partners need the governance in place to prove that it does.

What's changed on CSP rebates

Kate explained the new split between direct and indirect. Tier 1 direct bill partners still earn core rebates on AI Business Solutions and security. Indirect partners don't. Instead, Microsoft has moved that 2.5% into growth for the indirect channel. As Kate put it, distribution's job is now to make you grow faster.

Two things worth modelling before renewal season:

Growth is paid on the increment only. Sell 100 seats last year and 110 this year, and the 12.5% growth rebate applies to the extra ten.
Change of channel partner pays nothing but growth for 12 months. Win a like-for-like renewal on price and you won't earn on that licence for a year. Win it and grow Copilot or E5, and the maths looks very different.

Cloud and AI platforms: new numbers, same plumbing

Azure funding works differently. T-shirt sizes are set by anticipated Azure consumed revenue (ACR) over the next 12 months, not by licence counts. Nearly every rate was reset on 1 October, some in oddly specific ways ($2,000 to $1,680, anyone?), but the mechanics underneath haven't changed. If you're mid-conversation with a customer, double-check the numbers.

Specialised partners get the full menu. New this year, partners with an SMB solution designation in any of the cloud and AI platforms areas can reach a smaller post-sales pot, worth between $1,600 and $24,000. SMB customers haven't felt much love from MCI in recent years, so this one is worth a look.

The admin is heavier than elsewhere:

Show your working. Proof of execution includes the ACR calculator export, plus extra paperwork for some engagements.
Size realistically and watch your ratio. You need two pre-sales engagements for every post-sales one. Conversion bonuses (AWS and Google are the named competitors) only pay if you claimed the original engagement at the same t-shirt size.

Performance reports arrive monthly by email rather than in Partner Center, with 30 days' notice before any pause. And if you hold Azure Expert MSP, note that it's being retired at the end of calendar 2027. It currently unlocks almost all Azure funding, so it's worth planning your route now. The Frontier specialisation belongs in that conversation.

On rebates, cloud and AI platforms keeps things simpler. Tier 1 and tier 2 earn the same rates, there's still a 3% core incentive and the levers stack to a maximum of 15%.

Security: everyone's business now

Kate didn't mince her words. No one should be selling a Copilot licence without Purview attached. If you've been thinking security funding isn't for you, in FY27 it probably is.

The most time-sensitive opportunity of the session sits here. Partners with any of the four security specialisations can nominate Microsoft Elevate customers for up to $8,000 per tenant, but only between 1 October and 15 November. You still get the usual 90 days to deliver once the customer consents. The nomination itself needs to be in by the 15th. Sarah from HTG confirmed on the call that these customers do show up in Partner Center.

Elsewhere in security:

Any security specialisation will do. You no longer need a specific one to unlock the funding in many cases.
There's a designation-only entry point. The Business Premium Defender and Purview deployment accelerator needs just a Security designation.
Check the customer's FY26 history. If a tenant had three or more security workshops last year, no partner can claim pre-sales funding for it this year. That was common, so check before you pitch.
Usage incentives won't claim themselves. They still exist for specific specialisations and workload growth, but you have to go in and claim them.

Microsoft has also introduced a separate consumption rebate for Security Copilot, Sentinel and Defender for Cloud. You can't double count it against Azure, but it does count towards your Security designation and specialisation targets.

If the specialisation route feels out of reach for now, talk to your distributor. Kate pointed out that Arrow can access some funding on partners' behalf, even just to test an engagement a couple of times before you commit to an audit.

What's next

Microsoft's incentives guide: the full detail behind everything above lives at aka.ms/incentivesguide . Bookmark it.
Microsoft Partner Investments Community Calls: because there's always more. Register for the calls to hear about updates as they land.
Oaka Partner Insights : our next session is a deep dive into the Frontier Partner specialisation and what it takes to get there. Click here to register.
Partner Pulse : 26 January 2027 at Storey Club, Paddington. The topic lands soon; follow Oaka on LinkedIn to hear first. Click here to follow Oaka on LinkedIn .
IAMCP Connect and Thrive: 26 November for members , with trial memberships available. The IAMCP festive get-together follows on 10 December .

Missed the session? The full recording is on the Oaka website under Oaka Events .

IAMCP Events:

European Power Platform Conference: June 29 – July 2

FY27 MCI Funding -Same Budget, Different Pockets

Whether you're three claims deep into Frontier Accelerate or still checking whether you're enrolled in MCI at all, the rules will keep moving this year. We talk to Microsoft partners about incentives, specialisations and co-op every day, and we work alongside distributors like Arrow who see it from the other side of the channel.

If you'd like to talk through which specialisations are worth the audit, how to model your rebates or where your co-op has got to, email us. Our inbox is always open.

info@oaka.studio

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Creating value: what really moves the dial

Wed, 21 Oct 2026 21:54:54 GMT

Most Microsoft partners can explain their value to a customer in their sleep. Plenty can explain it to Microsoft too, given a decent slide and a strong coffee. Explaining it to a buyer is a different conversation, and it's one a lot of owners don't know how to start.

That was the starting point for September's Oaka Partner Insights. Consolidation across the channel isn't slowing down, and the partners we speak to keep asking the same things. What does a succession plan look like? How do I position my business? Which metrics actually matter to the people writing the cheques?

Our consultant Nigel Ridpath put those questions to three people who have seen deals from different sides of the table. Adam Kerr is Managing Partner and Founder of Primas Law, specialising in corporate transactions. Jack Henry is a barrister and owner of Henry Chambers, who has been through acquisitions as a business owner. Neil Lomax spent 17 years at SoftwareOne, latterly responsible for around $22 billion in Microsoft revenue, before co-founding Onyx. Here's what we took away.

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AI: use it, don't just sell it

Adam broke the AI silence nearly 40 minutes in, which we're choosing to see as restraint. Buyers in the Microsoft ecosystem are increasingly interested in AI as a foundation of how you run the business, not just something in your product catalogue. Being able to show the business is scalable and resilient because of it can move a multiple from 5 to 7, or 7 to 10.

A comment from the audience sharpened the point: you need a clear AI thesis and a sense of whether you're defensible against AI disruption. Lucy added that AI for AI's sake still has to survive due diligence. You should be able to explain why you adopted an agent rather than hiring another team.

Neil offered a warning from his own funding round. The lawyers rang to ask whether his CEO was using Gemini, because one minute he didn't have a document and an hour later he did. Their advice was simple: just tell us you haven't got it. AI can do a lot of things. Retrofitting your hygiene isn't one of them.

What if Microsoft changes the rules?

The question that got the Oaka team giggling: when you rely on a single ecosystem, how do you reassure a buyer that the rug won't be pulled with the next round of fee or incentive changes?

Neil reckons he's been asked it more than 1,000 times, including by a PE firm that morning about a target with 83% of its business in Microsoft. His answer to acquirers is to get comfortable being uncomfortable. Change in the ecosystem comes by a thousand cuts, roughly 5% or 6% a year. Adjust each year and you're fine. Miss a few and it compounds. What a buyer really wants to see is a management team, not just an owner, that has handled it before and will keep handling it.

Nigel linked this to ambiguity tolerance, one of the seven traits in Oaka's Partner Genome. Lucy, whose strapline at Microsoft was getting comfortable with the uncomfortable, agreed that the partners who pull ahead are usually just half a step in front of their peers.

Adam added a longer term play. If your exit is three to five years away and 80% of your work is Microsoft, use that time to get it to 60%. Not by doing less with Microsoft, but by doing more elsewhere. Then you can answer the what if question with evidence rather than reassurance. Lucy, who says she bleeds Microsoft, found that hard to hear but conceded the point.

Value is in the eye of the buyer

Everyone starts in the same place: it's all about profit. Neil spent his early SoftwareOne years focused on revenue, gross profit and share of wallet. Then it was geographic reach, opening 20 countries a year for four years running. When private equity arrived, everything flipped to EBITDA.

Adam's lesson came from doing enough deals to notice the pattern. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. One buyer wants your customer base, another wants a strategic foothold, and very rarely do two want the same nuts and bolts.

Jack saw the same thing in law, where the received wisdom is that more billable hours means more value. When his firm acquired another, the real questions were about which people would stay, which client relationships would follow them and how the customer base would grow. In his words, it's a full mosaic of colour rather than black and white.

Know who you're selling to, and why

Asked which value driver founders underestimate, Adam didn't start with contracts. He started with motive. A surprising number of sellers haven't thought hard about why they're approaching the deal market at all, and that answer shapes everything else.

If you're selling to private equity, recurring revenue is likely the thing they care about most. A trade buyer making a strategic bolt-on cares about it too, but their decision making matrix looks very different. Decide where you want to end up, then work back.

At Oaka we talk to partners constantly about their Ideal Customer Profile, and sometimes their Ideal Partner Profile. Nigel suggested adding a third: the Ideal Buyer Profile. It also needn't be a third party sale. Adam pointed out that MBOs, employee ownership trusts and private capital are all on the table. If the business is your baby and you've built a brilliant team, one of those may suit you far better than disappearing into a bigger beast.

Hygiene is the invisible infrastructure

Jack called it invisible infrastructure: the systems and paperwork that make a business work behind the scenes. When his firm made its acquisition, missing employment contracts, property documents and insurance details didn't just slow things down. They had a psychological effect on the deal, and frustration built on both sides.

Adam has seen deals fall over at the data room stage. Take three months to get it online and the buyer starts wondering what else you haven't got together. Get it up in a week and you've set a very different tone. The whole process is one long negotiation, so that first impression earns you something every step of the way.

For Microsoft partners, Lucy Bourne, Oaka's Director, added that hygiene stretches beyond legal documents. Pipeline, order book, delivery capability, billability and co-sell capability all shape how a buyer perceives your value. A strong Microsoft relationship can be worth as much as your pipeline.

Is there a tension between running for growth and running to be deal ready? Jack thinks it's a false choice. Being deal ready is just good business management. Back when he started in law, one of his jobs was keeping the data room index for a 40 site acquisition. The index alone ran to more than 100 pages. Better to build that as you go than in a four week panic.

Opportunities don't wait until you're ready

Nigel shared an old adage: by the time you're thinking about selling, the things you need to have right should have been done a year ago.

Neil had the stories to back it up. SoftwareOne's multi-billion dollar IPO was expected in 2020 or 2021. In August 2019 they were told they were going in September. More recently, Onyx raised VC funding barely 18 months in, and suddenly the questions arrived. Where's the paperwork? Where's key person cover? Where's your Microsoft accreditation? He admits he should have known better than most.

He also made a point that doesn't come up often enough. Sometimes you think you want an exit and then you don't. Within months of launching, Onyx was close to selling to a much larger player. They pulled back because that wasn't why they'd built the business. A merger offer followed, and after one conversation with the team they realised they didn't want to work with those people either. Knowing what you actually want saves you from deals that look good on paper.

Could the business survive without you?

Adam's test is blunt. If you were hit by a bus tomorrow, would the deal still be doable? If not, you're probably not ready for market. Most owners carry far too much knowledge in their heads, Adam included, by his own admission.

Nigel told the story of an owner with 20 salespeople, himself among them. Over the two years before selling, he deliberately went from top performer to the worst on the leaderboard. Counter-intuitive, as Adam said, but the business was better for it.

Small partners are punching well above their weight

At SoftwareOne's peak, with more than 10,000 staff, Neil reckons around 500 people really ran the business. Everyone knew the handful of names to call when something went wrong.

His view now is that the barriers that once protected big partners have gone. The intelligence is accessible to smaller organisations, and they're more focused, more nimble and often better at managing their Microsoft relationship. He saw plenty of practices die on the vine after being acquired by larger firms that were never as fast as they thought.

The value driver for a smaller partner, in his view, is the intelligence layer built across its customer base. A 50 person partner that consistently outperforms a 1,000 person one is proving something in the market, and buyers notice.

Three things to do on Monday morning

Nigel closed by asking each panellist for one thing to do next Monday.

Get it out of your head. Jack's advice: write down the one thing your business does that only exists in your head, then make it your mission that everyone else knows it too.
Do the thinking first. Adam would start with why. Why do you want to be in the deal space? Who are you selling to and what will they care about? Getting your house in order matters, but the cognitive bit comes first.
Count your CSP customers. Neil's tactical tip for Microsoft services partners: how many customers do you have, and how many do you sell CSP to? Not for the resale margin, but because CSP is your intelligence layer for selling services and the backbone of your co-sell relationship. Microsoft now pays on growth and ties accreditations to revenue, so it also gives you a growth story a buyer can believe.

Thinking about what comes next?

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European Power Platform Conference: June 29 – July 2

Creating value, what really moves the dial

Whether a sale is five years away or five months, or you're simply not sure yet, the work that makes a business valuable is the same work that makes it run well. We talk to Microsoft partners about this every day, and we work with associates like our panel who have been through it from every side.

If you'd like to talk through your succession plan, your Microsoft narrative or which metrics will actually move the dial for a buyer, email us. Our inbox is always open.

info@oaka.studio

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Microsoft Partners Don't Need an AI Practice. They Need Something Customers Will Buy.

Wed, 21 Oct 2026 21:42:35 GMT

We've had roughly the same AI conversation with Microsoft partners for a couple of years now. It usually opens with some version of "we know we need to do something with AI".

Fair enough. The next part is where it gets less useful. Teams start debating which Microsoft technology to invest in, whether they need more Copilot Studio skills, how much Azure AI capability to build and whether they should start calling themselves an AI partner.

Meanwhile the customer has a much simpler concern. They've got a problem and they'd quite like someone to solve it.

That matters because the AI market moves fast. Six months ago customers were asking different questions, and six months from now they probably will be again. Building a practice around whichever technology is getting the most attention this quarter is an expensive way to keep reorganising your business.

The better starting point is what customers are actually prepared to spend money on now

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These kinds of nights are a reminder that real community matters. Thanks to everyone who joined us - if you'd like to join us next year, please just let us know at info@oaka.studio .

You probably shouldn't become an "AI partner"

This is where a lot of strategy conversations go wrong. A Power Platform partner spots the AI opportunity and decides it needs security, data engineering, Azure AI, adoption and governance capability. A security partner decides it needs a team of AI engineers. Everyone starts hiring.

There's a more boring and usually cheaper answer: start with what you're already good at.

For a Power Platform partner, that might mean workflow automation, Copilot Studio, implementation and adoption. For a security partner, AI governance, Purview, permissions and data protection are far more natural extensions. An Azure or data partner may have a credible route into the more engineered end of the market.

Your existing expertise isn't something you need to abandon to take part in AI. It's probably your best way in. Customers aren't hunting for companies that have added "AI" to the top of their website. They want people who understand their problem and can apply the technology to it safely.

Some capabilities are better borrowed than built

Once you accept you don't have to do everything yourself, the practice conversation gets much easier.

A Power Platform partner may need security expertise around permissions, Purview, DLP and sensitivity labels to deliver a broader AI engagement properly. That doesn't automatically mean hiring a security team. A security partner may need Power Platform capability without wanting to become a Power Platform practice.

So partner. There's nothing especially noble about owning every link in the delivery chain. If another Microsoft partner has complementary capability, works with similar customers and can help you deliver a stronger proposition, work with them. Joint offers and referral arrangements can fill gaps now while you decide whether those skills deserve permanent investment later.

The important decision is knowing which capabilities you'll own, which you'll develop over time and which you've no intention of building. That last list is useful. More partners should have one.

Copilot Chat is a starting point, not much of a business model

Microsoft's current AI stack gives partners several places to play.

Copilot Chat is a fairly straightforward entry point that gives employees a sanctioned general-purpose AI tool instead of leaving them to find their own. There's some training work around it, but not much implementation opportunity.

Microsoft 365 Copilot gets more commercially interesting because organisational data enters the picture, which means use cases, permissions, governance and adoption all need attention.

Copilot Studio moves further towards agents embedded in business processes, often integrated with other systems.

Azure AI Foundry sits at the heavily engineered end, with more customisation and correspondingly heavier requirements around engineering, data pipelines and governance.

It's tempting to look at that progression and assume moving further along makes you a more mature AI partner. It doesn't. It makes you a partner doing more technically complex AI work, which isn't the same thing. A profitable governance service that solves a recurring customer problem is a better business than an impressive Foundry capability nobody has agreed to buy.

Build offers customers can understand

"We do AI" isn't an offer. Neither is "we can help you unlock the power of Copilot", however much website space is currently devoted to variations of it.

Customers need to know what you'll do, what problem it solves and what's different when you've finished.

For new customers, Copilot readiness can be a useful way in, with the engagement moving on to automation quick wins, line-of-business augmentation and eventually customer service AI. With existing customers, security and governance is often the more natural opener, because you already know their environment and have enough trust to talk about what Copilot can see, what it should see and which controls need to exist.

That gives salespeople something concrete to sell. It also gives customers a sensible starting point without signing up to a huge AI transformation programme before anyone knows whether the first use case works.

Some of what you build will have a short shelf life

This is the bit technology businesses find uncomfortable. Some AI services you build today may need substantial rework within a year.

That doesn't automatically make them bad investments. Things that are difficult now may be trivial in twelve months, and waiting for the market to settle sounds prudent until you realise it may not settle for some time.

The real judgement is whether the investment needed is proportionate to the revenue and customer value available while the capability stays useful. A fairly cheap capability with strong demand for the next year can be a perfectly good business. A big hiring programme for a narrow technical service Microsoft might turn into a button next spring deserves rather more scrutiny.

Customers face the same question. Sometimes the sensible AI project is one that delivers value quickly, even if everyone accepts it'll be rebuilt as the technology improves. Not everything needs to become a family heirloom.

Customers have mostly moved past the excitement phase

Most customers no longer need convincing that AI might be useful. They've seen the demos, their leadership team has probably been to a conference and someone internally is already using ChatGPT, sanctioned or not.

The conversations we're seeing now are far more practical. Customers want productivity, because hiring is expensive and there's pressure to do more with the people they've got. They want faster, better decisions, because new competitors are arriving without the same legacy systems and processes. They're looking at AI-enabled customer service, because the technology is finally usable enough to put in front of customers without producing an embarrassing screenshot for social media.

And they're worried about risk. Quite reasonably.

The market is shifting from "show me what AI can do" to "show me how to use it without creating another problem". That's a much better market for partners.

The blockers are part of the opportunity

A lot of partners still treat customer hesitation as something to get past before they can sell the AI project. We tend to see it differently. The hesitation is often the project.

Customers keep running into four fairly predictable problems. They don't know which use cases are worth pursuing, their data is a mess, their governance isn't ready and they have no sensible operating model for managing AI once it starts spreading through the organisation.

Take data. Most organisations have spent years piling up SharePoint sites, Teams channels, documents and permissions. There are five copies of the same presentation, three of them called "FINAL", and nobody's entirely sure which one is. Then someone switches on Copilot and is surprised the answers reflect the information underneath them.

AI didn't create that problem. It just made it much harder to ignore.

For Microsoft partners, sorting out the data, permissions, security and governance around AI is commercially valuable work in its own right. You don't have to wait for the glamorous project that comes afterwards.

Don't put AI into something Power Automate already does perfectly well

There's another urge worth resisting: using AI because it's there.

If a process reads "when field X equals this and field Y equals that, do Z", you've got a deterministic workflow. Power Automate has been handling that sort of thing happily for years. Adding an agent doesn't make it more sophisticated. It gives you a more expensive and less predictable way of getting the same answer.

AI earns its place where judgement is needed, where inputs are unstructured or where the answer can't be neatly expressed in rules. That sounds obvious written down. It becomes surprisingly less obvious once everyone's in a workshop with "agentic AI" on the slide.

Four sensible places for most partners to start

We mapped ten AI offers against what we're seeing customers buy. They range from fairly accessible services to much bigger bets, and for most Microsoft partners four sit at the sensible end of the investment curve.

AI security and governance comes first. Customers need policies, controls, ownership and auditability before they can safely expand their use of AI, and a security partner already has much of the credibility and capability to lead that conversation.

Data access and permissioning is the second. Microsoft 365 Copilot can only be as sensible as the environment you expose it to, so SharePoint structures, permissions and sensitivity need attention before AI starts reasoning across an organisation's data.

Third is automation and integration quick wins. There are plenty of processes where Power Automate and Copilot Studio work well together, provided someone has first checked that AI actually belongs there.

Fourth is Copilot readiness and value assessments. This is less about deploying technology and more about finding worthwhile use cases, defining what success looks like and putting guardrails in place before money gets spent.

None of these are especially exotic, which is partly the point. They map to problems customers are already trying to solve, and for many partners they can be delivered with capability that's already sitting somewhere in the business.

The more interesting work comes later

Further along, the opportunities get bigger and so do the capability requirements.

Line-of-business augmentation is one. Rather than asking someone to leave Dynamics or another business application to have a separate conversation with an AI tool, AI sits inside the work they're already doing. Summaries, next-best actions and knowledge retrieval become part of the application instead of another place to go.

Customer service is another area we expect to grow considerably. Organisations are getting more comfortable letting AI deal directly with customers, particularly in authenticated environments where context and audience can be controlled. The potential is significant. So is the damage from getting it wrong.

Then there's data readiness. "Every AI project is a data project" has been said often enough to risk becoming wallpaper, but annoyingly it's still true. Customers need trustworthy data, a clear view of the gaps and information they can actually use before more advanced AI work is worth doing.

Beyond that you're into multi-step agents with human oversight, repeatable industry solutions and eventually proprietary data or pre-trained models that can make up for customers whose own data estates are years from ready. Potentially substantial opportunities, and not where every partner should start.

The hard part is deciding what you won't do

Most partners can produce an impressive list of AI opportunities. That's the easy bit. The useful work is narrowing it down.

Which industries and customer problems already fit your business? Which existing capabilities give you a credible starting point? Which offers can you sell without spending six months building a team first? Which capabilities are worth developing and which should come from partners?

Then the question that tends to get skipped: what are you deliberately not going to build?

A security partner doesn't need to become an Azure AI engineering house just because Foundry exists. A Power Platform specialist doesn't need to recreate a mature security practice before selling its first Copilot Studio engagement. There's enough opportunity in AI without every Microsoft partner trying to become every type of Microsoft partner at once.

We've watched plenty of partners spend months debating AI strategy when a perfectly viable offer was sitting one step from what they already do. The answer is usually less dramatic than expected.

Take something you already understand. Apply it to a problem customers are paying to solve right now. Package it clearly. Borrow the capabilities you don't need to own.

Then sell it. You can worry about becoming an AI company later.

Working out where AI fits in your business?

IAMCP Events:

European Power Platform Conference: June 29 – July 2

Microsoft Partners Don't Need an AI Practice. They Need Something Customers Will Buy.

If you'd like help identifying the AI offer that sits closest to what you already do, and what it would take to package and sell it, email us. We'll look at your current capability with you and give you a straight view of where to start and what to leave alone.

info@oaka.studio

Get in touch

Your Microsoft Designation Isn’t a Badge. Stop Treating It Like One.

Wed, 21 Oct 2026 21:30:21 GMT

There’s a Microsoft partner conversation we have far too often.

A partner works hard for a Solutions Partner designation. Customers get associated, certifications get chased, the Partner Capability Score finally creeps over the line and everyone breathes out.

Then the designation gets left alone.

A few months later someone opens Partner Center and finds the score has slipped, a certification has lapsed, customers have gone missing or the renewal window is approaching with the business sitting on 41 points. Panic follows, as it tends to.

The issue is rarely that the partner doesn’t understand Microsoft’s requirements. It’s that designation management has been treated as a project with a finish line rather than an ongoing part of running a Microsoft practice. This year, that difference matters more than it used to.

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The obvious designation isn’t always the best route

Partners tend to head straight for the designation that looks most like what they do. Reasonable, but not always the smartest path.

If the real goal is a particular specialisation, there may be more than one way in. Copilot specialisation came up in our Partner Insights session as a good example. The prerequisite can be met through Modern Work or Business Applications, so a partner struggling with the Business Applications designation might find a more practical route through Modern Work using its existing customer base.

Solutions Partner Insights in Partner Center can also show fit-gap information against designations you hadn’t been considering. We’ve seen partners much closer to an apparently unrelated designation than they realised. Worth a look before you commit everyone to another certification sprint.

Someone needs to own this properly

This is the least sophisticated advice in the article and the one partners ignore most consistently.

Give somebody ownership. Not nominal ownership, and not “Sarah looks after Partner Center when she has time”. Actual ownership.

Maintaining Microsoft capability needs allocated time, regular reporting and people who know which parts of the process are theirs. The person handling customer associations might not be the one planning certifications, and that’s fine. What matters is that those responsibilities live somewhere other than the edge of someone’s desk.

Edge-of-desk work behaves exactly as you’d expect. A customer issue comes up, a deal needs closing, someone goes on holiday, a project overruns and Partner Center can wait. Then renewal arrives and it turns out Partner Center couldn’t wait after all.

We’ve seen this often enough that regular designation governance is now part of how we work with partners. Monthly is sensible. Quarterly is a lot better than nothing. Track the score, certifications, associations and anything nearing expiry, and know which way the numbers are moving before the renewal window opens.

Don’t dump all your customer associations in at once

Another trap appears when a partner first gets serious about its designation. They find a backlog of customers that should have been associated, which is great, and then want to associate all of them immediately, which is less great.

Associations affect future performance and renewal. Land everything in one concentrated period and you can set up a very unpleasant comparison for yourself later. We usually recommend keeping a simple record of customers, approximate consumption and when each should be associated, then managing the flow deliberately rather than loading the lot into Partner Center in one heroic afternoon.

The same applies after a particularly strong period. Some measures require year-on-year growth, so today’s spectacular number can become next year’s awkward baseline.

This isn’t about gaming the rules. It’s about understanding how the measurement works before you feed data into it.

Gold and Silver are gone. Really.

We should probably get this out of the way, because years after they were retired we still see Gold and Silver competencies on partner websites, email signatures and marketing materials.

They can’t be renewed and they’re not part of the current partner model. If they’re still on your website because nobody’s got round to changing them, now’s a good moment.

Solutions Partner designations are the currency now, alongside specialisations and the newer layers Microsoft keeps adding around them. The bigger change, though, isn’t what the badges are called. The relationship itself is getting more demanding.

We’re seeing signs that Microsoft increasingly wants evidence that partners are continually delivering the things it cares about, rather than passing an assessment and vanishing for a year. Some programmes already look at measures like monthly active usage on a regular basis. To be clear, that’s our reading of the direction of travel rather than a confirmed programme change, but it’s a fairly strong signal.

A designation is becoming less like a certificate on the wall and more like something you have to keep healthy. Less convenient, admittedly.

Getting to 70 points is only half the job

The Partner Capability Score is simple enough in principle. You need 70 points to attain a Solutions Partner designation and 70 to renew it. You also need points in each of the three measurement categories, so a magnificent overall score with one required area at zero won’t get you there.

We still meet partners with plenty of points who assume they’re fine, then discover they’ve got nothing against net new customers or another required measure. The dashboard isn’t being difficult for fun, although Partner Center does occasionally give that impression.

Customer association matters too, and it’s unnecessarily easy to get wrong. Different designations use different association mechanisms, and even within Business Applications different CPOR association types can feed different metrics. Pick the wrong one and activity you expected to count towards net new customers may count towards usage instead.

The work happened and the customer is real. Microsoft just has no reason to credit you unless the association tells its systems the right story. Not a fun thing to learn after the fact.

Work backwards from the benefit you actually want

Another common mistake is deciding a designation looks impressive and then organising the business around getting it.

Start with what you’re trying to unlock. That might be funding, a particular specialisation, internal use rights, Azure credits, Marketplace benefits, co-sell opportunities or access to another Microsoft programme. Then work backwards.

Microsoft’s incentives guidance changes regularly, so look at which incentives map to services you already sell and customers you already have. Check eligibility before spending months chasing the designation or specialisation that unlocks them. There’s very little satisfaction in reaching the end and finding out the customers you had in mind aren’t eligible.

None of this means Microsoft should dictate your business strategy. Quite the opposite. We sometimes see partners inventing propositions purely because they fit the current incentive structure. There can be good reasons to build a new offer, but contorting the company to collect an incentive is usually a poor trade, especially when Microsoft changes its programmes rather more often than most partners change their businesses.

Your designation plan should support the business you’re building. It shouldn’t become the business.

Keep your own records, because Partner Center occasionally disagrees with itself

Some partners assume that if Partner Center showed 74 points last month, it’ll remember that faithfully forever. We admire the optimism.

Keep evidence. Take regular screenshots of your attainment and store them somewhere central, along with records of customer associations and the people and certifications attached to the account. Microsoft’s data refreshes periodically and anomalies happen. When they do, a support ticket is far easier to resolve if you can show what the score said, rather than explaining that someone definitely remembers seeing it.

It feels old-fashioned because it is. Do it anyway.

Watch the SMB and enterprise tracks

This one has caught out several partners. A business can be progressing nicely against SMB requirements, then a change in its customer base moves it onto the enterprise track, where attainment requirements can be very different.

The result can be brutal. Partners sitting comfortably at 70, 80 or 90 points can drop sharply after switching tracks. Smaller and growing practices should pay particular attention, because enterprise requirements can increase the number of certified people you need, and renewal is the worst possible time to find that out.

Check which track you’re being measured against and what would cause it to change. Then add it to the governance meeting. Yes, another thing for the governance meeting.

Frontier isn’t for everybody

Microsoft’s Frontier Partner badge is deliberately demanding. The requirements span multiple Solutions Partner designations and specialisations across areas including AI, Copilot, DevOps and security, and at launch only a small number of firms globally could meet them.

For broad partners with real capability across Microsoft’s cloud, data, AI, business applications, modern work and security portfolio, it’s worth understanding. For a highly specialised partner, it may simply not be a sensible target, and there’s no shame in that. Microsoft builds programmes for different kinds of partners and you don’t have to collect them all.

What’s interesting about Frontier is what it says about Microsoft’s direction. Technical capability still matters, but Microsoft increasingly seems to be recognising partners that can show breadth and play deeply across its AI-led ecosystem. At the time of our session, Marketplace wasn’t yet showing the Frontier badge on partner profiles, though our understanding was that Frontier partners would get search prioritisation.

As with everything else here, pursue it because it supports where your business is going, not because a new badge exists.

Benefits only help if someone remembers to use them

There’s a slightly painful final stage to all this. A partner does the work, earns the designation and unlocks the benefits. Then carries on paying for things Microsoft now provides.

We’ve seen partners keep spending thousands of pounds on internal licensing because nobody told operations that new internal use rights were available. The same pattern turns up elsewhere. Commercial teams don’t know which funding paths have opened. Salespeople don’t know when to bring funding into customer conversations. Marketing hasn’t prepared to use the new co-branded assets. Nobody’s worked out who actually submits a claim.

That’s why attainment should trigger operational changes across the company. Sales, marketing, operations and whoever manages the Microsoft relationship should all know what’s now available and what they’re expected to do with it. Otherwise you’ve spent months earning a very complicated logo.

Partnership management is becoming an operating discipline

There was a time when plenty of partners could treat Microsoft partnership activity as something next to the actual business. Someone looked after the relationship, someone kept an eye on competencies, certifications got sorted when needed and everyone else got on with selling and delivering.

That separation is getting harder to keep up. Designations now influence funding, licensing, Marketplace visibility, specialisations, co-sell conversations and credibility with Microsoft sellers. Customers are asking for them in tenders and RFPs too. They touch sales, delivery, operations, skills planning and customer management.

So stop running your designation as an annual scramble. Decide which Microsoft capabilities genuinely matter to your business, understand the scoring mechanics, build customer association into your sales and delivery process, give someone proper ownership, check the numbers regularly and plan for renewal while things are going well.

Finding out you’ve got 41 points with three months to go is technically a Microsoft partner strategy. It’s just not a very good one.

Not sure where your designation actually stands?

IAMCP Events:

European Power Platform Conference: June 29 – July 2

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If you’d like a clear view of your Partner Capability Score, your associations and what your designation should be unlocking for you, email us. We’ll go through your Partner Center position with you and tell you plainly what needs attention before renewal comes round.

info@oaka.studio

Get in touch

The new FY27 Incentives Don’t Break Your Business Model. But They Might Have Exposed It.

Wed, 21 Oct 2026 21:15:00 GMT

Microsoft Has Stopped Paying Partners to Exist

Every July, LinkedIn fills up with the same posts declaring that Microsoft has changed everything. Most of them are written before anyone's actually opened the rebates guide. The honest version is fairly simple:

Microsoft has doubled down on net-new business. In our experience, a lot of partners still haven't.

The part that catches people out the most has been the pace of change - This didn't creep in over several renewal cycles. The direction changed sharply between FY26 and FY27 and it's still moving and every quarter the gap widens between the model Microsoft is funding and the one most partners are still running. Treat it as a slow drift you'll adjust to eventually and you'll be building a plan for a market that has already moved on. As always – and as Oaka often refer to in our “Partner Genome” being ambiguity tolerant is not just something for the technical delivery leads within the practices we serve, but also the partnership focussed leaders.

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Promotions: cash on the table, wasted without messaging

Windows 365 at up to 25% off, extended E3 and E5 promos, a new E7 promo, Copilot bundles now permanent in SMB.

All of it is useful, but promotions don't create pipeline, effective to-customer messaging does. If your sales team can't articulate a business outcome, a 25% discount is just a number on a slide – and as we all know customers don't buy discounts, they buy reasons, therefore the promo basket is fuel for a conversation you have to be capable of starting in the first place.

Change of channel partner: less punitive than the noise suggests

The new rules aren't the disaster LinkedIn would have you believe. Incoming partners keep the Growth Accelerator even in displacement scenarios.

But again, this only matters if you're winning customers, not inheriting them or waiting for them. If your growth plan is "hopefully someone else's customers get fed up", FY27 incentives aren’t going to fix that for you.

Modern Work and Dynamics: yes, it's worse. That's not the real problem

The flat rebate is gone. Core rate is gone for indirect resellers. Another 5% margin cut hits legacy SKUs in October.

That's a genuine hit and we’re not going to pretend otherwise. But the real issue isn't the cuts. It's that too many partners, were (and to some extent still are) built on rebate gravity rather than customer outcomes, with renewals quietly doing the heavy lifting for years. FY27 won’t break those businesses so much as expose them.

The MCI shift that's had far less airtime than it really deserves

The CSP rebate changes have attracted most of the attention, but this is the structural shift that actually matters. It's not something you'll spot by comparing rebate percentages.

Microsoft have folded all of their activity-based incentives under a single umbrella called Frontier Accelerate, so these MCI incentives no longer sit as separate line items but as one connected programme. And the positioning has shifted with it, AI isn't one of three strands sitting alongside Azure and Security anymore, it's the strategy the whole thing is built around. They’re also splitting the Copilot deployment incentives in two, one for M365 and one for agents, which tells you exactly where Microsoft thinks the next wave of value sits: agentic workloads aren't a feature of Copilot any more, they're being funded as their own category.

In FY26 the funding pot was broad, predictable and product/SKU-driven. You could earn across Azure, Security and AI Business Solutions without deep alignment. Pipeline was optional and renewals carried you through.

In FY27 you get three targeted investment programmes: AI, Azure and Security. Each comes with its own gates and proof requirements, and each is designed to reward partners creating new demand rather than maintaining old estates. MCI engagements now need demonstrable outcomes, and co-sell maturity is increasingly the price of entry.

The upshot is that Microsoft has stopped funding presence and started funding impact. Partner Centre has quietly become a pivotal line on the P&L, and the partners doing well are the ones who've got that engine singing.

And while everyone's busy complaining about the rate card, many are missing the change that actually matters most for the SMB segment. The customer eligibility threshold has dropped from the historic 300 to 500 user range down to just 50 in some instances. That's not a rounding error, it's Microsoft putting real money behind proof that SMB transformation matters to them, not just enterprise. And then there's the conversion bonus, which is Microsoft doing the thing we've been telling partners to do for years: being deliberately narrow. Rather than a generic top-up, it specifically rewards partners for displacing the likes of Google Workspace and CrowdStrike. That's not spray-and-pray funding, it's a targeted opportunity to displace named competitors.

AI: genuine upside, but only if you're actually selling it

The new Growth Margin on strategic AI workloads is a proper incentive. It pays on new-to-offer, seat expansion and adoption growth and it stacks on top of what you already earn.

The bit nobody much likes saying, though: if you're not landing Copilot, Agent 365 or AI-led workloads, this incentive doesn't exist for you. Microsoft isn't paying partners for turning up at renewal time; it's paying the ones who create new demand.

And a gentle reminder while we're here: buyers have grown more sceptical. AI in your messaging is now an expectation rather than a differentiator. We're seeing very clear daylight between partners who are actually doing it and partners who've simply put it on the website. The Growth Margin rewards the first group, and the ones really winning are still those who can demonstrate their own journey. “Customer zero” is not a phrase that’s going away any time soon, so if you can’t answer “how is AI affecting your target operating model?” when your customers or indeed Microsoft ask, you need to get started, and quickly.

Azure: the quiet winner, with a catch

Azure's incentive structure is broadly untouched. Consumption and growth accelerators still top out at around 15% and Tier 3 workloads still pay the richest rates.

But stability only matters if you're driving consumption rather than babysitting it. There's a real difference between managing an estate and growing one, and the incentive design knows which one it's rewarding: usage, deployment and customer outcomes, not generic partner activity or the same workshop rinsed and repeated.

The real FY27 message

The improvements this year are narrow and specific, but they all point in the same direction: Microsoft is rewarding partners who can prove they're growing seats, workloads and adoption, not partners who are simply still standing at renewal time.

So the questions to ask yourself aren't about the rate card at all. Can your team articulate an outcome? Can you answer "what do you do, who do you do it for" without reaching for the word "everything"? Is your pipeline built on customer ambition or renewal cycles?

If the answers are shaky, no incentive programme is going to save you. If they're solid, FY27 is quietly one of the better years to be a Microsoft partner in a long time.

From Oaka’s perspective, it’s simple: the incentives don't create the growth. The partners chasing it do.

Not sure which side of FY27 you’re on?

IAMCP Events:

European Power Platform Conference: June 29 – July 2

The new FY27 Incentives Don’t Break Your Business Model. But They Might Have Exposed It.

If you have questions, or would like to talk through your FY27 strategy, we would love to hear from you.

info@oaka.studio

Get in touch

You’ve Probably Got Co-op Funds. You’ve Probably Not Claimed Them.

Wed, 21 Oct 2026 21:00:23 GMT

There's a decent chance you've got Co-op funds sitting in Partner Center right now. There's a better chance nobody's done anything about them.

It comes up on our calls more than you'd think. We open a partner's Partner Center together and there it is: a Co-op balance they didn't know about, attached to a deadline they hadn't noticed. Nobody's hiding it. It's just easy to miss and even easier to park for later.

Later, in Co-op terms, tends to mean never.

Unlike a rebate, Co-op doesn't land in your account by itself. It has to be planned, spent on eligible activity, documented and claimed on time. Slip on any one of those and the money goes back to Microsoft. It doesn't roll forward and it doesn't wait for you.

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You’ve Probably Got Co-op Funds. You’ve Probably Not Claimed Them.

What Co-op actually is Our Take

Cooperative Marketing Funds (Co-op) are earned through Microsoft's partner incentive programmes, including Commerce Incentives, CSP transactions, Surface and hosting. Part of what you earn accrues as Co-op instead of being paid as cash. You spend it on approved activity, such as marketing campaigns, customer events, proof-of-concepts or skilling, then claim it back.

The bit that catches most people out: on CSP incentives, 60 percent is paid as rebate and 40 percent accrues as Co-op. If that Co-op accrual stays under USD $10,000 for the earning period, Microsoft converts it to rebate at the end. No action, no deadline, nothing to forget.

Go over that threshold and it becomes your job. The funds stay as Co-op and it's on you to use and claim them properly.

Who should check

CSP Direct Bill partners, Indirect Resellers and Indirect Providers transacting Microsoft 365 or Azure at any real volume. Anyone holding a Solutions Partner designation in Modern Work, Security, Infrastructure, Data and AI, Digital and App Innovation or Business Applications. Managed partners with regular Microsoft engagement, plus Surface and hosting partners on incentive programmes.

Checking takes about ninety seconds: Partner Center, Incentives, Earnings.

What you can spend it on

There's more flexibility than most people assume, once you know the categories.

Demand generation and digital marketing covers paid ads, SEO, social campaigns and content syndication, essentially anything with measurable reach. Market development and sales enablement covers customer seminars, bootcamps, proof-of-concepts, migration workshops and telemarketing, with seller incentives allowed in some regions. Partner skilling covers anything that improves your team's ability to sell, deploy or support Microsoft solutions.

Every activity needs proof it happened: agendas, attendee lists, invoices, screenshots. Some programmes require pre-approval before you start and some activities are restricted by region, so check the current guidebook rather than relying on last year's rules.

This is usually the moment people decide it's too much hassle this close to year end and leave it. Understandable. Also expensive.

A few misconceptions we hear

"It's free money, I'll get round to it." It's earned, time-boxed and tied to specific activity. The clock doesn't stop because you're busy.

"Only the big partners get meaningful Co-op." Plenty of smaller partners with the right designation and steady CSP revenue accrue real amounts. Most have simply never looked.

"SPIFFs are always fine to run." They're restricted in a number of countries and need specific attestations. Confirm that before building a plan around them.

Short on time? Start here

Check your balance. Partner Center, Incentives, then look at the accrual, which programme it belongs to and the actual usage deadline.

Pick activity you can realistically deliver. Multi-touch digital campaigns tied to a workload, customer seminars with proper attendance tracking or proof-of-concepts aligned to Modern Work, Security or Azure incentives are usually achievable at short notice.

Document as you go. Rebuilding proof of execution after the event is one of the most common reasons claims get rejected.

Submit early. Anything still flagged as needing partner action at the deadline won't be paid, however legitimate the activity.

And if you're stretched, get help packaging the activity and the claim. Doing it once with someone who's seen the rejections beats finding out what went wrong after the window has closed.

Before the year runs out

If your usage period ends on 31 December 2026, the activity needs to be finished by then, not just planned. Claims typically follow by mid-February 2027, depending on the programme.

Unused or non-compliant Co-op doesn't roll over and isn't reinstated. No exceptions on that one.

If you'd like a straight answer on where you stand, email us at [email address]. We'll look at your Partner Center position with you and tell you quickly what's realistic before the year closes.

One thing to check before this goes out: the original dates referred to H2 FY25 with a 31 December 2025 deadline, which has already passed, so I've moved everything forward a year to the current cycle. It's also worth confirming the 60/40 split and the $10,000 threshold against the current Co-op guidebook, as Microsoft adjusts incentive rules between fiscal years.

IAMCP Events:

European Power Platform Conference: June 29 – July 2

Why it's more than admin

The numbers tend to surprise people. A partner doing around £1m a year in CSP will accrue a modest amount. A partner doing £10m a year at a blended earning rate of roughly 3 percent could be sitting on tens of thousands. That's a proper budget line: demand generation for a specific workload, a proof-of-concept programme, a run of customer workshops or training for your own team.

Every year a good chunk of it expires anyway. Eligibility is rarely the issue. Timing and paperwork usually are.

The timing, which is where it usually goes wrong

Co-op runs on Microsoft's fiscal calendar in six-month blocks. You earn in one period, get the next six months to spend, then a grace window of roughly 45 days to file the claim. After that, it's closed.

For many partners right now, that looks like this. H2 FY26 was earned between 1 January and 30 June 2026. The usage window runs from 1 July to 31 December 2026. Claims are typically due by mid-February 2027, though this varies by programme.

Activity not completed by 31 December means forfeited funds. There's no appeal and no second window, and Microsoft won't be chasing you about it.

If you have questions, or would like to talk through your FY27 strategy, we would love to hear from you.

info@oaka.studio

Get in touch

Microsoft Partner Events: The 2026 Calendar

Thu, 17 Sep 2026 08:42:23 GMT

Not every Microsoft partner event is worth your time. Microsoft runs hundreds of events globally, many of them aimed at enterprise buyers or focused on product announcements that will not move the needle on your partner business. This calendar is different — it is curated for UK Microsoft Solution Partners who need to make deliberate choices about where to spend their time and travel budget.

The events listed here span the UK, Europe and North America. We include events outside the UK where the content, community or access to Microsoft is compelling enough to justify the journey. We update this page monthly as dates are confirmed and events pass.

Convergence AI + D365 — Miami, 8–11 December 2026

Microsoft’s premier Dynamics 365 event, with the full D365 ecosystem in one place — product teams, partners, customers and the AI business applications community. Late in the calendar year and a long way to travel, so it requires a deliberate decision, but the direct access to Microsoft’s product direction is unmatched.

2026: 8–11 December, Fontainebleau Miami Beach. convergence365.com

What Is Coming Up

The largest Power Platform community conference globally, with 200+ sessions covering low-code development, automation and AI integration. Not a cheap trip, but the concentration of Power Platform expertise — at both session and hallway level — is unmatched if Power Platform is a growth area for your practice.

2026: 27–29 October, MGM Grand Las Vegas. powerplatformconf.com

These kinds of nights are a reminder that real community matters. Thanks to everyone who joined us - if you'd like to join us next year, please just let us know at info@oaka.studio .

Heading to one of these events? Oaka Studio works with UK Microsoft partners to sharpen their go-to-market positioning and make the most of their Microsoft relationship. Get in touch before you go — a conversation ahead of a major event often changes how you approach it.

2026 Events at a Glance

Virtual attendance for Microsoft Ignite is free.

The flagship events Microsoft runs directly. The announcements made here tend to drive client conversations for months afterwards — even if you are not in the room, knowing what landed and what it means for your practice is part of the job.

A rolling global roadshow bringing Microsoft’s Copilot and AI platform story to partners and customers across multiple cities throughout the year. The format tends to be smaller and more accessible than the large flagship conferences, which means better access to Microsoft product and field teams than you will get at Ignite. For partners building an AI practice, it is one of the highest-value events in the calendar.

London: 21 October 2026, ExCeL London
Paris: 21 October 2026
Watch aitour.microsoft.com for current schedule.

If Dynamics 365 — Business Central, Finance, Sales or Field Service — is your practice area, these are your primary conferences. The community is tight-knit and the peer networking at D365 events is unusually candid compared to broader tech conferences.

Europe’s Microsoft Fabric and SQL community conference. Strong for partners whose practice involves Fabric, SQL Server, Power BI or data platform work. Community-run and practitioner-led — less vendor noise than the larger trade events.

2026: 28 September–1 October, CCIB Barcelona. espc.tech/conference/fabcon-europe-2026

Europe’s largest independent Microsoft 365 and AI conference. Strong for partners with practices built around Microsoft 365, Teams, SharePoint, Power Platform or Copilot-for-M365. The practitioner-led sessions are the real draw — the Microsoft presence is substantial but the independent voice is what makes it worth attending.

2026: 30 November–3 December, RAI Amsterdam. espc.tech/conference/espc-2026

The UK’s leading data, analytics and AI conference and exhibition, free to attend. The Microsoft presence is significant and the audience spans enterprise buyers, data teams and technology vendors. The content quality varies — treat it primarily as a networking and market intelligence exercise rather than a deep technical event.

2026: 23–24 September, Olympia London. bigdataldn.com — free to attend.

The largest Microsoft developer conference in the Netherlands — one workshop day followed by two conference days, with around 90 sessions across AI, cloud and web development tracks. Worth considering for partners with strong technical teams working across Azure AI, .NET or Microsoft cloud platform development.

2026: 26–28 October, Utrecht. techorama.nl

AI Trust Forum: 1 October

The UK Dynamics 365 and Power Platform User Group’s national all-day event — free, community-run, practitioner-led. The Manchester edition is the largest UK chapter event. A regular chapter also runs in Reading; see the website for the full UK schedule.

National (Manchester): 9 September 2026, UA92. d365ppug.com — free to attend.
Reading chapter: dates TBC. d365ppug.com/events

Microsoft runs UK-specific partner events throughout the year — field briefings, skilling days and roadshows tied to major product cycles. These are not always publicised far in advance and some are invitation-only. The EMEA partner events page is worth bookmarking and checking monthly: microsoft.com/en/emea/partners-events .

Microsoft’s flagship annual conference, typically November. Ignite is where the biggest platform, AI and security announcements land. For partners, the breakout sessions on partner strategy, licensing changes and ecosystem investment are often more commercially useful than the keynotes. Virtual attendance is free, well-supported and the recordings stay accessible for months.

2026: 17–20 November. ignite.microsoft.com

Microsoft Ignite

Microsoft’s annual developer and ISV conference, typically May, Seattle. This is where developer-facing AI capabilities, Azure platform updates and the API roadmap surface first. Essential for software or IP-led partners; lower priority for services-led or resell businesses unless ISV ambitions are on the horizon.

2026: (past — see archive below) . Watch build.microsoft.com for 2027 dates.

Directions EMEA — Paris, October 2026

The IAMCP EMEA flagship conference, bringing together 200–250 CEOs, MDs and senior leaders from Microsoft partner organisations across Europe. A deliberately senior-level room — the networking here is different in character from the practitioner events, and it is where ecosystem strategy conversations happen.

2026: 15–16 October, Microsoft Munich. illuminate.eventscentral.dk

Illuminate EMEA — Munich, 15–16 October 2026

The most important conference for Dynamics 365 and Business Central partners in Europe, organised by and for the partner community rather than by Microsoft directly. The content is frank, the peer conversations are genuine, and the ISV access is hard to replicate elsewhere. Non-negotiable for Business Central and Finance partners.

27-29 October 2026 Paris. directionsforpartners.com/emea2026

Community Summit North America — Nashville, 11–15 October 2026

The largest independent Microsoft AI and Business Applications user conference globally. The audience skews US-based, but the scale draws a genuinely global partner and ISV community. For UK partners with transatlantic operations or North American clients, the depth of Dynamics 365 and Power Platform content rivals anything in the European calendar.

2026: 11–15 October, Gaylord Opryland Resort, Nashville TN. summitna.com

FabCon + SQLCon Europe — Barcelona, 28 September–1 October 2026

Power Platform Community Conference — Las Vegas, 27–29 October 2026

ESPC — Amsterdam, 30 November–3 December 2026

Techorama — Netherlands, 26–28 October 2026

Developer & Data Events

Dynamics 365 & Business Applications Events

Microsoft-Hosted Events

Power Platform & Microsoft 365 Events

Big Data LDN — London, 23–24 September 2026

UK & Community Events

D365PPUG National — Manchester, 9 September 2026

AI Trust Forum — London, 1 October 2026

Microsoft-Hosted UK Partner Events and Roadshows

Scottish Summit — Edinburgh, 2–3 October 2026

A focused one-day event at Storey Club, Paddington, for practitioners and leaders building and deploying AI responsibly. Smaller and more curated than the large AI conferences — the format prioritises conversation over spectacle. Relevant for partners working with enterprise clients on AI governance or responsible deployment.

2026: 1 October, Storey Club, Paddington. cloudlight.house/london

Scotland’s Microsoft community conference, free to attend and held at Murrayfield Stadium. Sessions span Microsoft 365, Azure, Power Platform, AI and developer topics. It consistently punches above its weight as a regional event — the speaker quality is strong and the atmosphere is notably collaborative.

2026: 2–3 October, Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh. scottishsummit.com — free to attend.

Microsoft AI Tour

Microsoft Build

Microsoft Ignite

Microsoft’s official FY26 kickoff covered:

AI Cloud Partner Program updates
Co-sell, marketplace and skilling plans
FY26 strategy from Nicole Dezen and Microsoft leadership

If you missed it, you can catch up here .

You’ll also find resources from the Microsoft Partner GTM Kickoff, which took place yesterday and offered deeper insight into how partners can activate and accelerate their go-to-market efforts in FY26.

We also got the full Oaka Studio team together to digest Microsoft’s latest updates. From new GTM motions and FY26 priorities to AI-led sales enablement and co-sell changes, we spent the day testing ideas and sharpening our support methodology for our partners.

If you want a summary of the key takeaways, you’ll find everything you need on the site here .

MCAPS Starts for Partners – 15 July

Looking Ahead: 2027

Attending an event is easy. Getting something out of it that you can point to six months later is harder.

Plan around your Microsoft relationship, not the agenda. Before most major events, Microsoft makes its field team available for partner meetings — PDM briefings, solution area conversations, co-sell pipeline reviews. These fill up fast. Contact your partner manager several weeks in advance and ask what is available. If you do not yet have a named Microsoft contact, events are one of the best places to start building those relationships.

Map sessions to commercial objectives. It is easy to fill three days with sessions that are intellectually engaging but commercially irrelevant. Before you register, identify the one or two things your business genuinely needs — a designation you are working towards, a product decision to make, a competitive gap to close — and build your schedule around those.

Use the peer network deliberately. At events like Directions EMEA or Illuminate EMEA, most of the people in the room are either trying to achieve what you have already achieved, or they have solved a problem you are still working on. Go in with specific questions rather than general ones. “How have you approached the AI Cloud Partner Programme transition?” starts a real conversation. “What do you think of the Microsoft ecosystem?” does not.

Follow up within the week. Conference relationships decay fast. A brief, specific message referencing what you actually discussed is far more effective than a generic LinkedIn connection request three weeks later.

If you want a structured view of how to approach your Microsoft relationship and partner positioning before a major event, Oaka Studio’s Partner Accelerate Framework is worth a look.

About This Calendar

This calendar is maintained by Oaka Studio and updated monthly. We add events as dates are confirmed and move past events to the archive above. The list covers UK, European and North American events relevant to UK Microsoft Solution Partners — we do not aim for exhaustive global coverage.

Event organisers: if you run a Microsoft partner event that is not listed here and believe it belongs in this calendar, please get in touch . We review all submissions and add events that meet our criteria for relevance and quality.

Spotted an error or a missing date? Let us know and we will update the page.

Last updated: August 2026

How to Get the Most from These Events

Past Events 2026

Microsoft AI Tour Paris: if you have a confirmed date for this edition, let us know and we will update the archive.

If you have questions, want to join an upcoming event, or would like to talk through your FY27 strategy, we would love to hear from you.

info@oaka.studio

Get in touch

The Microsoft Partner Newsletter - May 2026

Sun, 12 Jul 2026 16:04:19 GMT

Welcome to the May edition of the Oaka Studio partner newsletter. It has been a busy few weeks across the Microsoft ecosystem, and we have a lot to share.

Our May Oaka Partner Insights session brought together the Oaka team alongside two guests from Microsoft, Rebecca Newton and Daniel Langton, for an honest conversation about what changed in FY26 and where the real opportunities sit heading into FY27.

Get Ready for Microsoft’s FY27 GTM Kickoff Event

Partner Pulse: 5 May, London

On 5 May, senior leaders from across the Microsoft partner community came together in London for Partner Pulse, an exclusive in-person workshop hosted by Oaka Studio and Seer 365, in collaboration with Arrow Cloud UK and Ireland and Cognitive Group.

The day was built around one central question: what does it take to become a Frontier Partner? Rather than long presentations, the sessions were designed for practical insight and real conversation, with a smaller curated group gathered at Storey Club, Paddington.

Sessions covered what defines a Frontier Partner today, how leading partners are reconfiguring their businesses for scale, practical AI use cases across sales and operations, and how Dynamics 365 partners are building commercial models around AI-led services.

Microsoft’s own team joined to share their perspective directly, and the day generated some of the most candid conversations we have had yet about where the partner opportunity really sits in FY27.

Our next Partner Pulse is taking place on 2 July at Storey Club, London. More details to follow shortly.

Digital Revolution Awards

Arrow Cloud UK and Ireland: Dublin Round Table

What Is Coming Up

Oaka Partner Insights: 11 June

Our next monthly Oaka Partner Insights session will focus on product updates and summer GTM planning. Register here: State of the Nation – Market & Microsoft Landscape

These kinds of nights are a reminder that real community matters. Thanks to everyone who joined us - if you'd like to join us next year, please just let us know at info@oaka.studio .

The Microsoft Partner Newsletter May 2026

Oaka Partner Insights: Our Take FY27 is going to sort partners into two groups: those who’ve moved to outcomes-based commercial models, and those still explaining why they haven’t yet. The window for “we’re working on it” is closing. What we’re seeing across the partner community, and what came through clearly in our May session, is that the partners gaining ground aren’t doing more AI, they’re charging for it differently. That shift is the one worth getting right this summer.

From our latest Oaka Partner Insights session on FY27 trends to recent events we have had the pleasure of being part of, here is your round-up of everything worth knowing right now.

About Oaka Partner Insights

Oaka Partner Insights is our monthly session for Microsoft partners who want a clear, honest read on where the ecosystem is heading and what to do about it. Each month we bring together the Oaka team, guests from Microsoft, and senior leaders from across the partner community to work through the trends, programmes, and commercial shifts that actually move the needle. The goal is not another webinar of slides and stats. It is a working conversation, grounded in what we are seeing across partner businesses, designed to leave you with practical decisions to take back to your leadership team.

For partners, the value is threefold: early visibility on where Microsoft is investing and what that means for your FY27 plans, peer benchmarking against how other partners are reconfiguring their commercial models, and direct access to the Oaka team and our Microsoft contacts for follow-up questions. Whether you are scaling an AI practice, rethinking pricing, or planning your route to Frontier designation, the session is built to save you weeks of working it out alone.

What we covered

The session opened with a look back at FY26: Copilot going mainstream, solution areas narrowing to three, and the growing gap between partners doing AI well and those who are just saying they do it. The consensus was clear: generic Copilot workshops are no longer enough. Deep specialists who can demonstrate measurable outcomes are the ones winning.

We also explored what the Microsoft partner of the future looks like. The direction of travel is towards software-enabled services rather than pure-play consultancy, tighter collaboration between partners with complementary strengths, and operational maturity in Partner Centre becoming a genuine commercial differentiator.

Our research highlighted where partners are winning with AI right now: security and governance packs, contact centre AI, customer service agents, and industry-specific agentic solutions. The shift from efficiency-focused AI to outcomes-based, operationally embedded AI is happening faster than many expected.

Tamara and Lucy walked through practical sales frameworks for both new business and existing accounts, covering land and expand approaches, low-friction AI readiness entry points, and how to move from time-and-materials contracts towards outcomes-based revenue models.

Rebecca and Dan from Microsoft rounded out the session with their perspective on what Microsoft is prioritising in FY27, including the Frontier partner designation, upcoming funding programmes, and the growing importance of customer zero stories and Marketplace activity.

If you missed the session or want to revisit it, the recording and slides are available on request.

Microsoft’s FY27 GTM Kickoff Event is taking place on 28 July 2026 as a free digital event for partners. This is the session to put in your diary now.

The event will walk through Microsoft’s go-to-market priorities and initiatives for FY27 across key solution areas, giving partners a clear foundation to shape their plans, align messaging, and identify where to focus for the year ahead. Unusually for an event of this scale, partners can select sessions based on their primary area of interest, including:

AI Business Solutions
Commercial Cloud and AI
Security

All sessions will be available on demand after the event, and closed captions will be available in 32 languages. For those attending MCAPS Start for Partners, the FY27 GTM Kickoff is a strong companion session to go deeper on go-to-market improvements and solution play updates.

Next steps

Register for the FY27 GTM Kickoff Event on 28 July 2026
Share with your sales, marketing, and solution specialist teams
Explore the Frontier Transformation Partner Hub resources ahead of the event

In May we joined Arrow Cloud UK and Ireland team for a round table in Dublin, bringing together Microsoft partners for a focused conversation on partner growth, AI strategy, and what the FY27 landscape looks like from a distributor perspective.

Sessions like this are invaluable for getting honest, peer-level perspectives from partners across different markets and maturity levels. Thank you to the Arrow team for the invitation.

IAMCP Events:

Connect & Thrive with IAMCP UK&I (June 2026 Meeting): 25 June

UK&I Members Dinner (Save the Date): London, Paddington

Connect & Thrive (FY27 Kick off Special): 30 July

For access to all events and webinars, IAMCP UK&I offer a 3-month trial for just £1. Sign up here or get in touch with Lindsay or Lucy for more info.

Partner Pulse: 2 July, London

Our next in-person Partner Pulse event returns to Storey Club, Paddington on 2 July. If you would like to be considered for an invitation, get in touch with the team.

Oaka Partner Insights: 23 July

Join us on July 23 for a special Oaka Partner Insights session as we recap key announcements, priorities and opportunities shared during Microsoft’s MCAPS Start for Partners event. Register here: FY27 MCAPS Start Recap

AI Trust Forum: 1 October

The AI Trust Forum is special. It brings together brilliant thinkers, innovators, policymakers, and practitioners to learn, build relationships, and work together personally solving AI engineering, business, legal and ethical challenges at retreats held in cities around the world. That’s why we call it a “Forum”, not a “Conference”. Register to attend here: AI Trust Forum London

The European Power Platform Conference returned this month, gathering the low-code community for workshops, sessions, and networking across the Microsoft ecosystem. Always a valuable few days for partners building in this space. More here: EPPC26

European Power Platform Conference: June 29 – July 2

Oaka Partner Insights: FY27 Trends, Predictions and The Microsoft Partner of the Future

Awards:

Microsoft’s official FY26 kickoff covered:

AI Cloud Partner Program updates
Co-sell, marketplace and skilling plans
FY26 strategy from Nicole Dezen and Microsoft leadership

If you missed it, you can catch up here .

If you want a summary of the key takeaways, you’ll find everything you need on the site here .

MCAPS Starts for Partners – 15 July

What you should be doing next

Oaka Perspective: Why Award Submissions Deserve Your Time

Award submissions sit in that awkward category of work that everyone agrees matters and almost no one prioritises. The deadline lands in a busy week, the form looks long and the temptation is to skip this round and aim for the next one. We would gently push back on that. The partners who consistently appear on shortlists are not necessarily doing more remarkable work than you, they are simply taking the time to evidence it.

Collating your excellence, the measurable outcomes you have delivered, the customer stories that show real transformation, the moments your team went beyond the brief, is one of the most valuable exercises a partner business can do, regardless of whether you win. It forces clarity on what you actually do well, sharpens how you talk about your value, and produces case study material you can reuse across sales, marketing, and Microsoft co-sell conversations for the rest of the year.

So why should you nominate yourselves? Recognition builds credibility with customers who are evaluating you against larger competitors. It strengthens your standing with Microsoft at a moment when Frontier designation and co-sell prioritisation are increasingly tied to demonstrable outcomes. It gives your team something to be proud of and a reason to talk publicly about the work they have done. And it puts you in rooms, on stages, and in conversations that are difficult to engineer any other way. There's often a nice event that's tied to it too, so take your team out and celebrate their successes.

The submissions below are open now. Block out the time, gather the evidence, and put your work forward:

IAMCP P2P

Transform Your Partnering Success into Global Recognition

Three Award Categories:

Solution Provider P2P Award: Awarded to members who deliver complete solutions (technology, software, services) to customers in partnership with other IAMCP members. Both partners must be IAMCP members and only one partner needs to submit the story.
ISV P2P Award: Awarded to members who develop packaged software delivered in either co-sell or re-sell partnerships with other members to customers. Both partners must be IAMCP members and the ISV should submit the story.
Advisor P2P Award: Awarded to members who provide consulting or training services to members or customers. Both partners must be IAMCP members and the advisor should submit the story.

Submit entries at: IAMCP P2P Awards 2026

Deadline: June 20th, 2026

CRN Channel Awards 2026: 12 November

The CRN Channel Awards are the longest-running and most sought-after awards on the UK IT channel. That kind of speaks for itself.

Submit entries at: CRN Channel Awards 2026

Deadline for entries: Friday 26 June

Nominations Open for Partner of the Year Awards

Nominations for the Partner of the Year Awards are now open through Tuesday, July 7 at 6:00 p.m. PT.

Click here to nominate your organisation.

Don't know which one to go for? We appreciate the time and effort that goes into getting these right, and the first port of call is choosing the right one to nominate for. Get in touch with Oaka for advice on which one makes the most sense and could have the most value for your organisation.

Microsoft Events Highlights

Microsoft’s official FY26 kickoff covered:

AI Cloud Partner Program updates
Co-sell, marketplace and skilling plans
FY26 strategy from Nicole Dezen and Microsoft leadership

If you missed it, you can catch up here .

If you want a summary of the key takeaways, you’ll find everything you need on the site here .

MCAPS Starts for Partners – 15 July

MCAPS Start for Partners: 22 July

Get the insights and playbooks to activate your strategy on day one - so you can scale the solutions and services that customers need to drive Frontier Transformation. Register here: MCAPS Start for Partners

Microsoft Partner FY27 GTM Kickoff: 28 July

Learn about the go-to-market (GTM) priorities and initiatives planned for FY27 across Microsoft AI Business Solutions, Microsoft Commercial Cloud and AI, and Microsoft Security. Register here: Microsoft Partner FY27 GTM Kickoff Event

Explore the Frontier Transformation Partner Hub resources ahead of the event

Start thinking about Microsoft Ignite 2026: 17-20 November

Sign up now to join the Microsoft Ignite early-access list and be eligible to receive limited edition swag at the event. Click here to get notified.

If you have questions, want to join an upcoming event, or would like to talk through your FY27 strategy, we would love to hear from you.

info@oaka.studio

Get in touch

Why Specialisation Is Becoming the New Growth Strategy for Partners

Sun, 12 Jul 2026 15:21:03 GMT

There is a lot happening in the Microsoft partner ecosystem right now. AI is still dominating conversations and more partners are asking the same question:

How do we stand out in an increasingly crowded market?

Across the last few months, we have spoken with partners exploring everything from AI readiness and commercial positioning through to sales strategy, customer engagement and long-term growth.

One thing is becoming very clear.

The partners gaining the most traction are not trying to be everything to everyone.

They are getting much clearer on who they serve, where they add the most value, and how they want to be known in the market.

That is exactly why our next Oaka Partner Insights session is focused on industry specialisation.

For many partners, specialisation can feel restrictive.

There is often a concern that choosing a vertical means saying no to opportunities.

In reality, the opposite is usually true.

The strongest Microsoft partners are the ones who are known for solving a specific set of challenges, in a specific market, for a specific type of customer.

That does not mean you only work in one industry forever.

It means you know where you can win fastest, where Microsoft is investing, where customer demand is strongest, and where your existing experience gives you an advantage.

Because when your messaging is clearer, your sales conversations become easier.

When your proposition is more relevant, customers trust you faster.

And when your value is easy to understand, you are far more likely to convert opportunities into revenue.

March Recap: What We Have Been Seeing

March was a busy and inspiring month across the partner ecosystem, with conversations spanning AI, go-to-market strategy, leadership, inclusion and industry growth.

We started the month with our Oaka Partner Insights session, “ AI for the Microsoft Partner: Where to Play, Where to Win, ” where Nigel Ridpath and Eoin Fahy explored the evolving AI market, the Microsoft Copilot ecosystem, and the practical services partners can take to market today.

We also celebrated International Women’s Day on 8 March, recognising the women shaping the future of technology, leadership and innovation.

Throughout the month, our team joined and supported a number of brilliant industry events, including:

The Arrow Cloud UK & Ireland x Oaka Go-To-Market Workshop, focused on helping partners sharpen their messaging, growth plans and go-to-market strategy

The launch of The Time Traveller’s Guide to Management by Nigel Ridpath aboard the historic Golden Hinde

Judging Day for the UK Digital Revolution Awards 2026, where Lucy Bourne joined senior leaders from across the technology sector to recognise the organisations driving digital innovation

The Microsoft Women Founders, AI Innovators & Venture Capital event at the Hyatt Regency in London, where Tamara Phelan joined founders, investors and technology leaders for powerful conversations around women in business, AI and growth

Lucy Bourne’s conversation with Marc Sumner on Channel Chat, sharing a straight-talking perspective on AI, positioning and what is really shaping the Microsoft partner landscape

Across all of these events, one message came through consistently.

Customers are no longer looking for innovation for innovation’s sake.

They want solutions that feel safe to buy, easy to justify internally, and aligned to real business outcomes.

We saw strong engagement around topics such as:

Creating clearer AI propositions that connect to customer priorities
Building services around governance, data readiness and adoption
Moving from broad capability statements to sharper commercial messaging
Helping sales teams position solutions in a way that feels more relevant to different industries
Understanding where Microsoft is placing strategic focus across key sectors
Building stronger partnerships, networks and communities across the ecosystem

The common thread through all of these discussions is that partners need more than technical capability.

They need clarity on where to play and how to win.

Join Our Next Oaka Partner Insights Session

In June, we joined Microsoft , Arrow ECS EMEA , and a brilliant mix of partners in London to talk real strategies for growth.

Sessions covered :

Copilot and AI agents
Azure migrations and AMM
Sales plays that actually work
ArrowSphere in practice

Thanks to everyone who joined us in person - the energy in the room said it all. Kudos to the cloud team Oliver Harvey-Jones , Havey Brown , and Apay Obang-Oyway for pulling together such valuable content into such a great event.

Partner Pulse: FY26 Readiness Workshop

2 July, Microsoft London

Oaka Summer Social 2025

Why Industry Specialisation Matters

Why Specialisation is Becoming the New Growth Strategy for Partners

Join Our Next Oaka Partner Insights Session

Our next Oaka Partner Insights will focus on:

Industry specialisation that delivers, not constrains.

We will be sharing clear and practical guidance to help you:

Choose the right verticals for your business
Build messaging that resonates with those markets
Align your propositions to customer priorities
Understand where Microsoft is focusing investment and opportunity
Position your business in a way that feels more relevant and differentiated

If you want to build stronger positioning, create more targeted conversations, and make your growth strategy more intentional, this session is for you.

We would love to see you there.

The new FY27 Incentives Don’t Break Your Business Model. But They Might Have Exposed It.

Sun, 12 Jul 2026 15:03:36 GMT

Microsoft Has Stopped Paying Partners to Exist

Microsoft has doubled down on net-new business. In our experience, a lot of partners still haven't.

AI: genuine upside, but only if you're actually selling it

The new Growth Margin on strategic AI workloads is a proper incentive. It pays on new-to-offer, seat expansion and adoption growth and it stacks on top of what you already earn.

And a gentle reminder while we're here: buyers have grown more skeptical. AI in your messaging is now an expectation rather than a differentiator. We're seeing very clear daylight between partners who are actually doing it and partners who've simply put it on the website. The Growth Margin rewards the first group, and the ones really winning are still those who can demonstrate their own journey. “Customer zero” is not a phrase that’s going away any time soon, so if you can’t answer “how is AI affecting your target operating model?” when your customers or indeed Microsoft ask, you need to get started, and quickly.

Azure: the quiet winner, with a catch

Azure's incentive structure is broadly untouched. Consumption and growth accelerators still top out at around 15% and Tier 3 workloads still pay the richest rates.

Promotions: cash on the table, wasted without messaging

Windows 365 at up to 25% off, extended E3 and E5 promos, a new E7 promo, Copilot bundles now permanent in SMB.

Change of channel partner: less punitive than the noise suggests

The new rules aren't the disaster LinkedIn would have you believe. Incoming partners keep the Growth Accelerator even in displacement scenarios.

Modern Work and Dynamics: yes, it's worse. That's not the real problem

The flat rebate is gone. Core rate is gone for indirect resellers. Another 5% margin cut hits legacy SKUs in October.

The MCI shift that's had far less airtime than it really deserves

The CSP rebate changes have attracted most of the attention, but this is the structural shift that actually matters. It's not something you'll spot by comparing rebate percentages.

The new FY27 incentives don’t break your business model. They might have exposed it.

The real FY27 message

If the answers are shaky, no incentive programme is going to save you. If they're solid, FY27 is quietly one of the better years to be a Microsoft partner in a long time.

From Oaka’s perspective, it’s simple: the incentives don't create the growth. The partners chasing it do.

MCAPS Starts for Partners – 15 July

September 2025 Edition

lucy@oaka.studio (Lucy Bourne) — Fri, 26 Sep 2025 11:11:25 GMT

Partner Insights, Cutting Through the Noise on Designations

Hi Partners ,

We’ve had a busy few weeks at Oaka. From planning our next big Partner Pulse event, to supporting an incredible cause with Action for Children, and diving deep into Microsoft’s Specialisations and Designations with some brilliant partner teams, we wanted to bring you up to speed.

Last month, we ran a targeted session designed to help Microsoft partners stop guessing and start acting when it comes to Solution Designation and Specialisation.

Here’s why we ran it: Many partners are confused by the route to the ‘achieved’ status; they don’t know why they’re not over the line. Misunderstood metrics and missing associations (both customer & certifications) are often the culprits, not capability.

This session broke down:

Inside the Scoring Model : We unpacked Microsoft’s three core metrics, Performance, Skilling, and Customer Success, and showed how each one is calculated (and where the hidden tripwires are).

Gap Assessment Made Simple : Some eligibility thresholds are not clear. We walked through how to read these with purpose, spot blockers quickly, and know what’s actually holding you back.

The Skilling Factor : These surprises most partners. Having certified people isn’t enough; they need to be properly associated. We showed how to check these stats and see and be aware of what is upcoming.

Specialisation Pathways : Designations are just the beginning. We explained the requirements for specialisation, and the benefits these unlock with funding & Microsoft sellers.

If you missed it, you can still watch it here: Watch the session

Oaka Partner Insights – Demystifying Designations and Specialisations

Coming Up, We’re Sleeping Out So Kids Don’t Have To

Supporting Boycott Your Bed for Action for Children

Next m onth, we’re proud to be taking part in Boycott Your Bed , an initiative by Action for Children to raise funds and awareness for the thousands of children across the UK who are homeless or living in vulnerable conditions.

Here’s the reality:

129,000 children in the UK don’t have a place to call home.
Many are stuck in unsafe housing, temporary accommodation, or sofa-surfing.
Most people don’t know how widespread the issue is.

That’s why on Friday, 3rd October , members of the Oaka team will be sleeping out as part of the national Boycott Your Bed campaign. It’s a small gesture, one night outside, but it’s about standing in solidarity, raising awareness, and helping fund frontline services that provide safe homes, support, and a lifeline to struggling families.

We’re teaming up with amazing individuals from across the Microsoft ecosystem, including Nico Caudron and Jackie To , who are helping to amplify the message and get more people involved.

If this resonates with you, there are two easy ways to help:

Join the event : You can still sign up as an individual or team.
Donate : Every pound raised goes toward urgent services for children and young people.

Learn more or donate here .

Partner Pulse – October 9

Unlocking AI and Agentic for You and Your Customers

Partner Pulse is back , and we’re bringing together Microsoft partner leaders for a full day of AI insight, strategy, and community. Whether you’re shaping new offerings, chasing growth, or just need clarity on what’s real and what’s hype, this event is for you.

This isn’t theory. It’s action. We’ll be covering what it means to build agentic and AI-driven solutions in 2025, how Microsoft is approaching the opportunity, and what other partners are already doing to get ahead.

Who's it for ?

Senior leaders, GTM and sales heads, founders, and solution strategists at Microsoft partners
Partners building or refining their Copilot or agentic AI play
Those looking to move beyond inspiration and into practical next steps

Location : Storey Club, Paddington Central

Address : 4 Kingdom Street, London W2 6BD

Time : 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM (doors open 9:30)

Optional drinks from 4:00 PM at The Union, Paddington

Why attend ?

Get clarity on Microsoft’s AI strategy and how to plug in
Explore Copilot Studio specialisation opportunities
Hear what top partners are doing and where they’re winning
Get involved in small-group peer workshops focused on real ideas
Leave with frameworks, stories, and contacts you can use

Brought to you by: Oaka Studio and Seer 365

With thanks to sponsors: Arrow ECS UK and Cognitive Group | Part of Focus Cloud Group

Seats are limited. Register here : Partner Pulse – Eventbrite

Oaka Partner Insights - Turning AI into Advantage

Streamlining the Microsoft Partner Operating Model Thursday, October 23rd, 1:00 PM GMT | Online via Microsoft Teams

AI isn’t just reshaping what partners deliver; it’s transforming how partner businesses operate internally. That’s the focus of our next Oaka Partner Insights session.

We’ll be showing where and how AI can be embedded into your partner operating model to reduce friction, eliminate wasted effort, and create smarter pathways to growth.

Expect a straight-talking session covering:

Where AI genuinely helps inside partner operations, from compliance and incentivemanagement to pipeline prediction and customer success reporting
How to start small, measure real impact, and scale what works
Use cases that directly support Designation, Specialisation, and broader GTM efforts

Speakers:

Nigel Ridpath , Consultant , Oaka Studio
Joel Abbott , Senior Advisor , Oaka Studio

If you’re leading a partner business and asking, “ Where does AI actually fit into our internal processes? ”, this session is built for you.

Add to your calendar and register here: Register here .

Coming This December – Leadership & Management Academy

Building Confident Leaders Who Keep Your Best People

At our last Partner Pulse, only 25% of the attendees reported having received formal management training. That means most managers are doing their best without the tools or frameworks they need, and while they figure it out, great people are leaving because of inconsistent line management.

That’s why we’re launching the Leadership & Management Academy in London this December. It’s a practical, small-group bootcamp designed to create lasting leadership behaviours, not just transfer theory.

What makes it different?

Two intensive days (9–10 December) followed by seven coaching sessions to embed the learning.
DISC profiling for every participant, unlocking how to lead different personalities.
Just 16 seats to keep it focused and impactful.
Led by Nigel Ridpath and Tamara Phelan , with over 40 years of combined experience, turning managers into leaders.

And a bonus for this cohort: each participant will also receive a signed copy of Nigel’s upcoming book, The Time Traveller’s Guide to Management , due in early 2026.

�� If you’d like to secure a place for yourself or your team, drop Nigel a line at nigel@oaka.studio with the subject line Leadership and Management Training .

Stay Connected

We’ve been partnering with teams who are serious about accelerating growth, and one of the most impactful ways we’re helping right now is by making Microsoft easier to navigate.

Everything we do is focused on helping Microsoft partners grow with clarity and confidence. Whether you're aiming to earn your next Solution Designation, launch a new solution, align with Microsoft’s AI and industry priorities, or simply get your strategy sharp and execution-ready, we’re here to help you move faster, with less guesswork and more momentum.

Earn your next designation.
Launch a new solution.
Align with AI priorities.
Or just get your strategy straight.

We’ve got the tools, experience, and people to help make it happen.

Want to talk strategy? Want to join an upcoming workshop? Want a fresh look at your Microsoft Play?

Just reply or book a call , and let’s get going!

May Wrap-Up, June Momentum, and July in Full Swing

lucy@oaka.studio (Lucy Bourne) — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 19:17:36 GMT

Hey Partners ,

The Microsoft ecosystem has been moving fast, and we’ve been right in the thick of it. May brought real clarity and some long-awaited changes. June kept up the pace, and July kicked off with the usual burst of announcements as Microsoft opened FY26. From dual recognition to AI strategy and go-to-market shifts, we’ve been helping partners stay sharp, focused and aligned.

Here’s our take at looking back at what’s been going on.

In May, we unpacked Microsoft ’s new approach to dual revenue recognition for Business Applications partners. It’s a huge step forward, giving both licensing and implementing partners the recognition they deserve.

Big thanks to Ian Bourne ( Cloud2020 ) and Mat Batterbee ( Apex Channel Consultants ) for joining us and sharing how this change helps partners in the SMB space build stronger P2P models, unlock MCI funding and finally qualify for solution designations.

Ewan Dalton walked through the practical side of submitting claims in Partner Center and reminded everyone to act quickly - claims can be backdated to 1 January 2025, but strong proof and timing still matter.

�� Catch the replay

Lucy on the Tech Success Podcast

Lucy Bourne joined Tenth Revolution Group 's Tech Success podcast for a no-nonsense conversation on what it really takes to grow as a Microsoft partner right now.

Highlights :

Why AI isn’t optional anymore
How retained, strategic relationships are replacing project-based delivery
Why focus beats flexibility in today’s market
What makes a partner truly valuable to customers and Microsoft

�� Listen on Spotify

�� Watch on YouTube

Digital Revolution Awards 2025

We were proud to sponsor the awards and even prouder to see Lucy Bourne on stage presenting the final award of the night. A brilliant reminder that tech is always about people and why celebrating true achievements really matters.

If you’re interested in learning how to nominate for an award or get involved next year, DM us .

Arrow Amplify on Tour – London

In June, we joined Microsoft , Arrow ECS EMEA , and a brilliant mix of partners in London to talk real strategies for growth.

Sessions covered :

Copilot and AI agents
Azure migrations and AMM
Sales plays that actually work
ArrowSphere in practice

Oaka Partner Insights: FY26 Pre-Season – Fast Track Edition

June’s Partner Insights session was our most attended yet. Positioned as pre-season training for Microsoft’s new FY, we focused on what’s changing, where to invest and how to stay aligned early.

Lucy Bourne , Nigel Ridpath , Tamara Phelan and Ewan Dalton were joined by Microsoft’s Shelley Gardiner to cover:

Funded engagements and the latest rules
Sales plays and incentive alignment
Strategic partner planning for FY26

�� Catch the replay

Partner Pulse: FY26 Readiness Workshop

2 July, Microsoft London

We brought together a brilliant community of Microsoft partners to get match-fit for FY26. The day kicked off with a keynote from Paul McPherson on AI and agentic thinking, followed by:

Chris Parkes ( Companial ) on Microsoft’s AI direction.
Lucy Bourne , Lee Baker , and Nigel Ridpath ( Oaka Studio ) on leading for scalable growth.
Sophy Gray ( 7Demand ) on modern demand generation.
Eric Hall ( Seer 365 ) on sales excellence across SMB, SMC and Enterprise.

We wrapped up with a drink at The Union and a catch-up with friends old and new.

The date for our next Partner Pulse is O ctober 8th . Drop us a DM to make sure you get the invite.

Oaka Summer Social 2025

These kinds of nights are a reminder that real community matters. Thanks to everyone who joined us - if you'd like to join us next year, please just let us know at info@oaka.studio .

Partner Insights: Dual Recognition Gets Real

Partner Resources You Might’ve Missed

Microsoft’s official FY26 kickoff covered:

AI Cloud Partner Program updates
Co-sell, marketplace and skilling plans
FY26 strategy from Nicole Dezen and Microsoft leadership

If you missed it, you can catch up here .

If you want a summary of the key takeaways, you’ll find everything you need on the site here .

MCAPS Starts for Partners – 15 July

Whether you’re:

Aligning to the dual recognition model to support your recognition
Strengthening your Microsoft partner profile
Navigating Solution Partner Designation or Specialisation
Unsure how to access Coop funding
Looking to hire into key roles and scale the team

We’ve helped dozens of partners build smarter strategies and stay in sync with Microsoft. If you're facing similar questions or opportunities, we'd love to help you explore what's next.

�� Book a 1:1 strategy call

Let’s make FY26 count.

Team Oaka

#MicrosoftPartner #BizApps #PartnerStrategy #AICloudPartnerProgram #FY26 #CSP #OakaStudio #SalesEnablement #MCAPSStartsForPartners

Need Clarity on Your FY26 Plan?

Why Does Everyone on Your Team Exist? The FY27 Question Most Partners Can’t Answer

lucy@oaka.studio (Lucy Bourne) — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 19:12:33 GMT

Why Does Everyone on Your Team Exist? The FY27 Question Most Partners Can’t Answer

Why clarity, structure and alignment are the real growth levers for Microsoft Partners in FY26

As we head further into Microsoft’s FY26 , one thing is becoming obvious across the Microsoft ecosystem: it’s not the biggest teams that are winning . It’s those that are best-aligned . Across Sales, Marketing, Pre-sales, and delivery/professional services.

At Oaka Studio , we work with partner founders and leaders who are serious about scaling with purpose. And what we’re seeing time and again is this:

A bigger team doesn’t guarantee growth.
More roles don’t equal more results.
And headcount without clarity just creates noise, distraction and lack of focus.

The partners growing best this year are the ones asking better questions - not just about who they need to hire, but what they’re trying to achieve and whether their structure supports it.

What high-performing Microsoft partners are doing to get it right

In the most effective teams we work with, certain patterns emerge. These partners:

Think in outcomes, not org charts . Structure is shaped around growth goals, not just titles.
Map roles to strategy, not just skills . Every role exists for a reason – and is clearly owned.
Align sales and marketing around shared priorities . No more parallel tracks. Everyone pulls in the same direction.
Bring delivery in early . To shape value, strengthen retention, and reduce rework.
Resist reactive changes . They don’t rush to fill gaps or empty the bench - They pause to assess what’s really needed.

This kind of clarity is especially powerful in FY26, where Microsoft priorities are sharpening, GTM motions are evolving, and the pressure to deliver more with leaner teams is real.

What’s different about FY26?

This year, alignment is leverage.

If your team structure is unclear, you’ll feel it fast - in missed incentives, siloed execution, or wasted cycles chasing the wrong goals. Too many meetings, not enough movement. Too many hands, not enough ownership.

Instead of asking “ Who do we need to hire? ”, high-performing partners are asking:

What are we actually trying to achieve this year?
Does our current structure support that?
Where are we duplicating effort, and where are the real gaps?
How do we keep our best people focused and fulfilled?

Designing your team for traction

This isn’t about complexity. It’s about clarity by design . And that starts by rethinking your approach to team building:

Be intentional with structure . Don’t default to what’s familiar. Design around outcomes and strategic roles.
Create rhythm and ownership. Empower your team with clear responsibilities and space to execute. Think OKRs, big rocks.
Connect the dots to Microsoft. Everyone – from marketing to delivery – should understand how their role supports Microsoft’s GTM focus, programs and partner incentives.
Celebrate success, not just output. Recognise value creation, not just activity.

Ready to scale with purpose?

If you're planning to grow this year – or just want to make sure your current team is set up to deliver – now is the time to get intentional.

That’s exactly what we do at Oaka.

Our Partner Clarity Calls are short, focused working sessions where we help you:

Spot bottlenecks or misalignments in your structure
Prioritise roles that drive traction (and drop the ones that don’t)
Align your team to Microsoft’s priorities and your business goals
Build the rhythm, clarity and culture your people need to thrive

These are not sales calls. They’re strategic sessions to help you lead with focus.

�� Book your Partner Clarity Call → You bring the ambition. We’ll help shape the team to support it.

What a Few Busy Weeks Taught Us About Building Partnerships That Pay Off

lucy@oaka.studio (Lucy Bourne) — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 19:12:32 GMT

These past weeks have been an incredible journey for us at Oaka Studio, and we’re excited to share everything we’ve been working on with you! From thought-provoking discussions at Oaka Partner Insights to the most recent Partner Pulse , we’ve been focused on one goal: helping SIs and ISVs build stronger partnerships and navigate the Microsoft ecosystem with confidence.

Oaka Partner Insights – A Recap

Our latest Oaka Partner Insights event was a success! We brought together industry leaders, Microsoft partners, and experts to dive into real-world strategies for building impactful partnerships. From co-selling insights to GTM strategies, attendees left with actionable takeaways to drive business growth.

If you missed the session, don’t worry - you can still catch the replay. Just reply with “ Replay ” and we’ll send it your way!

Partner Pulse April Edition: Your Guide to Stronger Partnerships

We also had Partner Pulse . This session was designed to equip SIs and ISVs with the tools and insights needed to thrive in the Microsoft ecosystem. This event focused on

Actionable strategies to drive better partnerships
Expert insights on sales, GTM, and Microsoft collaboration
High-value networking with key players in the ecosystem

If you’re looking to expand your network and unlock new opportunities , Partner Pulse is for you. Stay tuned for our next event!

The Power of Partnership in the Microsoft Ecosystem

In today’s fast-moving landscape, partnerships aren’t just beneficial—they’re essential. Successful Microsoft partners understand that strategic collaboration can:

Open doors to new markets and customers
Enhance credibility through joint marketing and co-selling
Accelerate revenue growth with Microsoft incentives

The key? Finding the right partners, leveraging the Microsoft ecosystem effectively, and aligning on shared goals. That’s where we come in.

What a Few Busy Weeks Taught Us About Building Partnerships

That Pay Off

Let’s Build Your Partnership Strategy

Want to explore how the right partnerships can drive real growth for your business? Let’s chat! Book a one-on-one partnership strategy call with us to get personalized guidance tailored to your business goals.

�� Book your strategy call here

Here’s to building stronger, smarter partnerships together!

The Importance of Partnering in the Microsoft Partner Community

Wed, 26 Mar 2025 12:26:08 GMT

The Importance of Partnering in the Microsoft Partner Community

Stronger Together: Why Partnerships Drive Success in the Microsoft Ecosystem

Success in the Microsoft Partner Community isn’t just about having great services and solutions - it’s about collaborating with the right partners to scale faster, innovate smarter, and grow stronger, potentially into new regions and industry focus areas .

The Microsoft Partner Community is built on the idea that collaboration fuels success . Whether you're an Independent Software Vendor (ISV), a System Integrator (SI), or a Managed Service Provider, the right partnership can provide:

Access to New Markets : Expanding into new industries or customer segments becomes easier when you collaborate with established partners. We always evangelise for finding you niche – the most successful partners specialise in specific industries, solutions, or customer needs, and this is where partnering can come in .

Technical Expertise : Microsoft’s ecosystem is vast, and no one can do it all alone, and it would be virtually impossible to be all things to all people. By partnering, you gain access to specialised skills and knowledge.

Stronger Credibility : Customers trust businesses that work within the Microsoft network, especially those with co-sell partnerships. The concept of “Partner to Partner” is familiar to both Microsoft and end users, so they know they are getting best in class for the capability they need.

Increased Revenue : With Microsoft’s incentives and co-selling opportunities, businesses that collaborate can close deals faster and on a larger scale.

Why Partnerships Matter

Real-World Benefits of Partnering

Companies that engage in the Microsoft Partner Community see measurable benefits, including:

✔ Higher win rates on deals through co-selling support

✔ Faster go-to-market strategies with joint marketing efforts

✔ Improved customer trust through Microsoft-backed credibility

If you’re not already leveraging the power of partnerships, now is the time .

Here’s how to start:

Identify Your Strengths – What does your company bring to the table? Find complementary partners to fill the gaps.
Engage in the Community – Attend Microsoft events, join partner networks, and start conversations. Why not @Seer 365 and @Oaka 365 for this quarter’s Partner Pulse? We’ll be talking about this exact topic.
Leverage Microsoft Programs – Take advantage of co-selling, marketing support, and incentives designed to help partners succeed.

How To Get Started

Join Us at Oaka Partner Insights

Want to learn more about how to leverage partnerships for growth? Our next Oaka Partner Insights is your chance to connect with potential partners, hear from industry leaders, and gain insights into Microsoft’s latest partnership strategies.

�� April 1st, 2025

�� Teams

�� https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/7db9875e-0201-47d4-b0ec-b2d6e9bb569f@d00fe698-bc02-4592-96c3-b3570337fdc8

Oaka Partner Insights is a dynamic series of webinars, podcasts, and newsletters tailored to empower Microsoft Partners. Our mission is to support your Microsoft Alliance, Sales, Go-To-Market, and Practice/Delivery growth. Each engagement will delve into a focused topic, providing valuable insights and strategies to help you excel in these critical areas.

Don’t miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter for exclusive insights, partnership strategies, and Microsoft ecosystem updates.