Four key talking points as Microsoft scraps MPN
Microsoft partners tell CRN how the new Microsoft Cloud Partner programme will affect them as well as what questions have been left unanswered through the changes
Microsoft announced sweeping changes to how it will engage with partners last week which saw the vendor scrap its flagship partner programme - Microsoft Partner Network - to be replaced with the new Microsoft Cloud Partner Programme.
CRN spoke to Microsoft partners across the UK to find out how they think the changes will impact them, and what questions have been left unanswered ahead of the new programme coming into effect later this year.
Gold and Silver badges ‘were getting tired'
Gold and Silver-level status in the soon-to-be-defunct Microsoft Partner Network programme will be replaced by two new qualifying levels: solutions partner; and specialisation and expert programmes.
However, making the grade for solutions partner status will be no easy feat, and could prove more work than attaining Gold-level status under the MPN programme.
Partners must now achieve a score of at least 70 out of 100 under Microsoft's new partner capability score (PCS) system.
As of last Thursday, partners are able to log into Partner Centre to see their current PCS.
Gold-level partners might find that they are falling short of solutions partner status under the new scoring system.
Michael Frisby, CEO of indirect CSP provider Vuzion, told CRN that, while Vuzion has 11 Gold-level competencies under MPN, in some solution areas it comes in just below the score of 70 needed to qualify as a solutions partner under the new PCS system.
"We've actually got 100 out of 100 for Modern Work and in Infrastructure we're at 68 out of 100, so we need two more points to get to 70. On Data and AI, we're at 64 out of 100," he said.
Despite having to improve Vuzion's PCS over the coming months to achieve solutions status in some areas, Frisby welcomed Microsoft raising the bar of entry compared to Gold-level status.
"If we had to do a little bit more work to get solutions partner status across the areas we want, then so be it," he said.
"If the bar is too low, then it's not a differentiator," he added. "Under MPN, if you get a Silver competency it doesn't really differentiate you as a partner from others in the marketplace. The advice I've always given to Microsoft is to keep raising the bar because as an industry we want to make sure we're providing great solutions to customers," he said.
Content+Cloud CEO Peter Sweetbaum agreed, claiming that the Gold and Silver certification system under MPN "was getting tired".
"This change was long called for," he said. "I think the Gold and Silver accreditations served their purpose, but they became less impactful and their impact became diluted over time because now there are Gold and Silver badges everywhere.
"I would question whether customers really knew how Gold differed from Silver - I don't think they did."
Sweetbaum said Content+Cloud is in a "great place" towards achieving solutions partner status across multiple areas in the new programme and added that the criteria Microsoft uses for PCS is "what we're marking ourselves against anyway".
"We're already down that path," he said. "In Infrastructure, Data and AI, Digital and Apps Innovation and Modern Work we're in a great place. We will need to do a couple more exams and we'll be fine."
Rob Quickenden, CTO at Microsoft, Cisco and Dell partner Cisilion, also praised the move by Microsoft to scrap the Gold and Silver medals.
He said that Cisilion will likely lose some of its competencies under the new partner programme, but said they were badges that it "probably didn't deserve to have anyway".
"We have some competencies that we don't even talk about because they're not relevant to what we do.
"We've got 11 Gold competencies and we've worked really hard to attain those and some of them have been a bit of a struggle. It's great to get the badge, but we've got other Gold competencies that I probably couldn't even tell you what they are. For example, the Communications competency was really around Lync and Skype for Business and it is not really relevant anymore."
Yet more change for Microsoft partners
Scrapping MPN is just the latest in a long line of shake ups in Microsoft's partner ecosystem over the last 12 months. The vendor introduced controversial price increases for month-to-month 365 licences in November, which resellers said amounted to an added 20 per cent fee.
Microsoft also hiked prices globally in August which saw some product prices increase by as much as 25 per cent.
Partners were also left reeling after Microsoft introduced changes as part of its New Commerce Experience (NCE) which left partners taking on the financial risk of their customers if they were no longer to pay the rest of their Office 365 subscription.
The announcement to scrap MPN will add to a long list of headaches that Microsoft partners are already experiencing.
David Tulip is managing director of Network Group, a community of more than 80 MSPs across the UK. An average member has around £1.5m to £2m in annual revenues and the group claims to have a combined purchasing power of £200m.
He said that there is some frustration among Network Group's members that the new partner programme has come so soon after the recent NCE changes.
"I think there's a little bit of ill timing and it shows that Microsoft is a bit removed from what partners are really worried about. People have been so consumed with NCE and what that means. The new programme isn't the same level of work, but it's another thing to consider and work out," he said.
"Many partners have been working flat out during the pandemic, more for less. Instead of supporting 100 customers in 100 sites they've been supporting 100 customers in 1,000 sites because everyone's been working from home.
"We're fortunate because technology has been a good place to be, but it's also been hard. And I think there's a lack of feeling, and Microsoft being a little bit removed from that."
But some partners contested that, although some partners may be feeling fatigued by the changes, the partner programme reshuffle was long called for by the channel.
"Some of the other changes have been harder to navigate and more demanding on partners to navigate, but this was a change that was absolutely necessary," said Sweetbaum.
"Could we have done without more change? Yes - but in the grand scheme of things this isn't the worst change in the world," added Frisby.
Smaller partners could feel more pain than larger ones
Microsoft has given partners a long runway to work towards qualifying for solutions partner status. Partners can still renew their legacy competencies up until 30 September 2022, giving them a maximum of 18 months to improve their partner capability scores.
But, as qualifying for solutions partner status is expected to be more difficult than reaching today's Gold and Silver certifications, partners that don't have the resources to improve their PCS are set to lose out on benefits associated with Gold and Silver-level status once they are officially retired.
Just as with the changes to NCE last year, the partner programme changes are more likely to impact smaller partners that are lacking the resources or financial clout to invest.
Tulip said that there is concern that the new programme puts more of an emphasis on customer acquisition and licencing sales, something that will benefit larger partners and that could leave smaller ones missing out.
"We're probably a little bit more fortunate, because I think the majority of our partners will be okay," he said.
"But it seems that each year you need to add ‘x' number of customers, or you'll get kicked out. And the view from the floor is that they would rather be measured on customer loyalty than churn and adding licenses to your account.
Quickenden added that smaller partners might be incredibly skilled in specific Microsoft technologies but still miss out on some specialisations due to simply being unable to hit headcount-based requirements.
"The advanced specialization programmes are going to be the ones that get scrutinized more, because they're the things people will really, really care about. But some of those are harder for smaller partners, because they just don't have the number of people. If you take the Azure Expert MSP Program, for example, you find that in many cases you've just got to hire people that are just great at doing exams," he said.
"Some small partners are just phenomenal, absolutely phenomenal, at what they do, but they might only be eight people. So they'll never have 12 people to hit the requirements to get that particular specialization. I think this is the kind of stuff Microsoft will get feedback about during their conference in July," he said.
Some questions left unanswered
Partners were relieved to hear that incentive eligibility for partners will not change as a result of the new programme.
But partners that spoke to CRN did say there were some details that they are asking for Microsoft to clarify from last week's announcement.
Sweetbaum said that the criteria for Microsoft's specialisations and expert programmes in each of the six solution areas needed more clarity.
Meanwhile Frisby said it wasn't clear whether partners can still earn Silver-level incentives after the programme changes come into effect.
Partners also expressed some confusion over how to achieve a high PCS in Microsoft's security category, with one partner claiming it operated a SOC and is in Microsoft's MSSP programme but had not qualified as a security solutions partner.
"We've got lots of people who have passed security exams like SC-200 and MS-500, but Microsoft seems to want different ones within that security solutions partner category. So there's going to be some evolving and changing the training plans," added Frisby.
Meanwhile Quickenden said that he would like to see Microsoft introduce more integration options, arguing that this is a core role that many partners like Cisilion fulfil.
Microsoft does offer some integration specialisations with SAP and Oracle, he added, but said he would like to see this go further.
"We do lots of integration with customer technology. For example, customers that use the full extent of 365 but also use Zoom or Webex.
"We do a lot of work in integrating those services, but there doesn't really seem to be anything that stands out for partners that are truly multi-technology, which lots of the big partners are.
"It would demonstrate the reality of the world and it would be nice to see someone like Microsoft recognize that there are other vendors out there and recognize partners that have got those strengths."