Microsoft Inspire 2023: Microsoft declares new AI Cloud Partner Program

Microsoft has organized its annual conference Inspire 2023 to celebrate the success of its 400,000-strong partner network worldwide and to acknowledge its key role in making new technology available to customers. In addition, Microsoft Inspire marks the launch of the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program, the next generation of its partner program, which empowers every partner to deliver customer value while leveraging Microsoft AI and Microsoft Cloud.

The occasion marked a celebration to honor the outstanding finalists and winners of the 2023 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards, which were publicly revealed in late June. Moreover, it served as a platform to showcase the remarkable achievements and inventive collaborations of partners across various categories, encompassing solution areas, industries, business transformation, and social impact.

Through the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program, Microsoft is providing partners with a comprehensive portfolio of investments for all partner business models, at every stage of maturity. 

The comprehensive Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program covers every aspect of the partner lifecycle, encompassing onboarding, skilling, go-to-market strategies, incentives, and co-selling opportunities. Building upon the advantages of the previous program, partners now gain access to a host of fresh offerings and benefits tailored to the field of AI. With immediate effect, Microsoft is transitioning all current partners to this new program, ensuring they retain their existing benefits and designations seamlessly.

Other Important Updates – 

ISV Success updates: Announced in preview at last Microsoft Inspire, ISV Success is the pathway for ISV partners within this Program and is now generally available. ISV Success offers product and cloud benefits, demo and sandbox environments, technical consults to build and publish applications, and once published, sales and marketing benefits to help accelerate deals through Microsoft commercial marketplace. In addition, partners participating in ISV Success will also get access to GitHub Copilot as part of ISV Success benefits at the end of 2023. 

New Solutions Partner designations for more partners: 

As part of the AI Cloud Partner Program, Microsoft is introducing designations to empower more partners in showcasing their technical expertise and customer achievements. These designations encompass a training services designation, targeting learning partners, ISV designations for partners developing solutions aligned with Microsoft Cloud and industry clouds, and a support services designation. These additions offer diverse opportunities for partners to differentiate themselves and excel in their respective domains.