Authorized Azure cloud solution partners offer various value-added services and can help customers deploy solutions to meet their needs. They can also assist in customer support and billing.
CSP partners own the relationship end to end and can directly bill their customers, provision and manage subscriptions, and attach value-added services.
Expertise
Microsoft validates the capabilities and expertise of partners across six solution areas that reflect market demand. These solutions partner designations replace the silver and gold competencies introduced more than a decade ago and give MSPs ways to differentiate their cloud-based offerings, scale customer connections, and position themselves for success.
Identify the most qualified partners to help you build and implement your unique hybrid cloud strategy. These authorized Azure cloud solution partners are verified as experts in one or more solution areas and can help you navigate the complexities of your specific technical scenario.
Build, deploy, and manage applications on multiple clouds and at the edge with our industry-leading tools and frameworks. Meet your clients where they are with security from the ground up and proactive compliance trusted by enterprises, governments, and startups. Get your support through a comprehensive portfolio of services, including one-on-one priority support and advanced tools.
Flexibility
Authorized Azure Cloud Solution Partners (CSPs) have a level of flexibility in terms of the services they can offer, the solutions they can provide, and the support they can give to customers within the framework of Microsoft Azure. CSPs can offer customers various services, including cloud infrastructure deployment and management, application development, data analytics, artificial intelligence, security, and more. They have the flexibility to tailor their service offerings to meet the specific needs of their clients.
When it comes to deploying cloud solutions, flexibility is critical. Choose partners offering a wide range of services across the lifecycle—from deployment, management, and support to DevOps and sysops expertise, technical professional consulting, and industry-specific skillsets.
Direct-bill partners in CSP can provision customers and subscriptions in a single, easy-to-use portal with APIs. They can also administer on behalf of their customers with a full suite of CSP cloud service offerings. These include license-based, usage-based, and one-time purchase pricing, which can be found on the Pricing Workspace page of the Partner Center.
Scalability
Scalability is a term often used about computer systems and technology, but it can also apply to how businesses adapt to changing demands. It’s essential to have a partner to help you scale your business, especially as it grows. This can help you meet demand, keep customers happy, and stay competitive.
In IT, scalability means a system can handle more than its original workload without performance issues. The system can be adapted to the new demand by adding resources, such as memory or CPU power. This type of scalability is known as horizontal scalability.
For example, a remote work company can scale as it grows because it uses Microsoft 365 and Azure. They can scale their operations and use cloud services to collaborate with customers seamlessly.
Security
As trusted advisors to customers, partners take numerous measures to secure customer environments and protect the integrity of the Azure infrastructure. These include transport-level encryption when transferring data into and out of storage, shared access signatures to delegate administration rights, and security auditing at all levels.
To help partners meet these requirements, Microsoft provides security guidance and samples in the Partner Center Security Guidance Group community and GitHub repository. Partners unable to comply with the minimum security requirements won’t be able to transact in the CSP program or use delegated admin rights to manage their customer tenants.
Partners are also required to implement a solution that enforces multifactor authentication (MFA) for all user accounts in the CSP partner tenant. This includes users that perform any administration on behalf of operations, access the CSP portal or APIs, or consume Azure services. In addition, partners must have a third-party MFA solution that verifies the user’s identity to issue an authentication claim.
Integration
As your business integrates systems and applications, you’ll need partners to offer solutions that connect everything seamlessly. Look for partners with proven integration capabilities and expertise that enable them to provide a seamless cloud experience.
Whether you want to support building, running, and managing intelligent apps with Solutions Partners for Digital Apps and Innovation or migrate your crucial infrastructure to the hybrid cloud with Solutions Partners for Infrastructure, you’ll find the partners you need to meet your specific requirements in our partner marketplace. You can also find specialists in specialized scenarios such as Low Code Application Development and Small and Midsize Business Management or work with an expert managed services provider (MSP) certified in a specific technology area.
You’ll launch in CSP as an indirect reseller until you qualify for direct-bill partner status, which requires a minimum revenue requirement and the capability to manage billing on behalf of your customers.
