Microsoft Program Announcements
Specialisation skilling updates
Microsoft is retiring specialisation certifications and introducing new AI-focused replacements. Review what’s changing and the updated skilling needs.
- Date: July 30, 2026
- Workspace: General
- Impacted audience: Partners earning or renewing the Solutions Partner designation for AI Business Solutions (through the Business Applications solution path), Solutions Partner designation for Cloud & AI Platforms (through the Digital & App Innovation solution path), Solutions Partner designation for Security, or any affected specialisation noted here.
Microsoft is retiring multiple certifications between June 30 and August 31, 2026, as part of evolving certification requirements for AI-related skills. Many of these certifications have direct replacements that focus on building, deploying, and operating AI solutions.
If you complete a retiring certification before its retirement date, your certification remains valid for one year.
Azure reservation exchange policy update
Azure reservation exchanges for savings plan eligible services end February 1, 2027. Guide customers to the right mix of savings plans and reservations.
- Date: July 30, 2026
- Workspace: General
- Impacted audience: Partners with customers who hold Azure reservations for compute and database services covered by savings plans.
Starting February 1, 2027, Azure reservation exchanges aren’t available for services covered by savings plans.
This change creates a clear moment for you to lead cost strategy conversations and empower customers to make informed decisions that reflect how their workloads actually run, whether that decision means prioritising flexibility or long-term predictability.
Updated benefits redemption process
The updated process for redeeming the benefits provided in your benefits offering is now live.
- Date: August 3, 2026
- Workspace: General
- Impacted audience: All partners
Microsoft streamlined how partners access and redeem the seat-based cloud and Azure benefits attached to benefits offerings.
Updated Solutions Partner badge names
Customer-facing Solutions Partner badges now align to the three commercial solution areas. Your requirements, benefits, and paths stay the same.
- Date: August 5, 2026
- Workspace: General
- Impacted audience: Training services partners
Microsoft 365 promotion updates
Advance Microsoft 365 growth opportunities with extended E3 offers, eligible E7 promotions, and growth margin planning.
- Date: August 3, 2026
- Workspace: General
- Impacted audience: CSP distributors, indirect resellers, direct bill partners, and scale solution providers (SSPs).
To support continued customer acquisition and upsell opportunities for Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) partners, key Microsoft 365 E3 promotions now continue through December 31, 2026.
At the same time, Microsoft 365 E7 promotional offers retire on October 1, 2026, as Microsoft evolves partner investments toward growth margin – expanding beyond promotional transactions to sustain customer growth over time.
Windows 365: Service plan name update from Windows 365 Frontline to Windows 365 Flex
Starting September 3, 2026, Windows 365 Frontline service plans are renamed to Windows 365 Flex. This is a branding update only. There are no changes to functionality, licensing, user entitlements, provisioning, or billing.
- Date: August 4, 2026
- Workspace: General
- Impacted audience: All partners with Windows 365 Frontline customers
The Windows 365 Frontline SKUs of all types are renamed to Windows 365 Flex SKUs and are available for purchase starting on September 3, 2026.
These SKUs remain available for purchases with the current “Frontline” naming convention through Sept 2, 2026.
Security and compliance offers for partners
Use these key Microsoft security and compliance offers to re-engage customers, accelerate deals, and expand security and compliance opportunities.
- Date: August 6, 2026
- Workspace: General
- Impacted audience: CSP distributors, indirect resellers, direct bill partners, and scale solution providers (SSPs).
Key current Microsoft promotions and offers are available now, designed to support you in starting new customer conversations, re-engaging with existing opportunities, and accelerating deals. These offers support customers’ needs, from Microsoft 365 Copilot governance and compliance to Microsoft 365 upgrades and advanced security adoption. Match the right offer to each customer’s starting point and verify current eligibility before presenting them with pricing.
Manage agents across multiple tenants
Manage agents across customer and subsidiary tenants from a new, single experience in the Microsoft 365 admin center.
- Date: August 10, 2026
- Workspace: General
- Impacted audience: CSP distributors, CSP indirect resellers, CSP direct bill partners, and systems integrators (SIs)/global systems integrators (GSIs).
As organisations scale their use of agents, consistent management across multiple customer or subsidiary tenants becomes increasingly important.
CSP software pricing update effective October 1, 2026
A 5% cost of capital uplift applies to annual-term CSP software subscriptions billed monthly.
- Date: August 12, 2026
- Workspace: General
- Impacted audience: All CSP partners transacting annual-term software subscriptions with monthly billing plans.
Correction:
An earlier communication about this pricing update included an incorrect effective date. The correct effective date is October 1, 2026. Disregard the previously communicated date and refer to the updated guidance in this article. We apologise for any confusion.
Dragon Copilot Physician apps and agents
Dragon Copilot Physician apps and agents in Microsoft Marketplace empower partners to embed custom capabilities directly within Dragon Copilot.
- Date: August 20, 2026
- Workspace: General
- Impacted audience: Healthcare partners.
Software development companies building solutions for healthcare often face three key challenges:
- Reaching clinicians at the point of care: Many solutions require users to leave their primary workflow, creating friction and reducing adoption.
- Complex commercialisation and deployment: Software companies must navigate multiple procurement, contracting, and deployment processes to get solutions into healthcare organisations.
- Limited scalability of innovation: Delivering specialty-specific AI capabilities across health systems traditionally requires significant custom integration effort.
Guide every Copilot-in-30 trial with a personalised 30-day success plan
Guide every Copilot-in-30 trial with a personalised 30-day success plan.
- Date: August 24, 2026
- Workspace: General
- Impacted audience: CSP authorised partners
The Copilot Success Planner is now available to help partners support customers participating in the 25-user, 30-day Microsoft 365 Copilot Business trial. The planner provides a personalised learning plan for each trial user and a separate roadmap for the company’s sponsor/administrator who is coordinating the trial experience, including guidance for setup, communications, progress tracking, and end-of-trial evaluation and planning discussions.
Drive more marketing ROI in FY27
New Omdia research shows how high-growth partners are winning today’s buyers. Is your marketing strategy ready?
Date: August 24, 2026
Workspace: General
Impacted audience: All partners
According to Omdia research, stronger marketing performance comes down to a handful of strategic shifts: investing in the moments that influence buyers, building multitouch journeys, putting every available marketing investment to work, and modernising operations with AI and measurement.
Microsoft Partner Compliance Readiness training now available in the Partner Skilling hub
Microsoft is pleased to announce that the Microsoft Partner Compliance Readiness training gallery is now available through the Partner Skilling hub.
- Date: August 26, 2026
- Workspace: General
- Impacted audience: All partners
The Partner Skilling hub replaces both Partner University and the Partner Compliance gallery used previously, creating a single destination for partner compliance learning resources. Partners should use the Partner Skilling hub as their primary source for compliance training going forward.
FY27 August skilling updates
- Date: August 31, 2026
- Workspace: General
- Impacted audience: Partners earning or renewing the Solutions Partner designation for Security, the Solutions Partner designation for AI Business Solutions (through the Business Applications solution path), or any affected specialisation noted here.
Automatic onboarding for Microsoft Sentinel
Microsoft Sentinel automatic onboarding for managed customers begins in September 2026.
- Date: September 9, 2026
- Workspace: General
- Impacted audience: Managed security service providers (MSSPs) and partners managing Microsoft Sentinel customers.
Starting in September 2026, Microsoft will begin automatically onboarding managed customers that didn’t move to the unified Microsoft Sentinel experience in the Microsoft Defender portal.
New CSP sandbox offer construct preview
Prepare for the shift to consumption-based offers: Validate the flex spend plan in the sandbox environment starting September 1, 2026.
- Date: September 2, 2026
- Workspace: General
- Impacted audience: All CSP segments (direct bill, indirect resellers, distributors) and SSPs, as well as SDCs and GSIs/SIs preparing to integrate with the flex spend plan.
Microsoft is continuing to evolve its business toward consumption-based offers, and Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) partners play an important role in that future. On September 1, Microsoft will make a storage and database test product, flex spend plan, available in the sandbox environment.
Purchase order mapping in Microsoft Marketplace
By connecting Microsoft Marketplace purchases to purchase orders, customers can better manage spend while partners unlock more customer opportunities. Purchase order mapping empowers customers to allocate their Marketplace spend, helping them buy with confidence while partners accelerate growth.
- Date: September 1, 2026
- Workspace: General
- Impacted audience: Any partner with a Marketplace listing.
Microsoft is making it easier for customers to buy, manage, and scale solutions through Microsoft Marketplace. Purchase order mapping helps organisations allocate Marketplace purchases with existing procurement and financial processes.
New incentives for Microsoft Copilot Cowork adoption
Drive eligible Microsoft Copilot Cowork adoption to earn an activation bonus.
- Date: September 10, 2026
- Workspace: General
- Impacted audience: Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) partners.
On September 1, 2026, Microsoft launched the Copilot Cowork Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) Activation Incentive, creating an additional earning opportunity for partners to be rewarded for driving customer adoption and usage of Copilot Cowork. This investment recognises the critical role partners play in helping customers realise value from AI and accelerating consumption growth.
Combined with existing CSP incentives, this investment provides CSP indirect resellers and direct bill partners with even more ways to grow their earnings while helping customers successfully adopt and scale Copilot Cowork.