A Short Story: Why Transact in Marketplace?
For anyone who is undecided a) if building a transactable offer is worth the effort or b) if leading with Marketplace is superior to legacy procurement processes: Last night while I slept, we closed an enterprise deal in Australia. Yesterday, I created a custom private offer for the customer and sent them the acceptance link with a link to the Microsoft Learn page with instructions on how they accept the offer. Woke up this morning to a Partner Center-generated message confirming the deal was won and done. Yes, we had given them a demo; and yes, we had to get stakeholder commitment . . . but: Zero haggling on price. Zero contract redlines. Zero delays with traditional vendor onboarding etc. Even better, we leveraged our Marketplace Rewards (bar none my favorite GTM program!) to amplify customer value by providing Azure Sponsorship credits to offset the deployment cost. Even more better, this deal hits three of the levers in the FY24 Transact & Grow Incentive Campaign - meaning sometime in the next ~60 days Microsoft is going to send us $40k in free money. 🙂 I share this story not to boast but to inspire and motivate. Nothing's special about us or what we did here - you can 100% replicate this experience simply by taking advantage of the resources Microsoft wants to give you. #MarketplaceChampions #SponsoredLinkedIn Marketing: Critical Hashtags for Partners
When you are posting on LinkedIn, there are a number of Microsoft hashtags you should be using at the bottom of your posts to help increase your visibility. This question has come up in different discussions with partners about how to get their messages seen by more of their audience organically. Thanks to the article from Tricycle-Europe who did the work for me on this. Top hashtags for Microsoft partners: #MicrosoftPartner #Microsoft365 #Azure #DigitalTransformation #CloudComputing #Cybersecurity #MSPartner #MicrosoftTeams #PowerBI #AI And, in general, the top 100 hashtags for LinkedIn can be found at this article by Taavi Lindmaa is absolutely worth checking out! Edited to include the answer to Raj's add below: Raj: In order to find followers for each Hashtags, one can just enter the hashtag in LinkedIn search and go to that page to see the followers' count. JL: It's not as intuitive as you might think, but here are 3 ways to get to that info (with some assistance from Bing AI-Powered Co-pilot): Type a hashtag into LinkedIn’s search bar, then find it in any of the posts that come up and open it. You’ll see the hashtag’s follower count at the top, and current trending posts using that hashtag 1 . There are also some apps that can get to this info a little faster, such as a free app called LinkedIn Hashtag Analytics. This app helps get more insights into hashtags on LinkedIn, and helps you discover related hashtags and potential reach scores. You can also manually search for a hashtag on LinkedIn by pasting this URL string into your browser and add the keyword at the end. The below example is searching for the hashtag Social Media: https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/all/?keywords=%23socialmedia. Replace “socialmedia” at the end with the hashtag you want. You’ll see how many posts have used that hashtag in the past year. 😊 Here's some related source info for more: 1. bing.com 2. blog.hootsuite.com 3. linkedin.com 4. vistasocial.com 5. blog.hootsuite.com 6. inlytics.io 7. engage-ai.co 8. brandmentions.com -J.L. ISV Success Program Engagement Manager for Teams PartnersMarketplace Community - Upcoming AI Events
**Updated 3/7/2025** ISV Success is now supporting a series of AI-focused events to help partners maximize the AI opportunity when building and publishing solutions to the commercial marketplace. These events are open to all partners on marketplace – participation in ISV Success is not required to attend. Stay updated on the latest offerings by subscribing to this post, where we will be regularly updating our list of upcoming events and sharing links to recent events. Full instructions on how to subscribe are posted at the bottom of this post. Check out our upcoming AI events below and comment with any of your questions! _____________________________________________________________________________________________ ISV AI Envisioning Day Trainings We are excited to announce the launch of two new ISV AI Envisioning Day training courses introducing tools and frameworks to leverage in building AI applications that drive innovation and business value. Microsoft ISV AI Envisioning Day: Identify and Prioritize Use Cases for AI Solutions This session guides you through the process of identifying and prioritizing business use cases for AI solutions. You will learn how to structure each use case to assess its viability, differentiate its value, and explore learning opportunities. Practical advice and actionable steps will be provided to help you kickstart your AI projects and accelerate time-to-market. Microsoft ISV AI Envisioning Day: Get the Framework to Develop AI Solutions In this envisioning session, you will learn how to effectively plan, build, and deploy your AI solution. You will be empowered with tools and frameworks to guide you through the technical and business considerations to evaluate when determining the best approach to use in building your AI application. Whether you’re just beginning to identify and prioritize AI use cases or are ready to begin planning, building, and deploying solutions, you’ll learn the steps to make AI a reality in your organization. Both ISV AI Envisioning Day training courses will run monthly in multiple time zones and are delivered in English. Check back for upcoming session dates and times. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ ISV Security Series The ISV Security Series is designed to empower ISVs to not only defend against current threats but also anticipate and prepare for future challenges. Whether you are just starting your security journey or looking to enhance your existing strategies, this series provides the insights and resources you need to succeed. Join us in creating a safer digital ecosystem – one that fosters innovation without compromise. Register for the upcoming session at aka.ms/asiaisvsecurity March 2025 Strengthen the ISV Supply Chain with DevSecOps Practices Discover how DevSecOps practices can secure your software supply chain, automate compliance checks, and build customer trust by delivering secure, reliable applications. April 2025 Safeguard Data Security & Privacy in AI-Driven Applications Gain insights into implementing robust data security and privacy measures for AI-powered solutions, ensuring compliance, and creating trusted experiences for your customers. May 2025 Enhanced Threat Detection & Monitoring for AI Solutions Learn about advanced techniques for detecting and monitoring security risks in AI-driven applications, including real-time threat intelligence and anomaly detection. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Copilot Developer Camp Join us for the Copilot Developer Camp—an immersive workshop designed for professional developers eager to expand their skills with Copilot for Microsoft 365 or create custom copilots. This free, one-day workshop, held right after the AI tour, aims to equip developers, ISVs, and tech enthusiasts with the knowledge and hands-on experience needed to enhance and extend Copilot’s capabilities for Microsoft 365. This is an in-person workshop offered in multiple locations. It is aimed at Developers, ISV partners, product centric companies, and enterprise developers. You will walk away with an understanding of the capabilities of Microsoft 365 Copilot and its extensibility AI models. See the different methods to develop Copilot agents utilizing Microsoft 365 Copilot's AI and orchestration on how to create a custom engine agent using Azure AI Studio and Teams AI library. How to develop a Declarative agent that includes a Build custom action for your agent via API plugins. Check here for upcoming dates and locations: Copilot Developer Camp Registration _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Build and extend your own agents using pro-code capabilities Microsoft Copilot Studio and building custom agents. Agents are AI-powered productivity tools designed to enhance everyday tasks by leveraging large language models (LLMs). Are you a developer interested in exploring advanced aspects of using Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft Copilot Studio, and building custom agents using professional coding techniques? Join our on-demand workshop to learn how to leverage pro-code capabilities and build intelligent agents that assist users across various domains. Workshop Agenda Day 1: Extend Microsoft 365 Copilot with declarative agents Build custom engine agents with Teams AI library and Microsoft 365 Agents SDK Day 2: Develop your own agents in Azure AI Foundry Day 3: Build your own agents with Semantic Kernel for a fully controlled end-to-end AI experience Secure and govern copilots Call to Action Don't miss this opportunity to enhance your skills and build powerful agents with pro-code capabilities. Register now for this on-demand session and take the next step in your development journey! For more training opportunities, visit us at the Partner Skilling Hub. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Azure AI Foundry Council & AI Visionaries The Azure AI Foundry Council & AI Visionaries is excited to deliver new AI webinars to enhance your learning and help you navigate the future of AI. Azure AI Foundry Council | Azure OpenAI fine-tuning and distillation March 18 | 8:00 - 9:00 AM PST What is Distillation? Distillation is a technique used to compress a large, complex model into a smaller, more efficient one without significant loss of performance. This process helps in optimizing model deployment and reducing computational costs. What We'll Cover Fine-Tuning overview Introduction to Distillation Demos Best Practices Benefits of Attending Hands-On Learning: Gain practical knowledge through live demos. Expert Insights: Learn from Azure AI experts and get your questions answered. Networking: Connect with other partners and Azure AI Microsoft champions. Azure AI Foundry Partner Council | AI multi-agent orchestration with Semantic Kernel March 20 | 8:00 - 9:00 AM PST What is Semantic Kernel? Semantic Kernel is a framework that enables the orchestration of multiple AI agents to work together seamlessly. It leverages semantic understanding to coordinate tasks and optimize workflows, enhancing the overall efficiency and effectiveness of AI solutions. What We'll Cover Introduction to Semantic Kernel: Understanding the basics and benefits of using Semantic Kernel for AI multi-agents orchestration. Demos: Live demonstrations on how to implement and utilize Semantic Kernel in Azure AI Foundry. Best Practices: Tips and tricks for effective orchestration and deployment of AI multi-agents. Benefits of Attending Hands-On Learning: Gain practical knowledge through live demos. Expert Insights: Learn from Azure AI experts and get your questions answered. Networking: Connect with other partners and Azure AI champions. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Microsoft Azure Virtual Training Day: AI Fundamentals Join us for Azure AI Fundamentals, a free virtual training designed to build your technical expertise in AI and machine learning on Microsoft Azure. This course will dive into core AI concepts and foundational workloads, offering hands-on insights into Azure AI services that power intelligent applications. You'll explore machine learning models, computer vision, and natural language processing (NLP) capabilities such as sentiment analysis, language detection, and key phrase extraction. With guidance from Microsoft experts, you’ll gain the skills needed to analyze and automate workflows, develop AI-driven solutions, and ensure responsible AI use across applications. Use the link below to see the full list of upcoming sessions available for registration. Multiple dates and time zones are available, and new sessions are added frequently. Microsoft Azure Virtual Training Day: AI Fundamentals _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Subscribe to this post If you're not a member of the Tech Community already, create an account at techcommunity.microsoft.com Select "subscribe" from the 3-dot dropdown in the upper-right corner of this post. Under "Notification Settings," select "Notify me of Any edits & comments on knowledge bases articles I subscribe to," then select to receive updates to this post either immediately, daily, or weekly (I recommend weekly). Manage your subscription settings so that you can receive email updates on new events. Manage these settings by selecting your profile icon in the top right corner of the community, selecting "My Settings," and selecting "Subscriptions & Notifications." You can also subscribe to the entire marketplace community which will provide you with regular updates on all marketplace discussion topics happening in this forum. To do this, click "subscribe" in the upper right corner of the marketplace community homepage.Setting up Selling Partner: ISV: Challenges and Tips
While helping a channel partner to set up as a seller in Microsoft Partner’s ecosystem for Multi Private Party Offer, I came across some practical challenges which I am sharing here along with tips those may help: Help the partner select the right Partner Type – Partner, SI, MSP etc. for enrolling in the AI Cloud Partner Program. For a new partner to successfully enroll in Microsoft AI Cloud Partner program, it is mandatory to set up the authentication method using Authenticator tab. The enrollment didn’t succeed until the partner followed all the exact instructions provided on the browser on the Mobile Phone, including scanning the QR Code step. Without this step, the enrollment kept on failing although Authenticator recognized the user as a valid account on the Mobile Phone After enrolling in Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program and Microsoft Commercial Marketplace program, it is necessary to complete Microsoft Validation of the partner. Microsoft sends emails to verify you as the right partner by sending email ID from Microsoft Vetting Services Email ID. You may receive multiple emails for Verification, ensure that complete verification by following steps from all those emails. Only after the verification was complete by following 3 emails that the partner received, Tax Profile and Payout Profile Assignment was enabled for us to complete on the Accounts Settings. The external Tax Completion Form did not display correctly on Chrome. After spending 5 attempts, we could successfully submit the Tax Profile form on Microsoft Edge. The partner set up the Payment profile after the Tax Profile was completed. It was necessary to select $ as a currency to associate Payment Profile to the Tax profile to complete this step. Note that Multi party Offer is currently available only to partners in the USA. The last step for my partner to gain visibility on the commercial marketplace as a Partner Directory was Creating a Marketing Profile Hope these practical steps help , would love to know your experience about setting up Multi-Party private offers.
