Microsoft Partner Competencies – October 2022 update
Microsoft Partner Competencies are changing this October – find out what is new
Microsoft Partner Competencies are getting revamped in a major way this year. Silver and Gold designations are disappearing, to be replaced with Solutions Partner badges.
Solutions Partner Badges – Overview
There will be six Microsoft Solutions Partner badges which every partner can earn. Each badge is aligned to a specific solution area:
– Infrastructure Azure
– Data & AI Azure
– Digital & App Innovation Azure
– Business Applications
– Modern Work
– Security
Each badge comes with a specific set of benefits, which will be different from the current Silver and Gold benefits. That said, Partners will be able to choose to keep their existing benefits when obtaining a badge if they prefer not to switch to the new ones.
The new competency system kicks in on 03 October 2022. Partners whose anniversary date falls before 30 September 2022 will be able to renew their current competency (Silver or Gold) for another year and keep their benefits, even if they do not meet the new criteria.
It is possible for a Partner to earn several or all of the badges, provided they meet all the criteria in each solution area.
How to get Solutions Partner Badges
This new competency system is point-based. Points are earned based on 3 criteria. In order to obtain a badge, you need at least 70 points in your chosen solution area (out of 100 possible points).
The criteria are:
– Performance, calculated based on the number of net customer adds (3 points per customer, up to 15 points)
– Skilling, calculated based on the number of individuals in your organisation who have obtained specific qualifying certifications (up to 35 points, details below)
– Customer Success, based on number of deployments and usage growth (up to 20 points).
You need to have at least one point in each criteria in order to be able to get a badge, regardless of what your grand total is.
How Skilling points work
What stays the same
Skilling points are, as before, based on the number of certified individuals that are associated to you on Microsoft Partner Center.
Furthermore, the required certifications are aligned with your solution area of choice.
What changes
Instead of dividing the points between Functional Consultant and Developer areas, Microsoft have now separated skilling criteria by level of expertise.
– Intermediate certification points are earned by individuals who are certified on the intermediate level exams for the chosen solution area (typically, these will be the ‘Associate’ or ‘Administrator’ certifications). You get 2 points per certified individual in this area, up to 20 points.
– Advanced certification points are earned by individuals who are certified on the advanced level exams for the chosen certification area (Solution Architect or Expert certifications). You receive 5 points per individual with an advanced certification, up to 15 points.
– For Microsoft Business Applications – you can now combine certifications from across the BizApps solution area and are no longer bound to a specific Dynamics product.
For the details of what certifications count for each solution area, you can check your Partner Center account.
With this, comes good news for Microsoft Business Applications partners: there is no longer a ‘functional consultant growth’ criteria.
Find out how you are tracking
Partners can already see how they are tracking against the new criteria by logging in to their Microsoft Partner Center account.
The details are in the Membership area, under the Solution partner menu line (on the left of your window). You’ll be able to check how many points you have in each solution area, as well as seeing detailed information for how each criteria is calculated.
Get support – book a free consultation with us
Do you have questions about the new Microsoft partner competency system? We’re happy to help. Book a 30 mins consultation with our Director of Training Services to get clarity on what you need to do to get your badge(s).
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