Update April 5, 2022: The dates for Microsoft Inspire 2022 have changed to July 19–20, 2022, please mark your calendars. It will remain a global digital event, and we look forward to welcoming our partners from around the world to participate. Registration will open in June, and we’ll share more as that date approaches. Also, a reminder that Partner of the Year Award nominations will close today, April 5 at 6:00 pm PST, so please submit yours today. We look forward to celebrating our winners at Inspire in July!

Update March 11, 2022: The Partner of the Year Awards nomination deadline has been extended to 6:00 p.m. PT on April 5, 2022. Partners can submit nominations online now.

I’m thrilled to announce that nominations are now open for this year’s Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards. Celebrated annually at Microsoft Inspire, these awards recognize outstanding successes and innovations from across the global and diverse partner ecosystem. Partners can submit to a variety of categories that showcase the range of solutions built on Microsoft cloud and platforms, including two new awards that we’ve added this year (detailed below).

Partner of the Year Award finalists and winners receive recognition from Microsoft and the partner community and are celebrated in a variety of ways at Microsoft Inspire. This year’s Microsoft Inspire will again be digital, giving us the incredible opportunity to include partners from around the globe. The event is no-cost for attendees and will be held on July 19 & 20, 2022. Please save the date and look for registration opening in June.

The Partner of the Year Awards celebrate successes related to partner competencies, cloud technology, and entrepreneurial spirit, as well as highlighting the great work done by partners in various industries and in driving social impact. The Country/Region Partner of the Year Awards recognize partner successes in over 100 countries and regions around the world, and we encourage partners of all types, geographies, and sizes to submit nominations.

It’s critical that the nominated solutions are built to deliver meaningful, accessible, inclusive, and sustainable outcomes for customers. Our partner ecosystem has the great privilege and responsibility of delivering innovative solutions and services to businesses and local economies around the world. We believe technology should be a force for good and we’re intentional about recognizing partners that enable a more sustainable and equitable future, empowering every person and organization to achieve more.

This year, we have added two new awards:

• The Operational Excellence Award for partners who are committed to and recognize the importance of operational excellence to drive partner profitability, digital transformation, consumption, and customer loyalty.
• The Compliance Award for partners enabling customer success by delivering expertise through the technologies within the Microsoft Compliance product portfolio and advising customers as they navigate today’s compliance challenges.

Read more about these two awards and download the official guidelines here: https://aka.ms/POTYA_Guidelines

You can see the full list of awards on the Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards page and submit your nomination in advance of the deadline of 6:00 p.m. Pacific Time (PT), on April 5, 2022. To ensure you create a strong entry, I encourage you to explore the provided resources and expert advice on the nomination process. We look forward to receiving your nomination and are excited to celebrate another round of incredible partner innovations!

Hear more about the Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards from Rodney Clark, Corporate Vice President, Channel Sales and Channel Chief: https://youtu.be/buTxzNVjyxU