Update September 20, 2021: ‘Incentives for Azure only in the new Azure offer’ bullet below updated with specific timing in 2022.

At Microsoft, we place customers at the center of each business decision. We believe that exceptional customer outcomes are driven through partners. That’s why we continuously evolve our partner investment model and improve the operational experience, focusing on rewarding partners that drive customer value. Our focus for fiscal year 2022 (FY22) centers on three pillars to help partners meet customer needs and achieve digital transformation. 

Partners invest for the long-term: We are focused on maintaining predictability across our core investments and incentive programs, driving for simplicity and ensuring clarity in investment objectives to help partners plan for the long-term. 

Partners drive impact across the customer journey: Our investments and incentive programs are designed to reward partners who lead with value-added services, driving impact from initial customer demand, to sales and transactions, to post-sales activities. 

Partners make more possible: We recognize that partners are essential. Our programs center around equipping partners with the value and support needed to provide transformative solutions and achieve positive outcomes for customers. 

These principles drive our modifications to FY22 individual incentive programs. Below is a preview of program updates coming in FY22: 

• Overall effective rate maintained in Enterprise: We are continuing our investment commitment to partners who establish meaningful relationships with Enterprise customers to drive new, renewal, and true-up opportunities. The FY22 Enterprise program will experience no reduction to New, Renew, or Add-On rates for Core, Strategic Server, Modern Work & Security Cloud Standard and Premium levers. In alignment with the scope of changes previously announced, the Account Services earning opportunity will be redeployed into Level A and B nested in the Enterprise program.

• Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) incentive core rates: We are continuing to invest in CSP incentive programs, providing increased stability to partners with committed cloud practices. FY22 CSP core lever rates (Direct Bill Partner, Indirect Provider, and Indirect Reseller rates) and strategic product accelerator lever rates will remain consistent with FY21. 

• Incentives for Azure only in the new Azure offer: Starting February 1 2022, incentives for Azure will only be available for the new Azure offer (Azure plan) sold through the new commerce experience, and no longer available for the previous Azure offer in CSP.  

• Increased focus on activity-based incentives: We are continuing to heavily invest in presales workshops and assessments to drive customer acquisition and solution adoption.  

• Increased focus on cloud-based solutions:  We will prioritize advisory partners who play a strategic role in pre-sales and post-sales activities across Business Applications cloud-based solutions through the Online Services Advisor program, and no longer support the Certified Software Advisor program that was designed for Dynamics on-prem licensing.  

These changes are planned to take effect in October 2021 as part of our standard FY22 investments and incentives program launch. We will share incentive program details in the coming months, but wanted to provide these key updates to our largest incentive programs now to help you plan ahead. Visit the Microsoft partner website for details about each incentive program and to learn more about how we can drive customer value together.