Earlier this yr, Microsoft celebrated its fiftieth anniversary, a journey powered by our companions from day one. As we start the brand new fiscal yr, I wish to specific my deepest gratitude to your daring innovation, trusted collaboration, and buyer obsession. FY25 was one of the crucial transformative years in our historical past, and also you made it attainable.
At MCAPS Begin for Companions, we outlined the subsequent chapter of alternative powered by AI: customizable brokers, copilots, and a brand new class of AI-first organizations we name Frontier Companies. These are next-generation organizations that mix AI-powered options with human management to function with agility, scale, and worth creation. These corporations should not simply adopting AI; they’re redesigning their enterprise fashions, workflows, and cultures round it.
FY26 priorities and resolution areas
As we stay up for FY26, our focus is on translating this AI-powered imaginative and prescient into actionable priorities for our companions. To do that, we’ve made the choice to evolve our go-to-market method round three resolution areas, a strategic shift grounded in what prospects are asking for and what’s resonating most available in the market.
AI Enterprise Options: Scale Copilot throughout each gadget and function and drive sturdy execution in Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365.
Cloud & AI Platforms: Lead with Frontier AI improvements and speed up cloud migrations and modernization.
Safety: Strengthen and safe the cyber basis.
These resolution areas are designed to reflect how prospects take into consideration their enterprise challenges, making it simpler for Microsoft and our companions to align options to these wants. In addition they present a scalable, repeatable framework for a way we have interaction throughout industries, segments, and geographies, enabling extra constant execution and deeper impression.
As a partner-first firm, our accomplice ecosystem is an extension of our gross sales group, and this alignment deepens our unified method to partaking prospects.
Microsoft AI Cloud Companion Program
The Microsoft AI Cloud Companion Program continues to be the first method we have interaction and spend money on our accomplice ecosystem. This system brings all the things collectively throughout the entire of the accomplice lifecycle, together with onboarding, skilling, go-to-market, co-selling, and incentives.
Our dedication is to make the AI Cloud Companion Program a house for all accomplice varieties and to be agile to maintain up with the innovation we’re bringing to market, in addition to buyer demand. FY26 represents one other document yr of funding in this system, supporting companions with market-leading functionality throughout their journey.
Expanded program advantages
This system is designed to ship worth throughout each stage of the accomplice journey, providing focused advantages that assist development and innovation.
For software program improvement corporations, key choices embrace entry to the Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub, which allows companions to construct, publish, and scale well-architected software program options.
To additional assist software program companions, Microsoft is rising Azure credit for these collaborating in Market Rewards or who maintain licensed software program designations. These advantages unlock precious assets corresponding to technical consultations, entry to AI Foundry, GitHub and GitHub Copilot, examination vouchers, and extra rewards tied to market efficiency.
For providers companions, we’re increasing our advantages choices by together with the most recent Microsoft merchandise, rising Copilot seats, and introducing instruments like Copilot Studio, Dragon Copilot, and Microsoft 365 E5 Safety. Primarily based on accomplice suggestions, the corporate can also be enhancing profit supply by Trendy Profit Provisioning in Companion Heart.
In FY26, companions may also acquire extra flexibility by having the ability to mix or cut up their profit packages throughout a number of tenants, enabling them to assist operations in varied international places.
Skilling for the longer term and changing into buyer zero
Functionality is the brand new forex. Skilling is likely one of the most necessary steps companions can take to earn designations, construct belief, and speed up differentiation. And changing into their very own buyer zero through the use of Microsoft AI options inside their group is what separates companions who lead from those that observe. With fast-moving tech cycles, staying expert and hands-on is not optionally available; it’s important.
In FY25, over three million learners upskilled throughout the Microsoft resolution areas, with half of them in AI, Copilot, and Material. In FY26, we’re increasing this momentum with extra alternatives:
Agentic AI skilling: hands-on technical coaching to talent companions to design and deploy clever agent options utilizing Copilot Studio and Azure AI Foundry.
Hackathon-based coaching: enabling companions to construct IP, earn certifications, and ship revenue-generating AI engagements.
Regional in-person workshops and AI roadshows: offering immersive, peer-based skilling experiences.
CSP certification weeks and a Skilling in a Field initiative for distributors, scaling pre-sales and gross sales skilling to hundreds of resellers.
We encourage each accomplice to grow to be buyer zero and use the very instruments they convey to market. This builds credibility, deepens perception, and will increase their skill to information prospects by transformation. When their groups are hands-on with AI, the client expertise improves.
Skilling is the engine behind that impression, and we’re right here to assist companions each step of the best way. Be taught extra about present skilling alternatives.
Unlocking development by designations
Designations and specializations stay key to how we showcase accomplice capabilities each to prospects and internally throughout Microsoft’s area group. In FY26, we’re launching a number of new recognitions, together with a Copilot specialization (launching this month), a Distributor designation, a Help designation, and a Sovereign Cloud specialization.
Within the second half of FY26, we are going to introduce two new device-driven designations within the Microsoft AI Cloud Companion Program. These are targeted on unlocking business Home windows development, particularly in SMB.
One designation acknowledges OEM companions constructing trendy, hybrid-ready Home windows gadgets.
The second is for companions promoting and deploying Home windows Industrial gadgets, together with Copilot+ PCs, with worth throughout the total deployment lifecycle.
These designations are targeted on supporting the Home windows 10 refresh cycle, accelerating Microsoft 365 adoption, and constructing trusted relationships by safe, AI-ready gadgets.
Now we have additionally expanded SMB pathways for Safety and Azure designations, with almost 9,000 companions already attaining designations by these new routes.
Incentives to gas development
We’re additionally considerably rising our funding throughout the enterprise:
Enterprise Buyer Funding Funds will develop ~20% yr over yr (YOY), enabling companions to ship extra AI design wins, migrations, and Copilot deployments.
In AI Enterprise Options, we’ve elevated Copilot funding by 50%, reflecting sturdy momentum and broadening accessibility throughout the workforce.
Microsoft 365 incentives are rising by double digits.
Azure outcome-based incentives are up 70% YOY, rewarding companions for increasing workloads, driving seat development, and deepening resolution adoption.
We’re strengthening our CSP incentives with a ~20% YOY improve to reward development by new buyer acquisition, upselling new workloads, and increasing present relationships. To align our investments with our FY26 development ambitions, we’re pulling ahead the efficient date of those incentives to July 1. This shift ensures a quick begin to the yr, enabling companions to speed up execution, seize alternative earlier, and drive measurable impression from day one. We’re structuring this chance to foster a extra predictable and worthwhile surroundings as companions ship strategic buyer options.
We’re additionally investing 15% extra in Safety, a rise from a big funding base, to empower partner-led engagements that shield prospects and open new enterprise alternatives.
You’ll want to obtain our CSA incentives playbooks for steerage on the client alternative throughout every resolution space, together with the assets accessible at every stage of buyer engagement to assist companions seize that chance.
The Microsoft AI Cloud Companion Program is the engine that fuels our ecosystem. We’re dedicated to continuous funding, flexibility, and shared success in order that our program evolves in lockstep with our know-how and the market.
Seizing the section alternative
Throughout buyer segments, we see actual momentum and worth creation by Microsoft’s AI platform, particularly by Copilot and brokers. Organizations are utilizing AI to reshape how work will get finished, scale back prices, and unlock net-new worth.
Microsoft estimates, primarily based on IDC knowledge, that within the small and medium enterprise (SME) section, the entire addressable market (TAM) will attain $777 billion by FY26 for organizations with fewer than 3,000 workers. This spans over 400 million organizations globally. Our Cloud Resolution Supplier (CSP) companions are taking part in a vital function as trusted advisors, with SMB and company seller-partner co-sell offers up considerably yr over yr.
Within the enterprise section, companions are main large-scale AI and cloud transformations throughout a $592 billion TAM by reimagining prospects’ core enterprise processes and accelerating their journey towards totally agent-operated workflows.
Throughout each segments, Copilot is rising as a strategic differentiator for companions. The info is evident: those that deploy Copilot internally and grow to be their very own buyer zero see better buyer success and quicker income development. By utilizing the identical instruments they convey to market, companions can ship extra genuine demos, display actual enterprise outcomes, and information prospects with confidence. If in case you have not began your inner Copilot journey, now could be the time.
Wanting forward
AI is reshaping companies, industries, and whole economies. It is a once-in-a-generation alternative to outline the longer term collectively, and Microsoft is devoted to being an entirely dedicated accomplice alongside the best way.
In case you missed the MCAPS Begin for Companions keynote or wish to revisit key bulletins, I encourage you to watch the keynote on demand.
Watch the breakout periods on July 15 or examine again on July 17 for a hyperlink to the recorded expertise.
We additionally invite you to attend our upcoming MCI Companion periods devoted to aiding companions with questions associated to new and/or present incentive gives in MCI.
Be part of us for Microsoft Companion FY26 GTM Kickoff occasion on July 22 to be taught in regards to the go-to-market (GTM) priorities and initiatives deliberate for FY26 throughout Microsoft Enterprise Purposes and Trendy Work.
Register for a Cloud & AI Platforms FY26 accomplice playbook walkthrough for methods integrators. Check in to Groups and register for a morning or night session.
Discover out extra about Azure Speed up, our new holistic providing that brings collectively Azure Migrate and Modernize, Azure Innovate, and Cloud Speed up Manufacturing unit.
The chance forward is immense, and we’re constructing the platform, applications, and incentives to allow you to ship market-leading functionality and buyer success by our partnership.
Thanks for all you have got achieved and all we are going to obtain collectively in FY26!
