If you’re a partner selling through CSP then you may know that there will be a new Partner Agreement coming from 1 September, 2019.
If you want to preview this agreement then it’s available on Partner Center here: http://bit.ly/3104kTH, and if you want to revisit Microsoft’s original blog post announcing this agreement then you can find that here: http://bit.ly/2Ilm4l1.
The Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) track in Get Licensing Ready has been enhanced and extended to contain the following modules:
Each module has the usual video, handout and test so it’s an ideal way to learn the essentials of licensing in CSP, with a certificate awarded at the end.
Find the track in the English portal here: http://bit.ly/2Oib269.
Microsoft announce at Inspire that they’re launching a trial of Teams in CSP from 1st August, 2019. It’s aimed at customers who have yet to see the value of the cloud, or who are perhaps using a standalone service such as Exchange Online.
Watch the 20-minute session that covers this new offer here: http://bit.ly/2Z9s0o6, with this particular slide at 13:13.
If you’re a partner selling Azure through CSP then you’ll be interested in a new Microsoft blog post where some upcoming changes are detailed about a new Azure experience in CSP, and the introduction of both the existing Microsoft Customer Agreement and a new Microsoft Partner Agreement in CSP. Get the full details including expected timelines here: http://bit.ly/2Ilm4l1.
Microsoft announce that ISVs can now choose to make their Azure Marketplace offerings available through the CSP channel, so that CSP partners will be able to sell these solutions alongside the regular Azure services.
Partners will transact SaaS Subscriptions through Partner Center, and Azure resources such as VM or container images through the Azure Management Portal.
Find the announcement here: http://bit.ly/2JefMam, where you’ll also find an updated CSP Operations Guide.
If you’re a CSP partner then you might like to know that from 31 October, 2018 you can now change the billing frequency of a Subscription for the Online Services (Office 365 etc) from monthly to annual, and vice versa.
Find an FAQ here: http://bit.ly/2T0izF0 and an updated billing article here: http://bit.ly/2FfyA77.
Microsoft update their page on Reservations and Server Subscriptions in CSP to reveal that there will be two new offerings available in the short term: Reservations for SQL Managed Instance, and Server Subscriptions for RDS CALs.
Find the page and its host of useful resources here: http://bit.ly/2NIC5n1.
Since September 2017 there have been two options for customers buying Windows 10 Enterprise E3 User SLs in CSP: a Local Only SKU which (not surprisingly) allowed just local installation of Windows 10 Enterprise E3, and a full SKU which included the additional rights to run Windows 10 Enterprise E3 in a hosted virtual desktop. From 1 October, 2018 the Local Only SKU will be retired and the price of the full SKU will be reduced to an ERP of $7 per user per month to match the previous Local Only SKU price. Find the announcement and a link to an FAQ here: http://bit.ly/2NmAemn.
If you’re a CSP partner then it’s important to sell the correct Reserved Instance to a customer, and then to check that the discount is being applied to a virtual machine. This article gives useful instructions for both of these tasks: http://bit.ly/2N5udyZ.
If a customer has bought Azure services through a CSP partner then there’s an Azure Subscription set up and charging for the consumed services is done via the partner. However, can an Azure Subscription be switched from one partner to another if need be? It can indeed – it’s not a particularly elegant process involving a form and action required from both partners and the customer, but if you need to do it you can find instructions here: http://bit.ly/2PxC19J.