Microsoft is heavily invested in the security space, and their FY25 incentives program reflects this commitment. This blog post will break down the key programs and opportunities available to partners, focusing on how you can maximize your earnings while helping customers secure their digital landscape.
Key takeaways
Microsoft is significantly increasing its investment in security for FY25, with a 10x increase in overall investment1. The key priorities are AI adoption, enhancing cybersecurity, and driving M365 core execution and cloud migrations. Partner incentives focus on both pre-and post-sales activities.
Security Usage: Earn up to $30,000 per workload by driving the adoption of Microsoft 365 and security workloads.
Threat Protection: Earn up to $6,500 per engagement by identifying real threats and vulnerabilities in a customer's environment using products like Microsoft Defender XDR and Microsoft Sentinel. Engagements require a customer to have 300-5000 Paid Available Units (PAU) for Entra ID P1 and 250+ Monthly Active Users (MAU) for Exchange Online, SharePoint Online or Teams.
Data Security: Earn up to $6,500 per engagement for helping customers adopt Microsoft Purview solutions. This involves identifying data risks and recommending solutions using Purview Data Loss Prevention, Information Protection, and Insider Risk Management.
Microsoft Sentinel Migrate and Modernize: Earn up to $50,000 based on the customer's first-year Microsoft Sentinel consumption plan for migration and modernization projects.
M365 New Commerce CSP Incentive: Earn up to 17.75% to drive customer adoption of Modern Work & Security products and services through the new commerce experience.
M365 Customer Add New Commerce CSP Incentive: Earn 15% for driving the sale of Modern Work & Security products and services through both legacy and new commerce experiences.
Partners are expected to meet specific eligibility requirements, which often include a Solutions Partner designation. To maximize earnings, partners should align with Microsoft's strategic priorities and focus on driving the adoption and effective use of Microsoft's security solutions.
Table of Content
Strategic Priorities: Where Microsoft is Focusing its Efforts
Microsoft's priorities for FY25 are clear, and they're putting significant resources behind them:
Copilots on Every Device: Ensuring AI-powered assistants are available across all platforms and roles.
AI Design Wins: Driving the adoption of AI solutions with customers.
Securing the Cyber Foundation: Strengthening the security infrastructure of every customer.
M365 Core Execution: Expanding the implementation and use of Microsoft 365.
Migrations, Migrations, Migrations: Facilitating the move of customers to the cloud.
To back these priorities, Microsoft is making substantial investments, including a 10x year-over-year increase in overall investment, $150 million in AI investment, and $90 million in incremental investment. This demonstrates their commitment to innovation and security. There are also significant year-over-year increases in investment in AMM and SMC.
Key Security Partner Incentive Programs
The incentive programs are structured around pre-sales and post-sales activities, with a specific focus on security usage, threat protection, and migration. Here's a breakdown:
Security Usage: Partners can earn up to $30,000 per workload for driving security usage.
Threat Protection: Incentives up to $6,500 are available for threat protection engagements.
Sentinel Migrate & Modernize: Partners can earn up to $50,000 for migrating and modernizing to Sentinel.
Azure Migrate & Modernize: Partners can earn up to $57.5K for Azure Migrate and Modernize with Defender for Cloud.
Windows in the Cloud Assessment: Partners can earn up to $20,000 for conducting Windows in the Cloud Assessments.
M365 New Commerce CSP Incentive: Partners can earn up to 17.75% for new commerce. These incentives apply to various solution plays, including data security, threat protection, modern security operations, and secure win/SQL migration.
Microsoft Partner Engagement Programs
Let's look at some of the specific engagement programs:
Threat Protection Engagement
This program is designed to get customers to adopt advanced security products like Microsoft Defender XDR and Microsoft Sentinel.
Objective: Generate customer interest in purchasing and deploying Microsoft security products.
Engagement Structure: The engagement is designed to be completed in approximately three days and includes discovery of real security threats and vulnerabilities in a customer's production environment.
Customer Qualification:
300-5000 Paid Available Units (PAU) for Entra ID P1.
250+ Monthly Active Users (MAU) for Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, or Teams.
Customers must not have participated in a Threat Protection Engagement between July 1, 2023, and June 1, 2024.
Partner Activities:
Identify customer's key security objectives and priorities.
Conduct discovery of threats and vulnerabilities in the customer's production environment.
Use existing licenses or product trials to perform discovery and exploration.
Mandatory Modules:
Microsoft Defender Portal (Microsoft Defender XDR)
Cloud Identity Protection (Entra ID Protection, Entra Conditional Access).
Selectable Modules (at least three must be completed):
Unified SecOps Platform (Microsoft Sentinel)
Email Protection (Microsoft Defender for Office 365)
Endpoint and Cloud Apps Protection (Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management, Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps)
Microsoft Copilot for Security Demonstration
Payment: Partners receive a fixed payment based on the market:
Market A: $6500
Market B: $4000
Market C: $1500
Data Security Engagement
This program focuses on helping customers understand and mitigate data security risks using Microsoft Purview.
Objective: Encourage the adoption of Microsoft Purview solutions by showcasing data security and regulatory risks.
Engagement Term: The program runs from September 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025.
Engagement Focus: Collaborative workshops to remediate and prevent data security risks using Microsoft Purview.
Partner Activities: Identify customer's key data security objectives and priorities.
Conduct discovery of data security and compliance risks, including stale and sensitive data, data loss, and insider risk.
Introduce Microsoft Purview solutions tailored to the identified risks.
Cover mandatory modules such as Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Microsoft Teams, and Insider Risk Management.
Complete at least one optional module, such as Compliance Manager Tenant Assessment, On-Premises Data Discovery, Windows 10/11 Endpoints, Communication Compliance, or Microsoft Purview Portfolio Overview.
Provide recommendations and define the next steps.
Customer Qualification:
300-5000 Paid Available Units (PAU) for Microsoft Entra ID P1
250+ Monthly Active Users (MAU) for Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, or Teams
Payment: Same as Threat Protection Engagement:
Market A: $6500
Market B: $4000
Market C: $1500
Microsoft Sentinel Migrate and Modernize
This program aims to accelerate customer migration and modernization projects to Microsoft Sentinel.
Objective: Simplify and accelerate customer migration to Microsoft Sentinel.
Scope: Includes migrating from competitor or on-prem solutions to Microsoft Sentinel and increasing consumption through new or existing customers.
Goal: Generate Azure Consumption Rate (ACR) related to Microsoft Sentinel.
Partner Eligibility: Partners must have a Threat Protection Specialization
Customer Eligibility: Enterprise customers with a valid TPID
Payment Structure: Payments are based on the customer's first-year Microsoft Sentinel consumption plan.
Medium Migration Project (>$125K-$250K/year planned incremental Sentinel consumption):
Market A: $35,000
Market B: $28,000
Market C: $21,000
Large Migration Project (>$250K+/year planned incremental Sentinel consumption):
Market A: $50,000
Market B: $40,000
Market C: $30,000
Market Limitations: Markets B and C have a limit of 40 active or completed migrations per Partner Global ID (Vorg).
Security Usage
This program rewards partners for driving the successful deployment and adoption of Microsoft 365 and Security workloads.
Objective: Reward partners for helping customers adopt Microsoft 365 and Security workloads.
Incentives: Based on paid usage growth above the High Water Mark (HWM), not exceeding Paid Available Units (PAU).
Minimum HWM: Customers must have a minimum HWM of 300 active users for earnings to be released.
Microsoft 365 New Commerce CSP Incentives
This program incentivizes partners to drive customer adoption through the new commerce experience.
Objective: Drive customer adoption of Modern Work & Security products via the new commerce experience.
Incentives: Based on billed revenue:
Core – Modern Work & Security: 3.75%
Global Strategic Product Accelerator – Tier 1 (Business Premium, M365 E3): 5.00% (Innovate and Balance countries) and 6.00% (Scale countries)
Global Strategic Product Accelerator – Tier 2 (M365 E5, Copilot): 7.00%
Eligibility: Partners must have one of six Solutions Partner designations and meet revenue requirements.
Microsoft 365 Legacy CSP Incentives
This program rewards partners for driving adoption through legacy CSP for offers without a new commerce equivalent.
Objective: Reward partners for driving the adoption of Modern Work & Security products through legacy CSP.
Incentives: Based on billed revenue:
Core – Modern Work & Security: 3.75%
Global Strategic Product Accelerator – Tier 1 (Business Premium, M365 E3): 5.00% (Innovate and Balance countries) and 6.00% (Scale countries)
Global Strategic Product Accelerator – Tier 2 (M365 E5): 7.00%
Eligibility: Partners must have one of six Solutions Partner designations and meet revenue requirements.
Microsoft 365 Customer Add New Commerce CSP Incentives
This program encourages partners to sell Modern Work & Security products through both legacy and new commerce experiences.
Objective: Encourage partners to sell Modern Work & Security products through both legacy and new commerce experiences.
Incentives: Calculated based on Modern Work billed revenue on eligible products, available for 12 months from customer tenant create date.
Customer adds – Modern Work & Security billed revenue: 15%
Eligibility: Partners must have one of six Solutions Partner designations and meet revenue requirements.
Conclusion
These incentive programs offer significant opportunities for Microsoft partners to grow their businesses while helping customers enhance their security posture. By understanding the details of each program, partners can strategically align their efforts with Microsoft's priorities and maximize their earning potential. The programs are designed to encourage not just sales but also the adoption and effective use of Microsoft's security and Modern Work solutions.
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