Microsoft Cloud Partner Program Frequently Asked Questions

Microsoft Cloud Partner Program Frequently Asked Questions

Program Overview

Program Requirements

Enrollment Requirements

Re-Enrollment Requirements

Program Benefits

Program Benefits List

Cloud Essentials Pack Benefits

Cloud Accelerate Program Benefits

Microsoft Online Services Internal Use Rights

All Internal Use Rights

Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) to Microsoft Office 365 Transition

Microsoft Office 365

Windows Azure Platform

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online

Partner of Record

Program Support

Program Overview

1)What is the Microsoft Cloud Essentials Pack?

The Microsoft Cloud Essentials Pack gives you the opportunity to learn about and try the latest cloud software, online technical support, training and other resources from Microsoft at no charge. It is ideally suited for partners just starting to build a Microsoft Online Services business. Leveraging Cloud Essentials benefits will help you experience Microsoft cloud solutions and learn how to build your Microsoft cloud services business.

2)What is the Microsoft Cloud Accelerate Program?

The Microsoft Cloud Accelerate Program is designed for partners that are already committed to a cloud business. In addition to the benefits received in the Cloud Essentials Pack, you are rewarded with a Cloud Accelerate logo, 5Advisory hours for support (20 hours for partners joining prior to August 1st 2012), priority listing in Pinpoint, accessto future Microsoft Cloud product roadmaps, additional Internal Use Rights licenses and Online Services Advisor incentives and accelerators.

3)Can I belong to both the Cloud Essentials Pack and the Cloud Accelerate Program?

Yes, you are able to join Cloud Essentials Pack and Cloud Accelerate Program at the same time. You will need to join the Cloud Essentials Pack first before you can graduate to the Cloud Accelerate Program where you will have access to all of the Cloud Essentials Pack benefits, and the additional Cloud Accelerate Program benefits. The Internal Use Rights benefits for the Microsoft Online Services are NOT additive and are capped at the Cloud Accelerate level.

4)If my organization has qualified for the Cloud Essentials Pack or Cloud Accelerate Program, can the program benefits be shared across locations?

Yes, the benefits are earned at the parent organization level. All locations associated with your Partner organization in the Partner Membership Center (PMC) are eligible to access and share these benefits. Similarly, only users associated with your organization and its locations in PMC can access the benefits via the Microsoft Cloud Partner Portal.

5)There used to be a Build & Develop track, where is it now?

The Build & Develop track has been removed with effect from Jun 26, 2012.

Program Requirements

Enrollment Requirements

6)What agreements do I need to sign before my company is eligible to join?

To sign up for the Cloud Essentials Pack or the Cloud Accelerate Program, you need to agree to the Terms and Conditions of the Microsoft Partner Network Agreement. To be eligible for the Cloud Essentials Pack or the Cloud Accelerate Program, you need to sign the Microsoft Online Services Partner Agreement (MOSPA) and pass the Microsoft Online Services Partner Assessment. You can click here to learn more about MOSPA.

Cloud Essentials: Starting on July 6, 2012 partners who sign the MOSPA Agreement and take the MOSPA Assessment will be automatically enrolled/renewed into Cloud Essentials.

Beginning in August of 2012, you will also be automatically enrolled in the Cloud Accelerate Program, once you fulfill the necessary requirements.

7)If my MOSPA has expired, can I still join the Microsoft Cloud Partner Program?

To qualify for the Cloud Partner Program, you must re-sign MOSPA and take the required assessment. If you have satisfied all program requirements, you will qualify for all of the available programbenefits, without restriction.

8)Is there a fee to join the Cloud Essentials Pack?

There is no program fee to enroll in the Cloud Essentials Pack.

9)Will there be a fee to join the Cloud Accelerate Program?

You must meet all the required qualifications and have either a Silver or Gold competency, or a Microsoft Action Pack Subscription (Solution Provider or Development and Design) to join the Cloud Accelerate Program.

If you do not have an active membership in a Microsoft Action Pack Subscription, or at least a Silver Competency in the Microsoft Partner Network, you will be required to meet the requirements for and obtaina Microsoft Action Pack Subscription or Silver Competency (local fee will apply).

10)What are the specific requirements for the Cloud Essentials Pack and the Cloud Accelerate Program?

The following qualification requirements must be met to qualify for the Cloud Partner Program. As you graduatefrom the Cloud Essentials Pack to the Cloud Accelerate Program, the benefits and requirements increase, by design. Most program requirements apply to both the Cloud Essentials Pack and the Cloud Accelerate Program.

Please refer to the table below for detailed requirements for the Cloud Essentials Pack and the Cloud Accelerate Program.

Program Requirements / Cloud Essentials / Cloud Accelerate / Details
A partner must have a signed Microsoft Online Services Partner Agreement (MOSPA) Partner must take any required assessments to attain MOSPA. / /
Partner must be enrolled in a Silver Competency OR have an active Microsoft Action Pack subscription: If not, partner will select an applicable Competency or Action Pack Subscription based on product(s) sold and pay the local fee. / n/a /
Sales Completed
Cloud Essentials: Partner must have sold at least 25 seats to maintain IUR (any Online Services product offered in the program) / / n/a / *Note:the 25 seats sales requirement for Cloud Essentials has been waived from Jun 12, 2012 – Jun 30, 2013. To maintain the use of IUR after Jul 1 2014, the partner must sell at least 25 seats in last 12 months.
Sales Completed
Cloud Accelerate:
Partner must have sold 3 deals with a combined total of 150 or more seats. Deals must have occurred in the 18 months prior to enrollment. / n/a / / *Note: Partner must maintain sales of at least 3 deals and 150 seats in order to maintain membership in the program in the second and any subsequent years.

Note: n/a represents Not Applicable

11)If I am a Reseller and I sell through a Distributor, how can I associate to them?

If you have not yet signed the Microsoft Online Services Partner Agreement (MOSPA), you can go to and sign the agreement through a distributor in your country and then return to to enroll in the Cloud Essentials Pack. If you are an existing Cloud Essentials partner, you can contact the Regional Service Center to associate to a Distributor.

12)How is Microsoft going to track the 3 deals and 150 seats requirement to enroll in the Cloud Accelerate Program?

We will validate the sales shown on the Online Services Transaction Summary in your Partner Dashboard. You need to have sold 3 quotes that are paid and add up to more than 150 seats to satisfy this requirement.

Re-Enrollment Requirements

13)What are the steps to re-enroll in Cloud Essentials Pack?

Step 1: Your Program Administrator has to login to Partner Membership Center (PMC) to re-enroll the MPN membership. If you are already an active network member, this step is not required.

Step 2: Your Program Administrator has to login to and there will be a banner reminding the partner to renew the Cloud membership. He can either click on the banner or go to “Renew Membership” tab. Click on the hyperlink to renew Microsoft Online Services Partner Agreement (MOSPA). You have to re-sign the agreement and take the assessment (Note: assessment is required every 2 years).

Step 3: Click “Complete Enrollment” button on and you will see an acknowledgement on successful renewal into the Cloud Essentials Pack.

14)I have just renewed as a MPN network member, do I need to re-enroll in the Cloud Essentials Pack and the Cloud Accelerate Program?

Yes, you will need to re-sign the Microsoft Online Service Partner Agreement (MOSPA) from the Partner Membership Center and re-visit ensure your enrollment status is active

15)What are the requirements to re-enroll in the Cloud Essentials Pack and the Cloud Accelerate Program?

There are different requirements for renewing your membership in the Cloud Partner Program versus renewing your cloud services Internal Use Rights (IUR) benefits. These are described separately for the Cloud Essential Pack and the Cloud Accelerate Program:

Program Renewal

Cloud Essentials Pack: Partners must maintain their enrollment requirements to remain in the program. Your organization can continue to access all the benefits of the program, with the exception of IUR, which has additional requirements described below.

Cloud Accelerate Program:As a Microsoft Cloud Accelerate partner, your organization must demonstrate a higher level of commitment to renew your membership and continue enjoying the greater level of program benefits, which involves additional requirements to renew. To re-enroll in the program, partners must maintain all program requirements in good standing: MPN Membership, MOSPA Membership and meet their program sales goal of 3 deals and a minimum of 150 licenses sold (both requirements are product agnostic) in the 12 months preceding renewal. This target will be continually assessed during the program term to ensure alignment with the capabilities of our committed partners.

Internal Use Rights

Cloud Essentials Pack and Cloud Accelerate: In addition to respective program enrollment requirements, you must sell at least 25 seats (PC licenses for Intune) of each online service being used, during the enrollment year, to qualify for another 12 months of Internal Use Rights for each of those online services. If you do not qualify for a particular online service, partner preferred pricing may be available for you to continue these services, while you maintain an active status in the Cloud Program. (Note: the 25 seats requirement has been waived through to Jun 30, 2013)

Partner preferred pricing is currently available for:

• Dynamics CRM Online: $19 per seat (refer to Dynamics CRM Online Website for details)

Standard rates apply for other Online Services Products, such as O365 and Windows Intune.

16)What happens if I don’t meet my sales or revenue commitment by the end of year one for the Cloud Accelerate Program? Is there a grace period for me to meet the requirement? What happens if I don’t meet the grace period?

There is no grace period and you will no longer be able to receive your cloud software benefits and resources if you do not meet your sales commitment.

17)How is Microsoft going to track the 3 deals and 150 seats requirement to continue in the Cloud Accelerate Program?

We will validate the sales shown on the Online Services Transaction Summary in your Partner Dashboard. You need to have sold 3 quotes that are paid and add up to more than 150 seats to satisfy this requirement.

18)When does Microsoft start tracking the 3 deals and 150 seats requirement? Is it based on fiscal year or calendar year?

We track the 3 deals and 150 seats sales committed during your MPN membership period.

Program Benefits

Program Benefits List

19)Where can I find a complete listing of benefits for the Cloud Essentials Pack and the Cloud Accelerate Program?

Go to the Microsoft Cloud Partner Portalhome page and click the Microsoft Cloud Essentials Pack and Microsoft Cloud Accelerate hyperlinks.

20)Where can I find out if the Online Product is available in my country?

You can go here to check if the online product is available in your country.

21)How can I become a Cloud Distributor?

To become a Cloud Distributor, please contact your Partner Account Manager.

22)How can I be listed as a Cloud Distributor partner?

To be listed in the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) Cloud Distributor Directory, must be an authorized cloud distributor and either 1) utilize the Microsoft syndicated landing page by enrolling at the Microsoft Digital Commerce & Campaign Network; or 2) create a landing page that meets the requirements. Contact your Partner Account Manager for details on the requirements.

23)If I have Delegated Administration Privilege (DAP), what kind of transactions can I carry out on behalf of my customer?

You will be able to perform administrative work such as assigning a license to a user, resetting a user password. You will not be able to modify the billing of the Volume License subscription such as adding seats and changing payment instruction.

Cloud Essentials Pack Benefits

24)Where do I access the Online Technical Communities for cloud?

Visit Online Technical Communities for support on Office 365, Windows Intune, Dynamics CRM Online and Windows Azure.

Cloud Accelerate Program Benefits

25)How many Advisory Hours are included in the program benefits?

If you joined the Cloud Accelerate Program prior to August 1st 2012, are awarded 20 advisory hours until the end of their MPN Renewal period. When you renew your Cloud Accelerate membership, will be awarded 5 advisory hours.

If you join the Cloud Accelerate Program after August 1st 2012, you will be awarded 5 advisory hours.

26)As a Cloud Accelerate Program member, how do I access my Advisory Hours?

To find the Technical Advisory Service phone number closest to you click here.

27)What can I use the Advisory Hours for?

Your additional Advisory Hours can be utilized for cloud-product related Advisory Services provided through your MPN benefits. Be sure to check out the full catalog of Technical Enablement workshops available to help build and grow your Cloud Services practice. In addition, you may utilize your hours for specific advisory services available to you from our Partner Technical Consultants. To find the Technical Advisory Service phone number closest to you, click here.

28)What are the Online Services Advisor incentives for Cloud Accelerate partners?

Starting on 10 October, 2012, Partners enrolled in Cloud Accelerate can earn up to 23% in year 1 through the new Online Services Advisor incentives and accelerators outlined below, which reward partners for driving sales and deployment, and managing relationships with customers using Office 365 and Windows Intune sold through both the Microsoft Online Services Agreements (Web-Direct) and Enterprise Agreements (EA). The incentives will be launched on 10 October 2012. Partners selling CRM Online will earn 30% incentives in year 1 and will not have accelerators in the period of October 2012–June 2013. Please review the FY13 Incentives Guide to learn more.

Cloud Accelerate partners now eligible for accelerators: On top of the core incentives for selling, deploying and managing, Cloud Accelerate Partners are eligible to earn an additional 4% to 7% incentive as accelerators on eligible Office 365 and Windows Intune seats. The accelerators will be applied retroactively July 1,2012.

Minimum Seat Requirement / One-time / Recurring
Active Cloud Essentials Partners / N/A / 12% / 4%
Active Cloud Accelerate Partners
(3 customers, 150 seats) / 150 to 499 / 16% / 4%
500 to 2,499 / 18% / 4%
2,500 / 19% / 4%

Recurring Management incentives for Enterprise Agreement (EA) deals after 10 October 2012: After 10 October 2012, partners will earn 4% management incentives on new MOSA and EA deals for deployment of seats. Recurring management incentives on Enterprise Agreements are limited to up to a 3-year maximum. The three-year period starts with the date of partner association with the EA. This is exciting news for partners helping EA customers to deploy Office 365, Windows Intune and CRM online. Partners that have sold MOSA deals up to 9 October 2012 continue to receive 6% manage incentives until 30 June 2014.

29)Where do I find additional information about the Online Services Advisor incentives for Cloud Accelerate partners?

Please review the FY13 Incentives Guide ( to learn more.

Microsoft Online Services Internal Use Rights

All Internal Use Rights

30)Are there any restrictions on the Internal Use Rights (IUR) awarded through the Microsoft Cloud Partner Program?

Internal use services may not be used for direct revenue-generating purposes, commercial purposes, personal purposes, or customer training. The IUR earned by joining the Microsoft Cloud Partner Program is intended to help you explore Microsoft’s cloud services, and to help you grow your business by building or selling cloud solutions based on these technologies. These IUR benefits are not intended to be used in commercial transactions between a partner and a customer (these principles and guidelines are consistent for software benefits provided through the Microsoft Partner Network Program).

31)When will new Online Services be available in the Cloud Partner Program benefits?

The goal of the Microsoft Cloud Partner Program is to provide Microsoft partners with an early opportunity to begin learning about and building businesses in the cloud with Microsoft Online Services. The Microsoft Cloud Partner Program will offer online services products as soon as they are available in market, if not earlier.

Once these benefits are made available, we will post an announcement on

32)Can the Internal Use Rights (IUR) licenses included in the Cloud Essentials Pack and/or the Cloud Accelerate Program be combined with IUR licenses offered to partners through Gold and Silver competencies, or by signing MOSPA?

No, you cannot combine programs or offers to gain additional seats. Benefits will not exceed what is offered by the Cloud Essentials Pack or the Cloud Accelerate Program.

33)Is there an option to purchase additional seats of the online cloud services?

Licenses purchased at partner preferred pricing are not meant to exceed the organization’s Internal Use Rights (IUR) caps described in the Cloud Program benefits. These licenses are meant to provide partners with continuous access to Online Services in the event a partner does not qualify for IUR through the Cloud Partner Program.