Welcome to the second edition of The Partnership Post, a bulletinpublished every fifteen days from Ingram Micro and Microsoft that will keep you informed about the product updates and company activities that impact your business.

The PartnershipPost

The Partnership Post Follow us

The Partnership Post Follow us

Important licensing changes comingMicrosoft is introducing the Microsoft Partner Agreement (MPA) and the Microsoft

Customer Agreement to the Cloud.

These new agreements will provide a simplified buying and selling experience and help

deliver a unified, digitally executed agreement framework to the Cloud Service Provider (CSP)

program. Please read through the important information below about these agreements.

Microsoft Partner Agreement is Available to Review and Accept

The Microsoft Partner Agreement is a new, simplified, digitally accepted partner agreement framework that replaces the existing Microsoft Cloud Reseller Agreement (MCRA) and Microsoft Cloud Distributor Agreement (MCDA) and enables authorized partners to transact under the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program.

Beginning September 1, 2019, the Microsoft Partner Agreement is available on Partner Center for partners participating in the CSP program to review and accept. All partners must accept the Microsoft Partner Agreement prior to January 31, 2020, to ensure no disruption of their ability to place new orders in the CSP program.

The Partnership Post Follow us

Microsoft Partner Agreement overview

Microsoft is evolving its commerce platform to streamline the customer experience, enable partners to broaden their influence, and further help customers to digitally transform. As part of the new commerce experience, we are introducing the Microsoft Partner Agreement that provides Microsoft partners with a simplified, digitally accepted partner agreement framework.

The Microsoft Partner Agreement will:

• Provide a modular, perpetual agreement that partners execute and store digitally.

• Be simplified, making it faster and easier to accept and manage.

• O�er clear, concise terms that help partners, customers, and Microsoft comply with regulatoryrequirements. This supports our commitment to privacy, security, compliance, and transparency.

E�ective September 1, 2019, partners in the CSP program will be the first to leverage the Microsoft Partner Agreement, which will replace the following existing agreements:

• Microsoft Cloud Reseller Agreement (MCRA) for CSP direct bill partners

• Microsoft Cloud Distributor Agreement (MCDA) for CSP indirect providers

• Multi-tier terms

• Indirect reseller terms

• US Government Cloud terms

As part of the enhanced process, all CSP indirect resellers are required to accept the Microsoft Partner Agreement on Partner Center.

After January 31, 2020, the acceptance of the MPA will be required for all partners participating in the CSP program. From that date, partners who have not accepted the MPA will not be able to place new orders, and they will be limited to managing existing subscriptions only.

Next Steps

• For all partners in the CSP program:

- Inform key stakeholders in your organization and review the Microsoft Partner Agreement.

- Accept the Microsoft Partner Agreement on the Partner Center dashboard page.

- For more information, visit this resources gallery page and check out the resources.

• For indirect providers and indirect resellers:

- All CSP indirect resellers are required to onboard to Partner Center and accept the Microsoft PartnerAgreement.

- Indirect providers need to help their CSP indirect resellers to onboard to Partner Center and accept thenew agreement using the reseller onboarding resources.

The Partnership Post Follow us

Microsoft Customer Agreement

Starting October 1, 2019, we are introducing the Microsoft Customer Agreement for all product o�ers in the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program. The terms of the Microsoft Customer Agreement are now available to review.

Digital transformation is real, and it is everywhere, creating an impact on our customers and partner businesses. To help customers and partners accelerate digital transformation and simplify the experience in buying and selling Microsoft cloud services, we are introducing a new Microsoft Customer Agreement in the CSP program.

The Microsoft Customer Agreement is a simplified purchase agreement that provides consistent purchase terms for customers – regardless of the way customers choose to buy. Starting October 1, 2019, Microsoft will make the new Microsoft Customer Agreement available in the CSP program, gradually replacing the existing Microsoft Cloud Agreement.

Partners should start using the new Microsoft Customer Agreement to purchase existing o�ers and renewal of existing purchases in the CSP program. The adoption of the new agreement will be mandatory after January 31st, when the existing Microsoft Cloud Agreement is removed from the CSP program.

Partners can present the new Microsoft Customer Agreement to customers in much the same way that they currently do for the existing Microsoft Cloud Agreement. After a customer has reviewed and accepted the agreement, partners must confirm the customer’s acceptance with Microsoft. Partner Center Dashboard and Partner Center API will be updated to support partner confirming customer acceptance of the Microsoft Customer Agreement. Partners can currently preview the changes in Partner Center Dashboard. Partners can preview the API changes starting September 4, 2019 in Sandbox. A preview of changes in .NET SDK will not be available to later in September.

Note: Microsoft Customer Agreement and the new Azure plan in CSP: The Microsoft Customer Agreement will be introduced in conjunction with the new Microsoft Azure plan o�er, which includes a series of platform and program enhancements that expand partner opportunities to build and deliver managed services, reduce customer acquisition obstacles, and drive customer digital transformation. Customer acceptance of the Microsoft Customer Agreement will be required in CSP for purchasing the new Azure plan o�er starting October 2019.

Coming later in Q1 CY20, partners will have the additional option to invite customers to an authenticated Microsoft portal to view and sign the Microsoft Customer Agreement. Microsoft will own the responsibility to confirm customer acceptance of the Microsoft Customer Agreement. Partners will have the ability to validate customer acceptance of the new agreement using Partner Center Dashboard and Partner Center API. Further details regarding this option will be made available soon.

The Partnership Post Follow us

Next steps:

Please share this information with appropriate contacts in your organization. Keep the key transition dates in mind and prepare your resellers for the change.

• Start operationalizing the customer acceptance of the new Microsoft Customer Agreement andcomplete it before January 31st, 2020.

• Train your agents and resellers on the new agreement terms, and in presenting the new agreement andvalidating customer acceptance

• Partners who are using APIs to confirm customer acceptance of the agreement will need to updateexisting implementation to accommodate the new Microsoft Customer Agreement. Updated API will beavailable for preview starting September 4 2019.

Additional resources:

For more detailed information, please see the following resources located on the CSP Program Updates Resource Gallery:

• View the Microsoft Customer Agreement

• What is changing and how to confirm customer acceptance

• Overview presentation

• Frequently asked questions document

• API information

Note: Microsoft Customer Agreement and the new Azure plan in CSP: The Microsoft Customer Agreement will be introduced in conjunction with the new Microsoft Azure plan o�er, which includes a series of platform and program enhancements that expand partner opportunities to build and deliver managed services, reduce customer acquisition obstacles, and drive customer digital transformation. Customer acceptance of the Microsoft Customer Agreement will be required in CSP for purchasing the new Azure plan o�er which will be available starting October 2019.

The Partnership Post Follow us

New Azure Experience in CSPNew Azure capabilities to accelerate business growth:

In October 2019, Microsoft is adding new capabilities in the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program for partners to

resell, manage, and provide services to customers on Microsoft Azure.

These enhancements to Azure in CSP introduce product alignment and a common pricing engine across how

customers buy Azure. They will be able to o�er customers the latest innovations in Azure at the same time they’re

available trough the Microsoft website or through a Microsoft field seller. Also, partners in the Cloud Solution

Provider program can build di�erentiated services that use Microsoft (first-party) and partner (third-party) o�ers.

To reward partners that own the customer billing relationship with the customer in CSP, Microsoft is introducing

the partner earned credit for services managed, which rewards partners who have management and control of the

customer’s Azure resources in CSP. The partner earned credit is exclusive to partners who are billed by Microsoft

and have 24x7 operational management and control of the customer’s CSP Azure estate. Eligible partners also

continue to be able to earn incentives as defined by existing Microsoft Channel Incentives programs.

Based on customer and partner feedback, the new Azure experience in CSP will use a single pricelist, in USD,

providing customers and partners with consistent pricing at a global scale. This will allow for a more transparent

and simplified pricing reference, regardless of how the customer buys Azure from Microsoft.

To streamline the transition for customers who are on the current version of Azure in CSP or other programs,

Microsoft will provide tools that incorporate the appropriate governance, customer experience, and policies to

transition from the existing Azure o�er in CSP to the new Azure experience in CSP.

The current Azure CSP o�er and platform will continue to be available alongside the new Azure experience for

several months, giving you time to incorporate the new Azure features with your services and transition your

customers to new experience.

The Partnership Post Follow us

Note: Starting October 1st partners will have the possibility to provision the new Microsoft Azure plan o�er, which includes a series of platform and program enhancements, including Azure Cost Managements. The current Azure CSP o�er and platform will continue to be available alongside the new Azure experience for several months, giving you time to incorporate the new Azure features with your services and transition your customers to the new experience.

The Partnership Post Follow us

Microsoft acquires Movere to help customers unlock cloud innovation with seamless migration toolsWe are pleased to announce that Microsoft has acquired Movere, an innovative technology provider in the

cloud migration space. Movere’s innovative discovery and assessment capabilities will complement Azure

Migrate and our integrated partner solutions, making migration an easier process for our customers. We

believe that successful cloud migrations enable business transformation, and this acquisition underscores

our investments to make that happen.

Together, Azure Migrate, Movere, and our ecosystem of independent software vendor (ISV) partners'

solutions provide choice and a comprehensive set of capabilities from discovery, assessment, to migration

and optimization. We aim to streamline our customers' journey to the cloud, enabling them to bring

innovation and transformation with the power of Azure.

The Partnership Post Follow us

Implement partner security requirements immediately to safeguard your business

Applicable to:

All partner organizations participating in the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program that transact using

Microsoft commercial cloud services:

• Direct Bill Partners

• Indirect Providers

• Indirect Resellers

Category: Security and Compliance

To help protect partners and customers last August 1st Microsoft introduced a set of mandatory security

requirements for partners participating in the CSP program, Control Panel Vendors, and Advisor partners.

These partners are required to take the following actions:

1. Enforce multi-factor authentication for all users in partner tenants

2. Adopt the Secure Application Model framework

Microsoft has emphasized that this requirements needs to be completed by and all partners participating in the

CSP program to comply with the security requirements in the Cloud Solution Provider Program Guide to safeguard

their business.

Although Microsoft is not acting immediately to enforce technically, however it is working on creating technical

enforcement so that partners who do not meet the security requirements will not be able to transact in the CSP

program or manage customer tenants leveraging delegated admin rights.

The resources below will help you implementing these security requirements immediately. More resources are

available on the CSP Program Updates Resource Gallery.

• Partner security requirements implementation step-by-step guide

• Partner security requirements frequently asked questions

• Recordings with Microsoft technical experts

The Partnership Post Follow us

November Azure Bootcamp on Microsoft’s Redmond CampusThe Azure Partner Bootcamp is 4-day, immersive training experience for cloud and data platform architects. Held on the Microsoft campus in Redmond, this training is focused on helping Microsoft partners develop the skills they need to build solutions around core technical scenarios and empowering those partners to create an Azure champion within their businesses. Save the date!

*This is a save-the-date announcement of the Azure Bootcamp. If you want to attend, stay tuned for the registration details in our upcoming edition of The Partnership Post on October 1.

Who should attend?

The Azure Bootcamp is a level 300-400 advanced technical training for those in an architectural role in partner organizations with a focus on Azure Infrastructure, Application Development, Data, Advanced Analytics, and Artificial Intelligence workloads. Attendees should have knowledge of Azure workloads, developing code, and/or deploying solutions in the cloud.

This training is NOT appropriate for those with only a basic or intermediate knowledge of Azure, nor is it appropriate for those in sales roles. For those individuals, we provide learning options in the form of self-paced and virtual-instructor-led introductory courses, and regional intermediate level 200-300 Onboarding Boot Camps for those looking to transfer their expertise in on-premises computing to the cloud. Contact your local Microsoft representative for information on Boot Camps in your region.

Save the date: registration* will open shortly

When: November 12 – 15, 2019

Where: Microsoft Campus – Mixer (Commons)15251 NE 40th St. Redmond, WA 98052

Registration Fee:USD $2,000 per attendee for admission to the Boot Camp. Attendees are responsible for all other costs associated with their attendance, including travel and accommodation costs.

Details

The Partnership Post Follow us

Each track focuses on a theme and progresses from presentations covering things like vision, the roadmap, and updates, to practical, hands-on labs and challenge sessions on designing and building solutions. Use the descriptions below to determine which track is best for you.

Infrastructure and Management Track

This track will provide infrastructure architects, tech leads, operations engineers, and solution architects with hands-on training, best practices, and tools to address real-world Azure Infrastructure and management scenarios, with the goal of creating, deploying, and maintaining end-to-end solutions using Azure Infrastructure Services. Some of the topics covered in this track:

• Infrastructure as Code• Security (including the newly released Azure

Sentinel)• Containers and Kubernetes• Windows Virtual Desktop in Azure

Cloud Application Development

This track will provide developers, solution architects, tech leads, and DevOps engineers with hands-on training, best practices, and tools to solve real-world application development problem, with the goal of designing, developing, deploying, and maintaining end-to-end solutions using Azure Application Services, such as Azure App Services, Azure Functions, Azure Kubernetes Services, and Azure DevOps, as well as architecture patterns and modernization strategies. Some of the topics covered in this track:

• Application Modernization and ArchitecturePatterns

• Serverless• Containers and Kubernetes• DevOps

The Bootcamp has four tracks

Data and Advanced Analytics

This track is intended for Advanced Data Engineers, DBAs, and Data Scientists who want to understand what Azure has to o�er for advanced Relational and NoSQL Databases, Big Data, and data warehouse users. This track also covers SQL Server 2019’s new features and streaming data processing ,including IoT use cases, ETL, and ELT in modern the data warehouse. Participants will learn how to infuse AI using Azure Machine Learning and Big Data. Some of the topics covered in this track:

• Architecting data solutions, from data ingestion tovisualization

• SQL Server 2019 and Azure SQL Database• Real-time analytics and Cosmos DB Deep Dive• Azure Databricks, Azure ML and AI

Artificial Intelligence

This track will provide Data Scientists and AI/ML Engineers with hands-on training, best practices, and tools to address real-world data science issues, with the goal of creating, deploying, and maintaining end-to-end AI solutions using Spark, Azure Machine Learning service, AKS, and Azure MLOps for CI/CD. Some of the topics covered in this track:

• AI Reference Architectures and Azure MachineLearning

• Model Development and Compute options• Azure ML Deployment and Management• MLOps, Security and Framework extensions

Microsoft Demos, Customer Immersionexperiences and demonstrations

Microsoft Business Value Programs and demos.microsoft.com have long been go-to locations for partners to get the latest sales tools, deliver the best demos, and have value-based conversations with customers. We’re excited to deliver this evolution of these best-in-class resources and tools to help you continue to accelerate and grow your business. You will find on demand demonstrations to use with customers, customer conversations and demos to use for your next customer meeting. Resources include:

• Customer Immersion Experiences and demonstrations have been consolidated to a single location, providing a single experience that allows you to deliver on-demand demonstrations from a hosted environment or work through the simple storytelling documents and click-throughs.

• You can easily create customer conversations about a Microsoft 365 based role, segment, industry, and specific action items.

• Cost takeout tools, value calculators, and TEI studies are available for you to use to help your customers understand cost benefits and ROI when moving to Microsoft 365.

• Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power Platform experiences remain available for demos that span across products and solutions.

How do I access the new site?

The transform.microsoft.com site uses the Microsoft Partner Center for authentication. Your organization must be enrolled in the Microsoft Partner Network for you to access transform.microsoft.com through the Microsoft Partner Center. If your organization isn’t enrolled in the Microsoft Partner Network, you won’t be able to access these new resources. If you previously had access to these tools, but can’t access them now, it’s likely that your organization isn’t enrolled in the Microsoft Partner Network. Enroll your organization in the Microsoft Partner Network for continued access to these tools. If you need further assistance, please review the information about the Microsoft Partner Center.

The answers to other frequently asked questions about each of the tools are available on the new transform.microsoft.com site.

The Partnership Post Follow us

Shared Computer Activation forMicrosoft 365 BusinessMicrosoft has announced the ability to enable shared computer activation for O�ice by Microsoft 365 Business subscribersNormally, users can install and activate the O�ice 365 Business Client on a limited number of devices only, such as 5 PCs. Using the O�ice 365 Business Client with shared computer activation enabled doesn't count against that limit.This helps in scenarios where multiple users are connecting to the same remote computer at the same time. The users can each run O�ice programs, such as Word or Excel, at the same time on the remote computer. Enabling shared computer activation for O�ice can also be useful in situations where multiple users share the same computer and the users are logging in with their own account.You can find out more about the announcement here:

An inclusive meeting experience for everyonein any room with Microsoft Teams Rooms In today’s modern workplace, teams come together from around the world to get things done. The Microsoft Teams Rooms app helps those teams keep everyone engaged and creates an inclusive experience for people in the room and remote viewers.

Microsoft Teams Rooms app brings a new content camera feature that enables users to intelligently include a traditional whiteboard in their Teams meeting. Powered by artificial intelligence in the Microsoft cloud, a dedicated content camera intelligently detects, crops, and frames the in-room whiteboard and shares its content with remote meeting participants. Even when a presenter moves in front of the whiteboard, remote participants will be able to see the content right through them.

The Partnership Post Follow us

Azure Dedicated Host Preview:Deploy your Azure VMs in a dedicated environmentAzure Dedicated Host Preview provides physical servers that host one or more Azure virtual machines. Your server is dedicated to your organization and workloads—capacity isn’t shared with other customers. This host-level isolation helps address compliance requirements. As you provision the host, you gain visibility into (and control over) the server infrastructure, and you determine the host’s maintenance policies.

The Partnership Post Follow us

Blogs of the month:Each month, the company picks a selection of Microsoft Executive blog posts with the latest product functionalities and advice for customers on the roadmap and services they can now utilize. This month, the company selected a group of posts on top-of-mind topics for every CIO and IT Admin: Security.

Microsoft on SecurityAnn Johnson: Unblocking partner profitability with Security and Compliance SolutionsMicrosoft Security BlogMicrosoft Threat Landscape reportGet all the news, updates, at @MSFTSecurity

Modern Workplace SecurityDriving new revenue with Microsoft Security ScoreMicrosoft 365 Security CenterMicrosoft 365 Compliance CenterCompliance with Microsoft 365Microsoft Secure ScoreMicrosoft 365 Security + Teams

Azure SecurityBlog on Azure Sentinel Azure Security Center

Azure SentinelTutorial on Security on Azure Security Hybrid Cloud Video

Azure FirewallsAzure security Expert Series