The Cloud Platform competency

Launching September 30, 2014, the new Cloud Performance Competencies deliver unparalleled value for Microsoft partners. Learn all you need to know in this four post series.

  1. Ushering in a new era, with the Cloud Performance Competencies - post one
  2. The Small & Midmarket Cloud Solutions competency - post two
  3. The Cloud Productivity competency - post three
  4. The Cloud Platform competency - post four

The Cloud Platform competency: for partners who specialise in delivering infrastructure and SaaS solutions on Microsoft Azure

The Azure Circle program reborn - the Cloud Platform competency is tailor made to help partners capitalise on the growing demand for IaaS and SaaS solutions in the public cloud. From Independent Software Vendors to Managed Service Providers and everyone in between, earning this competency places you amongst the Azure elite.

Qualify through your proven cloud performance, attain the Silver level at no cost, Gold at a reduced fee and receive exclusive benefits in addition to the core Silver and Gold entitlement.

Silver Requirements

1. Meet the sales goal

Demonstrate US$25,000 Microsoft Azure customer consumption and/or Azure partner EA consumption within the previous 12 months

2. Pass the qualifying assessments

  • Learn more about the assessments and available readiness through this competencies' Learning Path (you may need to copy & paste the URL into your browser)

One individual must pass one of the following (online, no cost) technical assessments:

  • Technical Assessment for Using Microsoft Azure for Datacenter Solutions
  • Technical Assessment for Datacenter and Data Platform
  • Technical Assessment for Using Microsoft Azure for Application Development

 

3. Provide customer evidence

Submit three customer references for deals involving Azure which occurred within the past 12 months

4. Pay the silver competency fee

To help you invest in your future, the silver Cloud Performance Competency fee has been waived for the first year (offer available until June 30, 2015)

Gold Requirements

1. Meet the sales goal

Demonstrate US$100,000 Microsoft Azure customer consumption and/or Azure partner EA consumption within the previous 12 months

2. Pass the qualifying assessments

  • Learn more about the assessments and available readiness through this competencies' Learning Path (you may need to copy & paste the URL into your browser)

Two individuals must each pass one of the following (online, no cost) technical assessments:

  • Technical Assessment for Using Microsoft Azure for Datacenter Solutions
  • Technical Assessment for Datacenter and Data Platform
  • Technical Assessment for Using Microsoft Azure for Application Development

 

3. Provide customer evidence

Submit five customer references for deals involving Azure which occurred within the past 12 months

4. Pay the gold competency fee

To help you invest in your future, the gold Cloud Performance Competency fee has been reduced to $5,610 ($AUD, inc GST)

  • One gold fee is due once per year—no matter how many additional competencies your organisation earns

Exclusive Cloud Platform benefits

In addition to the core Silver and Gold competency entitlement*, Cloud Platform partners are eligible for:

image

*Please note: Cloud Performance Competencies attained through the no-cost Silver promotion are ineligible for the APC ticket entitlement.

Next steps

  • See the competency page for full benefits and requirements
  • Looking to transition to this competency from Cloud Accelerate or Cloud Deployment? See this blog post for more

Ready to enrol? Let's go!

Note: you must be your organisations' Primary Program Contact to enrol in a competency

1. Sign in to the Partner Membership Centre

2. Click the "Requirements and Assets" menu and select "Opt-in to Cloud Platform Competency"

image

3. You will be asked to confirm your intention to attain the Cloud Platform competency - click "Ok" to proceed

4. "Silver Cloud Platform" will now be visible in your Competency Summary page (if not, repeat steps two and three). Click "Silver" to expand the Silver competency requirements (click "Gold" to attain at the Gold level)

image

5. Customer references can be created by clicking "References" and following the prompts. Once your reference requests have been approved, assign them to your competency by clicking the "Requirements and Assets" menu and selecting "Reference List".

6. Technical Assessments are online, no-cost, include training and can be completed by any individual associated with your MPN profile. See the Silver / Gold requirements section of this post for more information.

Note: It can take up to 48 hours for a completed assessment to be reflected in your profile. Once visible, it will be automatically assigned to the relevant competency(s)

7. Select "Click here" under Additional Requirements to submit details of your eligible Azure deals. Enter applicable deals in the table provided and click submit.

image

8. Once all requirements have been met (and your Azure consumption information verified), your competencies’ enrolment status will change from "In Progress" to "Attain". Follow the prompts to complete your enrolment.

image

9. Congratulations! You’ve now entered the exclusive ranks of the Azure elite

Partner resources

Share your thoughts! Join the discussion in the Microsoft Australia Small Business Reseller LinkedIn Group or the Microsoft Australia MPN Yammer Community