Solutions Partner for Security

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Appropriate roles: Global admin, Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program partner admin

To earn the designation Solutions Partner for Security, your partner capability score for security must meet the qualification requirements. The partner capability score is measured by partner performance, skilling, and customer success, and is informed by data that is already recorded in Partner Center.

To attain a Solutions Partner for Security designation, you must earn a minimum of 70 points and must have one or more points for each of the four metrics:

  • Performance - Net customer adds
  • Skilling – Intermediate certifications
  • Customer success – Usage growth
  • Customer success – Deployments

Security partners can target providing services and solutions on Microsoft 365 workloads or on Azure services. Therefore, valuation requirements are focused on both Microsoft 365 usage and performance, and on Azure revenue.

Partner capability score for Security

The partner capability score for security has four metrics in three categories:

Read the following sections to understand the detailed requirements for each of these metrics. Calculations for Azure and Microsoft 365 are completed individually and then totaled together for the final four metric scores. One eligible customer can contribute points to both Azure and Microsoft 365 calculations.

Performance category

The performance category is used to measure your organization's ability to increase the customer base who is using Microsoft Security products and services. This category is made up of Net customer adds as the primary metric for Microsoft 365 and Azure Security workloads.

Net customer adds

Net customer adds is defined as the number of eligible customers added to your customer base during the trailing 12-month period.

- Calculation

Each net new customer contributes to 2 points for up to a maximum of 20 points, obtained from 10 customers.

Net customer adds = (Total qualifying customers with qualifying ACR in current TTM) – (Total qualifying customers with qualifying ACR in previous TTM)

- Eligible customers

Azure: This is the number of unique customer tenants contributing at least a monthly average of $100 ACR (Azure Consumed Revenue) in past 12 months from eligible Azure services associated with eligible Offers for specific Partner association types.

Microsoft 365: This is number of unique customer Tenants having at least 25 paid seats in given month from eligible Microsoft 365 workloads for specific Partner association types.

- Eligible Azure services

Advanced Data Security, Advanced Threat Protection, Application Gateway, Azure Active Directory B2C, Microsoft Entra Domain Services, Microsoft Entra ID for External Identities, Azure Bastion, Azure DDOS Protection, Azure Defender, Azure Firewall, Azure Firewall Manager, Azure Front Door Service, Azure IoT Security, Key Vault, Network Watcher, Security Center, Sentinel

- Eligible Azure offers

All offers except "Support", "Internal", "Benefit Program" and "Trial" are applicable

- Eligible Microsoft 365 workloads

Microsoft Entra ID P1 or P2, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Microsoft Defender for Endpoints, Microsoft Defender for Identity, Microsoft Information Protection, Intune

Note

The eligible workload list is subject to change. Consult this list frequently to ensure you have current and accurate information.

- Thresholds for earning maximum points

Net customer adds from both Azure security and Microsoft 365 are counted and given points. A total of 10 customer additions from Azure security services and Microsoft 365, fulfilling above criteria, are required to earn the maximum 20 points for this metric. You can achieve points from either Azure or Microsoft 365 or both.

- Eligible association types

The association types that earn you points for this metric are

Azure: Partner Admin Link (PAL)

Microsoft 365: Claiming Partner of Record (CPOR)

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Skilling category

The skilling category measures the capability and skills acquired by a partner through the number of certified individuals in their organization.

For Security, there's one metric in the Skilling category:

Intermediate certifications metric

To earn points for this metric, you must have certified individuals in your organization:

Scoring

Each certified individual gets 6.6 points, for up to a maximum of 40 points, obtained from six qualifying individuals.

Important consideration(s):

  • Steps #1 and #2 are prerequisites to Step #3 and don't add any points directly. However, Steps #1 and #2 must be completed before any points are awarded in this metric. Points are awarded for certifications earned in Step #3 once the first two steps are complete.
  • Individuals can be counted more than once across the different steps, but only once per step. Each certified individual is counted only once toward your points if they have completed multiple certifications in Step #3. However, the individuals counting toward Steps #1 or #2 can be the same or different as the individuals counting toward Step #3.
  • Some of these certifications have prerequisites listed on the certification website (Select on individual certification link). Those prerequisites need to be completed for an individual to complete certification.

Examples:

  • Individual A complete Step 1, individual B complete at least one of the 2 certifications in Step 2, individual C complete at least one of the certifications in Step 3. In this case, the prerequisites are satisfied, and the individual (C) qualifies for points and hence you would be awarded 6.67 points.
  • Individuals A and B complete Step 1, individuals C and D complete Step 2 and individuals E, F and G complete at least one of the certifications each in Step 3. In this case, the prerequisites are satisfied, and 3 individuals qualify for points (E, F, G), hence you would be awarded 3*6.67 = 20 points.
  • Individuals A and B complete all three Steps. In this case the prerequisites are satisfied, and 2 individuals (A, B) qualify for points, hence you would be awarded 2*6.67 = 13.3 points.
  • Individuals A and B complete Step 1 and 3, In this case, the prerequisites aren't satisfied, and no points would be awarded since at least 2 individuals must complete Step 2 before any points can be awarded. Once 2 individuals (A, B or others) complete Step 2, 2 individuals would qualify (A, B) and your organization would be awarded 2*6.67 = 13.3 points.

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Customer Success category

The customer success category measures your ability to enable growth in the use of Microsoft products or in the expansion of Microsoft's services and workloads utilized by the customers.

There are two metrics in the customer success category:

Deployments

For this metric, your organization earns points based on growth in the number of customer deployments as specified by the qualifying criteria and definitions mentioned below.

- Calculation

Each net new customer contributes to 3.3 points for up to a maximum of 20 points, obtained from 6 deployments.

Net new deployments = (Eligible deployments last month) – (Eligible deployments same month last year)

- Eligible deployments

Azure: This is number of unique customer Tenants contributing total of $12,000 ACR (Azure Consumed Revenue) in past 12 months from eligible Azure services associated with eligible Offers for specific Partner association types.

Microsoft 365: This is number of unique customer tenants having at least 25 paid seats in given month and at least 15% of these paid seats should be active from eligible Microsoft 365 workloads for specific Partner association types.

- Eligible Azure services

Advanced Data Security, Advanced Threat Protection, Application Gateway, Azure Active Directory B2C, Microsoft Entra Domain Services, Microsoft Entra ID for External Identities, Azure Bastion, Azure DDOS Protection, Azure Defender, Azure Firewall, Azure Firewall Manager, Azure Front Door Service, Azure IoT Security, Key Vault, Network Watcher, Security Center, Sentinel

- Eligible Azure offers

All offers except "Support", "Internal", "Benefit Program" and "Trial" are applicable

- Eligible Microsoft 365 workloads

Microsoft Entra ID P1 or P2, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Microsoft Defender for Endpoints, Microsoft Defender for Identity, Microsoft Information Protection, Intune

- Eligible association types

The association types that earn you points in this metric are

Azure: Partner Admin Link (PAL)

Microsoft 365: Claiming Partner of Record (CPOR)

- Thresholds for earning maximum points

Net new deployments from both Azure security and Microsoft 365 are counted and given points. A total of 6 new deployments from Azure security services and Microsoft 365, fulfilling above criteria, are required to earn the maximum 20 points for this metric. You can achieve points from either Azure or Microsoft 365 or both.

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Usage growth

For this metric, your organization earns points based on growth in the usage of security workloads across your associated customer deployments as specified by the following qualifying criteria and definitions.

- Calculation

Azure:

Every Security Azure consumed revenue (ACR) growth of USD 1,250 gets you one point (maximum of 20 points)

Security ACR growth = Eligible Security ACR last month - Eligible Security ACR same month last year

Microsoft 365:

Every Microsoft 365 protected users growth of 125 gets you one point (maximum of 20 points)

Microsoft 365 Protected users growth = Eligible Microsoft 365 protected users last month - Eligible Microsoft 365 protected users same month last year

- Security ACR

This is ACR (Azure Consumed Revenue) totaling over trailing 12 months across entire customer base from eligible Azure services associated with eligible Offers for specific Partner association types.

- Microsoft 365 protected users

This is number of active paid seats across entire customer base from eligible Microsoft 365 workloads for specific Partner association types.

- Eligible Azure services

Advanced Data Security, Advanced Threat Protection, Application Gateway, Azure Active Directory B2C, Microsoft Entra Domain Services, Microsoft Entra ID for External Identities, Azure Bastion, Azure DDOS Protection, Azure Defender, Azure Firewall, Azure Firewall Manager, Azure Front Door Service, Azure IoT Security, Key Vault, Network Watcher, Security Center, Sentinel

- Eligible Azure offers

All offers except "Support", "Internal", "Benefit Program" and "Trial" are applicable

- Eligible Microsoft 365 workloads

Microsoft Entra ID P1 or P2, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Microsoft Defender for Endpoints, Microsoft Defender for Identity, Microsoft Information Protection, Intune

- Eligible association types

The association types that earn you points in this metric are

Azure : Partner Admin Link (PAL)

Microsoft 365: Claiming Partner of Record (CPOR)

- Thresholds for earning maximum points

Usage growth from both Azure security and Microsoft 365 are counted and given points. You can achieve points from either Azure or Microsoft 365 or both up to a maximum of 20 points.

- Data freshness

Performance and Customer Success subcategories are typically refreshed by the 20th of every month. However, there can be other minor data refreshes throughout the month. Skilling subcategories are typically refreshed within 10 days after certification is completed.

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