In-Depth
Microsoft Partner Network Cost: How Much To Join the MPN?
The short answer? It depends. For most U.S. solution providers, the MPN costs between $0 and $3,800. We break down the perks of five cost levels in this range so you can determine where your firm will get the most bang for its buck.
One thing many would-be Microsoft resellers or solution providers wonder when they think about joining the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) is how much it will cost to join. It's a simple question with a unique answer for each of the roughly 400,000 existing members of the program, once you count all the soft costs of signing up (such as training and certifications), time spent on program administration, fees for specialty programs and other investments.
But there is a short answer: The MPN costs $0, $329, $429, $1,850 or $3,800 to join, depending on how deeply a firm wants to engage in Microsoft's program. (All figures are average prices in U.S. dollars. Actual rates vary by country or other factors and aren't just dependent on exchange rates.)
We unpack the source for each of these joining amounts below, along with the benefits that each level of financial commitment delivers.
- Free -- Microsoft Partner Network Community, Cloud Essentials Pack, BizSpark, WebsiteSpark
- $329 -- Action Pack Solution Provider, Small Business Specialist
- $429 -- Action Pack Development & Design
- $1,850 -- Silver Competency, Cloud Accelerate
- $3,800 -- Gold Competency
- Miscellaneous Costs -- $1,995, $195, $125
Free -- Microsoft Partner Network Community, Cloud Essentials Pack, BizSpark, WebsiteSpark
Microsoft Partner Network Community
It's free to join the Microsoft Partner Network Community, the most basic level of the recently revamped Microsoft partner program. All that's required to join at this level is for a company to fill out a short company profile and agree to Microsoft's terms. Benefits include access to Microsoft partner newsletters, eligibility for technical and business training, and listings in Microsoft's Pinpoint and Solution Finder partner directories.
Community members are also able to leverage Microsoft Financing for their customers and earn partner-specific incentives tied to particular product campaigns. Those partners can also take advantage of unlimited online access to Microsoft Partner Technical Services.
(Ed's Note: We'd be remiss not to mention that if you join the MPN, one of the best resources you can sign up for is also free -- Redmond Channel Partner magazine. We're independent of Microsoft and give you news, information and tips in your mailbox each month and online every day. Subscribe here. End self-serving RCP plug.)
Cloud Essentials Pack
A relatively new on-ramp to the MPN is the Cloud Essentials Pack, part of Microsoft's recent "all-in" focus on cloud computing. Joining is as simple as signing up for the Microsoft Partner Network Community, signing an additional agreement and taking some online training. Once that's done, Cloud Essentials Pack participants can access a host of Microsoft's cloud computing products for internal use. The not-for-resale licenses include 250 seats of the Business Productivity Online Suite, 250 seats for Dynamics CRM Online and 10 devices for Windows Intune (scheduled to launch March 23).
Participants also get Windows Azure platform access, including 750 hours of extra small compute instance, 25 hours of small compute instance, 3 GB of storage, 250,000 storage transactions, 1 GB of SQL Azure Web Edition database and App Fabric with 100,000 Access Control transactions.
BizSpark
A program for ISV partners getting a first software-based or service product off the ground, BizSpark is for startups that are privately held and under 3 years old with less than $1 million in annual revenues. Companies that meet those requirements can apply directly to Microsoft or be nominated by someone, such as an investor, hosting company or an official in a government agency. Microsoft's stated goal is to help startups by providing access to Microsoft software when ISVs most need it and can least afford it, which in turn promotes Microsoft platforms and technologies should the startup succeed.
Being accepted into the program confers not-for-resale software to the startup, equivalent to what developers get with Visual Studio Ultimate with an MSDN subscription. The software is for design, development, test and demo only. Companies can participate in BizSpark for three years. An old $100 graduation fee was recently waived.
WebsiteSpark
Another free "spark" program from Microsoft is WebsiteSpark, which is for small professional Web development and design companies with 10 or fewer employees (although the employee limits are higher at 25 in Brazil, China, India and Japan). In addition to joining the MPN and getting listed in the Partner Recruiting Portal for finding partners with complementary skills, WebsiteSpark participants get free technical support incidents, training and licenses for Visual Studio Professional Edition, Expression Studio, Expression Web, Windows Web Server 2008 R2, SQL Server 2008 Web Edition and the DotNetPanel from SMB SAAS Systems Inc. for controlling Web site hosting parameters. This program also lasts for three years. [Back to cost list.]
$329 -- Action Pack Solution Provider, Small Business Specialist
Action Pack Solution Provider
Probably the best bargain in the old Microsoft Partner Program (MSPP) was the Microsoft Action Pack Subscription (MAPS). The program survived with some modifications when the MSPP turned into the MPN and remains a great deal. For IT partners, MAPS turned into the Action Pack Solution Provider, which is essentially a TechNet subscription with some added benefits for solution provider-focused partners.
The licenses in the Action Pack are enough to equip a partner's 10-person office with the full suite of Microsoft software to experiment with every day and demonstrate to clients. Licenses currently include Office 2010, Windows 7 Professional, Windows Server 2008 R2, Small Business Server 2008 with the 2011 version coming soon, Dynamics CRM 4.0, 2010 versions of Exchange, Lync and SharePoint and dozens of other products.
All software in the Action Pack SP is provided via digital delivery. If you want discs mailed to your office, it costs an extra $100 a year.
Small Business Specialist
At last count, this group of companies specializing in serving the needs of small-business customers consisted of about 20,000 Microsoft partners. The least expensive way to get into this community of Microsoft partners is by purchasing the Action Pack Solution Provider subscription and meeting the rest of the criteria for membership. The more expensive way into the program is via a silver competency in something else (see Silver Competency in the next page), and then meeting the requirements to enter the Small Business Specialist Community at no additional cost. [Back to cost list.]
$429 -- Action Pack Development & Design
Action Pack Development & Design includes just about all of the software components of Action Pack Solution Provider plus the MSDN subscription and Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Professional, Microsoft Expression Studio 4 Web Professional, Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise, SQL Server 2008 R2 Datacenter, Office SharePoint Designer 2010, Hyper-V Server 2008, Virtual PC 2007 and Virtual Server 2005 R2. The development partner-focused version is also set up for digital delivery; subscribers can opt to receive it in the mail for $529 a year.
Meanwhile, for both Action Packs, Microsoft begins providing other benefits, including enhanced rankings in partner search engines such as the Pinpoint partner and solution directory, and phone support. Action Pack DD subscribers also get 10 Partner Advisory Hours, which convert into Partner Technical Services time for technical, training, presales and delivery support. [Back to cost list.]
$1,850 -- Silver Competency, Cloud Accelerate
Silver Competency
The next tier in the Microsoft Partner Network above the subscription level comes when a partner can demonstrate expertise in one of Microsoft's roughly 30 competencies -- in such areas as Midmarket Solution Provider, Business Intelligence, Virtualization and so on. There are two levels of competencies. The lower level is silver, and in addition to proving it can handle work in the competency subject, a partner needs to pony up to Microsoft to get the designation. It costs $1,850, according to Microsoft's Partner Portal.
What's more is that to earn the silver competency, a company has to demonstrate that it has made other investments that cost money, as well. For example, the company has to employ or contract with two Microsoft Certified Professionals (MCPs). An employee or contractor must pass a Microsoft Licensing overview assessment and an employee or contractor has to pass a sales and marketing competency assessment. The partner company also has to put in the time to chase down three customer references.
The good news is that whether a partner company earns one silver competency or dozens, it never costs more than the initial $1,850 a year. The benefits that the money buys start getting better, as well. Silver brings 20 Partner Advisory Hours, up to 25 internal-use software licenses per product, five Visual Studio Premium with MSDN subscriptions, three TechNet for Microsoft Competency Partners subscriptions, higher search rankings, licensing-related sales incentives and the silver competency logo for use on outbound marketing materials.
Cloud Accelerate
Sort of like a step up from the Cloud Essentials program, Cloud Accelerate comes with serious benefits for partners. For a partner that has not already earned a competency at the silver or gold level, Cloud Accelerate costs $1,850 to join. From a price perspective, it's like a silver competency for the cloud. From a not-for-resale license perspective, the program is very similar to the Cloud Essentials Pack, with an extra 15 Windows Intune devices thrown in.
Where the benefits start to come is on the business side. There's a Cloud Accelerate badge, prioritization in the Microsoft Pinpoint directory, 20 Advisory Hours, a BPOS Practice Accelerator, training, engagement with the local Microsoft subsidiary, access to training and online sales tools and sneak peaks at Microsoft's cloud services roadmap.
Of course, there's more to getting into Cloud Accelerate than paying the annual fee. To join, a partner must have at least three cloud customer references and meet minimum sales requirements -- three deals for at least 150 seats for one tier and eight deals with at least 500 seats for another tier. [Back to cost list.]
$3,800 -- Gold Competency
The top tier in the MPN is being able to demonstrate advanced expertise in a Microsoft competency area, and the reward is a gold competency. The first gold competency a partner earns costs $3,800, and every one thereafter comes at no additional charge. If a partner had earned and paid for a silver competency first, then that partner only pays the difference to get to the $3,800 ($1,950).
As with the silver competency, other investments are required to get to the gold competency level. The company has to employ or contract with four MCPs who don't count toward any other competency. The exception here is the Midmarket Solution Provider competency, which only requires three unique MCPs for gold. An additional person must pass the sales and marketing competency assessment required for silver. The gold level also requires a partner to make a minimum revenue commitment and chase down two additional customer references for a total of five.
The Microsoft Dynamics-based competencies, ERP and CRM, have slightly higher requirements. Silver competency partners need three MCPs and face a minimum revenue commitment. Gold competency partners need six MCPs and must also buy a Partner Service Plan, which includes training, tools and support.
Benefits for all gold competency partners are 50 Partner Advisory Hours, up to 100 internal-use software licenses per product, 10 Visual Studio Premium with MSDN subscriptions, the highest search rankings in Microsoft directories, the gold competency logo and solution-based sales incentives. [Back to cost list.]
Miscellaneous Costs -- $1,995, $195, $125
Whether a company spends nothing to get into the Microsoft Partner Network or $3,800 plus a major investment in people and training, there are always opportunities to spend more money.
One of the best places to spend that money is by attending a Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC). The events are held each July in a major U.S. city and lately have attracted around 10,000 people, including partners, vendors and Microsoft employees. There's no better place to get up to speed on Microsoft's plans, get acquainted with key Microsoft executives, find complementary third-party vendors and get in some quality peer-to-peer networking. For the 2011 WPC in Los Angeles on July 10-14, the Standard Partner Registration Fee is $1,995.
Not every program for Microsoft partners is offered by Microsoft. The International Association of Microsoft Channel Partners (IAMCP) works closely with Microsoft but acts as an independent group fostering networking relationships among partners and negotiating with Microsoft to improve partner programs in the partners' interests. The IAMCP charges $195 a year for a Corporate Membership and $125 for an Associate Membership or Affiliate Membership. [Back to cost list.]
Want more information about the Microsoft Partner Network? Check out our guide for partners, "11 Key Things to Know About the New Microsoft Partner Network."