Microsoft is making changes to its cloud solution provider (CSP) partner contracts. Nicole Dezen (pictured), chief partner officer and corporate vice president, global partner solutions, said the changes were designed to help CSP partners “drive more renewals and upgrades, retain customers, upsell, and scale their businesses”. At the same time, she said Microsoft was “deepening our investment in the partners who are delivering transformational impact with customers, aligned to our strategic imperatives”.
To “expand deal-making capabilities” and offer a “more consistent experience” across purchasing channels, including those transitioning from expiring Enterprise Agreements (EAs), the vendor is launching three-year subscription terms for Microsoft 365 E3 and E5, with or without Teams, as well as Teams Enterprise licenses for CSPs, on 1 June, 2025. They will be available for purchase with three-year upfront or triennial/annual billing options only.
At either mid-term or renewal, partners will be able to change E3 and E5 subscription terms for customers who have EOS SKUs of Microsoft 365 and Office 365 Enterprise suites with Teams to the new three-year EOS terms. In addition, effective 1 July, 2025, a three-year subscription for Microsoft 365 E5 Security and E5 Compliance mini suites will also be available.
To help partners transition customers from on-premise solutions or upgrade them from Office 365, the firm is offering 10% discount promotions for new-to-E3 or new-to-E5 customers on the CSP three-year subscription terms. The E3 and E5 promotion will be available on 9 June, 2025, while the E5 mini suite promotion will be available on 1 July, 2025.
“Based on partner feedback, we made two important process improvements on 1 April, 2025, making it easier to transition customers from EA to CSP, and reducing the processing time for mid-term upgrades,” said Dezen.
Microsoft launched a channel transfers interface in Partner Center that helps partners renew expiring EA offers for Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 with Teams and Office 365 E1, E3, and E5 with Teams into CSP deals, while maintaining customers’ Teams entitlements. It also introduced AI-powered automation that streamlines mid-term upgrades by handling subscription cancellations and credits automatically. The result, claimed the vendor: fewer duplicate SKUs and a reduction of support resolution times down to “one day or less”.
Eligibility
On new partner eligibility rules, Dezen said: “We strive to provide partners with offers, capabilities, and enablement to make the TAM [total addressable market] opportunity a reality. We want to ensure our CSP partner ecosystem is well-positioned to create the seamless solutions and experiences our customers have come to expect while accelerating growth opportunities.”
Starting 1 October, 2025, the company is introducing new authorisation requirements that will apply to direct bill partners, distributors (formerly indirect providers), and indirect resellers.
Updated eligibility requirements for CSP incentives will be rolled out in FY26. “These updates will align with the CSP authorisation changes, requiring CSP direct bill partners, distributors, and indirect resellers to have streamlined and relevant expertise by solution area,” she added.
