Welcome to the October edition of Partner Release Notes from the Microsoft commercial marketplace! The marketplace is central to how we keep you ahead, helping you reach more customers, simplify sales, and unlock growth. Dive into the latest product insights designed to keep you up to date with everything happening in the marketplace.

NEW! Don’t miss an update! Subscribe to the “Partner Digest” label to get notified whenever a new Marketplace Partner Digest hits the marketplace community blog. Need help configuring your settings? Check out this recent community post for how-to guidance: Managing your marketplace community subscriptions – Microsoft Community Hub.

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🚀 Noteworthy Highlights

Reduced Agency Fees for Marketplace Renewals

As a partner-focused business platform, we’re evolving our marketplace agency fee structure to provide ongoing value to our partners and customers. Partners will now benefit from a 50% reduced agency fee for renewals sold as private offers through the marketplace. This reduction applies automatically when claiming either an existing marketplace agreement or an off-marketplace sale as a renewal in Partner Center.

The value for you and your customers:

Secure bigger deals and keep more margin while solidifying valuable relationships with your customers.
Customers will continue to get more value for their investments with 100% of eligible purchases counting toward their cloud commitment.

Resources to learn more:

Read the blog on how we’re maximizing partner success with marketplace changes.
Check out the technical documentation for in-depth information.

Partner Center AI Assistant (Preview) Now Available

We introduced an AI-powered assistant in Partner Center to enhance the partner experience. Currently available in English with more languages coming by the end of 2024, the AI assistant delivers tailored insights, intelligent suggestions, and quick answers to your day-to-day questions.

Training Partners Now Featured on AppSource

The Partner Directory on AppSource has been updated to showcase Training Service Partners, boosting visibility for qualified partners and helping customers find expertise to accelerate their adoption of Microsoft and AI cloud technologies. Explore the Partner Directory and learn how to enroll as a Microsoft Training Services Partner.

New Hugging Face Models Available in the Azure AI Model Catalog

The Azure AI Model Catalog, built on the marketplace, now includes 18 new Hugging Face models. This enables partners to access a wider range of AI models to build innovative applications and services to sell through the marketplace. Learn more.

Updated ATO Reporting Requirements for Australian Marketplace Sellers

Attn.: Publishers transacting or eligible to transact in the Australian Microsoft Store and Microsoft commercial marketplace

To comply with the Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO) new Sharing Economy Reporting Regime (SERR), Microsoft is now collecting additional information from publishers transacting in the Australian Microsoft Store and marketplace, including business identifiers, personal details, and bank information. Learn more here.

🌟 Partner Resources

We’ve curated best-in-class resources to help you get the most out of the Microsoft commercial marketplace! Explore these exclusive resources below: 

Read the latest marketplace blog for customers: Unlock your data with AI solutions from the Microsoft commercial marketplace
UK Marketplace Summit On-demand Content: Catch up on key takeaways and insights from last month’s UK Marketplace Summit, including how to activate the channel through marketplace. Watch the on-demand content now!
NEW! Marketplace playbook on Microsoft Learn: This comprehensive guide provides best practices and step-by-step instructions to streamline your onboarding and optimize your selling experience. Check it out here.
Upcoming Mastering the Marketplace webinars: Access live and on-demand webinars designed to help you develop transactable offers for the marketplace. Explore the webinars below and mark your calendars! All times are listed in PDT.

October 23rd, 9 AM: Developing your container offer
November 5th, 9 AM: Creating your first offer in Partner Center
November 12th, 9 AM: Creating plans and pricing for your offer
November 13th, 9 AM: Unlocking sales through the marketplace

⏰ Recent & Upcoming Events

The marketplace @ Microsoft Ignite 2024: Microsoft Ignite is happening next month in Chicago from November 19-22, 2024! While in-person tickets are sold out, you can still participate in the digital experience! Discover the latest in marketplace developments and learn how to capture the marketplace and AI opportunity. Don’t miss out on these exclusive marketplace breakout sessions. Register now to secure your access today!

BRK125 – More than a storefront, unlocking value through the marketplace (for customers!): Learn what new capabilities are available in the marketplace to help buy vendor solutions with confidence and drive AI innovation.
BRK343 – How to capture the marketplace opportunity: Get guidance to maximize your marketplace success, including how to sell through Microsoft sales channels.
BRK344 – Activating the channel opportunity through the marketplace: Explore additional ways to monetize with features like multiparty private offers and professional services that boost your marketplace success.
BRK350 – What’s new in ISV Success – AI benefits for software companies and more: Learn about ISV Success’ new AI benefits and cash incentives designed to help you build innovative AI experiences through the marketplace.

And if you’re in Chicago for Ignite, come talk with marketplace experts at the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program (MAICPP) area of the Hub space and join us for the following theater sessions (held in person only):

THR679 – 10 tips for marketplace success: Quick tips on how to maximize marketplace success with Microsoft product experts.
THR681 – Step-by-step instructions to activate multiparty private offers: Get hands-on guidance on how to enroll and become eligible to sell multiparty private offers through the marketplace.

👋 Share Your Feedback!

We truly appreciate your feedback and want to ensure these Partner Release Notes deliver the information you need to succeed in the marketplace. If you have any feedback or suggestions on how we can continue to improve the content to best support you, we’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

Thank you!

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