Proactive steps to thrive through Microsoft CSP program change

As some of you will know, I’ve been in the cloud channel game for a while.  Over the decades, there has always been one constant truth; the only permanent thing in our industry is change.

How you respond and who you choose to have sitting on your side of the table to work with you through upheaval that makes the difference.

So – based on all the grey hair I’ve earned working through seismic shifts to vendor strategies – here’s five pragmatic and proactive steps I urge Direct Bill partners to take as soon as possible:

1. Take stock of your business.

Begin with an honest assessment of your CSP practice.

• What is your trailing 12-month CSP revenue, and how does it compare to $1M?
• Which Microsoft competencies or designations have you achieved?
• Do you have a support plan and solid security controls in place?

By quantifying any gaps, you can decide if it’s realistic to close them. For example, if you’re at $800K revenue and near a Solutions Partner designation, pushing to meet the targets may be viable. But if you’re at $200K with no advanced certifications, reaching $1M in a year would be a stretch – suggesting an alternate approach might be wiser.

2. Align with Microsoft’s vision.

Recognise why Microsoft is elevating these requirements. It’s moving toward a more sustainable, value-led CSP ecosystem, with partners that can create seamless customer solutions at scale. Microsoft essentially wants direct partners with significant investments in skills, security, and support.

If that’s not you today, you might actually thrive more as an indirect reseller – where a larger provider supplies those capabilities on your behalf.

Embrace the idea that partnering with a distributor can augment your own capabilities and help meet Microsoft’s new standards.

3. Evaluate your capabilities and gaps.

Drill down into specific readiness areas like:

• Technical and support readiness: How far are you from earning a Solutions Partner designation? Can you fast-track any remaining requirements if staying direct? Do you have the capacity (and budget for a support plan) to support customers at scale?
• Security compliance: Make sure you meet Microsoft’s security requirements (e.g. enable multi-factor authentication, attain a solid secure score). This not only ticks Microsoft’s box but also protects your business.

This self-evaluation will clarify whether you can realistically meet the new criteria solo or if it makes more sense to partner up.

The goal is to position your business for stable growth under the new rules, whichever path you choose.

4. Consider the indirect route early.

If your gaps are too large to bridge in time, start exploring a move to the indirect model.

Becoming an indirect reseller means working with a CSP distributor who meets Microsoft’s requirements on your behalf. You continue owning your customer relationships and sales, but the distributor handles the heavy lifting (billing Microsoft, providing support infrastructure, etc.).

Many partners are likely to choose this indirect route. By offloading operational overhead, you can focus on your core strengths – selling solutions and supporting customers – while your indirect provider takes care of the back-end demands.

5. Leverage available support.

Whether you plan to stay direct or go indirect, remember that you don’t have to navigate this transition alone.

At Crayon, our whole approach is about enabling partners through change. For example, when Microsoft’s licensing changes threatened to disrupt partners, we developed an EA-to-CSP transition service that turned a major change into a quick win. Using this service, partners avoided weeks of disruptive migrations by working with Crayon to move clients from Enterprise Agreements to CSP in under 48 hours. No upfront cost. No technical migration. No downtime. That’s the kind of solution-oriented support to look for.

Leverage our speed-to-value

In the context of the CSP program overhaul, Crayon can support you in several ways:

• Cloud-iQ Platform

This is our self-service cloud provisioning and billing portal. The latest version rolls the best features of PRISM into our next-generation Cloud-iQ platform to deliver significantly enhanced capabilities and functionalities. It enables streamlined subscription management, provides real-time usage and cost insights, and offers comprehensive reporting. In short, Cloud-iQ can free you to focus on growing your business instead of wrestling with admin. If you become an indirect partner with Crayon, you’ll immediately benefit from this platform to manage your customers’ subscriptions efficiently.

• Advisory and Enablement

Our teams (including our APAC-based Technology Advisory Group) provide strategic and technical counsel to partners. We can help you chart the best course – whether that’s achieving a needed certification, improving your cloud cost management, or smoothly transitioning to an indirect model. We bring deep experience from helping hundreds of partners in APAC transition and grow their cloud practices, so we can share best practices and hands-on assistance at every step.

• Services

Deep technical expertise and great vendor relationships have always made Crayon a great distributor. Our channel services make us unique.  Our through-partner services include Cybersecurity Assessments, Cloud ERP Implementation, Cloud Cost Optimisation and more. By providing add-ons to your existing catalogue that generate new revenue streams (and provide healthy margin), we can relieve concern about CSP Direct Bill margin loss and find new ways to create business value, together.

Plan Early. Thrive Long-Term

Now is the time to make a plan. If you aim to remain a direct CSP, start ramping up the needed capabilities right away and leverage any available resources to accelerate that process. If you determine that partnering with an indirect provider is the smarter path, begin conversations with distributors and map out a transition timeline (with a customer communication plan) well ahead of next October.

Either way, being proactive is key. With the right strategy and support, you can navigate Microsoft’s changes confidently and set your business up for continued success.

Coming Soon: “Choosing the right Cloud Distributor for your business” will explore how to assess your choice in line with strategic signals from Microsoft, what to consider beyond price and cost, and why having a value-focused distributor on your side of the table can make all the difference.