Once you’ve decided to utilise a Microsoft platform for your business, it’s crucial that the IT service provider you work with is an official Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) member.

Microsoft Partners are IT companies that provide Microsoft-related products and services and have access to MPN resources and support that allow them to build a Microsoft practice. They have proven expertise in delivering quality business solutions to meet their customers’ needs. 

MPN members know Microsoft inside and out to deliver a wider range of knowledge and more specialised services. They push themselves to the forefront as they hone their competencies and receive training and the most up to date resources about the newest technologies from Microsoft. 

Any Microsoft Partner can make sure your business IT solutions are running smoothly, but when you choose to work with a Microsoft Gold Partner like d365.Global, you can take your business IT solutions to a whole new level. 

According to Business Partner Magazine, Microsoft Gold Partners are in the top 1% of the entire MPN membership program, with only one in 640 companies attaining the gold accreditation. To achieve this competency, a company must meet the stringent standards for performance, quality of service, and customer care befitting of a Gold Partner. 

Becoming a Microsoft Gold Partner involves investing resources and honing every team member’s skills so that they can provide the best solutions when using different Microsoft platforms for their customers. Working with an accredited Gold Partner for your Microsoft solutions ensures that you receive the highest and most knowledgeable level of service in improving your business operations.

Differences between Microsoft Gold and Silver competencies

There are three types of MPN memberships:

1. Network
2. Action Pack
3. Competency 

Under the competency category, you’ll find the Silver and Gold memberships.

The category is further broken down into different areas of competency a company wants to be recognised for. To reach the level of Silver or Gold, a Microsoft Partner needs to showcase their expertise in their chosen competency areas such as:

• • Application and infrastructure – Helping customers grow faster in Cloud through application development, app integration, Cloud platform, DevOps, and datacenter.
• • Business applications – Implementing efficient business applications using Microsoft Dynamics 365 with Cloud business applications, enterprise resource planning (ERP), and project and portfolio management.
• • Data and artificial intelligence – Utilising data analytics to provide business insights as well as data platforms for big data allotments on-site, in the Cloud, and even in hybrid environments.
• • Modern workplace and security –  Providing customers with productivity and engagement solutions in areas such as collaboration and content, communications, security, and enterprise mobility management.

Becoming a Microsoft Silver or Gold Partner comes with corresponding benefits such as receiving the highest levels of training and support from Microsoft.

But getting there isn’t easy. To be recognised as a Microsoft Silver Partner, a company must meet the following requirements:

• • Be a Microsoft Partner Network member
• • Meet training and performance requirements defined for their chosen Microsoft competency area or areas
• • Have at least two Microsoft-certified professionals in their firm (the specific certifications vary from one competency to another)
• • Pass the licensing overview and sales and marketing assessments
• • Pay the annual silver competency fee, which is approximately $2,000

While the requirements for becoming a Gold Partner is similar, there are some key differences:

• • Be a Microsoft Partner Network member
• • Meet performance requirements (including annual revenue, training sessions, KPIs, etc.) defined for their chosen Microsoft competency area or areas
• • Participate in the Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) index
• • Have at least five Microsoft-certified professionals in their firm (the specific certifications vary from one competency to another)
• • Pass the licensing overview and sales and marketing assessments
• • Pay the annual gold competency fee, which is approximately $6,000

While both memberships have exacting demands to ensure excellent qualification, becoming a Gold Partner definitely requires a higher level of investment and performance; from the annual fee, the number of KPIs a company must achieve, and the requisite number of Microsoft-certified staff members in the organisation.

Meeting these requirements allows an IT company to secure a coveted spot at the top, where only 1% of Microsoft Partners worldwide (as opposed to Silver Partners, which include the top 5% of all partners).

d365.Global is recognised as a Microsoft Gold Partner for showcasing our expertise in using the full suite of applications in Microsoft Dynamics 365. 

Founder and CEO of d365.Global David Blumentals explained that being a Gold Partner is about putting in the highest quality work every day, “It’s about demonstrating your competency and capability in the Microsoft space. It’s not something we can engineer other than doing what we do every day.”

Benefits of being a Microsoft Gold Partner

Once they meet the prerequisites, a Microsoft Gold Partner receives benefits that can help them develop further, thereby providing better services for their customers. 

While Silver Partners can find customers with referrals from Microsoft, Gold Partners go a step further as they can co-sell with Microsoft to access more customers and showcase their solutions. 

Co-selling includes building customer demand, sales planning, sharing leads, and delivering marketplace-led commerce. Representing the Microsoft brand and demonstrating their capabilities enables a Gold Partner to build customer loyalty and strengthen existing relationships.

While all members of the MPN receive access to Go-To-Market Services, Gold Partners have additional marketing resources and programs they can utilise like:

• • Business profile optimisation and referral management
• • Market with Microsoft
• • Partner Go-To-Market Toolbox

In terms of technical presales and deployment (TPD) services, Gold Partners have unlimited technical presale assistance from Microsoft as well as a total of 50 hours for advisory with a partnered technical consultant if they need architecture and deployment assistance.

Gold Partners can report up to 20 product incidents to get Microsoft Product Support if they encounter any technical difficulties with products on-premise. Cloud competencies get unlimited support if they need technical assistance with Cloud products while Gold Partners without Cloud competencies can have up to 10 support incidents.

A Microsoft Gold Partner can also publish their certification on official channels, such as their website, to generate more leads, showcasing their credibility to customers and attracting highly skilled and motivated employees.

Reasons why customers prefer working with a Microsoft Gold Partner

Now that you know how rigorous the Microsoft Gold Partner certification process is, you might be wondering how this translates into the quality of service a Microsoft Gold Partner can provide to you.

Being a Microsoft Dynamics Partner, we ensure that d365.Global is up to date with the latest Microsoft Dynamics 365 solutions. That way the software systems we implement for your business continue to be relevant and efficient in the constantly evolving digital landscape.

We consistently maintain a standard of excellence within our team, which consists of highly certified and expert individuals with industry experience. Because the requisite specialised exams are taken yearly to renew a Gold Partner’s certification, we’re continuously honing our own competencies and skills to ensure that d365.Global is growing rather than stagnating.

Because we demonstrate competencies in Microsoft Dynamics 365, we can confidently address most issues that may arise, which reduces the need for technical assistance from Microsoft and shortens the problem-solving process.

But should a difficult situation arise, you can rest assured that we have access to support partners within the Microsoft Business Solutions sphere to quickly gain guaranteed solutions from proven experts, no matter how complex the problem.

As a Microsoft Gold Partner, we also have access to product licenses that enables us to develop obligation-free demos and concept proofs for clients to try before buying the full license. This is a win-win situation for us and our clients: We have the flexibility to fully test the product before asking for a commitment to a purchase, while our client can see the effectiveness of our proposed solution before we confirm the implementation process.

A Microsoft Gold Partner has gone through extensive training and professional development in order to achieve the highest level of skill and expertise in their competency areas. Working with a Gold Partner ensures that you can utilise this high-quality service in transforming your business.

If you’re ready to reach the top level with a Microsoft Gold Partner, contact us and we’ll work together to improve your business success using Microsoft Dynamics 365.