Start growing profitability as a Microsoft CSP partner - Resello: Cloud Distributor & Automation Platform
By Martijn Couprie | 11 November 2021
Starting out in the Microsoft CSP program is great, there are a lot of different cloud services and software subscriptions to sell, including some of the best known and industry-leading cloud services such as Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams and Azure.
But after your organization has started selling Microsoft cloud services you might notice that the margin you make selling the software licenses can be a bit thin, and competition can be stiff. That is why the general advice for Microsoft CSP partners is to use an added value proposition, something that sets your organization apart from the competition. Margins and profitability are much higher for value-added managed services, even more so for Intellectual Property (IP) that your organization builds and owns.
To support its CSP partners Microsoft has created a whole set of tools, platforms, programs, and other resources that partners can use to build out and grow their CSP business. To learn more about these, be sure to download our guidebook “Start your Microsoft CSP business, grow profitability and develop added value” and learn which of these resources best suits your organization’s needs.
Growing along with new opportunities
When the CSP program was launched, back in 2014, it started small. A select number of hand-picked market makers, and a small selection of cloud services, with Office 365 as the main driver. Fast forward to 2021 and Microsoft has over 90.000 partners actively transacting via the CSP program.
Over the years Microsoft has added a large range of cloud services to the CSP program, including:
– The Azure cloud platform
– Windows and SQL Server licenses
– The ability to buy and sell via the Azure marketplace
– On-premises perpetual software licenses
– Windows 365
And Microsoft keeps developing new solutions and expending the CSP program. All these new cloud services mean new opportunities for Microsoft CSP partners to purchase, sell and manage solutions for their clients, but they also increasingly add complexity. Thus, as Microsoft CSP partners expand their business, they need to better understand what market they are in, what their customers’ needs are and which business plans to need to develop and put in practice.
Develop and grow your CSP business
Although different Microsoft partners use different business models and practices, generally speaking each Microsoft CSP partner goes through these organizational phases:
Learn and onboard: Identify your opportunities in the cloud and enroll in the program.
Build practices: Develop your business plan and define your offers, then build your practices and solutions and enhance your skills with technical training.
Go-to-Market: Understand priority opportunities and sales plays. Create your marketing plan, launch your offers and drive demand.
Sell: Get customers leads with referrals, grow your pipeline with better customer targeting, and co-sell with Microsoft and other partners.
Manage and expand: Manage customer satisfaction and expand your practice.
For each of these organizational phases Microsoft has created tools, programs and other resources that are relevant for a Microsoft CSP partners during that phase. For example, Microsoft offers a benchmarking tool to determine a CSP partner’s digital transformation readiness to build their practice. And partners looking to determine their future profitability can use customers lifetime value models, financial models and value proposition scenarios.
Information on and links to all these resources can be found in our “Start your Microsoft CSP business, grow profitability and develop added value” guidebook. Download it today to get starting on growing and expanding your Microsoft CSP business.
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