Bus Apps Monthly ANZ Partner Digest

[casssmith]

Happy New Year! Hope you managed to have a restful and healthy break with family and friends in these continued rollercoaster times.

As your ANZ Partner Marketing team for Business Applications, each month(ish!) we curate this update on the key programs, offers and updates you need to know. Lots of new news this month so let’s get straight into it. As always, any questions or feedback, just let us know by return email.

PARTNER INCENTIVES, OFFERS & PROGRAMS

Join our partner Power Platform programs to accelerate your growth – last chance!
Our popular Power Platform partner programs are back for the final time starting from early March, so don’t miss out.

• Want to add a Power Platform practice to your existing business? The Getting Started with Power Platform option is for you. Over 8 weeks we’ll show you how to accelerate your growth with Power, how to skill your team, how licencing works and more via email – and it’s free.
• Already selling Power Apps and want to really accelerate your growth - and your Low Code Advanced Specialisation? The GTM Acceleration program delivered by Neural Impact is the one for you. You’ll participate in workshops on best practice Power go to market strategies and be provided feedback on your current approach. Offered as a group, or more customised one-on-one options. Partner co-contribution is required to join.

Find all the details of each program and sign up here - or just reply to this post and I can tell you more!

Bus Apps new hire Onboarding program
Reminder we have a handful of places left in our 4 week onboarding program for March to get your new hires up and running fast. The program covers D365 and Power technical skills and certification, customer engagement training and time with our own local Microsoft Bus Apps experts. Find all the details and register your new crew here.

New Bus Apps Incentives – join the February 11 webinar to learn more
We recently introduced new usage incentives for Power Apps and Power Automate Usage as well as the Power BI & D365 Customer Insights Usage that leverages Partner Admin Link (PAL) association. These new partner incentives launched on January 1 under the Microsoft Commerce Incentives program (MCI). To help you understand the new program requirements and the necessary steps you need to take, please join a webinar session on February 11 at 11am AEDT. You'll be able to ask the experts on the details of this new earning opportunity.

Catalyst Training to access partner offer funding – rego now open for eligible partners in H2
Firstly, congrats to everyone who completed the Catalyst partner trained in 2021 – all 351 of you! Catalyst training has now re-opened for registration with the 6 hours of self paced modules to be completed by March 18. Why do the training? It will help you talk digital transformation and Bus Apps solutions with your customers using a best practice IDEA framework – plus having 3 accredited individuals in your org lets you request funding for many of the Bus Apps partner offer activities.
Note: to be eligible you MUST have a Gold or Silver Bus Apps competency, or have 2 of 4 criteria in the Low Code Advanced Specialisation. If you don't have this you will receive an error when attempting to enrol. You can check your status in Partner Center here.

NEWS & EVENTS

Differentiate with a Low Code Development advanced specialisation
This time last year, we launched the Low Code Application Development advanced specialisation as a way to help distinguish your organisation, validate your expertise, and build stronger relationships with customers. With the low-code application market projected to reach $51B in 2031 it offers you the opportunity to showcase your expertise in helping customers create custom and flexible line-of-business low code solutions using Power Apps.
There are many benefits to advanced specialisation:

• Customer-facing label showing your ability to deliver high-fidelity services and meet high standards for service delivery and support.
• Exclusive access to Power Platform In-a-Day (XiaD) event resources, regular monthly office hours, and the XiaD Teams community. XiaD workshops are partner-led hands-on events that enable you to nurture leads, build trust, and accelerate user adoption by providing end users with new skills.
• Prioritised search rankings and increased visibility in the Microsoft solution provider network to help customers find you faster and expand your sales pipeline with high-quality leads.
• Meeting 2 of the 4 criteria for this specialisation is also an eligibility criteria for funding via the Bus Apps partner offers.

Find out more here – and talk to us if you’d like to accelerate your progress in this specialisation (perhaps with the GTM Acceleration program mentioned at the top of this email!).

D365 powers Microsoft Cloud for Retail – now in general availability
The supply chain continues to be a talking point into 2022 with retailers of every size still seeing substantial change and disruption driven by the ongoing impact of the pandemic plus weather events. Retail organisations have also had to adjust to the long-term evolution of customer behaviour. At the recent global NRF 2022 retail event, Microsoft continued to showcase how Dynamics 365 enables the Microsoft Cloud for Retail which is now in general availability. It enables retailers to be more resilient, innovate customer experience, and build a sustainable business for long term success. Through this set of retail specific capabilities across the Microsoft Cloud portfolio, in addition to partner solutions, it becomes possible to seamlessly connect customers, people, and data. Our industry clouds are gaining real momentum, with lot of opportunity for partners so we recommend you keep across these.

SKILLING AND CERTIFICATION

Free certification training - Bus App Cloud Week Feb 28 – March 4
Exclusive to Microsoft partners, Business Applications Cloud Week is a virtual skilling event on Dynamics 365 and Power Platform. This FREE week-long training experience will result in deeper knowledge on sales and technical capabilities, allowing you to not only deliver exceptional services to Business Applications customers, but also gain the knowledge to achieve Microsoft certifications. Learners will build skills through a choice of instructor-led courses, on-demand labs, and Q&A during the hours that best fit into busy schedules. Register here.

Low-Code App Development with Power Apps and Azure webinar
We have seen an increasing ask from our partners and communities to learn more about Low-Code App Development with Power Apps and Azure. If this is you, we recommend listening to this on-demand webinar covering Power Apps ALM with Azure and the new Power Apps Pay-as-you-go licensing.
• How to get started quickly with the Power Apps Developer Plan
• How to use App Lifecycle Management tooling and technical capabilities with Power Apps and Azure services to accelerate app development (with demo examples)
• How to move apps quickly to production with the new Pay-as-you-go licensing that connects Power Apps and Azure subscription

Reminder to join the next Women Rising cohort
Another quick plug for the (not strictly Bus Apps) Women Rising program. Microsoft Australia has partnered with leading women’s development expert Megan Dalla-Camina, Founder & CEO of Women Rising - a program that enables women to unlock their potential through evidence-based curriculum, expert coaching, and supportive community. It’s a six-month fully virtual experience, allowing women to learn at a time and place that fits their schedule. The program is $999+GST (50% off exclusive to Microsoft Partners and customers) which includes all training, live coaching, and community, with lifetime access to all program materials. In 2021 the program supported nearly 1000 women and registration is open for the next cohort in March 2022. As one of those women, I can’t recommend it enough!

Questions? Feedback? Just let us know by replying to this post

Kind Regards,

Cass Smith, Partner Marketing Manager
Christoph Blettgen, Partner Strategy Lead