An overview of Microsoft’s Multiparty Private Offers and what to expect
If you’ve been partnering with Microsoft through co-selling or selling through the Microsoft commercial marketplace, you’ve likely been waiting for support for deals that involve channel partners. After all, Tackle’s State of Cloud GTM 2023 report found that 63% of ISVs had some sort of channel partner involvement in their Marketplace deals last year, and 85% expect more channel partner involvement in Marketplace deals in 2024.
Working with lean-in channel partners ultimately allows your product or service to be put in front of more prospective buyers, and smart ISVs are actively working to shape how their channels play in a well-orchestrated Cloud GTM strategy. For Microsoft partners, multiparty private offers (MPO), launched in Summer 2023, is an important piece of that overall strategy.
What is Microsoft’s MPO (multiparty private offers)?
In a nutshell, multiparty private offers enable ISVs to tap into the Microsoft global partner ecosystem of third-party companies such as Solutions Integrators (SIs), Managed Services Providers (MSPs), and Value-Added Resellers (VARs) to reach more customers and to drive revenue growth through Microsoft commercial marketplace private offers. The wholesale price is dictated by the ISV and the channel partner applies a mark-up when they create the private offer. Additionally, channel partners will not be charged a fee when participating in an MPO transaction with an ISV. MPOs enable channel partners and ISVs to come together to create custom offers, and sell directly to Microsoft customers with simplified procurement through Microsoft commercial marketplace.
Microsoft’s MPO as part of your Cloud GTM strategy
Channel partners are more than just “resellers”—as we’ve noted in the past, channel partners provide value-added services that go beyond simplifying procurement. These partners have cultivated deep relationships with customers built on trust, and ISVs need to consider how they can benefit from how their own channel partners structure a relationship with the Cloud Providers.
Indeed, channel partners are an integral part of the software ecosystem. Channel partners can facilitate partnerships and integrations with other technology vendors, creating synergies that enhance the value proposition of the overall solution. This collaborative approach can lead to more comprehensive offerings that address a broader range of customer needs.
Many channel partners also specialize in specific industries or verticals, possessing deep domain knowledge and expertise. This specialization can be invaluable when positioning and customizing cloud solutions to meet the unique needs of different customer segments.
By working through channel partners, ISVs can scale their distribution efforts more rapidly and cost-effectively than through direct sales alone. Channel partners can handle tasks such as lead generation, sales enablement, and customer support, freeing up internal resources.
With Microsoft’s MPO, ISVs can build out a more robust Cloud GTM strategy that more effectively drives market penetration, customer acquisition, and revenue growth.
What are the benefits of Microsoft’s MPO?
For ISVs, the benefits of MPO include the ability to build out an ecosystem of partners to expand the ISV’s reach and better serve customers with joint solutions and offerings sold through the Marketplace. This also means that MPO potentially opens up new avenues for sales. MPO enables the customer to burn down their commitment while maintaining their trusted relationship with their partner, which can be a useful tool to help close the deal.
For the channel partner, multiparty private offers give partners selling software the ability to work with ISVs, create customized offers, and sell directly to Microsoft customers through Microsoft commercial marketplace.
For customers, the benefit is clear: Some customers may prefer the option of purchasing managed bundles of software, and may also have preferred software supplier relationships. With multiparty private offers, customers can maintain their trusted partner relationships while streamlining the procurement and deployment of software. And, as noted above, customers can now apply these purchases toward their cloud commitment—which simplifies the process and consolidates transactions for certain customers.
What are the requirements to participate in Microsoft’s MPO?
Microsoft’s MPO program is open to any ISV, as long as the following requirements are met:
- You have enrolled in the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program.
- You have created a commercial marketplace account in Partner Center.
- Your account is enrolled in the commercial marketplace program.
- You have a completed United States tax profile in Partner Center for commercial marketplace. (Availability to customers in the United Kingdom and Canada will follow the U.S. release, with other markets to follow. Selling partners will need tax or VAT profiles to sell to customers in the respective countries.)
- The offer you want to sell privately has been published to the marketplace and is publicly transactable.
- You’re creating a multiparty private offer for a customer that is eligible to purchase multiparty private offers (here are Microsoft’s customer eligibility criteria.)
- You have a commercial marketplace developer, manager, or account owner role associated with your marketplace seller ID.
A case study: Commvault’s MPO experience
Microsoft’s MPO is still in its early stages, but for ISVs looking to open up or expand a potentially profitable route to market, Commvault’s experience provides a roadmap.
Founded in 1988, Commvault is a data protection and management company that has leveraged both channel partners and its Microsoft partnership as key elements of their revenue strategy. From the beginning, Commvault recognized the potential for channel partners to play a crucial role in scaling its business, and since their first transaction in the Microsoft commercial marketplace in 2022, Commvault has built a solid Cloud GTM strategy that makes the most of its Microsoft partnership. Commvault attributes this success to having executive alignment around their Cloud GTM strategy and gaining significant co-sell momentum. With the introduction of Microsoft’s MPO, Commvault has another channel available to help fuel that growth.
As an MPO preview partner, Commvault partnered with Tackle to successfully leverage MPO to transact with channel partners. By using Tackle to identify and target the right buyers for Microsoft deals, Commvault is confident that MPO can be the catalyst for a significant increase in business through the Marketplace in the coming year. In short, MPO and Tackle will help Commvault bring their channel-first approach to the Microsoft commercial marketplace and meet buyers where their budgets are.
With the release of MPO, Commvault is positioned to scale with the ability to authorize partners to extend private offers on their behalf. Additionally, Commvault leverages Tackle to help them scale their Marketplace operations through co-sell, MPO, and transactable listings on the Microsoft commercial marketplace. With Tackle and Microsoft, Commvault now has a complementary motion that provides the technology, services, and support to scale and drive revenue.
How Tackle can help you manage Microsoft’s MPO
Tackle offers full support for MPOs to help ISVs efficiently scale their reach to new customers through the partner ecosystem while simplifying the sales process.
Integrate with Microsoft commercial marketplace and Tackle. Tackle helps you manage the listing that makes MPOs possible while Tackle Offers helps you create, customize, track, and recognize revenue with these private offers with ease—whether sold directly by your own team or through a partner. Our platform processes the entitlements and sends notifications to your team via email, Slack, and more.
Report on MPO deals with Tackle. Tackle also enables in-depth visibility into all the details of each financial transaction. Through an easy-to-understand reporting dashboard, the ISVs internal sales and accounting teams have insight into the entire transaction lifecycle, paving the way for repeatable, efficient processes that lead to shortened timelines and quicker closes.
Like what you’re reading? Tackle helps hundreds of the world’s best software companies build and scale their Cloud GTM revenue channel, including the Microsoft commercial marketplace. Ready to get started? Schedule a demo today.
