Microsoft Modern Commerce Deconstructed: What is it and Why It’s Important

The Microsoft Modern with TD SYNNEX Series is designed to help our customers stay up to date on all things Modern. We hope you find the resources we provide in our series helpful. 

Do you have questions around Microsoft Modern Commerce? Maybe it’s the first time you’re hearing about it? We are here to simplify this important Microsoft initiative and inform you with all you need to know to continue serving your customers.

Let’s break it down.

First, what is Microsoft Modern Commerce?

Microsoft announced the new Modern Commerce experience in CSP for Azure to expand partner opportunities to deliver managed services, enhance the customer and partner experience and help drive digital transformation.  In simple terms, it’s the new way partners will buy Microsoft Azure services in efforts to make life simpler for partners and customers.

Why should you move to Modern?

Many partners had a wish list of a few things they said that would accelerate their business and improve their experience.  This included: ability to provide higher value-added services, flexibility to engage with customers, more predictable profitability, and better tools to manage and optimize costs.  Good news: You asked. Microsoft listened.

With the new Azure experience, Microsoft implemented improvements, tools and resources to not only help you grow your business, but drive customer success and accelerate transformation.

Here’s what is new in the Modern Azure Experience:

1. Improved pricing transparency and predictability: To help improve flexibility, consistency and transparency, the new commerce experience in CSP for Azure will improve the alignment across all sales motions through a single offer catalog, first/ third party offers through Microsoft Marketplace and common price list in USD.
2. Recognize and reward value-add services: To help partners build sustainable revenue and expand profitability, Microsoft will recognize and reward partners when they provide value-add managed services to their customers via a Partner Earned Credit (PEC) on their monthly invoice.
3. Increase management efficiencies through new tools: The new Azure experience in CSP introduced two new tools to help partners optimize and manage efficiencies: Azure Lighthouse and Azure Cost Management. Azure Lighthouse provides capabilities for cross-customer management at scale, letting partners differentiate services based on greater efficiency and automation. While Azure Cost Management allows partners to optimize through resource recommendations to help lower costs, access higher availability, boost security and increase performance to the end customer.
4. Transition tools: Change is never easy, but it doesn’t have to be Moving your existing customers to the new Azure Experience is simple with transition tools such as tools for partner-guided transition from legacy CSP to the new Azure experience in CSP.  TD SYNNEX also provides you with a step-by-step guide to transition to Modern Azure through our StreamOne Digital Locker.

What does this mean for Microsoft partners?

Microsoft will be rolling out a series of changes over time to transition customers to the new way of transacting business. The first step in this initiativeis updating the Partner (MPA) and Customer Agreements.

As more changes are rolled out to the partner community, TD SYNNEX will communicate them here, explaining what it means for you and if it impacts any changes in how we partner together.

Are you ready for Modern Commerce?

Partners can transition their customers to the new Modern Commerce today if it will meet their customer’s needs. Before you make the move, review this quick checklist to ensure you’re ready:

1. Have you signed the new Microsoft Partner Agreement?
2. Have you confirmed your customers’ acceptance of the new Microsoft Customer Agreement?
3. Familiarize yourself with the key differences between Legacy Azure versus Modern Azure in StreamOne. Once you move to Modern Azure is not possible to go back to the Legacy model, so it’s essential to understand the differences. Here’s our guide.

If you’re ready to embrace the evolution of Microsoft Modern Commerce, we’re here to guide you through the journey. By streamlining and consolidating the way customers buy and consume Azure services, you’ll be on your way to enable a more agile experience for you and your customers, driving better business outcomes.

If you’d like to learn more about Microsoft Modern Azure or have any questions, please contact our Microsoft CSP team.

Amanda Pollard has been a part of the Microsoft Cloud Team at TD SYNNEX for almost 2 years. As a Marketing Specialist, she specializes in supporting the execution of our strategic go-to-market strategy. In addition, Amanda has earned an Inbound Marketing certification from HubSpot, an Azure Fundamentals certification and an IBM Design Thinking certification. From her academic career, Amanda brings experience in creative strategies and marketing.