1. Microsoft Gold Competency
Revenue Guidelines
Visit the Partner Membership Center to accept the revenue commitment
Get competency requirements and benefits information from the Partner Portal
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2. GOLD COMPETENCY REVENUE
GUIDELINES
Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Country groupings: .................................................................................................................................................... 5
Minimum Revenue Amounts: ................................................................................................................................ 7
Minimum Revenue Commitment by Competency: ....................................................................................... 7
Top Revenue Requirement Questions .................................................................................................................... 8
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3. Introduction
The vast majority of Microsoft’s revenue comes
through you, our partners. Historically, the revenue
that you drive has not been recognized as part of the
Microsoft Partner Network, or has only been
recognized by local Microsoft offices. Our goal is to
align our global and local execution and recognize and
reward you based in part on the revenue and market
impact that you are already driving within your business.
As a step toward this, starting October 2010, partners
will need to commit to delivering a minimum
Microsoft revenue amount based on their respective
geography and gold competency. Acknowledging and
committing to the revenue amount will take place
during the gold competency enrollment process
(example screenshot below).
While we will not start to measure competency
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revenue until October 2011 , the period up until this
time provides partners the opportunity to get insight
into revenue amounts and provides us time to work with
partners to define the fairest and easiest way to measure
revenue across competency, geography and solution
area (i.e., product and workload).
Example of how the revenue commitment will appear in the Partner Membership Center, Competency Summary page.
Starting October 2010, to commit to the revenue requirement partners need to click the “Agree” link.
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Exceptions include the CRM and ERP competencies where revenue requirements will be in place for the year
looking forward beginning October 2010. There is a revenue requirement for the Microsoft CRM competency
and Microsoft ERP competency, as well as their associated gold competencies.
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4. Beginning October 2011, we will start to measure
actual gold competency revenue attainment. Partners
will need to meet the revenue amount by their next
membership renewal date that occurs after
October 2012, for which there has been a year to
measure revenue achievement.
For example a partner with a membership renewal
date of January 2013 will need meet the actual gold
competency revenue amount by the time of renewal in
January 2013 (as competency revenue begins to be
measured starting October 2011 and this partner will
have had a year to achieve the revenue amount).
Revenue will be credited to partners who directly sell licenses and also to partners who contribute to
winning customer projects that result in Microsoft product license sales.
After achieving a Microsoft gold competency, partners may be required to complete a simple business
plan detailing the activities that will support revenue attainment. The business plan is not mandatory. If
applicable, a Microsoft representative will contact a partner to support the creation of this business plan.
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5. Country groupings:
There are three country revenue groupings (A, B and C) and countries by grouping can be found below.
Group A Group B Group C
Australia Argentina & Uruguay North, West and Central Africa, not listed in other country groupings
Canada Austria Albania
Denmark Belgium Algeria
France Brazil Angola
Germany China Armenia
Italy Chile Central Asia, not listed in other country groupings
Japan Colombia Azerbaijan
Korea Czech Republic Cayman Islands
Netherlands Egypt The Bahamas
Poland Finland Bahrain
Spain Greece Bangladesh
Sweden Hong Kong Belarus
Switzerland Hungary Belize
UK India Bermuda
United States Indonesia Bolivia
Ireland Bosnia and Herzegovina
Israel Botswana
Malaysia Burundi
Mexico Brunei
New Zealand Bulgaria
Norway Costa Rica
Portugal Croatia
Saudi Arabia Cyprus
Singapore Dominican Republic
Romania Ecuador
Russia El Salvador
South Africa Eritrea
Thailand Estonia
Taiwain Ethiopia
Turkey Georgia
Ukraine Guatemala
United Arab Emirates Honduras
Iceland
Indian Ocean Islands
Jamaica
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kuwait
Latvia
Lebanon ,
Libya
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia (FYROM)
Malawi
Malta
East Mediterranean
Montenegro
Morocco
Moldova
Mozambique
Namibia
Nigeria
Oman
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6. Pakistan
Panama
Paraguay
Puerto Rico
Peru
Philippines
Qatar
Rwanda
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Somalia
Sri Lanka
Tanzania
Trinidad & Tobago
Tunisia
Uganda
Uruguay
Venezuela
Vietnam
Zambia
Zimbabwe
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7. Minimum Revenue Amounts:
The revenue amounts listed below are minimum revenue amounts. We believe that these amounts should be easily
attainable by partners striving to achieve a gold competency. Minimum amounts are set for both solution (i.e.,
product and workload) and transactional competencies.
Recall that partners with gold competencies will represent organizations (and associated individuals) that have
demonstrated the highest, most consistent capability and commitment within a targeted business solution area. Gold
competencies will reward this deep expertise and high commitment with benefits that surpass the cost of qualification
– including tailored, competency-specific benefits based on solutions offered, and core benefits such as channel
incentives, eligibility for a Microsoft named contact who will support the creation of a business plan and help with
sales efforts, a distinct Microsoft partner gold competency brand, along with up to 100 licenses of the latest
Microsoft desktop, operating system and server software for internal business use.
Minimum Revenue Commitment by Competency:
Associated product, solution and workload by competency will be published in the coming year.
Revenue amounts are in US constant dollar and will be converted to local currency in the partner sales tracking tool
once competency revenue begins to be measured.
Competency Group A Group B Group C
1 Application Integration 100,000 80,000 50,000
2 Application Lifecycle Management 100,000 80,000 50,000
3 Business Intelligence 180,000 150,000 100,000
4 Content Management 130,000 100,000 70,000
5 CRM 300 seats or 200,000 150 seats or 100,000 150 seats or 100,000
6 Data Platform 130,000 100,000 70,000
7 Desktop 1,000 seats deployed 750 seats deployed 500 seats deployed
8 Distributor Varies by contract Varies by contract Varies by contract
9 ERP 100,000 50,000 50,000
10 Hosting 100,000 75,000 50,000
11 Identity and Security 100,000 80,000 50,000
12 ISV 12 Customer wins or 12 Customer wins or 12 Customer wins or
$50K transacted $35K transacted $25K transacted
revenue revenue revenue
13 Learning Gold Learning KPI Gold Learning KPI Gold Learning KPI
14 Licensing 100,000 75,000 50,000
15 Midmarket Solution Provider 100,000 75,000 50,000
16 OEM 150 BOS/15 Server 100 BOS/10 Server 50 BOS/5 Server
17 Portals and Collaboration 180,000 150,000 100,000
18 Project and Portfolio Management 130,000 100,000 70,000
19 Search 130,000 100,000 70,000
20 Server Platform 180,000 150,000 100,000
21 Software Development 100,000 80,000 50,000
22 Systems Management 180,000 150,000 100,000
23 Unified Communications 180,000 150,000 100,000
24 Virtualization 130,000 100,000 70,000
25 Web Development 100,000 80,000 50,000
Digital Marketing 0 0 0
Mobility 0 0 0
Software Asset Management 0 0 0
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8. Top Revenue Requirement Questions
Q: What are the revenue amounts and how did you develop them?
A: Revenue amounts are specific to competency and geography.
The commitment amounts are “minimums” and were set based on local market conditions.
For some competencies, the minimum partner commitment will be measured through “customer
wins” or deployments instead of revenue. Customer wins means that you have secured and
successfully completed a new project involving Microsoft technologies which as a result have gained
you new customer business. These wins will be tracked in a partner sales tracking tool provided by
Microsoft.
Q: What accounts for revenue?
A: Revenue refers to Microsoft licensing revenue - the sale of which has occurred from partners directly
transacting the sale, or partners contributing to winning the customer project that results in
Microsoft product license sales, within the period of a partner’s membership year. It does not
include associated partner services revenue.
Here are sample competency revenue requirements:
Desktop:
- Group A: 1000 seats deployed
- Group B: 750 seats deployed
- Group C: 500 seats deployed
ISV: Solution area wins
- Group A: 12 customer wins
- Group B: 12 customer wins
- Group C: 12 customer wins
Licensing: Volume licensing sales (EA, Select and Open)
- Group A: $100,000 in volume licensing sales
- Group B: $75,000 in volume licensing sales
- Group C: $50,000 in volume licensing sales
Q: How does Microsoft know who to credit if two or more partners claim to have contributed to
winning the same customer deal?
A: Microsoft will not be measuring gold competency revenue attainment before October 2011. During
the next twelve months Microsoft will work with partners to define the fairest way to credit software
sales not directly transacted by partners, but where a partner has contributed to the sale, along with
how to credit partners cooperating on the same customer opportunity.
Q: What is the time period for measuring revenue?
A: The revenue commitment will be measured within a partner’s 12 month membership period.
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9. Q: Where and how do I report my revenue?
A: If you are a partner with an account manager, that person will work with you on the reporting
process and the associated tools to use.
If you are a partner that doesn’t have an account manager, you will receive a communication from
Microsoft over the next twelve months directing you to the reporting process, tools and user guides.
Q: Does my revenue count in only one country? Can I count revenue across multiple gold
competencies?
A: Microsoft will work with partners to define the fairest way to credit software sales across locations
and competencies.
Q: How do I see how much revenue I’ve generated throughout the year?
A: If you are a partner with an account manager, that person will work with you on how to use the sales
tracking tool to see how your revenue is tracked.
If you are partner without an account manager, during the next 12 months Microsoft will provide you
the instruction on how to access the sales tracking tool.
Q: What happens if I don’t meet the revenue amount?
A: Before October 2011 Microsoft will not be measuring the revenue commitment by competency and
there will not be a penalty for not meeting the commitment.
Starting in October 2011, Microsoft will begin to measure actual revenue attainment and partners
will need to meet the revenue amount by their next membership renewal that falls after October
2012 for which there has been a year to measure revenue achievement.
Q: How do I accept the revenue commitment?
A: For October 2010 – October 2011, where a revenue commitment applies, partners will be asked to
acknowledge the competency and geography revenue amount during the gold competency
enrollment process.
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