Microsoft Solutions Partner for Cloud & AI Platforms

Navy Solv Systems title card reading 'Cloud & AI Platforms Partner', with the Azure icon at the centre of a hub of Microsoft product icons: Microsoft Fabric, Microsoft Foundry, App Service, Entra ID, Key Vault and Azure SQL Database.

In Short: Solv Systems Is a Microsoft Solutions Partner for Cloud & AI Platforms

This week Solv Systems became a Microsoft Solutions Partner for Cloud & AI Platforms. The badge sits on top of three separate Azure pathways - Data & AI, Digital & App Innovation and Infrastructure - and qualifying in any one of them earns it. We qualified in all three, each scored on its own against Microsoft's partner capability score.

A Solutions Partner designation is Microsoft's measure of a partner's real track record: certified people, customers added, Azure usage growth and the range of Azure services deployed, all read from Microsoft's own data rather than self-declared. This post explains what the designation is, exactly how hard it is to earn, and what it means for the organisations we work with.

Solv Systems' Microsoft Solutions Partner badges: Cloud & AI Platforms, with Data & AI, Digital & App Innovation and Infrastructure

Key facts

Badge: Microsoft Solutions Partner for Cloud & AI Platforms
Pathways earned: all 3 Azure pathways - Data & AI, Digital & App Innovation, Infrastructure
Pass mark: at least 70 of 100 points in each pathway, with points in every metric
Measured over: the trailing 12 months of real customer activity, and renewed every year

What Is a Microsoft Solutions Partner?

A Microsoft Solutions Partner is a partner organisation that has met Microsoft's published requirements for a solution area within the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program, Microsoft's programme for the companies that build, sell and deliver on its technology. Solutions Partner designations replaced the old Gold and Silver competencies in 2022.

Microsoft describes a designation as "a validated signal of capability which is recognized by customers and Microsoft sellers". It is earned by a company, not a person. Individual consultants earn certifications; the company earns a designation when enough of those certified people, and enough real customer outcomes, add up to the required score.

What Changed in July and August 2026?

In July 2026 Microsoft announced new customer-facing badge names, confirmed in Partner Center announcements in August. The programme now has three badges and six pathways, aligned to Microsoft's three commercial solution areas:

Cloud & AI Platforms - Data & AI (Azure), Digital & App Innovation (Azure), Infrastructure (Azure)
AI Business Solutions - Business Applications, Modern Work
Security - Security

Nothing about the requirements changed. Microsoft was explicit that the six pathways "remain the foundation for requirements, scoring, and specializations", and that each one is still scored separately. The badge is the name customers see; the pathway is how it was earned. That is why we can say we hold Cloud & AI Platforms through Data & AI, Digital & App Innovation and Infrastructure.

How Hard Is It to Become a Microsoft Solutions Partner?

Harder than most people expect, and it cannot be bought. Each Azure pathway is scored out of 100 on the partner capability score, and Microsoft calculates it from data already in Partner Center. To qualify you need at least 70 points, and more than zero in every metric - so you cannot make up for a weak area by being strong elsewhere. In plain English, the metrics are:

Net customer adds (up to 30 points). Are you winning new Azure customers? Microsoft counts customers above a minimum monthly Azure spend and compares last month's number with the same month a year earlier. Only net growth scores.
Usage growth (up to 20 points). Are your existing customers getting more value from Azure? One point per 1% year-on-year growth in the Azure consumption across your customers, measured over a trailing 12 months.
Deployments (up to 10 points). How broad is your delivery? Two points for each distinct Azure service your customers are using, and virtual machines do not count - so lifting and shifting servers alone will not get you there.
Certified skilling (the remaining points). Do you have enough qualified people? Every pathway first needs consultants holding the Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104) and Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305) certifications as prerequisites. Only then do the pathway-specific certifications start to score, at four points per qualifying person.

Two more things make it demanding. The data is measured, not claimed: Microsoft reads it from customer subscriptions linked to the partner, so it reflects work actually delivered. And it is not permanent: a designation lasts a year, and to renew you have to qualify again on current figures. If certifications lapse or customer growth stalls, the designation goes.

Each pathway counts different certifications, so qualifying in all three meant meeting three separate skilling bars on top of the shared performance and customer success metrics. Microsoft does not publish how many partners hold each designation, so we won't guess at numbers. What we can say is that the bar is set by real results.

The Three Pathways We Earned

Each pathway has its own post explaining the requirements and what it means for clients:

Data & AI (Azure) - analytics and AI on Azure, scored on certifications such as Fabric Analytics Engineer (DP-600), Fabric Data Engineer (DP-700), Power BI Data Analyst (PL-300) and SQL AI Developer (DP-800). This is the heart of our work in Microsoft Fabric, Power BI and AI.
Digital & App Innovation (Azure) - building and running applications on Azure, scored on developer certifications including Power Platform and GitHub alongside expert-level architecture.
Infrastructure (Azure) - the Azure foundations underneath everything, scored on networking and hybrid infrastructure certifications plus expert-level architecture.

If you want the exam detail behind two of the Data & AI certifications, see our DP-600 study guide and our guide to the DP-800 SQL AI Developer exam.

What It Means for Our Clients

A designation does not replace due diligence, and Microsoft says clearly that it is not an endorsement, guarantee or warranty of any partner's work. What it gives you is independent evidence on a few things that are otherwise hard to check:

Validated capability. The people working on your project hold current Microsoft certifications, and our customer results have been measured by Microsoft rather than described by us.
Microsoft-current skills. Microsoft updates the qualifying certifications as products change - in 2026 it added DP-800 and the Azure Databricks certification to Data & AI - so keeping the designation means keeping our skills current.
A route into Microsoft for us. Solutions Partners get technical advisory hours and partner support incidents with Microsoft. When something on your project needs escalating, we have direct channels to raise it. That is support for us as your partner; it is not a Microsoft service agreement for you.
Programme conversations. Designated partners can work with Microsoft on programmes where a client is eligible. Eligibility depends on the client and the programme, so we check it case by case rather than promise it.

You can see the kind of work behind this in our case studies, from moving legacy SQL, SSIS and SSAS to Microsoft Fabric to natural-language questions over Power BI with Copilot.

What It Means for Solv Systems

For us it is recognition of years of delivery and a commitment to keep the bar where it is. The designation brings partner benefits, including Azure credits and software for building and testing solutions, and it lists our designations on our Microsoft partner profile.

It is also the starting point for what comes next. A Solutions Partner designation is a prerequisite for Microsoft's specializations, which add a third-party audit and further performance and skilling requirements. Analytics on Microsoft Azure, AI Platform on Microsoft Azure and Infra and Database Migration to Microsoft Azure are the kind of specializations we're working towards over time.

How to Check a Partner's Microsoft Designation Yourself

You don't need to take any partner's word for it, including ours. Designations are shown on each partner's business profile in the Microsoft Marketplace partner directory, and the directory's Find a Partner search takes them into account:

Open the Microsoft Marketplace partner directory
Search for the partner by name, or filter by solution area and location
Open their profile and look for the Solutions Partner badges and the pathways listed

Look for current badge names. Microsoft retired Gold and Silver in 2022, so a partner still describing itself as a "Gold Partner" is using an old label. For other questions to ask, see how to choose a Microsoft Fabric consultancy.

Thank You to Our Team

The certifications that count towards these scores were earned by our consultants, one exam at a time, alongside full client workloads. Studying for an expert-level architecture exam in the evenings after a day of delivery is not glamorous, and it is the reason this happened. Thank you to everyone at Solv for the effort and the care that goes into the work every day.

Thank you to our clients in the UK, South Africa and the US. Every customer and deployment metric in the score is a project you trusted us with. And thank you to the Microsoft partner teams who have supported us along the way.

Working With Solv Systems

We are a Microsoft data and AI consultancy working across Microsoft Fabric and Azure data platforms, Power BI and analytics, automation and AI, including Copilot and agents, and the Microsoft Power Platform. If you are planning a data platform, an AI project or a move to Azure, get in touch and we'll talk it through.

Sources and Further Reading

Frequently asked

It is the customer-facing Microsoft Solutions Partner badge for Azure, introduced under that name in July and August 2026. A partner earns it by qualifying in at least one of three Azure pathways - Data & AI, Digital & App Innovation or Infrastructure - each scored separately on Microsoft's partner capability score. Solv Systems qualified in all three.

A partner must join the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program and score at least 70 out of 100 on the partner capability score for a pathway, with points in every metric. For the Azure pathways those metrics are net customer adds, usage growth, deployments of Azure services and certified skilling, measured from Microsoft's own data over the trailing 12 months.

The partner capability score is Microsoft's 100-point measure of a partner's performance, skilling and customer success in a solution area, calculated from data already in Partner Center. A partner needs at least 70 points and more than zero in every metric to qualify for a Solutions Partner designation.

No. Certifications are earned by individual people who pass Microsoft exams, such as AZ-104 or DP-600. A designation is earned by a company when enough certified people and enough measured customer results add up to the required score. Microsoft does not describe a designation as an endorsement or guarantee of a partner's work.

No. A designation runs for a year and must be renewed by qualifying again on current figures. If certifications lapse or customer growth falls away, a partner can lose it. Solv Systems has to requalify each year to keep its Cloud & AI Platforms designation.

Search for the company in the Microsoft Marketplace partner directory and open its business profile, which shows the Solutions Partner badges it currently holds. Gold and Silver competencies were retired in 2022, so current partners use the Solutions Partner badge names.

Yes. Solv Systems is a Microsoft Solutions Partner for Cloud & AI Platforms, qualified in the Data & AI, Digital & App Innovation and Infrastructure pathways. We work with clients in the UK and South Africa, and with US clients, on Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, Azure data platforms, Power Platform, automation and AI.