Microsoft Solutions Partner Data & AI: Solv Systems

Navy Solv Systems title card reading 'Data & AI Solutions Partner', with the Microsoft Fabric icon at the centre of a hub of Microsoft product icons: Power BI, Microsoft Foundry, Azure AI Search, Azure Data Factory, Microsoft Purview and Azure SQL Database.

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

Solv Systems is now a Microsoft Solutions Partner for Data & AI (Azure). Data & AI is one of three Azure designation pathways under Microsoft's Solutions Partner for Cloud & AI Platforms badge, and it is scored on certified people, customer growth and real Azure usage. To qualify, a partner needs at least 70 of 100 points on Microsoft's partner capability score, with points in every metric. We earned it this week, alongside the Digital & App Innovation and Infrastructure pathways.

Data & AI is the pathway closest to what we do every day: Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, Azure data platforms and AI built on governed data. This post explains what the designation covers, which certifications count, what it means for clients, and where we go next. For the overall announcement, see Solv Systems is a Microsoft Solutions Partner for Cloud & AI Platforms.

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

Key Facts

Designation: Microsoft Solutions Partner for Data & AI (Azure), one of three pathways under the Solutions Partner for Cloud & AI Platforms badge
Threshold: at least 70 of 100 points on the partner capability score, with points in every metric
Skilling: up to 40 points from certified individuals, at 4 points per qualifying person
Qualifying certifications: 9 current Data & AI certifications, after the Azure Administrator (AZ-104) and Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305) prerequisites
Solv Systems: qualified separately in all 3 Azure pathways - Data & AI, Digital & App Innovation and Infrastructure

What Is the Microsoft Solutions Partner for Data & AI Designation?

The Microsoft Solutions Partner for Data & AI (Azure) designation recognises partners who help customers manage data across multiple systems and build analytics and AI solutions on Azure. It is part of the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program, which replaced the old Gold and Silver competencies in 2022.

Since mid-2026, Microsoft groups its designations under three customer-facing badges. Data & AI sits under Solutions Partner for Cloud & AI Platforms, together with Digital & App Innovation and Infrastructure. Microsoft is clear that the badge is an external label: each pathway is still scored and earned separately in Partner Center. Qualifying in any one pathway earns the badge. We qualified in all three.

Microsoft scores Data & AI on four metrics, each of which must be above zero:

Net customer adds (up to 30 points) - growth in the number of customers using Azure through the partner
Intermediate certifications (up to 40 points) - certified people on the team
Usage growth (up to 20 points) - year-on-year growth in customers' Azure consumption
Deployments (up to 10 points) - the breadth of Azure services deployed for customers

These measures come from Partner Center data, not from anything a partner declares about itself. Microsoft describes a Solutions Partner designation as "a validated signal of capability which is recognized by customers and Microsoft sellers".

Which Workloads Does Data & AI Relate To?

Microsoft counts all Azure services towards the performance and customer success metrics, so the pathways are not separated by workload in the scoring. What distinguishes Data & AI is its certification list, and that list points clearly at the modern Microsoft data and AI stack:

Microsoft Fabric - lakehouses, warehouses, pipelines and real-time analytics
Power BI - semantic models, reports and governed self-service
Azure SQL and SQL Server - including AI-enabled SQL development
Azure Cosmos DB - globally distributed application data
Azure Databricks - Spark-based data engineering
Azure Machine Learning and Microsoft Foundry (formerly Azure AI Foundry) - machine learning operations, AI apps and agents

That is a close match to our own work. Most of our projects combine a Fabric or Azure data platform, Power BI on top, and increasingly Copilot or agents reading from the same governed models.

Data & AI (Azure) Designation Requirements: Which Certifications Count?

The skilling metric is where Data & AI is most demanding. Before any Data & AI certification earns points, a partner must have certified people in two prerequisite steps:

Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104)
Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305), which also requires the Azure Administrator credential

On Microsoft's Enterprise track, at least two people must hold each of these, and they earn no points themselves. Only then do the Data & AI certifications count, at 4 points per qualifying individual. The current list is:

Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate (DP-600) - see our DP-600 study guide
Fabric Data Engineer Associate (DP-700) - see our DP-700 study guide
Power BI Data Analyst Associate (PL-300)
Azure Database Administrator Associate (DP-300)
Azure Cosmos DB Developer Specialty (DP-420)
SQL AI Developer Associate (DP-800), added in June 2026 - see our DP-800 exam guide
Azure AI Apps and Agents Developer Associate (AI-103), which replaces AI-102
Machine Learning Operations Engineer Associate (AI-300), which replaces DP-100
Azure Databricks Data Engineer Associate (DP-750), added in June 2026

The retired Azure AI Engineer (AI-102) and Azure Data Scientist (DP-100) certifications still count for one year after their retirement dates if they were earned before then. Fundamentals exams such as DP-900 and AI-900 do not count at all.

How Hard Is It to Become a Microsoft Solutions Partner for Data & AI?

It is a meaningful bar. A partner cannot reach 70 points on certifications alone, because the skilling metric is capped at 40, and every metric must score. So the designation needs three things at once:

Depth of skills - Azure administrators and solutions architects as a foundation, then several people certified in Fabric, Power BI, SQL, Databricks or AI
Real customers - growth in the number of customers running on Azure with the partner
Real usage - measured growth in customers' Azure consumption and a spread of Azure services in production

The scores are recalculated monthly from Microsoft's own data, and the designation has to be requalified at each annual anniversary. It reflects what a partner is delivering now, not what it did once.

What It Means for Our Clients

For clients, the designation is an independent check on a few things that are otherwise hard to verify from the outside: that our consultants hold current Microsoft certifications in the platforms we recommend, and that our customers' Azure data and AI estates are growing in use. Microsoft's disclaimer is worth repeating: a designation is not an endorsement, guarantee or warranty of a partner's work. Choosing a partner is still your decision, and our guide to choosing a Microsoft Fabric consultancy covers what else to check.

In practice, this is the kind of work behind it:

Fabric and Power BI platforms. A restoration company brought more than eight field and project systems into one Microsoft Fabric platform, with Power BI reporting on top.
Migrations from legacy SQL, SSIS and SSAS. A financial services company moved its legacy SQL, SSIS and SSAS estate onto Microsoft Fabric.
Replacing Jet cubes. A wine group replaced seven Jet Enterprise cubes with one Microsoft Fabric model.
Copilot and AI on governed data. A holding group lets staff ask their data questions in plain English with Microsoft Copilot, through an agent that queries a well-described Power BI semantic model inside the group's own tenant.

The common thread is governed data first, then reporting and AI on top. AI that reads from a trusted semantic model gives answers people can rely on; AI pointed at raw tables usually does not.

Designated partners can also work with Microsoft on certain funded programmes where a client is eligible. Eligibility depends on the programme and the client, so we check it case by case rather than promising it up front.

What It Means for Solv Systems

For us, the designation confirms that the way we have built the business - certified consultants, Azure-native data platforms, and long-running client relationships - shows up in Microsoft's own measures. It also gives us direct access to Microsoft technical advisory and partner support channels, which helps when a client project runs into an edge case in Fabric or Azure.

It also keeps us honest. Because the score is recalculated from live data and requalified every year, holding the designation means keeping our certifications current as Microsoft retires and replaces exams, and continuing to deliver platforms that clients actually use.

What Comes Next: Analytics and AI Platform Specializations

A Solutions Partner designation is the prerequisite for Microsoft's specializations, which go deeper into a specific workload and add a third-party audit. Two follow naturally from Data & AI:

Analytics on Microsoft Azure - covering analytics platforms such as Microsoft Fabric, Power BI and Azure Databricks
AI Platform on Microsoft Azure - covering AI and machine learning platforms on Azure

Both require further evidence of customer delivery, additional certified people and an independent audit. They are the natural next step for us, and we will share progress when there is something concrete to report.

Thank You to Our Team

This designation belongs to our consultants. The certifications that count were earned by them, alongside full client workloads. Keeping pace with Microsoft's exam changes this year - new Fabric, SQL, Databricks and AI certifications, and retirements of older ones - took sustained effort and a lot of goodwill. Thank you, all of you. We are proud of what you have built.

Data & AI is one of three pathways we qualified in this week. Read about the other two: Digital & App Innovation and Infrastructure.

Working With Solv Systems

If you are planning a Fabric platform, a migration off legacy SQL Server, SSIS, SSAS or Jet, or Copilot and AI on your own data, we would be glad to help:

Or get in touch to talk through your project.

Sources and Further Reading

Frequently asked

It is a Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program designation for partners that help customers manage data across systems and build analytics and AI solutions on Azure. It is one of three Azure pathways under the Solutions Partner for Cloud & AI Platforms badge, and is scored on customer growth, Azure usage, deployments and certified people.

A partner needs at least 70 of 100 points on Microsoft's partner capability score, with points in every metric: net customer adds, intermediate certifications, usage growth and deployments. Certification points only count once the partner has Azure Administrator (AZ-104) and Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305) holders in place.

The current list is DP-600, DP-700, PL-300, DP-300, DP-420, DP-800, AI-103, AI-300 and DP-750, each worth 4 points per qualifying person. AI-102 and DP-100 still count for one year after retirement if earned before then. Fundamentals exams such as DP-900 do not count.

Not exactly. There is no separate Fabric designation; the Data & AI pathway is the one whose certifications cover Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, Azure SQL and Databricks. Solv Systems holds the Data & AI designation and delivers Fabric and Power BI platforms for clients in the UK, South Africa and the US.

No. Microsoft states that a Solutions Partner designation is not an endorsement, guarantee or warranty. It is a validated signal of capability, measured from Partner Center data on certified skills, customer growth and Azure usage. Choosing a partner remains the customer's decision.

A designation shows broad capability across a solution area, such as Data & AI. A specialization goes deeper into one workload, such as Analytics on Microsoft Azure, and adds stricter performance and skilling criteria plus a third-party audit. A Solutions Partner designation is a prerequisite for a specialization.

Designated partners display the badge on their business profile in the Microsoft Marketplace partner directory, which also considers designations in search. You can look up Solv Systems there, or ask a partner to confirm which designations they currently hold, since designations must be requalified every year.