Partner transition guide

Use this guide to understand common Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) transition scenarios, and the actions required to maintain customer continuity. It summarizes:

  • Voluntary offboarding
  • Moving from direct bill to indirect reseller, and offboarding for direct bill partners
  • Indirect resellers, and distributors
  • Along with merger, or acquisition considerations

Follow the steps and supporting resources to determine the right transfer approach and complete required changes in Partner Center.

Overview

This article outlines the processes for transitioning out of, or within, CSP. Scenarios include voluntary offboarding, failure to meet CSP authorization requirements, restructuring through a merger or acquisition, and moving between CSP partner types. Partners must meet CSP authorization eligibility criteria. In addition, direct bill partners and distributors must pass the annual CSP capabilities assessment to maintain their CSP status. In this guide:

Resources

Partner eligibility is assessed each year on the anniversary of when the partner first enrolled in the CSP. Partners who don’t meet the eligibility criteria receive a notification about their authorization status.

Transition scenarios

This section provides details about the common Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) transition scenarios, and the actions you're required take to maintain customer continuity.

Voluntary offboarding from CSP

Partners can voluntarily leave CSP by providing 30 days notice to Microsoft.

Voluntary offboarding from CSP

Submit a voluntary offboarding request: Partners can voluntarily leave CSP by providing 30 days’ notice to Microsoft.

Start here: To notify Microsoft of your voluntary offboarding request, Submit a support case.

Note

  • In your support case, tell Microsoft that you want to voluntarily offboard from CSP and specify the tenant you want to offboard. Include your Partner ID (and tenant ID, if available) so Support can route your request correctly. When Microsoft acknowledges your request, your 30-day notice period begins.
  • Begin the offboarding steps required for your CSP partner type:
  • After the 30-day notice period, the CSP deauthorization process begins.

Important

After Microsoft acknowledges your voluntary offboarding request, the 30-day notice period begins. During this period, complete any customer transitions and required transfers.

Direct bill transition to indirect reseller

Partners who no longer meet direct bill CSP authorization requirements, or who want to move to the indirect reseller model, can use these enrollment steps to transition to an indirect reseller:

Important

These steps describe a voluntary transition from direct bill to indirect reseller. If Microsoft is enforcing CSP authorization requirements for your enrollment, Microsoft might place your direct bill enrollment in Restricted status as part of the enforcement process. For timing and expected status changes, see Indirect reseller and direct bill enforcement flow.

Enroll as an indirect reseller using your existing direct bill tenant

  • To enroll as an indirect reseller using your existing direct bill tenant, your direct bill enrollment must first be in Restricted status:
    1. Contact Support and request that your direct bill account status to be moved from Active to Restricted.
    2. After your status is Restricted, sign in to Partner Center as a Global admin for the tenant you’re transitioning.
    3. Go to Account settings > Programs and select Get started for the indirect reseller tier.
    4. Review your partner details on the enrollment form, then select Enroll now.
    5. After approval, sign in again and accept the indirect reseller agreement (Microsoft Partner Agreement) on the Agreements page to enable indirect reseller capabilities.
  • Approval is usually immediate, but it can take up to five business days.
  • For end-to-end guidance - including customer transfer considerations - see Switch direct bill partner to indirect reseller.

Note

You can enroll as an indirect reseller using your existing direct bill tenant after your direct bill enrollment is in Restricted status. Alternatively, you can create a new tenant to enroll in the indirect reseller program.

Direct bill offboarding

If a partner opts to leave the CSP completely, follow these steps:

Step Supporting resource
Help customers find a new CSP partner Find a Microsoft partner
Work with the new partner to transfer customers to the new partner tenant. Request a reseller relationship with a customer
Choose the transfer method:
Partner Support Plans Direct Bill partners who are offboarding can work with their Channel Sales Account Manager (CSAM) for a pro-rated refund on their support contract.

Indirect reseller offboarding

When an indirect reseller leaves the CSP - either voluntarily or due to authorization outcomes - it’s essential to manage the transition of customer subscriptions. Unlike direct bill partners, indirect resellers work through a distributor, who helps coordinate customer transfers and ensures CSP responsibilities are fulfilled during the transition. Indirect resellers can help their customers find a new partner and then work with their distributor to complete the transfer.

If the indirect reseller is only being replaced as the partner of record (POR) - meaning the customer stays with the same distributor and keeps the same subscriptions - you can use a lighter-touch update instead of a full partner-to-partner (P2P) transfer or Azure transfer. In this scenario, the distributor establishes the reseller relationship between the customer and the new indirect reseller, and the POR is updated without moving the underlying subscriptions. A full P2P or Azure transfer is required only when the customer changes distributors or otherwise moves subscriptions between tenants.

Important

Use a partner of record (POR) update only when the customer stays with the same distributor and subscriptions remain in the same tenant. If the customer changes distributors or needs subscriptions moved to a different tenant, complete a partner-to-partner (P2P) transfer or the appropriate Azure transfer.

Distributor support for indirect reseller offboarding

Distributors support indirect resellers by helping them transition customers, maintain continuity, and realign to a new authorized CSP provider. While the indirect reseller helps the customer choose a new partner, the distributor coordinates the technical transfer of the customer’s subscriptions to the new tenant. Follow these steps to support a smooth and compliant transition:

Step Supporting resource
Update the partner of record (POR)
- When the customer is moving to another IR under the same distributor.		 Partner with distributors in Cloud Solution Provider (CSP)
Partner-to-partner transfer
- When the customer is either moving to a direct bill partner or to another reseller associated to a different distributor

Distributor offboarding

When a distributor exits CSP either voluntarily or due to authorization outcomes, resellers and customers must move to a new authorized distributor.

Note

Confirm the incoming distributor relationship is in place before initiating any subscription transfers. Plan timing to avoid interruptions in provisioning, billing, or support coverage for affected customers.

Step Supporting resource
Help resellers find a distributor Find a distributor
Provide your reseller guidance on how to work with the new distributor Work with indirect providers in the CSP program
Work with the new distributor to transfer customers to the new indirect reseller tenant

Mergers or acquisitions

Partners might choose to merge with, or acquire, another partner to meet CSP authorization requirements. Complete mergers and acquisitions only when two or more partners combine their businesses into a new entity, or when one partner purchases another partner’s business (in whole or in part) and forms a separate company. In general, a merger combines two or more partners into one new entity, while an acquisition occurs when one partner buys another partner’s business (or part of it).

Step Supporting resource
Merge your Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) accounts Merge accounts in Partner Center
Update your Admin partner profile Update your partner profile
Migrate customer subscriptions to the new tenant

Related content

  • Last updated on