Independent Software Vendor (ISV) to Partner private offers FAQ

This article addresses frequently asked questions about Independent Software Vendor (ISV) to Partner private offers in Partner Center.

Setting up a private offer

For what offer types can ISVs extend a private offer?

The offer must be transactable and opted in for selling through the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) channel. This applies to both license-based and consumption-based offer types.

Does a CSP partner negotiate a margin with an ISV or does the ISV just apply a blanket margin to all CSP partners?

ISVs and CSP partners should negotiate the margin. ISVs can also provide a margin without consulting with a CSP partner. There's a limit of 400 CSP tenants per offer.

What is the duration of a private offer? Is it the same as the offer term?

Each private offer has a start and end date. For offer types with monthly billing and term, the margin applies until the end date of the private offer. At the next billing event after the end date of the private offer, the CSP partner will be charged at the price without margin, unless the ISV has created a new private offer for that CSP partner.

For offer types with an annual term billing, the CSP is charged at the price with margin applied if the billing event occurs during the term of the private offer.

There are currently no monthly billing, annual term offers.

How can an ISV find a CSP partner to create a private offer and share their margin?

ISVs can find CSP partners on Partner Center. Sign in to Partner Center and select Private Offers from the left-nav menu to open the dashboard. Select the CSP Partner tab and then + New Private offer. ISVs can select + Add CSP Partner, then search for CSP partners (Direct bill or Indirect Provider) by name or tenant ID. ISVs can also search by applying filters such as regions, skills, or competencies.

ISVs can share their margin to Direct Bill and Indirect Providers in the CSP program through private offers. Indirect Resellers in the CSP program can work with their Indirect Provider to resell ISV’s private offers. To learn more about the CSP partner model, see the CSP Overview page on Partner Center.

Can the ISV apply the margin at the customer level or only at the CSP partner level?

With the general availability of the partner private offer capability, ISVs can optionally extend a private offer to a specific customer of the CSP partner. ISV can choose whether the margin applies to all customers or selected customers of the CSP partner.

Does the ISV have to create a private offer in each region?

No. When an ISV publishes an offer, they choose which countries/regions the offer can be sold in. When an ISV creates a private offer for a CSP partner, they can choose CSP tenants from any region in the same private offer.

Can an ISV provide different margin percentages to different CSP partners?

Yes, the ISV can configure a margin at the offer/plan level per CSP partner. Different percentage margins require separate private offers.

Once created, how long does it take for a private offer to become active?

It depends:

  • If the ISV opted into the offer, and the ISV selected the CSP partner to sell their offer, then the change is almost immediate (within 15 minutes).
  • If the ISV hasn't opted in to be sold, or if ISV hasn't authorized the CSP partner to sell the ISV's offer, then the offer can take longer (up to six hours).

What happens if an ISV tries to provide a margin to a CSP partner they haven't opted in to, or an offer they haven't opted in to sell via CSP?

Creating a private offer for a CSP who you haven't selected to sell your offer will enable that CSP to be able to sell your offer. Similarly, if an offer hasn't been opted in to be sold via CSP and the ISV creates a margin for a CSP, that offer will be opted into CSP to be sold via that CSP only (not All CSPs).

If an ISV searches for but can't find a partner to provide a margin to, can they be added?

No. Partners must be part of Microsoft's CSP program and need to be a Direct CSP or Indirect provider to be provided a margin. If a partner doesn't return in the search, it's likely they're either not part of Microsoft's CSP program or they're an indirect reseller. CSP partners can review information on how to enroll in the program at Enroll in the Cloud Solution Provider program.

If an ISV works with an indirect reseller who purchases through a Distributor/Indirect provider, how can an ISV sell their offer via the Indirect Reseller?

The ISV needs to select the Indirect Provider who the Indirect reseller purchases from and the Indirect Provider needs to choose whether to sell the ISV's offer via their indirect resellers.

An ISV can't provide a margin/private offer to an indirect reseller directly but the indirect provider can decide to pass a margin through to their indirect reseller.

If an ISV has opted in to sell to all CSP partners, can they provide a margin to only a select group of CSP partners?

Yes, there's a limit of 400 CSP tenants per offer.

If an ISV chooses to add a margin at the offer level, does it include all plans underneath the offer?

Yes, all existing and future plans under the offer selected will be included.

What partner types does the limit of 400 CSP tenants apply to?

This limit applies to the number of Indirect Provider and Direct Bill CSP partner tenants. If an Indirect Provider has thousands of indirect resellers, those tenants don't apply towards the limit total.

Editing a private offer

What if an ISV wants to change the term of a private offer?

Once an ISV has extended a private offer, they can't alter the term of the private offer prior to the end date, nor change the end date. Once the CSP partner receives a private offer, it's locked in until its end date.

If the ISV adds a new private offer that provides the CSP partner a greater margin percentage and the timeline overlaps the current offer, the higher margin percentage applies.

Can a private offer be canceled?

An ISV can request to cancel/withdraw a private offer. If the CSP partner hasn't yet transacted the offer, this request will be approved.

If the CSP partner has transacted it for their customer, the ISV won't be able to cancel the private offer prior to the end of the term.

If the ISV made a mistake and created a private offer with the incorrect margin percentage, can they edit it?

Once the private offer has been submitted, it can't be edited until the end of the term. The ISV can only request to cancel (via withdraw request) the original private offer if the CSP partner hasn't yet transacted the offer.

Can an ISV remove a CSP partner from an existing private offer?

No, an ISV can't remove a CSP partner if the partner has transacted an offer.

If no partner has transacted an offer from the original private offer, the ISV can create a new private offer excluding the CSP they wish to remove. They'll then need to cancel the original private offer.

If another CSP partner from the private offer has transacted the offer but the CSP to be removed hasn't, the ISV can create a new private offer without the CSP they wish to remove. They can then cancel the original private offer via the Withdraw functionality.

Can the ISV add more partners to an existing private offer?

No. To add a new CSP partner, the ISV must create a new private offer.

How can an ISV extend the end date of an existing private offer?

The end date of an existing private offer can't be extended. The ISV partner should create a new private offer.

Post-purchase

If there are associated Azure consumption charges, does the margin also apply to those charges?

No, the margin only applies to the price of the software set by the ISV for their product, not to the associated Azure consumption charges.

After a private offer expires, what happens if the CSP partner increases seats for a customer with an annual subscription?

Annual subscriptions only apply to entitlement-based offers.

The newly added seats will still get the discounted price as they purchased the subscription during the original private offer term. It continues until the end of the annual subscription term.

If the CSP partner increases seats for offers with metered billing, the pricing for the entitlement-based portion of the charges will maintain the discount until the end of the annual subscription term but the margin applied to the price for the metered billing won't be maintained after the end period of the private offer. A workaround for this is for ISVs to create a new private offer for that CSP partner until the end of the subscription term.

The same concept applies for monthly subscriptions (and billing). If a private offer ends in a month, the CSP partner is charged at the full price the following month.

The end date for a private offer is always the end of the month.

How will payout reporting be affected by margin?

There will be no changes to the representation of payout reporting. The payout amount and agency fee that Microsoft charges will be based on the price after margin is applied for line items that have associated margin.

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