HOW TO FIND A MICROSOFT CLOUD SERVICE PROVIDER

What is the Microsoft Cloud Service Provider ?

Microsoft Cloud Service Provider is a program launched in 2015 that allows partners to directly manage the entire lifecycle for their Microsoft cloud customers. It basically allows customers to consume Microsoft public cloud subscriptions such as Azure, Dynamics 365, Office 365 and Microsoft 365, Enterprise Mobility Suite and Windows. This program helps partners to own and manage the relationship with their customers and become their trusted advisors. 

To become a partner, firstly you have to know that this program doesn’t have any restrictions regarding the size and location of your company or even the level of competence. Secondly, it is important to make sure that you are providing customer support and one invoice. The last thing they need to know is that there are two types of CSP: Direct and indirect. 

Direct:

If you already have customer support, billing services and are willing to invest in the necessary tools, you should use this type of Cloud Service Provider, where you will be the distributor and will have to deal with Microsoft directly while making sure you are maintaining the relationship with your customers. If you want to choose this type of CSP, you should keep in mind that: 

  • It requires a high level of investment
  • It can be a difficult and rigorous process if you are going solo as a direct partner
  • Microsoft is reducing the number of their direct partners so at the moment you have to know that it is very hard to become their partner. 
Indirect:

This is the most popular option. If you want to invest in developing system tools and staff needed to take full advantage of the cloud this is the type of CSP you should use and you will become a reseller of Microsoft products to customers while keeping a relationship with an indirect provider. 

If you choose this type of option you will:

  • Be able to sell your products and decide the margin of profit
  • Quicker way to get started
  • Controlled process
  • Higher status as you will begin to earn incentives straight from microsoft and you will start to get recognition. 

However, choosing one of these options does not mean you can’t end up doing both. You can always choose to use the direct CSP for some products and have other products be sold through an indirect partner.

Why You Should Work With a Microsoft CSP Partner

1- There are no minimum commitments and the payments are monthly: Microsoft CSP allows you to let you decide how long you want to stay in the program and how much you want to use it. The monthly payments mean that there are no long term commitments, so you are completely free to add and drop licenses from month to month. 

2- Build customer relationship: With Microsoft CSP you will be able to manage the customer relationship from the beginning of the sales cycle, throughout delivery and regular support

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3- More engaging and personalized experience: You will only have to handle the relationship with the CSP partner as its role is to handle the relationship with Microsoft and provide you with a good customer experience. 

4- Discounts: You will have access to discounted prices of cloud solutions, which will allow you to earn profits if you resell the solutions at a standard public price. 

5- The Microsoft CSP program will manage your software licenses: This includes renewals and upgrades.

6- No extra costs to your business

How To Choose The Right Cloud Service Provider: 

Choosing a cloud service provider once your organization has decided to make the move towards cloud computing is a difficult and important decision to make as it has its risks and benefits.

Here is a list of things you should consider before making the decision: 

  • Administration support – Basic level of service
  • Locations of the provider’s regions
  • Business Health and Processes
  • Size of cloud offering
  • Cost of operations
  • Security Practices

List Of The Top Cloud Service Provider 

If you are looking for a cloud solution provider, here is a list of 10 of the top Microsoft CSP: 

SUPERHUB: 

Superhub is a Cloud Service Provider and a Microsoft Gold Partner from Hong Kong created in 2010 whose main focus is to offer support and consultation.

It offers a full spectrum of multi-clouds and unique “+” managed services that help customers with cloud management, IT support and technology adoption with best practices that maximize the Return-on-Investment from Microsoft technologies.

Services: 

For more information: https://www.superhub.com.hk/

KIZAN:

KIZAN is a Microsoft National Solutions Provider with numerous Gold and Silver certifications to meet your organization’s needs. They were named Microsoft’s first global partner of the year.

For 30 years they have provided technology consultation, custom application design and development, managed support, and implementation of both cloud and on-premises solutions.

Services: 

For more information: www.kizan.com

HITACHI SOLUTIONS: 

Hitachi solution is a global leader in delivering success with business applications based on Microsoft Cloud. It’s a collaborative compass for navigating business growth and fostering innovation.

Their solution helps you better understand, track, and manage the relationships with the customers and helps win more business and improve customer loyalty. They have been named to the Three Microsoft 2020 Partner of The Year Awards.

Services: 

  • Microsoft Dynamics 365
  • Business Intelligence
  • Organisational Change Management
  • Systems Integration
  • Microsoft Technologies
  • Transformation & Adoption ERP
  • CRM
  • Data Science & Analytics
  • Power BI
  • IoT
  • Power Platform 
  • Power Apps
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For more information: https://global.hitachi-solutions.com/

AGILE IT: 

Agile IT is a cloud-first managed services company, four-time Microsoft Cloud Partner of the Year, and one of the world’s top 100 Cloud Computing Solutions Providers. 

They are focused on helping businesses align technical support and business strategy to deliver the right technology at the right time. They are committed to helping you leverage custom cloud solutions and apps, maximize your cloud investment and sharpen your competitive advantage.

Services: 

  • Microsoft Consulting
  • Fixed Price IT Support
  • Office 365 Consulting
  • Microsoft Office 365 Partner
  • Intune Management, Exchange Consulting
  • Hyper-V Consulting
  • SharePoint Consulting
  • System Center Consulting
  • Amazon Web Services
  • Azure Migration
  • Azure Security
  • Microsoft Teams
  • Cloud Managed Services
  • Zero Trust Security

For more information: https://www.agileit.com/

CATAPULT SYSTEMS: 

Catapult Systems is a global modern digital solutions and services firm established in 1993 specialized in Microsoft technologies and it was recognized as the 2016 Microsoft Partner of the Year.

The company provides architectural design, implementation, adoption and management services for both on-premise and cloud technologies for large and mid-size organizations, across all industries

Services: 

  • Systems Management
  • Business Intelligence
  • Web Solutions
  • Managed Services
  • User Centered Design
  • Mobile Solutions
  • Cloud Services
  • Custom Development
  • Unified Communications
  • xRM Solutions
  • Virtualization
  • Device Management
  • Microsoft
  • Cyber Security
  • Intranet Services
  • Azure
  • Valo
  • Sharepoint
  • Security 
  • Intranetservice

For more information: https://www.catapultsystems.com/

SCIENCE SOFT: 

ScienceSoft is a provider of IT consulting and software development services founded in 1989. The company is a Microsoft Gold Competency Partner and holds eight competencies recognizing technical expertise in consulting and selling Microsoft products and technologies worldwide. 

They provide companies with professional advice and strategic guidance aimed to help their customers turn data-driven and make informed decisions. To achieve this, they support their customers by running quality data assurance to make sure that data is clean and error-free, implement, optimize or customize BI solutions, they can apply advanced analytics and data science to get insights from traditional and big data and visualize data in a way that business users spot trends and dependencies at a glance.

Services:

  • IT consulting
  • CRM
  • Collaboration & Knowledge management
  • Information security
  • Custom software development
  • SharePoint
  • Full cycle software QA
  • Mobile app development
  • Web portals
  • Intranets
  • Salesforce
  • ServiceNow
  • Image analysis
  • Ecommerce 
  • Data Analytics

For more information: https://www.scnsoft.com/

ACUVATE SOFTWARE LTD:

Acuvate software, founded in 2006 is a Microsoft Gold Partner in Data & Analytics provider of data and analytics solutions based on Microsoft Modern data platform.

It provides services that modernize, automate and support enterprise applications, IT systems, and infrastructure. They focus on providing Intelligent Chatbots for enterprise, Intranet, Content and Collaboration Applications, Power BI, Business Process Management & Application Lifecycle Management services and solutions. 

Services:

  • Software Consulting and Development
  • Information Technology
  • SharePoint, Office 365
  • Azure
  • Business Intelligence
  • ERP Integration
  • Intelligent Enterprise Chatbots
  • Power BI
  • Business Process Management
  • Intranets
  • Communication & Collaboration Applications
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For more information: https://acuvate.com/

AVE POINT

Ave Point is the largest Microsoft 365 data management solutions provider, five-time winner of the Microsoft Partner of the Year award, offering a full suite of SaaS solutions to migrate, manage and protect data.

It was founded in 2001 and its data management solutions help its diverse, global customer base overcome complex transformation, governance, and compliance challenges in the Microsoft Cloud.

Services:

  • SharePoint Governance
  • SharePoint Migration
  • Office 365 Migration
  • SharePoint Management
  • SharePoint Integration
  • Office 365 Management
  • SharePoint Optimization
  • SharePoint Reporting
  • Office 365 Protection
  • SharePoint Protection
  • Office 365 Governance 
  • Microsoft Teams Governance

For more information: https://www.avepoint.com/

ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES: 

Enabling Technologies, founded in 1992, is a team of cloud computing consultants, 4 Time Microsoft Communications Partner of the Year worldwide out of 60,000 partners, that handle the seamless integration of cloud security, Microsoft Teams, and Microsoft 365 with your existing infrastructure to ensure a successful and secure business outcome. 

They are focused on providing trusted guidance to clients around Modern Workplace, Security, and Azure cloud strategies to ensure they optimize and secure their Microsoft assets to accomplish more in the digital workplace.

Services:

  • Office 365
  • Microsoft Lync
  • Microsoft Exchange
  • Unified Communications and Collaboration
  • Skype for Business
  • Microsoft Cloud
  • PhishHunter
  • Microsoft Security
  • Contact Center for Skype for Business
  • Video Integration with Skype for Business
  • Microsoft Azure
  • Intune
  • Cloud Migration
  • Cybersecurity
  • End User Adoption
  • Change Management
  • Microsoft Teams

For more information: https://www.enablingtechcorp.com/

MANAGED SOLUTION: 

Managed Solution is an IT company founded in 2002, nationally recognized Microsoft Partner of the Year and the largest, leading IT service provider in San Diego. They specialize in consulting, IT help desk support, Office 365, cloud, business intelligence and analytics, IT automation, identity management, and security and compliance.

They are focused on creating great user experiences empowering them to leverage great technology making them more productive and secure and, as a result, allowing businesses and their employees to focus on what they do best and get ahead of their competition.

Services:

  • Managed Services
  • Professional Service
  • Cloud Office 365
  • Unified Communications
  • Desktop/Device Management 
  • Backup and Disaster Recovery
  • Virtualization
  • Identity Management & Security
  • SharePoint
  • Application Management
  • Server Monitoring & Management
  • Fractional CIO Services
  • Microsoft Azure
  • Active Directory
  • Cloud
  • Biotechnology
  • Microsoft teams

For more information: https://www.managedsolution.com/

Conclusion: 

I hope you have liked this article and that you have a better understanding of what Microsoft Cloud Service Provider is and how to choose one company to be your partner. 

If you want to know more about this program check out this video:

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