August 2026 Announcements - Microsoft Partner Center

This article provides the announcements for Microsoft Partner Center for August 2026. * * Help SMB customers become AI-ready while sharpening your security practice—meet Microsoft at IT Nation Connect ANZ 2026. Date: August 14, 2026 Workspace: General Impacted audience: CSP distributors, CSP indirect resellers, CSP direct bill partners, and software development companies AI adoption is opening new opportunities for small and medium-sized business (SMB) customers, but security and governance have to come first. Join Microsoft at IT Nation Connect ANZ 2026 to learn how to position security as the foundation for AI readiness using Microsoft 365 Business Premium, Microsoft Defender, and Microsoft Purview, so you can strengthen customer protection, increase security suite attach, and grow recurring security services revenue. Attend the featured Microsoft-sponsored session, “From Legacy Managed Service to Secure AI Service with Microsoft,” on Thursday, August 27, from 1:00–1:45 PM, at the Hilton Sydney. In this session, we’ll discuss how agentic AI is changing the way organizations work through autonomous agents that plan, decide, and act across business systems. Explore emerging challenges such as agent sprawl, permission misuse, and unintended actions, and learn practical approaches to establish governance, trust, and control for secure AI adoption. Register for IT Nation Connect ANZ and visit the Microsoft booth,#604 Request a one-on-one meeting with Microsoft to get personalized guidance Attend the Microsoft-sponsored session ANZ is the first stop on our IT Nation Connect journey. We'll also be at Orlando (Nov 4–6, 2026) and London (March 1–3, 2027). Join the Microsoft Security Partner Community for updates * * * * Prepare customers for a simpler, unified Microsoft Copilot app experience. Date: August 14, 2026 Workspace: General Impacted audience: All partners Starting August 18, 2026, Microsoft will introduce updates to the Microsoft Copilot web, desktop, and mobile app experiences to make it easier for users to distinguish between their work and personal accounts. The updates include clearer account indicators, a simplified app name and icon, and a transition of the web app URL from m365.cloud.microsoft to copilot.cloud.microsoft. Users are automatically redirected unless access to the new URL is blocked within their organization. The updated Microsoft Copilot app experience is designed to help users more easily identify whether they are using a work or personal account through new visual indicators, including account labels, a green shield for Microsoft Entra work accounts, and distinct backgrounds. The app also adopts a simplified Microsoft Copilot name and icon, and the web experience moves to copilot.cloud.microsoft, with automatic redirection from m365.cloud.microsoft. Security, compliance, and governance controls remain unchanged. An early preview of the updated Windows and Mac desktop app experience is planned on August 18, with broad deployment beginning in mid-September. Additional guidance will be provided through Message Center communications. Partners should work with customers to: Verify that copilot.cloud.microsoft isn't blocked by existing network, proxy, firewall, or access policies Add *.cloud.microsoft to organizational allow lists, where appropriate Validate connectivity and review network readiness for the URL transition Review the Microsoft 365 Copilot Partner FAQ, to-reseller OFT, and related partner guidance for more information * * * * This month’s updates continue to enhance partner differentiation and readiness across high-demand solution areas. Key changes include specialization updates that integrate AI capabilities, revised skilling and performance requirements, and streamlined qualification frameworks to support partner growth and agility. Date: August 13, 2026 Workspace: Membership Impacted audience: Partners enrolled in the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program As part of its standard business operations, Microsoft periodically reviews and updates the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program Agreement to ensure alignment with current practices and regulatory requirements. The agreement was updated and made available for your review on July 1, 2026. Beginning September 1, 2026, the updated terms take effect automatically. Your organization doesn't need to take action, provide a signature, or acknowledge the update. To review the updates, access the updated Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program Agreement preview. The names of the customer-facing Solutions Partner badges are now updated to align to the three commercial solution areas: AI Business Solutions, Cloud & AI Platforms, and Security. The six solution paths (Business Applications, Data & AI (Azure), Digital & App Innovation (Azure), Infrastructure (Azure), Modern Work, and Security) remain the foundation for requirements, scoring, and specializations. By using badges aligned to the three commercial solution areas, you can more easily position your capabilities, support seller conversations, and show credibility where it matters most: in front of customers. How the badges map Business Applications and Modern Work: now Solutions Partner for AI Business Solutions Data & AI (Azure), Digital & App Innovation (Azure), and Infrastructure (Azure): now Solutions Partner for Cloud & AI Platforms Security: remains Solutions Partner for Security What stays the same Your path to attainment doesn't change. You still attain designations through the same six solution paths, with the same partner capability score metrics and technical requirements. No new paths are being introduced, and no existing ones are being removed. Your eligibility for benefits and incentives remains the same, continuing to align to the solution path you enroll in. Specializations still map to the same solution paths, with the same criteria, differentiation, and benefits. No action is required—your designations, requirements, benefits, and specializations remain unchanged. MAICPP admins can sign in to Logo Builder to see the updated badge names and certified letter, and refresh your customer-facing materials to reflect the new names where applicable. As announced at MCAPS Start for Partners in July 2026, the Frontier Partner badge retires at the end of June 2027. Partners who hold the badge can continue to use it in fiscal year 2027 (FY27) as long as they continue to meet the requirements. Partners who meet the requirements find the badge in Logo Builder (accessible by MAICPP Admins). Partners can continue to achieve the Frontier Partner badge in FY27. After June 2027, no partner can use the badge regardless of when they attained it. Partners should explore and pursue the Frontier Partner specialization, which expands on the capabilities represented by the Frontier Partner badge. The specialization will be available in Partner Center soon in FY27. The following skilling changes went live July 30, 2026: | Specialization | Retiring Certification | Replacement / New Certification | | --- | --- | --- | | Service | Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Field Service Functional Consultant Associate | Dynamics 365 Contact Center AI Engineer Associate | | AI Apps on Microsoft Azure | Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate | Azure AI Cloud Developer Associate | | Sales | Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Customer Experience Analyst Associate | Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Sales AI Consultant Associate | | Cloud Security; Infrastructure and Database Migration; Azure Virtual Desktop | Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate | Cloud and AI Security Engineer Associate | | Infrastructure and Database Migration | (New addition — no retirement) | Microsoft Certified: SQL AI Developer Associate | The following skilling changes occurred to the following Solutions Partner designations on July 30, 2026. All changes apply to both Enterprise and SMB tracks: | Impacted SPD | Certification Level | Retiring Certificat