Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards – Why you should enter

Two weeks ago, Microsoft opened the gates of their annual Partner of the Year Awards program to us all. The awards are a celebration of all the successes and innovations related to partner competencies, cloud technology, entrepreneurial spirit, and sales excellence. With over 35 awards in total, it’s a great opportunity for Microsoft partners to showcase solutions built upon Microsoft technologies. All winners will be announced at the Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) in Toronto this July.

The Awards are a great opportunity to boost your company reputation in the Microsoft world, and yet some companies we speak to haven’t even heard of the Awards, let alone the benefits. As we specialise in digital and content marketing for Microsoft Partners, we thought we’d run a mini-series on the event – in the first of this two-parter, we’ll be discussing exactly what the Awards entail and how you can become a part of the competition. The easiest way to do that? The 4 W’s (and an H) are a good place to start. 

When?

The entry period opened on February 18^th and runs until April 7^th. During this time, The Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) Partner of the Year Award Submission Tool will be available for submitting your solution entries. After the closing date, a selection of judges will review all eligible entries and select up to 3 runner-up finalists and 1 winner for each Contest Award, to be announced at WPC. 

What?

If you’re wondering exactly what your entry should include, Microsoft has their own rules and regulations that define the contest as follows:

The 2016 Partner of the Year Awards cover the full breadth of all the work that goes on in the Microsoft Partner Network, which results in a lot of different awards. There are 5 categories that awards are fitted into, and the number in the brackets depicts how many awards are in that category:

• Country Partner of the Year (1 per participating country)
• Citizenship Awards (2)
• Competency Based Awards (25)
• Public Sector Awards (5)
• Other Awards (4)

For the full list of awards and their entry criteria, take a look at Microsoft’s Award Guidelines. Don’t forget – Companies are not limited to a single entry, so if you think your solution has a chance in multiple categories you may want to provide multiple submissions.

Who?

To be deemed an eligible candidate, you must meet the following requirements:

• Your company must be actively enrolled in the MPN or – as it was previously known – the Microsoft Partner Program (MSPP).
• You are not an employee of a Microsoft Corporation or Microsoft subsidiary, or an immediate family member of said employee (Parent, sibling, spouse or child).
• Your solution must have at least one commercial customer, and has been delivered or significantly changed after January 1^st, 2015. 

Why?

There are multiple benefits companies who win a Microsoft Partner of the Year award can look forward to, but simply nominating your solution will prove fruitful. Putting your company name ‘in the mix’ is likely to affirm your organization as an even stronger Microsoft Partner, and is sure to boost your brand name and reputation to customers. Plus, what do you have to lose!

If you’re one of the special few; winners can expect significant recognition collateral to signify their success, with particular recognition at WPC and an invite to an exclusive awards celebration during the event. This is a unique opportunity to network with Microsoft executives in specific business areas and strengthen relationships with Microsoft business groups. Both winners and finalists will receive congratulatory messages from key Microsoft executives. Winners will also receive customized logos, web banners, and public relations templates to showcase and promote their award-winning status. 

How?

So, we’ll sure you’ll agree that all of the above sounds quite appealing – but what can you do to get yourselves the best possible chance of winning an award? Your solution entry takes on the form of a 7,000-character executive summary, within which Microsoft ask you to do the following:

As we mentioned, submitting your entry requires you use Microsoft’s own Award Submission tool, where you can then nominate your own organisation. As responses are limited to 7,000 characters (including spaces), it will be extremely important for you to be able to concisely portray your solution and its business value. It is therefore highly recommended that your submission is completed offline, so it’s ready to go before beginning the upload process.

 

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