262 – Microsoft’s Partner-Led Future: Nicole Dezen on AI, FY26 Strategy & $661B SMB Opportunity

From Ultimate Partner LIVE in Redmond, WA

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Is your business ready for 2026?

Welcome back to the Ultimate Partner® Podcast.

This episode is something special.

It was originally recorded as the kickoff conversation for our May Ultimate Partner LIVE event—a powerful session that featured none other than Nicole Dezen, Microsoft’s Chief Partner Officer, and a true champion of the ecosystem.

Now, we’re bringing it to you, our amazing Ultimate Partner Podcast community.

In this candid and insightful conversation, Nicole shares Microsoft’s unwavering commitment to its 500,000+ strong partner ecosystem—especially poignant as the company celebrates its 50th anniversary.

We explore how partners are not just part of the Microsoft story—they are the story.
From driving innovation to fueling growth in the era of AI, this dialogue makes clear that partners are at the heart of Microsoft’s transformation agenda.

You’ll hear about the company’s FY26 strategic priorities—known as MCAPS—including renewed focus and record investment in the SMB segment, and the role of partners in shaping what’s next.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vuEsmcPvD4

Partnerships are Microsoft’s Core: Microsoft’s foundational commitment to its partner ecosystem is deeply ingrained in its 50-year history and remains central to its future strategy.

AI is a Partner-Led Opportunity: Partners are crucial to driving AI transformation, with Microsoft actively supporting and incentivizing those who leverage AI for customer solutions and business growth.

Substantial Profitability for Partners: The Microsoft ecosystem offers significant financial returns, with partners earning multiple dollars for every dollar of Microsoft revenue, boosted further by generative AI.

Strategic Alignment with Microsoft Priorities: Partners can maximize their success by understanding and aligning with Microsoft’s five MCAPS priorities, which guide both Microsoft’s internal sales and partner incentives.

Targeted Investments for Ecosystem Growth: Microsoft continues record investments in its partner ecosystem, with a strong focus on empowering partners, especially those serving the high-growth small and medium enterprise (SMB) segment.

“Customer Zero” Enhances Partner Credibility: Partners are encouraged to use Microsoft technologies, particularly AI tools, internally (“Customer Zero”) to build authentic experience and credibility for customer engagements.

https://youtu.be/s33fltuizEo

Transcript:

(0:00) So I wanna take this moment to welcome a friend, (0:03) an incredible leader, somebody who leads the largest, (0:09) imagine this, the largest ecosystem in our industry (0:12) is the Microsoft ecosystem, (0:14) with over 500,000 partner organizations. (0:19) Nicole Deason has done an outstanding job (0:22) of taking this organization to the next level. (0:26) In fact, we recognize, Nicole was on my podcast last year, (0:29) we were up here in Redmond, (0:30) we recorded a really great interview.

(0:32) If you haven’t had a chance, (0:33) you can find that on our YouTube channel. (0:35) You can find that incredible discussion that we’ve had. (0:38) I’ve asked her back because a lot of things (0:40) are happening at Microsoft.

(0:41) And I also wanted to recognize her. (0:43) Like see, we did this Partner Leader of the Year Award (0:46) at the end of 2024, and we recognized Nicole (0:48) for how she’s reshaped Microsoft’s landscape, (0:51) how she’s really tightened up Microsoft’s focus (0:54) and strategy, and I wanted to have her back today, (0:57) A, to recognize her up on stage (0:59) for her outstanding leadership, (1:01) but also have you hear from her (1:03) about her point of view as partners (1:06) and how Microsoft thinks about this ecosystem (1:09) and its approach to support this incredible thing (1:11) that was created over 40 years ago. (1:14) Microsoft was the first company (1:15) to really embrace partnerships, (1:18) and still is at the very forefront of it.

(1:20) And so I’m excited to have Nicole join us. (1:23) Nicole and team, but we also have a little something (1:27) we’re gonna bring out here. (1:28) So here comes Nicole.

(1:30) Nicole, so good to see you. (1:31) So good to see you. (1:32) Thank you for having me.

(1:34) I love having you. (1:34) Thank you so much. (1:35) I love your jacket, too.

(1:36) Obviously, I’m really into the green, okay. (1:38) Yeah, I love the green. (1:39) I love the green.

(1:40) I need to wear more green. (1:41) We have a little gift for you. (1:44) I try and lift it.

(1:45) They told me it weighs about 300 pounds. (1:46) Okay, well, I’ll do it. (1:47) Here, we’ll do it together.

(1:48) We’ll do it together. (1:49) So this is just our recognition (1:51) for all the work that you’ve done (1:53) and all the support you’ve given (1:54) these partners in the room, (1:55) and the thousands and thousands of thousands (1:58) that will be watching us, (1:59) listening to your amazing guidance and leadership, (2:03) and so glad that you could spend some time (2:05) with us this morning and kick off our event. (2:07) Thank you.

(2:07) This is a really nice honor. (2:09) Thank you so much. (2:10) We’ll proudly put that there.

(2:12) You’ve done an incredible job, (2:13) and we’re excited to have you for a little fireside chat. (2:18) We have some people in the room. (2:19) We have a bunch of people on the live stream as well.

(2:22) So we got to do this in a studio. (2:24) It’s a little bit different, (2:25) but I wanted to have the opportunity (2:27) to spend some time here with you (2:28) because I think there’s some really incredible things (2:30) we need to talk about here. (2:32) First off, we haven’t even talked about this yet.

(2:35) I was saving this for you. (2:37) Microsoft’s 50th anniversary. (2:38) Yeah, so exciting.

(2:40) I mean, it is incredible that it’s been 50 years now. (2:43) It’s amazing. (2:44) It’s really hard to believe, (2:47) you know, 50 years of so much heritage.

(2:50) And, you know, when I think about our 50 years, (2:52) I think of it as 50 years of partnership. (2:54) So massive, massive thank you to all of our partners. (2:58) Our success is absolutely based (3:02) on all of the work we do with our partners (3:04) and organizations like yours, Vincent.

(3:05) Thank you so much. (3:06) Thank you for your support as well. (3:08) We feel that as well, these partners wouldn’t be here.

(3:10) We wouldn’t even have this thing called partners (3:12) if it wasn’t for Microsoft. (3:13) You know, we’re incredibly fortunate here. (3:17) The company was founded in this heritage of partnership.

(3:21) It’s in our DNA. (3:23) And every single one of our three CEOs (3:26) has proudly focused on partnership. (3:31) And, you know, Satya always says, (3:32) this company has always been (3:34) and will always be a partner-led company.

(3:36) It’s pretty exciting. (3:38) You know, when I, if you think about (3:40) where the company started, (3:42) we started with this really bold vision (3:45) that technology could change the world. (3:47) And it certainly has and continues to, you know.

(3:52) And I heard your very nice introduction, by the way. (3:55) Thank you. (3:55) You know, Microsoft is so proud (3:57) to have 500,000 partners in our ecosystem.

(4:01) It’s remarkable. (4:02) We actually, we grew the size of our partner ecosystem (4:05) 20% year on year in the last year. (4:08) That’s fantastic.

(4:08) And there’s a whole bunch of reasons why. (4:11) And, you know, it’s really exciting (4:12) to see the excitement and enthusiasm (4:15) for everything we’re doing. (4:16) And, you know, you and I go way back.

(4:19) And it started in this company. (4:21) Well, you know, I’m sorry we were five. (4:22) You were a lot younger than I was.

(4:25) But, you know, it started with building (4:28) and selling Windows PCs in the office, (4:32) still going strong today. (4:34) And then we sort of evolved into cloud migrations. (4:37) And then, of course, now it’s all about the era of AI.

(4:42) And, you know, our partners are really the backbone (4:45) of AI transformation, solving complex customer challenges (4:49) around the world. (4:51) Microsoft has always been really deeply committed (4:53) to partner success. (4:55) And I love just seeing how amazing it is (5:00) to see our partners thriving in this time.

(5:04) We, just last year, we did some IDC research. (5:07) And the research told us that for every $1 (5:09) of Microsoft revenue, our services partners (5:12) earn $8.45. (5:14) Wow, that’s outstanding. (5:15) And our software partners earn $10.93. (5:18) And it’s one of the measures we hold ourselves to.

(5:20) It’s really, really important that we can create (5:23) a healthy, thriving, profitable ecosystem for our partners. (5:28) Then you add generative AI on top. (5:30) And, wow, like hockey stick growth in so many dimensions.

(5:33) It’s amazing to see just the growth faster (5:37) than the overall IT market, which is amazing. (5:40) Generative AI, fastest platform adoption (5:43) in the history of technology. (5:46) These stats are pretty awesome, if you think about it.

(5:49) It took mobile 16 years. (5:52) And then it took the internet seven years (5:54) to reach 100 million users. (5:57) LLMs achieved that in months.

(5:59) It’s incredible. (6:00) Right, and we’re just getting started. (6:02) And for me, when I look across our partner ecosystem, (6:06) and I see the demand and opportunity for the work (6:10) that every single one of our partner types is doing, (6:13) it makes me really motivated and excited.

(6:16) And then the partners that are betting their business (6:18) on Microsoft AI, those with more than 25% (6:21) of their Microsoft revenue on AI, (6:24) receive higher margins and revenue growth. (6:28) And, you know, I’m just incredibly proud (6:32) to see what we’ve already done in our 50 years. (6:36) And I know so much excitement ahead.

(6:38) Just getting started. (6:39) What is it that Bill has always said, right? (6:42) We expect too much in the first year or two. (6:44) We expect rapid growth, but we underestimate (6:47) what we’ll see in 10 years.

(6:49) That’s right. (6:49) I think we will underestimate what we see (6:51) in three and four years. (6:52) Oh, absolutely, and I am beyond confident (6:55) that it’s actually our partner ecosystem (6:56) that will lead the way here and teach us all things (6:59) that we never imagined.

(7:00) Yeah, it’s going to be an outstanding day (7:02) of conversations around these topics. (7:04) So glad you could join us for this. (7:07) So we’re at the end of 2025, Microsoft 2025.

(7:11) People don’t always understand (7:12) the fiscal year differences, right? (7:14) Hey, two months have to go. (7:15) Let’s not forget it’s Q4 at Microsoft. (7:18) Yes, get out there and sell partners.

(7:20) We still always get encouraged, that’s right. (7:23) People don’t understand, if you haven’t been (7:24) around Microsoft for a long time, right? (7:26) July 1st is the beginning of a new year. (7:28) Yes.

(7:28) And I think it’s a super important time (7:31) to have you here because it is like giving people (7:34) a little bit of a forward glance to what’s happening. (7:37) Like there has been a lot of change, right? (7:38) A lot of change, transformation, (7:40) and I would love for you to share (7:41) with our incredible partner ecosystem (7:44) what you’re seeing and where we’re going. (7:46) I think we’ve definitely accomplished (7:48) more than a year’s worth of stuff (7:50) in the 10 months of this year so far.

(7:53) So I’m just incredibly proud and grateful (7:55) for the excellence I see across the ecosystem. (7:59) For Microsoft, it’s been a record year (8:01) of investment in our partner ecosystem (8:03) and I’m thrilled to be able to say that. (8:06) There are several things we’re doing.

(8:09) For us, it starts with our five MCAPS priorities. (8:13) Every Microsoft employee sort of has these (8:15) tattooed on their foreheads. (8:16) Yes, right up here.

(8:17) And the thing that’s cool is I love it (8:19) when I’m having partner conversations (8:21) and we talk about the work that our partners (8:24) are doing across the five priorities. (8:26) So they’re co-pilot on every device, (8:29) AI design wins, securing cyber foundations (8:32) for every customer’s, delivering the M365 core, (8:37) and of course, cloud migrations (8:39) because customers can’t take advantage (8:40) of all of this amazing AI goodness (8:42) until they’re in the cloud. (8:45) There’s a few reasons why understanding (8:48) these priorities I think is so beneficial (8:50) to our partners.

(8:51) Number one, understanding how Microsoft sells, (8:55) how we coach our own sellers, (8:56) I think is incredibly valuable (8:58) because it allows us to go to market together in harmony. (9:03) Excuse me, the second thing is we pooled (9:06) our partner incentives around those five priorities. (9:09) So there’s real economic benefit (9:12) for every partner out there to get after them.

(9:15) So important. (9:16) Yeah, and the thing that I’m really excited about (9:18) is these priorities apply to every customer segment, (9:23) every partner type. (9:24) So whether you’re an SI, an ISV, a channel partner, (9:27) a device partner, you name it, (9:29) there’s a role for you to play in these priorities.

(9:32) And this is really about how we support your work (9:35) as you deliver value to our customers. (9:38) The next thing is, you’ll hear us talk a lot (9:42) about customer zero, and Vince, (9:44) you’ll remember the days where we talked dog food, (9:46) which I just saw. (9:47) I’m so glad we got rid of dog food.

(9:49) We’re so over that. (9:50) Then we were drinking our own champagne, (9:52) but now we’re in the era of customer zero. (9:55) Customer zero really means that we use our own things first.

(10:00) And Microsoft has always had this principle of doing it, (10:03) but it’s actually more important than ever with AI. (10:08) And where I’m seeing the most growth, (10:11) the most rapid transformation in our partner ecosystem (10:16) is those partners that are utilizing this technology (10:19) in their own business, (10:20) because that’s when you have the most credible examples, (10:24) the most authentic experiences (10:26) to go have those customer conversations. (10:28) Customers are counting on you (10:30) to help them understand what to do in their business, (10:33) and they’re looking for you to tell them how you’ve done it.

(10:36) And when we talk about AI transformation at Microsoft, (10:40) we talk about it in terms of enriching employee experiences, (10:46) reinventing customer engagement, (10:48) reshaping business processes, (10:50) and then bending the curve on innovation. (10:52) And there’s just- (10:53) Oh, I love bending the curve. (10:55) Bending the curve, yeah.

(10:56) We love to bend the curve around here. (10:59) You know, it’s really amazing to see (11:02) what each part of our partner ecosystem is doing. (11:05) It’s actually been less than 12 months (11:08) since we launched Copilot Plus PCs, (11:11) you know, near and dear to my heart.

(11:14) It’s amazing to see what our device ecosystem is doing (11:17) with the most powerful NPUs in the market, (11:20) you know, provided by our largest silicon partners. (11:23) Our ISV ecosystem, you know, (11:25) this is a place where there’s just, (11:28) we’re just fueling innovation in the market. (11:31) And the things I love the most (11:32) are when I see these solutions come out (11:35) from ISVs around the world (11:38) that are just helping customers solve real problems.

(11:43) There’s a really cool example recently from Sitecore. (11:46) They introduced some capability (11:49) that helps marketers pre-test content (11:54) before they publish it. (11:55) It sounds so obvious, right? (11:56) But they didn’t have that capability (11:59) until Sitecore introduced it, (12:01) and it’s running on Azure and Azure Open AI.

(12:04) And so I love it when it solves (12:06) really real-world problems for people. (12:09) You know, our systems integrators (12:11) are really leading the way, (12:12) particularly around industry solutions. (12:15) It’s been really impressive to see (12:17) the way that system integrators have paired (12:19) our customer solution areas with AI capability (12:22) across industries, delivering real value.

(12:25) And then, last but certainly not least, (12:27) our channel partners. (12:29) You know, the channel is really the face of Microsoft (12:32) in so many cases for the small (12:34) and medium enterprise customer. (12:37) And I’m really, really proud to see (12:39) the way the channel has embraced, (12:41) you know, supporting the entire lifecycle, (12:44) or we like to say all five MSEM stages.

(12:47) There’s so much TAM to be captured here. (12:51) $661 billion of TAM (12:53) in the small and medium enterprise segment. (12:56) So welcome, one and all.

(12:58) There’s lots to do here. (13:00) And you know, this is a place (13:02) where we are heavily, heavily investing (13:05) in these partners for growth. (13:07) 70% of our investments are pooled toward the partners (13:11) that service the small and medium enterprise segment.

(13:14) So it’s an opportunity. (13:14) And we’ll hear from some of your leadership (13:16) on how to best engage with sellers, (13:19) as partners working with sellers in those organizations. (13:22) We’re also gonna hear from the SMB market as well.

(13:24) We’ve got both Pax8 and Ingram Micro (13:26) coming on stage here over the next two days. (13:28) What an incredible opportunity now, right, (13:30) to take some of the modernization and marketplace (13:34) and extend it out and be much more deliberate (13:37) with smaller customers. (13:38) Yes, yeah.

(13:39) The SMB space in particular is a segment (13:44) with so much growth opportunity (13:45) and so much dependence on very strong, capable partners. (13:51) Yeah, so it’s an incredible, incredible opportunity. (13:53) You’re gonna hear things on stage here.

(13:55) They’re gonna hear some more from what you’re sharing, (13:56) but also from some of your leaders (13:58) that are gonna share some more. (13:59) There’s gonna be some very insightful (14:01) and provocative conversations the next two days. (14:04) So let’s talk about 2026.

(14:06) So people are like, happy new year. (14:07) Like July 1st is just around the corner. (14:09) So I know you have been incredibly busy.

(14:12) I know what this time of year is like, a lot of change. (14:16) Let’s observe what happened in the year so far. (14:18) Let’s address what’s not working right.

(14:21) Let’s pivot to what’s working even better. (14:23) And then you’re laying it out, right, (14:25) in the next couple months. (14:26) I’m excited for what you’re gonna be providing.

(14:28) These partners need to listen in to you (14:30) on what’s happening. (14:31) Yeah, we’ve been hard at work for planning, (14:34) and you nailed exactly how we do it, by the way. (14:36) That’s awesome.

(14:37) I’m really excited about what we’re doing. (14:39) I would start with what isn’t changing, (14:42) because I think that’s really important. (14:44) Our five priorities are enduring.

(14:48) We’ve seen really great momentum (14:50) from our partner ecosystem. (14:53) The partners that have embraced these (14:55) are making meaningful progress with customers (14:57) and we just wanna continue to fuel that. (15:01) We will continue significant AI investment, (15:05) and we will do all of this (15:07) through the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program.

(15:09) And this is where any partner can get the technology, (15:13) the tools, all of the capability (15:15) to build healthy, profitable businesses (15:17) where we co-sell together. (15:20) And so I think that it’s super important (15:22) for partners to understand that. (15:23) I am also going to encourage everyone (15:26) to plan to attend MCAP Start for Partners.

(15:29) That’ll be on July 15th, so two weeks into our fiscal year. (15:34) We do this readiness event. (15:36) At the same time, we’re readying all of our sellers.

(15:39) So partners get access to the exact same information (15:42) that Microsoft’s entire field sales force gets, (15:45) and it’s all about ensuring that you have access (15:47) to the latest and greatest, (15:49) all the goodies in our toolkit for next year. (15:53) And that’s gonna be digitally available. (15:55) So everybody in the 500,000 can all embrace (15:59) and this change is happening.

(16:00) And we will not be shy about letting everybody know (16:03) when registration opens. (16:04) That’s coming soon. (16:05) And one more thing.

(16:07) I know everybody’s busy here today, (16:09) but we did publish a blog today, this morning, (16:12) with a lot of new CSP announcements. (16:14) Yes, please share that. (16:15) So don’t distract yourselves from today’s amazing agenda, (16:19) but maybe when you go back to your hotel rooms, (16:21) check out the blog.

(16:23) Because we’ve announced a ton of new capability (16:26) for the CSP partners, the Cloud Solution Provider partners. (16:31) There are a couple things I’ll share here. (16:33) Number one, probably the most requested thing (16:36) from every partner and frankly, every employee at Microsoft (16:40) is today we’ve announced we’re introducing (16:42) three-year CSP SKUs for M365 and Teams Enterprise.

(16:47) I’m really, really thrilled about this. (16:49) We’ll have some nice promotions to support it as well. (16:52) And the other thing that we’ve been really hard at work on (16:56) is enhancing CSP capability with systems and tools, (17:01) reporting, enabling better upgrades, upsell, renewals.

(17:06) As you would imagine, all of this is infused with AI. (17:10) All designed to make sure that we have a healthy, (17:13) profitable, thriving ecosystem. (17:16) We’re also updating some of our authorization requirements.

(17:19) We’ll align our incentives to all of that. (17:22) There’s tons of information in the blog, (17:24) so I encourage everyone to go check it out. (17:27) And really, this is all designed to ensure (17:29) that our partners can deliver great success (17:32) to our customers.

(17:33) I know your team has been hard at work on this (17:35) and so you have some incredible leaders been driving. (17:38) The system and tools component alone is really enhanced (17:41) and been enriched over the last couple of years. (17:44) Yes.

(17:44) Great teams work there. (17:46) Lots of AI capability there. (17:48) We have to be our own customer zero, right? (17:51) Absolutely, yes.

(17:52) I love it, I love it. (17:54) So what advice do you have for these partners? (17:56) Obviously the CSP reading all of that, (17:58) what advice do you have for them in terms of leading in? (18:01) We obviously talked about the co-selling, (18:04) the ability to engage, understanding the priorities (18:07) at the SEMCAPS event. (18:09) Anything else in particular we should be aware of (18:11) and lean in on? (18:13) Yeah, you know I like threes, (18:15) so I’ll go with three things.

(18:17) Yes, please. (18:18) First of all, I really encourage partners (18:21) to continue to take advantage of all of the skilling (18:24) we’re pumping out into the market. (18:26) Record year of skilling investments this fiscal year (18:30) for really, really good reason.

(18:33) I don’t know about you, (18:34) but I feel like the rapid pace of advancement (18:37) of the technology is challenging each of us (18:40) to really stay current. (18:41) Exactly. (18:42) And so, you know, please take advantage of the skilling.

(18:46) The partners that leverage our skilling the best (18:48) are also the ones that have earned designations, (18:51) earned specializations, generating more revenue (18:54) and more profit. (18:55) There’s a very, very logical connection there. (18:58) So I encourage everyone to do that.

(19:00) The second thing is, obviously I talk a lot about CSP. (19:05) We’re quite excited about the investments here. (19:08) I really encourage our CSP partners (19:11) to focus on developing the muscle of upsell.

(19:15) The beautiful thing about CSP (19:17) is that it’s this always on motion. (19:19) So when you’re renewing an ME3 customer, as an example, (19:24) we wanna help you get all of the tools you need (19:28) to do the upsell. (19:29) And that could be attaching co-pilots.

(19:31) It could be attaching a mini bundle. (19:32) It could be upsell to ME5. (19:34) There are a wealth of tools available to our partners (19:38) to help you do that.

(19:39) And at the same time, we are skilling our own sellers (19:42) to do this work with you together. (19:45) This is the next wave of how we work together (19:48) with CSP as a hero motion in our business. (19:51) And then last but not least, (19:53) I have to say it again, customer zero.

(19:55) It’s really, really important. (19:57) The partners that utilize this tech (20:01) are truly the ones that are the most credible (20:04) and really leading the way with customers. (20:06) I would encourage every partner out there (20:09) to go check out CoPilot Chat.

(20:11) It’s free. (20:12) So there’s no blocker here. (20:15) And it’s a great way to familiarize yourself (20:18) with the easiest way to experience AI.

(20:21) And it also allows you to build agents. (20:25) And the thing that’s really powerful about this (20:28) is agentic is the most asked about topic. (20:33) You know, if you go into the ABC just next door, (20:35) there isn’t an ABC with a customer (20:38) where they don’t ask us about agentic.

(20:40) And so we’re in this zone of bringing in partners (20:45) that have already built their own agents (20:46) inside their own businesses. (20:48) Microsoft is doing this ourselves too. (20:51) And so the partners that are customer zero (20:54) on this technology are the best equipped (20:57) to co-sell with us and go to market with us.

(20:59) So I’m quite excited about this. (21:01) And Nicole, you could have, (21:02) it’s almost like I gave you a list of things (21:04) to cover for people because we’re gonna cover (21:06) so many of these topics up on stage the next few days. (21:09) That’s awesome.

(21:09) So, so great to have you back here. (21:11) Thank you. (21:12) Your leadership is commendable, (21:14) really commendable for what you’ve been driving (21:15) to the organization, (21:17) the alignment of the sales organization (21:19) and some of the work your team has been doing (21:21) just this year alone.

(21:22) But everything you’ve done to support this ecosystem (21:24) in such a big way, (21:25) I applaud you for all the work that you’ve done, (21:28) the support of this Microsoft ecosystem (21:29) and these partners up here today. (21:31) So thank you so much for making the time for us (21:33) at a very busy time of year. (21:35) Thank you.

(21:35) Thank you for all of your support (21:37) and just a massive thank you again to all of our partners. (21:41) Your success is phenomenal. (21:43) I’m so inspired by it and I’m beyond confident (21:46) in what you’re gonna deliver in the year ahead.

(21:48) It’s gonna be an incredible year. (21:49) Yeah. (21:49) It’s just getting started.

(21:50) So glad to have you help us kick it off. (21:53) Thank you. (21:53) And coming up on stage with me.

(21:54) Thank you. (21:55) I so appreciate you. (21:56) Thank you.

(21:56) Thank you. (21:57) I have to take my beautiful award. (21:58) Yes, yes.

(21:59) Thank you. (22:00) I love to see it up on your mantle. (22:02) Absolutely.

(22:02) Thank you so much. (22:04) Thank you so much. (22:05) How about a round of applause for Nicole? (22:07) Is that incredible?nd some procurement things, right? Because they just went in, did it through the portal with the existing agreement, so it’s a little easier on them. So that’s kind of where you, yeah, they didn’t get the Mac decrement, but it, it is a better story for them

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Key Tags:

Microsoft, Partner Ecosystem, AI Transformation, Nicole Deason, Microsoft Partners, Generative AI, Cloud Solution Provider (CSP), MCAPS Priorities, Customer Zero, Skilling, Business Growth, Profitability, SMB, Fiscal Year 2026, Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program, Innovation, Industry Solutions, Channel Partners, System Integrators, ISVs.