The automated Support Services designation experience is now available in Partner Center
On this page5 sections
- What you'll find in Partner Center
- What does this mean for partners who already hold the Support Services designation?
- What does this mean for partners who have already started the enrollment process?
- What does this mean for partners who are interested in attaining the designation but haven't started the process yet?
- Next steps
Partners can self-nominate, enroll in, and access relevant information related to the Support Services designation in Partner Center.
- Impacted audience
- The Support Services designation is open to Distributors & Direct Bill CSPs who hold any Solution Partner designation and have a support offer
At Microsoft Ignite 2025, we announced the availability of the Support Services designation for qualified distributor and direct bill Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) partners. Following that announcement, we're pleased to share that as of March 31, 2026, the automated solution for Support Services designation enrollment will be available for partners to access in Partner Center. With this more streamlined, efficient process for partners, you can now access a single dashboard to self-nominate, track progress, and access relevant information related to the designation attainment.
The manual process gives partners access to the Support Services designation walking deck and limited visibility into the audit process.
Partners submit capability information and receive their pass/fail report via email. The automated process, on the other hand, gives full visibility into the end-to-end process from onboarding and audit through renewal, reducing processing time.
What you'll find in Partner Center
Visit Partner Center to access a guided experience that includes a single dashboard that houses all the functions and resources you need to self-nominate and attain this designation. You'll find:
- Information on what the designation entails and who qualifies.
- Your organization's progress toward attaining the designation.
- The onboarding process.
- The audit process.
- The downloadable badge, once attained.
What does this mean for partners who already hold the Support Services designation?
Partners who already hold the Support Services designation will have their data migrated into the new automated process in Partner Center starting on March 31, 2026.
When you reach your renewal window, 90 days before your designation anniversary date, you'll now access the renewal process through Partner Center.
No further action is needed, though we highly encourage you to familiarize yourself with the dashboard once your data is migrated in.
What does this mean for partners who have already started the enrollment process?
Partners who began the manual attainment process but haven't yet completed enrollment continue to use the manual process outside of Partner Center. Once this process is completed and your designation is attained, your data is migrated into the Partner Center dashboard.
When you reach your renewal window, 90 days before your designation anniversary date, you'll now access the renewal process through Partner Center.
What does this mean for partners who are interested in attaining the designation but haven't started the process yet?
The Support Services designation is designed to differentiate organizations who demonstrate support excellence. If you're a distributor or direct bill CSP partner who already holds at least one Solutions Partner designation, has an active support offer through either Advanced Support for Partners (ASfP) or Premier Support for Partners (PSfP), and meets stringent criteria for excellence in support, we strongly encourage you to work towards attainment today, which unlocks Microsoft support benefits, elevated support, performance incentives, and more.
If you haven't yet started the attainment process for the Support Services designation but are interested in doing so, you can self-nominate in the newly released Partner Center experience. Once you're enrolled in the process, your data appears in the dashboard, where you are able to track your progress, the audit process, and more as you move through the guided attainment steps.
Next steps
Review the Microsoft Learn page to get more details on the benefits of attaining a Support Services designation, how to qualify, the attainment and enrollment process, and more.
We also recommend you visit Partner Center to view the dashboard.