October designation updates
On this page3 sections
More ways to attain the Solutions Partner designation for Security, and AB-650 replaces MS-102 for the Modern Work solution path.
- Impacted audience
- Partners holding the Solutions Partner designation for Security, partners holding the Solutions Partner designation for AI Business Solutions (via the Modern Work solution path)
This month brings two updates to Solutions Partner designations. New Azure security workloads are now eligible toward the Solutions Partner designation for Security, and the AB-650 certification is being added to the advanced skilling metric of the Solutions Partner designation for AI Business Solutions (via the Modern Work solution path).
More ways to attain the Solutions Partner designation for Security
Stand out from the competition and unlock benefits that grow your business with more ways to attain the Solutions Partner designation for Security.
New Azure Consumed Revenue (ACR) workloads for Azure security now count toward the Solutions Partner designation for Security, offering more recognized workload paths to demonstrate performance, strengthen market differentiation, and move closer to designation attainment.
Newly added and renamed eligible workloads include:
- Application Gateway
- Azure Active Directory B2C
- Azure Active Directory for External Identities
- Azure Bastion
- Azure DDoS Protection
- Azure Firewall
- Azure Firewall Manager
- Azure Front Door Service
- Azure IoT Security
- Key Vault
- Microsoft Defender for Cloud
- Microsoft Entra
- Microsoft Entra Domain Services
- Microsoft Entra Verified ID
- Microsoft Purview
- Microsoft Security Copilot
- Microsoft Sentinel
The Network Watcher workload is no longer an eligible workload for this designation.
AB-650 certification replaces MS-102 for the Modern Work solution path
To address the Microsoft 365 Certified: Administrator Expert (MS-102) retirement, Microsoft 365 Certified: AI Services Administrator Associate (AB-650) is being added to the advanced skilling metric of the Solutions Partner designation for AI Business Solutions (via the Modern Work solution path).
MS-102 retires November 30, 2026, and AB-650 launches October 30, 2026. If you complete the MS-102 certification before its retirement, you'll keep earning points for it through November 30, 2027.
Next steps
- Review Partner Center to find out how the expanded workload eligibility may advance your path to the Solutions Partner designation for Security.
- Obtain the new AB-650 certification to maintain your Modern Work solution path points.