Windows Server and SQL Server Migration

to Microsoft Azure Advanced Specialization

Program guide, audit checklist, and FAQ

Valid July 1, 2021 – Dec 31, 2021

Version V 2.0
Program Updates and Announcements
Update May 05, 2021
New Audit Fee Schedule

Please note the new audit fee schedule effective July 1, 2021

For audits comprised of both modules A and B, the audit fee is $3,000 USD
For audits comprised of module B alone (available for partners who previously passed module
A), the fee is $2,000 USD

The audit fee for Analytics on Microsoft Azure version 1.0 audit is $2,000 USD through August 31,
2021

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Contents

Windows Server and SQL Server Migration to Microsoft Azure advanced specialization ..................... 4
Application phases ...................................................................................................................... 6
Audit checklists ................................................................................................................................. 9
Payment terms and conditions ...................................................................................................... 19
Pricing schedule ......................................................................................................................... 19
Payment terms ........................................................................................................................... 19
Partner FAQ: Audit ......................................................................................................................... 20
Roles ........................................................................................................................................... 22
Partner FAQ: Advanced specialization overview .......................................................................... 25

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Windows Server and SQL Server Migration to
Microsoft Azure advanced specialization
Program Overview
Workload migration presents partners with a unique opportunity to secure long-term cloud relationships
with customers that can lead to high-value, innovative services and managed services that bring in new,
recurring revenue streams.

The Windows Server and SQL Server Migration to Microsoft Azure advanced specialization allows partners
with an active Gold Cloud Platform competency to further differentiate their organizations by demonstrating
their expertise in migrating and optimizing Windows Server-based and SQL Server-based workloads to Azure.

Partners who earn an advanced specialization will have a customer-facing label displayed on their business
profile and will be prioritized in customer searches in the Microsoft Partner Directory. For these reasons, this
opportunity is available only to partners who meet stringent requirements, which include a third-party audit to
prove they have met the highest Microsoft standards of service delivery and support.

This document defines the requirements for the Windows Server and SQL Server Migration to Microsoft
Azure advanced specialization program and provides guidelines for the auditing process.

Program status term

When a partner meets all prerequisite requirements shown in Partner Center and Microsoft receives a valid
Pass Report from the third-party audit company, the partner will be awarded Windows Server and SQL
Server Migration to Microsoft Azure advanced specialization for one calendar year.

The status and the Windows Server and SQL Server Migration to Microsoft Azure advanced specialization
label can be used only by the organization (determined by Partner Center MPN PGA ID account) and any
associated locations (determined by MPN PLA ID) that met all requirements and passed the audit. Any
subsidiary or affiliated organizations represented by separate Partner Center accounts (MPN PGA ID) may
not advertise the status or display the associated label.

Audit information
The audit checklist will be updated to stay current with technology and market changes. The audit will be
conducted by an independent, third-party auditor.

Partners may apply for the audit only after all other program requirements have been fully met. Partners
must complete the audit within thirty (30) calendar days of the audit application, and they must complete
it against the then-current program requirements.

Partners will be awarded a Pass or No Pass result upon completion of the audit process, including if they
withdraw from the audit process. The Pass result is valid for one calendar year.

Partners that receive a No Pass result will be locked out of reapplying for six months. They may reapply to
be audited again at the end of this period, provided that they still meet all other program requirements.

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Renewing the advanced specialization
Partners must renew annually by meeting the requirements that are current at the time of their renewal. The
requirements will be published in Partner Center.

How to apply
Only administrators of an organization’s Microsoft partner account can submit an application for the advanced
specialization on behalf of the organization.

Partners with the appropriate role and access permissions can apply. To do so, they sign into their Partner
Center account. On the left pane, select Competencies, and then select Adv. Specialization.

Application phases

Step Action Responsibility

1 Review requirements in Partner Center. Partner

In the initial application phase, applications are submitted in two stages:

1. Prerequisite requirements
2. Audit

Recommended: Before you begin, review the audit checklist thoroughly. Do

not start the application process unless you are ready to undertake the
audit. Assess your ability to complete the audit, including considerations for
readiness, employee availability, and holidays.

2 Validate that the partner meets all requirements prior to audit. Microsoft

3 Confirm to the third-party audit company that the partner is eligible for Microsoft
audit.

4 Schedule and confirm audit within two (2) business days. Auditor (with
partner)

5 Conduct the audit within thirty (30) calendar days of the approval for audit. Auditor

6 Provide a Gap Report to the partner within two (2) business days of Auditor
thecompleted audit, listing any Open Action Items. *

7 Within two (2) business days of receiving the Gap Report, the partner Partner
acknowledges receipt of the report and schedules a Gap Review
Meeting.

8 Within fifteen (15) calendar days of receiving the Gap Report, the partner Auditor (with
schedules the Gap Review Meeting with the auditor to provide partner)
evidence and address any Open Action Items. *

9 Issue Final Report to the partner. Auditor

Notify Microsoft of audit Pass or No Pass result.

10 Notify the partner about program status. Microsoft

* These steps will be skipped if the partner has no Open Action Items after the audit.

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Meet the prerequisite requirements
Applications for Azure advanced specializations are submitted in two phases. In the first phase, the
partner must meet the prerequisite requirements in Partner Center.

Schedule your audit

Partners that meet all program prerequisites may apply for an audit in Partner Center by selecting
schedule audit. We recommend that partners first review the audit checklist in detail before applying for
the audit. Each partner must assess their ability to complete the audit, including considerations for
readiness, employee availability, and holidays. After a partner applies for the audit, it must be scheduled
and completed within thirty (30) calendar days. Failure to complete the audit in this time will result in an
automatic No Pass report, which is entered into Partner Center as Audit Failed.

After the partner applies to schedule the audit, Partner Center will issue an automated message that
connects the partner to ISSI. The partners will receive a communication from ISSI asking them to propose
dates for their audit.

The audit company will make every effort to accommodate the partner’s requested audit date and will
attempt to schedule an auditor in the region closest to the remote audit location. After the date and
auditor are confirmed, the partner will be given a detailed confirmation of the audit day.

* Please note that there is a cost associated with the audit. See Payment Terms and Conditions.

The audit phase

Microsoft uses an independent, third-party audit company, Information Security Systems International,
LLC (ISSI), to schedule and conduct advanced specialization audits.

Prior to the audit, partners are expected to have undertaken a thorough review of the audit checklist,
compiled all required evidence, and ensured that the right subject matter experts (SMEs) are available to
present that evidence.

After the audit date has been confirmed, ISSI will provide an agenda to the partner. During the audit, the
partner must provide access to the appropriate personnel who can discuss and disclose evidence that
demonstrates compliance with program requirements. We highly recommend that subject matter experts
for each section attend.

On the day of the audit, the partner must be prepared to provide the auditor with access to live
demonstrations, documents, and personnel, as necessary to demonstrate compliance with the
requirements.

During the audit, the auditor will seek to verify that the partner’s evidence has addressed all required
audit checklist items satisfactorily.

The audit can produce either of two outcomes:

1. The partner passes the audit.

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 • The auditor will present a brief synopsis of the audit. This will include identifying observed
strengths and opportunities for improvement.

• The auditor will provide a Final Report to the partner.

• The auditor will notify Microsoft.

2. The partner does not satisfy all checklist items during the audit.

• The auditor will present a brief synopsis of the audit at the end of the day, including observed
strengths and Open Action Items, as outlined in the Gap Report, within two (2) business days.

• The partner will acknowledge receipt of the Gap Report within two (2) business days.

• The partner will move into the Gap Review phase and schedule their Gap Review Meeting
within fifteen (15) calendar days.

The Gap Review

If the partner does not, to the auditor’s satisfaction, provide evidence that meets the required scores
across all audit categories during the audit, the partner will move into a Gap Review. A Gap Review is part
of the audit and completes the process.

Within two business days after the audit, the partner will receive a Gap Report, which details any Open
Action Items and the outstanding required evidence. The partner then has two business days to
acknowledge receipt of the Gap Report and schedule a Gap Review Meeting. The Gap Review Meeting is
conducted with the auditor over the partner’s virtual conference platform of choice. The meeting must
take place within fifteen (15) calendar days of when the Gap Report was sent, and it may last no longer
than one (1) hour. During the Gap Review Meeting the partner must present evidence that addresses any
and all Open Action Items.

The Gap Review Meeting can produce either of two outcomes:

1. The partner resolves all Open Action Items.

• The auditor confirms that the partner has provided the required evidence.
• The auditor provides a Final Report to the partner.
• The auditor notifies Microsoft about the outcome (subject to Auditor Terms and Conditions).

2. The partner does not resolve all Open Action Items.

• The auditor presents a brief synopsis of the audit, including missed items.
• The partner receives a Final Report that details the missed items.
• The auditor notifies Microsoft about the outcome (subject to Auditor Terms and Conditions).

If the partner is still unable to provide satisfactory evidence to the auditor during their Gap Review
Meeting, the partner will be deemed to have failed the audit. Partners that still want to earn this advanced
specialization will need to begin the application process again.

Completion of the audit

The audit process concludes when ISSI issues the Final Report after the audit or after the Gap Review.

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Preparing for the audit: Optional ISSI consulting offers
ISSI provides optional extensive, in-depth consulting engagements to help partners prepare for their
Azure advanced specialization audit. Partners can work directly with ISSI to schedule this remote session
(via online web conference). For more information about this type of in-depth engagement, see Azure
Advanced Specializations - Consulting Offer.

Alternatively, partners can participate in an optional, one (1) hour, live audit preparation overview session
provided by ISSI. This session provides a high-level overview of key aspects of the advanced specialization
audit process. The session includes a discussion of the checklist requirements along with best practices to
help partners prepare for the audit. Partners work directly with ISSI to schedule this remote session (via
online web conference). For more information about this session, see Azure Advanced Specializations -
Audit Preparation Overview.

To ensure objectivity, audits are conducted by a different ISSI auditor than the one that is engaged for
consulting. Consulting engagements can be scheduled at any time using the partner’s preferred
conferencing platform.

* Please note that there is a cost associated with the consulting and audit preparations services. See
Payment Terms and Conditions.

Audit checklists
The Windows Server and SQL Server Migration to Microsoft Azure advanced specialization audit checklist
contains two modules, Cloud Foundation and Windows Server and SQL Server Migration to Azure
workload. The Cloud Foundation module evaluates the use of a consistent methodology and process for
Azure adoption that is aligned with customers’ expected outcomes, spanning the entire cloud adoption
lifecycle. The Windows Server and SQL Server Migration to Azure workload module validates that the
partner has adopted robust processes to ensure customer success across all phases of deploying
Windows Server and SQL Server Migration solutions, from the assessment phase to design, pilot,
implementation, and post-implementation phases. Review the following audit checklist table for more
details about each control phase and to learn how the partner will be evaluated for an audit.

Module A: Cloud Foundation

1. Strategy
2. Plan
3. Environment readiness and Azure landing zone
4. Governance
5. Manage

Module B: Windows Server and SQL Server Migration to Microsoft Azure workload
1. Assess
2. Design
3. Deployment

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4. Review and release for operations

To pass the audit, the partner must complete all audit checklist items.

Module A: Cloud Foundation is required for multiple Azure advance specializations. To completeModule A:
Cloud Foundation, the partner needs to pass all controls in Module A by providing thespecified evidence.
Alternatively, the partner may present evidence of a previous pass result fromModule A or from another
advanced specialization audit conducted on V 2.0 or later.

Module B: Windows Server and SQL Server Migration to Azure workload. Each control has one ormore
requirements and required evidence the partner must provide for the auditor. Both the requirements and the
required evidence are defined in the following tables. For some controls, areference customer or customer
evidence is the documentation requested. Unless otherwise stated, the partner must show at least three (3)
unique customers with deployments completed within the last twelve (twelve (12)) months. The partner can
use the same customer across audit checklistcontrols, or they can use a different customer. For audit evidence
relating to customer engagements, the partner can use a customer case study and reference it multiple times.

Module A: Cloud Foundation

1.0 Strategy

The partner must have a defined approach for helping their customer evaluate and define a cloud adoption
strategy beyond an individual asset (app, VM, or data).

Partner roles required

Solution Architect, Data Architect

Requirement
1.1 The partner must have a process that captures the data-driven business strategies being used to
guide customer decisions. Their process should include, at minimum, the following:

• A strategy review for capturing the customer’s business needs and/or problems the
customer is trying to solve.

Required evidence:
A report, presentation, or document that captures strategic inputs and decisions for two (2) unique
customers, with projects completed in the past twelve (12) months that are aligned with the
process. For an example, see the Strategy and plan template in the Cloud Adoption Framework for
Azure.

2.0 Plan

The partner must have a consistent approach to planning for cloud adoption that is based on the strategy outlined
in the preceding section.

Partner roles required

Project Manager, Solution Architect, Data Architect

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Requirement
2.1 The partner must have a process and approach for planning and tracking the completion of cloud
adoption projects. For an example of a cloud adoption plan, see the Azure DevOps Demo Generator
for the Cloud Adoption Framework.

Required evidence:
The partner must provide evidence of their capability with examples of two (2) unique customers,
with projects that were completed in the past twelve (12) months. Acceptable evidence must
include at leastone of the following:

• Cloud Adoption Plan Generator output

• Azure DevOps backlog
• Any other tools for project planning and tracking

3.0 Environment readiness and Azure landing zone

The partner must be able to demonstrate that the following design areas are addressed through their approach to
landing zone implementation.

Partner roles required

Platform Architect, Solution Architect

Requirement
3.1 Repeatable deployment
The partner must demonstrate adherence to Azure landing zone design areas through a
repeatable deployment. The deployment should configure, at minimum, the following identity,
network, and resource organization attributes:

• Identity
o Adoption of identity management solutions, such as Azure Active Directory or
equivalent

• Networking architecture design (topology)

o Adherence to the guidance in Review your network options
o Application of hybrid architectures that use Azure ExpressRoute, VPN Gateway, or
equivalent services for connecting local datacenters to Azure

• Resource organization
o Implementation of tagging and naming standards during the project

The partner should be able to demonstrate which of the following deployment velocity
approaches they use when they deploy Azure landing zones:

• Start small and expand: Azure landing zone does not deploy governance or operations
configurations, which are addressed later in the implementation.

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 • Enterprise-scale: Azure landing zones implement a standard approach to the
configuration of governance and operations tools prior to implementation.

• Alternative approach: If the partner follows a proprietary approach or a mixture of the

two approaches above, they must clearly articulate their approach to environment
configuration.

Required evidence:
The partner must provide evidence of a repeatable deployment they use to create landing zones
that they have deployed to two unique customer environments by using Azure Blueprints, ARM
templates, Terraform modules, or equivalent tools to automatically deploy the environment
configuration.

The provided template can be pulled directly from the provided implementation options, or it
can be based on the partner’s own IP. In either case, the script must demonstrate the
configuration of the identity, network, and resource organization, as described earlier.

4.0 Governance

The partner must demonstrate their customer’s role in governing cloud-based solutions and the Azure tools they
use to facilitate any government requirements their customer might have today or in the future.

Partner roles required

Platform Architect, Solution Architect, Data Architect

Requirement
4.1 Governance tooling
The partner must demonstrate the ability to deploy the required governance tools for two
unique customer projects.

Required evidence:
The partner must demonstrate the use of Azure Policy or equivalent tool to provide controls to
govern the environment for two unique customers with projects that were completed in the past
twelve (12) months.

5.0 Manage

The partner must demonstrate that they have set up their customer for operational success after the deployment is
completed. All partners have a role in setting up operations management, even if they do not provide long-term
managed services.

Partner roles required

Platform Architect, Solution Architect, Data Architect

Requirement

5.1 Operations management tooling

The partner must demonstrate the use of Azure products or equivalent to help their customer and/or

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 managed service provider operate the environment after deployment.

Required evidence:
The partner must demonstrate the deployment of at least one of the following Azure products or third-
party equivalents: Azure Monitor, Azure Security Center, Azure Automation, or Azure Backup/Site
Recovery, for two unique customers with projects that were completed in the past twelve (12) months.

Module B: Windows Server and SQL Server Migration to Azure workload

1.0 Assess

The partner must have a consistent approach for assessing customer requirements for the workload.

Partner roles required

Solution Architect, Data Architect

Requirement

1.1 Workload assessment

The partner must demonstrate how they assess each workload prior to migration to ensure that adequate
pre-migration or pre-deployment planning and sizing were performed.

The assessment must include mapping that shows the dependencies upstream from the resources that will
be migrated. It must also show:

• The data volumes and database sizes to be migrated.

• The migration timeline and approach.
• The migration risk assessment.
• Backup and disaster recovery for existing workloads.
• Licensing and cost management requirements.
• Documentation of the customer’s existing identity implementation on Azure, gaps identification,
and best practices recommendations.

Required evidence:
The partner should provide relevant design documents showing that the preceding items were reviewed for
at least three unique customers with Windows Server and SQL Server migration projects that were
completed within the past twelve (12) months. The partner must show that all assessment details were
considered for those customers. Assessments may be done manually or through an industry-accepted
assessment tool.

Accepted documentation: Output from assessment tools, such as Azure Migrate, Movere, or other similar
third-party tooling reports, assessment checklists, templates, questionnaires, or project plans.

2.0 Design

The partner has robust methodologies for designing the workload.

Partner roles required

Solution Architect, Data Architect

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Requirement

2.1 Solution design

The partner must provide solution designs that show a consistent approach to addressing customer
requirements that were captured from the assessment phase.

Completed migration projects must meet at least one of the following scenarios:

• Migration of Windows Server-based applications to Azure

• Migration of Microsoft SQL databases to Azure

The solution design must show:

• A migration design or strategy that outlines which applications, databases, or database auxiliary
components (reporting service, integration service) are in scope for the migration.

• An outline of the migration method (rehost, refactor, or replatform) to be used for the application,
database, database auxiliary components, and so on. It should show how the design addresses the
workload dependencies that were demonstrated in the assessment, with appropriate mitigations.

• The migration risk mitigation.

• The high-level migration sequence and estimated time to finish the migration.

• The validation of the successful migration completion.

• Azure landing zone: The environment that supports the reference deployments should address
each of the following required design areas. If an item is not relevant, the partner must document
the customer’s decision to deviate from applying best practices.

o Implementing Identity & Access Management (IAM) and role-based access control (RBAC),
data sovereignty and encryption, application security, and auditing.
o Establishing a hub and spoke architecture or retrofitting the existing deployment to separate
out the network components of a hub for optimal performance and security.
o Showing resource and perimeter security, such as bastion hosts, network security groups
and/or Azure Firewall, and/or virtual security and routing appliances with appropriate
monitoring.
o Using security products, such as Azure security services, Microsoft 365 security, or other
security solutions, to secure access to the data.
o Using governance tooling to support cost optimization across the environment. After
estimating the initial cost, setting budgets and alerts at different scopes to proactively
monitor the cost.
o Using backup and recovery solutions to ensure data retention.
o Meeting requirements for government regulatory compliance in the new environment, such
as GDPR and HIPAA, and implementing them through multiple datacenter regions, as
needed.
o Implementing a monitoring solution to provide proactive remediation for the Azure
environment, to integrate with the customer's existing monitoring tooling, if appropriate.
o Showing that visualization and alerting considerations for solutions are in place, where
appropriate.

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 Required evidence:
The partner must provide relevant solution design documents that address all the preceding points for at
least three unique customers with migration projects that were completed within the past twelve (12)
months.

Acceptable documentation: Project plan, functional specifications, solution design document, architectural
diagram, automated tooling reports, and physical and logical diagrams.
2.2 Well-Architected Review of workloads
The partner must demonstrate usage of the Azure Well-Architected Review on migrated workloads
applications.

The Well-Architected Review is designed to help partners evaluate their customers' workloads against the
latest set of industry best practices. It provides actionable guidance to design and improve those
workloads. The review can be used to evaluate each workload against the pillars of the Azure Well-
Architected Framework that might be applicable to that workload.

Required evidence:
The partner must provide exported results from the completed Well-Architected Review, using the
assessments in the review for at least three migrated Windows Server or Microsoft SQL workloads that
were completed within the past twelve (12) months, indicating the customer’s name. The three workloads
can comefrom one (1) or more customers.

3.0 Deployment

The partner has robust methodologies for deploying the workload.

Partner roles required

Solution Architect, Data Architect

Requirement

3.1 Infrastructure migration

The partner must provide evidence of their ability to implement an infrastructure migration of Windows
Server to a production environment based on customer approved designs, from one of the following Azure
scenarios:

• Move the application from an on-premises Windows Server to Azure infrastructure as a service
(IaaS).
• Move the application that is running on Windows Server from another public cloud platform to
Azure IaaS.

Required evidence:
The partner must provide documentation for three unique customers with infrastructure migrations of
Windows Server to production environments that were completed within the past twelve (12) months.

To cover the entire sequence of the project, including design and production deployment, the
documentation must include at least two of the following items:

• Signed statements of work (SOWs) for all projects

• Solution design documents for all projects
• The project plan and migration and deployment sequence
• Architecture diagrams

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 • High-level designs (HLDs) and low-level designs (LLDs)
• As-built documentation

3.2 Database migration

The partner must provide evidence of their ability to implement a SQL Server Database migration to a
production environment, based on customer-approved designs for two unique customers for each of the
following migration scenarios:

• Rehosting from SQL Server on-premises or from another public cloud to SQL IaaS on Azure.
• Replatforming from SQL Server on-premises or from another public cloud to SQL platform as a
service (PaaS) on Azure (SQL Database or SQL Managed Instance).

Required evidence:
The partner must provide documentation for each unique customer’s database migrations that align with
the solution design requirements in section 2. Each of the four database migration projects must have been
implemented within the past twelve (twelve (12)) months.

To cover the entire sequence of the project, including design and production deployment, the
documentation must include at least two of the following items:

• Signed SOWs for all projects

• Solution design documents for all projects
• The project plan and migration and deployment sequence
• Architecture diagrams
• HLDs and LLDs
• As-built documentation

3.3 Migration tools

The partner must demonstrate the specific products, tools, or scripts that were used for the assessment and
migration of workloads. The demonstration must be done in a customer-facing manner.

Required evidence:
Partners must prove experience with at least one of the following options through a demonstration of tools
(A, B, or C):

A. Show experience with using native Azure migration tools by providing a step-by-step demonstration
that they can effectively use at least four (4) of the following tools:

• Azure Migrate Server Assessment for VMware and Hyper-V

• Data Migration Assistant (DMA)
• SQL Server Migration Assistant (SSMA)
• Azure Migrate Server Migration VMware and Hyper-V (use of Azure Site Recovery is also
accepted)
• Azure Database Migration Service
• Storage Migration Service
B. Show experience with third-party tools that integrate with Azure Migrate by demonstrating a
customer project where assessment data is available from Azure Migrate or available to them offline and
they perform the migration by using third-party tooling.

C. Show experience with all other third-party tools by referencing the tools that they used in a project
plan for successfully migrating a customer to Azure, or by providing snapshots of results or an output
file from the tools that they used. Tools may include but are not limited to:

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 • StratoZone
• CloudEndure
• Carbonite
• PlateSpin

3.4 Automated deployment and provisioning tools

The partner must demonstrate specific products, tools, or scripts that they used for automated provisioning
and deprovisioning of infrastructure, including tools for continuous integration and continuous delivery
(CI/CD).

Required evidence:
Demonstrations of products, tools, or scripts used for:

• Automated deployment, including creation of workload deployment templates.

• Cloud service provisioning and deprovisioning, including viewing of service template, packages, or
runbooks that were used in the deployment of customers’ Azure environments.
• Automation of routine operations, or automated scale-out.

4.0 Review and release for operations

The partner has robust methodologies for transitioning the workload.

Partner roles required

Solution Architect, Data Architect

Requirement
4.1 Service validation and testing
The partner must validate the deployment, including:

• Their documented process and approach to testing and evaluating the performance of all
applications against customers’ expectations and Azure best practices.
• Their documented process and approach to evaluating and improving architectural best practices
to remediate issues with migrated platforms or workloads that do not meet performance or cost
expectations.

Required evidence:
Documentation of a testing, validation, and performance evaluation that addresses the preceding points
for three unique customers. The documentation must indicate that the implemented solution meets
customer expectations, and it must include a sign-off from the customer.

The Windows Server and SQL Server migration projects must have been completed within the past twelve
(12) months. These projects can be the same as the projects evidenced in Control 3.0.

4.2 Post-deployment documentation

The partner must provide post-deployment operational documentation to show that their customers are
successfully using the new service on Azure.

• Demonstrate how the partner’s documents, decisions, architectural designs, and procedures were
implemented.
• Demonstrate standard operating procedures for the business-as-usual operations team that

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 describe “how-to” scenarios.

Required evidence:
Documentation showing the preceding points for three unique customers with completed Windows Server
and SQL Server migration projects. These projects can be the same as the projects evidenced earlier.

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Payment terms and conditions

Pricing schedule
Audit: $2,000

Gap Review Meeting: included in audit cost

Payment terms
The cost of the audit is payable in full to the audit company and must be settled before the audit begins.
Failure to pay will result in cancellation of the audit.

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Glossary
ISSI consulting and audit preparation offers
Consulting engagements offered by ISSI to help partners prepare for Azure advanced specialization
audits. ISSI offers optional extensive in-depth consulting engagements and one-hour live sessions. Please
note that there is a cost associated with the consulting and audit preparations services provided by ISSI.

Audit
A half-day audit that is carried out remotely by a qualified ISSI auditor. During the audit, a partner must
present evidence of having completed 100 percent of the audit checklist items.

Open action item

If the auditor deems that the partner has failed to present the required evidence for an audit checklist
section during the audit, the missing evidence is recorded as an Open Action Item in the Gap Report.

Gap report
Open Action Items are listed in the Gap Report, which is sent to partners within two business days after
their audit. The Gap Report details all Open Action Items and the evidence that is still required. Partners
have two business days to acknowledge receipt of the report and to schedule a Gap Review Meeting.

Gap review meeting

A Gap Review Meeting must take place within fifteen (15) calendar days of the issuance of the Gap
Report. Partners that receive a Gap Report must address and close the Open Action Items via the Gap
Review Meeting. The Gap Review Meeting is conducted by the auditor over Skype, and it may not
exceed one hour.

Missed Item
If the auditor deems that the partner has failed to present the required evidence for an audit checklist
item during the Gap Review Meeting, this failure is recorded as a Missed Item and is included in the Final
Report.

Final Report
A Final Report is provided to partners that discusses whether they have earned a Pass or No Pass in the
audit. A Final Report showing a Pass can be issued at the end of either the audit or the Gap Review
Meeting. A Final Report showing a No Pass will be issued after the Gap Review Meeting. If a partner
chooses not to proceed to a Gap Review Meeting or fails to acknowledge receipt of the Gap Report, a
Final Report showing a No Pass result will be issued within five business days.

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Partner FAQ: Audit
Program contact information
If you have a question that we have not answered in this document, contact Partner Center support.

Who can participate?

The program is open to any members of the Microsoft Partner Network program who can meet the
program requirements and pass the audit.

Is there a cost to participate?

Microsoft does not charge a program fee. However, there are direct costs associated with the following
requirements:

• Gold Cloud Platform competency

• Microsoft and third-party certifications
• Audit

In addition, there are indirect costs associated with preparation for the audit.

How much time and how many resources (people) do we need to commit to meeting the
requirements?
The amount of time it takes to meet all requirements and pass the audit varies greatly. It depends on how
many of your current employees already have the required Azure skills, whether they have documented
customer wins, and how you document your people, technology, and processes.

Important notes
Do not apply for the program until you have met all the program requirements prior to the audit. Be sure
you have thoroughly reviewed the audit requirements and are confident you can satisfy them.

Take note of the active dates for the audit checklist. Partners are audited against the checklist items that
are active on the date of their half-day remote audit. The original application date has no bearing on the
version of the checklist that is used for the audit.

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In which languages are the audits conducted?
• English
• Portuguese
• Spanish
• French
• German
• Italian
• Serbian
• Croatian
• Russian
• Hebrew
• Mandarin
• Japanese
• Korean
• Arabic

Is the audit conducted under a nondisclosure agreement?

All ISSI auditors are under a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) with Microsoft. Auditors must also comply
with requests from partners to sign a direct NDA.

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Roles
Role of the auditor
The auditor reviews submitted evidence and objectively assesses whether the evidence provided by the
partner satisfies the audit checklist requirements.

The auditor selects and evaluates evidence, based on samples of the information available from live
systems. The appropriate use of such sampling is closely related to the confidence that can be placed in
the audit conclusions.

All ISSI auditors are under a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with Microsoft. Auditors will also comply
with requests from partners to sign a direct NDA.

Role of the partner

The partner must provide objective evidence that satisfies the auditor for all checklist items. It is the
responsibility of the partner to have reviewed all checklist items prior to the audit, to have collated all
necessary documentation and evidence, and to have ensured that the right subject matter experts are
available to discuss and show systems, as appropriate.

All audit evidence must be reproducible and verifiable.

Role of the Microsoft Partner Development Manager

For partners that have an assigned Microsoft Partner Development Manager (PDM), the PDM is
responsible for ensuring that the partner fully understands the requirements prior to applying for the
audit. The PDM may attend the optional consulting engagements that ISSI offers, but the PDM may not
attend the audit.

How is the audit scored?

The partner score for the audit checklist is based on the checklist controls. To pass the audit, partners
must complete all sections in each control area. They must provide adequate evidence to demonstrate the
existence, effectiveness, and efficiency of their processes, policies, procedures, and tooling against each
checklist item.

What if I meet only some of the requirements?

Because this is an advanced specialization and an opportunity to truly differentiate your business, we
expect partners to demonstrate that they meet each of the controls by providing evidence that satisfies all
requirements.

What happens if I don’t pass the audit outright?

At the conclusion of the audit process, the auditor will issue a Final Report to the partner and notify
Microsoft of the pass or no pass result. Partners that receive a no pass result may reapply for the
advanced specialization in six months. Partners that withdraw from the audit process without completing
the audit may submit a ticket through Partner Center support to request that their status be reset to Not
Enrolled, which enables them to reapply.

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Audit process
Who conducts the audit?
The audit is carried out on behalf of Microsoft by an independent, third-party auditor, appointed by
Microsoft. The audit company is Information Security Systems International (ISSI).

Can I contact the auditor to schedule the audit before I apply or as soon as I apply?
No. The audit company, ISSI, cannot schedule your audit until it receives an official notification from
Microsoft. Microsoft will issue the notification only after you have shown that you meet all program
requirements and you have applied for an audit by selecting “schedule audit” from the Partner Center
dashboard. ISSI will reach out to you to begin the scheduling process within one to two business days.

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How long does the audit take?
The remote audit takes about half a day. However, significant preparation is required to be audit-ready.
We recommend that you read the audit checklist thoroughly and, to streamline your preparation, consider
the consulting and audit preparation overview offered by ISSI.

How much does the audit cost?

The audit fee is $2,000. The fee is paid to the third-party independent auditor. The audit fee must be paid
in full before the audit is completed.

What is the difference between the audit and the consulting and audit preparation?
Consulting and the Audit Preparation Overview are optional and conducted by the third-party audit
company, ISSI. The purpose is to help partners prepare for the audit.

To ensure objectivity, audit preparation consulting is conducted by someone other than your assigned
remote auditor. You can schedule consulting engagements at any time by using your preferred
conferencing platform.

Are the consulting and audit preparation mandatory?

No, the consulting and Audit Preparation Overview are optional. However, we do recommend that you
opt for the consulting and audit preparation, because it can help ensure that you are more prepared for
the audit.

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Partner FAQ: Advanced specialization overview
What is an advanced specialization?
An advanced specialization is an extensive validation of a partner’s capability to deliver high-fidelity
services in a specific solution area. Advanced specializations are customer-facing labels displayed on a
partner’s business profile. They are used in our customer referral engine to allow partners to showcase
their differentiated capabilities in a specific solution area. To earn an advanced specialization, partners
must first hold gold competency status in an aligned competency.

How is an advanced specialization different from a competency?

A competency measures a partner’s broad technical capability in a Microsoft product or technology. An
advanced specialization measures more in-depth capabilities in a specific solution area, such as Analytics
on Microsoft Azure. Advanced specializations require that a partner first have active gold competency
status in the competency that is aligned to the advanced specialization they are interested in earning.

Does a partner need a competency to earn an advanced specialization?

Yes. Advanced specializations can be earned only by partners with an aligned, active gold competency.
For example, to earn the Analytics on Microsoft Azure advanced specialization, partners must first have a
Gold Cloud Platform competency.

What advanced specializations are available to partners?

Certain competencies have different advanced specializations available to them. For details on all available
advanced specializations, go to the advanced specializations site.

Why would a partner want to get an advanced specialization?

With an advanced specialization, partners can differentiate their capabilities to customers that are looking
for partners to help them with a business need. Partners with an advanced specialization are listed first in
Partner Finder, a Microsoft-owned, customer-facing tool. Advanced specializations are also indicated on a
partner’s business profile alongside their competency status.

What are the benefits of an advanced specialization?

Partners with an advanced specialization are listed first in Partner Finder, a Microsoft-owned, customer-
facing tool. Advanced specializations are also indicated on a partner’s business profile alongside their
competency status.

How does a partner earn an advanced specialization?

Each advanced specialization has a set of requirements that a partner must meet. The criteria depend on
the advanced specialization the partner is seeking, but they can include performance requirements,
exams, customer evidence, and third-party certification, among others. For detailed criteria for individual
advanced specializations, go to your Partner Center dashboard. Advanced specializations are not available
in PMC.

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Can a partner have more than one advanced specialization?
Yes, if you qualify, you can earn as many advanced specializations as you choose. Earning additional
advanced specializations will increase your visibility to customers in the Partner Finder tool.

Is a partner’s advanced specialization global or local?

It depends on how your company has set up your account. If your company has one global account
(Partner Center MPN PGA ID), your advanced specialization is assessed and awarded at the global level. If
you have set up multiple Partner Center accounts (MPN PGA ID) to represent different divisions, countries,
subsidiaries etc., only the account that earned the advanced specialization will be awarded it.

Is there a cost associated with the advanced specialization?

Microsoft does not charge a program fee. However, there are direct costs associated with the following
requirements:

• Gold Cloud Platform competency

• Microsoft certifications
• The audit, optional ISSI consulting and audit preparation, and third-party certifications

In addition, there are indirect costs associated with preparation for the audit, including audit preparation
hours.

How long do partners keep their advanced specialization?

Your advanced specialization will remain in place for one year, but it requires that you maintain an active
gold competency defined in the advanced specialization requirements. If you do not maintain your Gold
competency, you will lose your advanced specialization status. On your renewal date, you will need to
meet the then-current requirements. Requirements may evolve over time.

When do partners renew the advanced specialization?

On the anniversary date of earning the advanced specialization.

How does my company renew its advanced specialization?

Partners will need to renew against the then-current published requirements at the time of their renewal.

Do partners need to requalify for the advanced specialization after a specific period of time?
Yes. Partners must meet the requirements each year. You should expect the requirements to evolve year
over year, to best meet the needs of customers. Partners will be expected to undergo an annual audit as
part of the renewal process.

What happens to the advanced specialization if a partner does not renew their associated gold
competency?
To maintain an advanced specialization, partners must keep their gold competency status active at all
times.

How will my customer know whether my company has an advanced specialization?

Your advanced specialization will be listed on your Business Profile.

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What can partners tell customers about advanced specializations?
An advanced specialization is a customer-facing label on your Business Profile. It is not a brand, and it
does not have a badge associated with it. However, you can tell your customers which advanced
specializations you have earned. They can validate by reviewing your Business Profile in the Partner Finder
tool.

What if my company has an endorsement now?

As advanced specializations go live, they replace endorsements on the customer-facing profile. Each
advanced specialization has published requirements for partners to meet to earn them.

Can a company have both an endorsement and an advanced specialization on its profile?
No. As advanced specializations go live, they replace endorsements on the customer-facing Partner
Profile.

Does a partner get a badge to use externally in their marketing to differentiate their advanced
specialization?
Advanced specializations do not have a badge or a logo. An advanced specialization is a label that is
displayed on the partner’s customer-facing Partner Profile.

Other questions?
If you have any questions that we have not answered in this document, go to Partner Center support to
create a ticket with our Frontline team.

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