Microsoft partners face ‘biggest moment in 10 years’

Microsoft partners are facing their biggest opportunity in more than a decade as AI reshapes customer demand, partner profitability and the services customers expect from the channel, according to Dicker Data.

“I think it’s probably the biggest moment in 10 years plus for Microsoft partners,” Paul Randazzo, Dicker Data’s Microsoft cloud business manager, told techpartner.news. “AI will be taken up by every single customer in Australia and New Zealand. So the question for partners is: what role will they play in that?”

Randazzo said the debate over whether AI will transform the channel is effectively over, with partners now “under pressure to determine where they play and how they turn demand into repeatable, profitable services.”

His comments echo findings from The Rise of the Frontier Partner, which found partners are increasingly moving beyond traditional licensing towards more consultative models built around AI readiness, security, governance, adoption and measurable business outcomes.

Randazzo said a recent Partner Advisory Council, which brought Microsoft partners together to discuss the AI opportunity, highlighted a tension between rapidly growing customer demand and partners still working out how to package their capabilities.

“We get it that it’s here, that debate is over,” he said. “It’s just partners now figuring out, where do I sit in this and how do I talk to my customers about AI? What are my offerings?”

That shift is also creating new commercial opportunities across the customer lifecycle, from data governance and security assessments through to AI advisory, deployment, adoption, agent development and ongoing managed services.

“The big question is: how do you package all of that up for repeatable services?” Randazzo said.

What successful partners are doing

Randazzo said the partners beginning to stand out are building an end-to-end customer journey spanning:

• Discovery and advisory workshops
• Security and data assessments
• AI deployment
• Change management and adoption
• Ongoing managed services

“Partners that have that figured out and are approaching customers, that’s a really compelling offer,” he said.

He warned that partners will need to determine what those offers look like over the next six to 12 months as customers increasingly gravitate towards providers able to talk confidently about AI and secure AI.

AI and security converge

Security is also becoming inseparable from the AI opportunity, with Randazzo urging partners to think in terms of “secure AI” rather than treating the two as separate conversations.

For SMB customers in particular, he pointed to Microsoft Business Premium combined with Defender and Purview as a security foundation for introducing Copilot and agents.

“That really is the play that I think we feel is going to be with us for the next couple of years,” Randazzo said. “Partners that can package that, take that to market, and make services revenue around it.”

The opportunity comes as Dicker Data becomes the first ANZ-headquartered distributor to achieve Microsoft Frontier Distributor designation, a milestone Randazzo said will unlock additional programs and funding for its channel.

“We’re really excited about what the specialisation will unlock for our channel, particularly around programs, funding,” he said. “It unlocks a lot of opportunity for our partners to accelerate deals in the SMB space.”

Microsoft is also increasing incentives around strategic areas including Copilot, agents and advanced security, while introducing a 30-day Copilot trial, a move Randazzo described as one of the channel’s biggest requests.

For partners, however, simply selling the technology won't be enough.

“The advisory piece of it is critical,” Randazzo said. “Customers are looking for trusted advisors.”

Watch the full interview with Dicker Data’s Paul Randazzo to hear how partners can package secure AI services, build their own agent capabilities and turn Microsoft’s latest investments into growth.