Certification Requirements for Microsoft Partners

I recently got a ton of questions from my courses’ students wanting to work for Microsoft Partners if some examinations are more valuable than others for Microsoft Partners and especially how does the point system related to the certification requirement is made for Partners. Here is an overview.

The most recent and most desirable certification competency is the Cloud Business Applications, which will be discussed in this blog post.

Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA)

To get this certification, you must pass both of MB2-715 (Online Deployment) and MB2-716 (Customization and Configuration). Obtaining the MCSA counts for one point. Microsoft Silver Partners need 5 points in this category and Microsoft Gold Partners need 15 points in this category.

Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE)

This is where it gets tricky and confusing. You need to pass either of MB2-717 (Sales), MB2-718 (Customer Service) or MB2-877 (Field Service). However, since so few people have passes both functional and technical exams around the world, Microsoft says that the same person or another can pass one of these examinations. Passing one or more of these examinations count for one point. Microsoft Silver Partners need 5 points in this category and Microsoft Gold Partners need 15 points in this category. Therefore, if you have both certification level, your skills count for 2 points. Since meeting the number of points required for certifications is the biggest challenge of Microsoft Partners needing to renew their credentials, getting those 2 points will almost guarantee you an interview at almost any implementation firm.

Some Partners Look for Specific Skills

I can tell you that by speaking with hiring managers at Microsoft Partners, many of them will look for very specific skills.

For example, the government of Canada is a user of Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Customer Service. Firms wishing to bid on these very prestigious contracts will specifically look for candidates that passed the MB2-718 examination, since it is an important criteria on the government’s Request for Proposals (RFP).

Furthermore, many partners would dream for candidates with Microsoft Dynamics 365 certifications plus having cleared the Power BI examination (70-778), since it is is very high demand right now.

In conclusion, you need to have passed the foundational examinations at the MCSA level and at least one MCSE level examination (the more, the merrier!). However, depending on which specialty you want to have, some certifications could prove to be very valuable for specific partners.