262 – Microsoft’s Partner-Led Future: Nicole Dezen on AI, FY26 Strategy & $661B SMB Opportunity

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Ultimate Guide to Partnering®

Vince Menzione - Technology Industry Sales and Partner Executive

100 episodes

1 month ago

Vince Menzione, a former Microsoft Executive and Channel Chief, brings his unique voice to this top-rated partnership and ecosystem podcast. Ultimate Guide to Partnering® is where technology leaders learn from the top technology business and partnership thought leaders to unlock the leadership lessons, best practices, and learnings to help you thrive and survive in the age of rapid digital transformation. Vince applies deep B2B and partnership experience driving multi-billion dollar businesses to achieve optimal results with technology giants like Microsoft, Google, AWS, and Salesforce. Each episode is packed with learnings to help grow the business and your career as a technology partnership leader in the decade of the ecosystem.

All content for Ultimate Guide to Partnering® is the property of Vince Menzione - Technology Industry Sales and Partner Executive and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

262 – Microsoft’s Partner-Led Future: Nicole Dezen on AI, FY26 Strategy & $661B SMB Opportunity

Ultimate Guide to Partnering®

24 minutes 34 seconds

4 months ago

262 – Microsoft’s Partner-Led Future: Nicole Dezen on AI, FY26 Strategy & $661B SMB Opportunity

From Ultimate Partner LIVE in Redmond, WA

Unlock the secrets to explosive growth in the digital landscape!

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Is your business ready for 2026?

Welcome back to the Ultimate Guide to Partnering® Podcast.

This episode is something special.

It was originally recorded as the kickoff conversation for our May Ultimate Partner LIVE event—a powerful session that featured none other than Nicole Dezen, Microsoft’s Chief Partner Officer, and a true champion of the ecosystem.

Now, we’re bringing it to you, our amazing Ultimate Partner Podcast community.

In this candid and insightful conversation, Nicole shares Microsoft’s unwavering commitment to its 500,000+ strong partner ecosystem—especially poignant as the company celebrates its 50th anniversary.

We explore how partners are not just part of the Microsoft story—they are the story.From driving innovation to fueling growth in the era of AI, this dialogue makes clear that partners are at the heart of Microsoft’s transformation agenda.

You’ll hear about the company’s FY26 strategic priorities—known as MCAPS—including renewed focus and record investment in the SMB segment, and the role of partners in shaping what’s next.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vuEsmcPvD4

Partnerships are Microsoft's Core: Microsoft's foundational commitment to its partner ecosystem is deeply ingrained in its 50-year history and remains central to its future strategy.

AI is a Partner-Led Opportunity: Partners are crucial to driving AI transformation, with Microsoft actively supporting and incentivizing those who leverage AI for customer solutions and business growth.

Substantial Profitability for Partners: The Microsoft ecosystem offers significant financial returns, with partners earning multiple dollars for every dollar of Microsoft revenue, boosted further by generative AI.

Strategic Alignment with Microsoft Priorities: Partners can maximize their success by understanding and aligning with Microsoft's five MCAPS priorities, which guide both Microsoft's internal sales and partner incentives.

Targeted Investments for Ecosystem Growth: Microsoft continues record investments in its partner ecosystem, with a strong focus on empowering partners, especially those serving the high-growth small and medium enterprise (SMB) segment.

"Customer Zero" Enhances Partner Credibility: Partners are encouraged to use Microsoft technologies, particularly AI tools, internally ("Customer Zero") to build authentic experience and credibility for customer engagements.

https://youtu.be/s33fltuizEo

Transcript:

(0:00) So I wanna take this moment to welcome a friend, (0:03) an incredible leader, somebody who leads the largest, (0:09) imagine this, the largest ecosystem in our industry (0:12) is the Microsoft ecosystem, (0:14) with over 500,000 partner organizations. (0:19) Nicole Deason has done an outstanding job (0:22) of taking this organization to the next level. (0:26) In fact, we recognize, Nicole was on my podcast last year, (0:29) we were up here in Redmond, (0:30) we recorded a really great interview.