Partner network · bilateral
We don't run a partner program for collecting engagements. We maintain a network of six constellations — strategic complementary partners for Dynamics 365 F&O and Business Central, client/sub relationships in both directions, non-EU CSP partners with lead handover from our Microsoft License Cost Calculator, plus white-label, co-selling, and referral. Give and take — not one-way lead routing.
Microsoft partner landscape · orientation
Microsoft restructured its partner program in 2022 — from the old "Gold/Silver Partner" model to Solutions Partner Designations with clear Capability Score requirements. Here is a brief orientation on today's Microsoft partner landscape.
Microsoft today awards six Solutions Partner Designations, each covering a Microsoft cloud domain:
A designation is achieved through a Partner Capability Score — a combination of employee qualifications, customer adds, adoption growth, and technical success indicators in the Microsoft Cloud. Re-validated annually.
Above the designations sit Specializations — credentials for specific technical depths. Examples relevant to mid-market business:
Specializations are awarded via additional audit procedures — customer references, technical reviews, extended training requirements.
Within the designations there are two tier levels:
Above both — independent of the designations model — sits the status as a Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program member, which is the prerequisite for CSP, Microsoft AppSource, and Microsoft Commercial Marketplace.
Microsoft partner selection · six criteria
Six criteria help selecting a Microsoft partner. This checklist is also usable when you, as a partner, are looking for a sub-partner for a shared engagement.
How many years has the partner worked with the Microsoft business application stack? Has the team continuously delivered through platform generations — from Microsoft CRM 3.0 through Dynamics CRM to Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform? Microsoft refreshes learning content every six months — partners without continuous, hands-on platform practice lose relevance quickly.
Does the partner have mid-market reference customers with similar headcount, industry, and functional complexity? Partners shaped by enterprise work often build solutions that are too complex for 50-person companies. Mid-market DNA is its own competence, not a smaller variant of enterprise advisory.
Does the partner have an established Microsoft CSP licensing relationship — and the tooling to give you transparent license cost calculations before purchase? Look for a public license cost calculator, monthly consolidated invoicing in your currency, and an established Microsoft escalation channel. CSP capability is a baseline for serious mid-market license consulting.
What happens after go-live? A fixed Application Care offering with monthly flat rate, clear SLAs, and a dedicated contact — or ticket business with hourly billing and rotating consultants? Application Care as a recurring service is an indicator of sustainable partner-customer relationships rather than project closure.
Does the partner have German-speaking staff with German accounting knowledge, GoBD competence, German contracts, GDPR-compliant data processing? For data-sensitive projects and ongoing support, DACH proximity is a practical advantage.
Are the prices transparent (fixed price per package, clear day rates, license calculator) — or fuzzy (day rate "on request", packages without content description)? Pricing transparency is an indicator of mid-market suitability. Enterprise partners often have complex pricing logic that doesn't fit mid-market procurement processes.
arades profile · criteria applied
Depth of practice: Microsoft Partner since 2007 with continuous platform practice from Microsoft CRM 3.0 through Dynamics CRM to Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform. Experienced Microsoft practitioners across Dynamics 365 (Sales, Customer Service, Field Service, Customer Insights, Business Central), Power Platform, Microsoft 365, and Azure. Continuous, hands-on platform work — not occasional project rotation.
Industry experience: Microsoft Partner since 2007 for mid-market companies with 10–500 employees. References in machine building, plant engineering, trade, distribution, consulting, IT services, associations & chambers, educational institutions. No enterprise baggage — mid-market is our core DNA.
Model: Microsoft CSP partner with an established Microsoft escalation channel and monthly consolidated invoicing in euros. Microsoft Licensing Partner with its own public License Cost Calculator (licenses.arades.de) covering all current Microsoft Cloud SKUs, discounts, and bundle logic.
Application Care: Monthly flat rate in three tiers, clear SLAs, dedicated contacts. No hourly billing after go-live — recurring service model as a deliberate choice against project-closure logic. More details on our Application Care page.
Location: Headquartered in Offenbach am Main (Rhine-Main region). Employees primarily in Germany and Switzerland, plus EU nearshoring for scalable engineering capacity. Contract language German or English, data processing in EU/EEA region, GDPR-compliant.
Pricing transparency: Fixed-price packages for advisory formats (Quick Audit, Strategy Workshop, Architecture-as-a-Service). Day rates at market rates, transparently communicated. License costs transparently calculated via the public License Cost Calculator. Application Care as a monthly flat rate. No open-ended hourly models.
Evidence, not claims
Three pieces of evidence that we don't just advise on Power Platform and Dynamics 365, but truly master them — and can also deliver independently of Microsoft.
Evidence 1
Seven model-driven apps and extensions we built ourselves and that are in use at clients: Project & Service Management, Inter-Company Integration, Modular ERP, Teams Integration for Dynamics 365, Educational Institutions App, Associations & Chambers App, License Cost Calculator. Plus our own SaaS product Devonso (see evidence 2). Whoever built that can build it for you and your clients too.
Evidence 2
devonso is our customization and compliance analysis software for Dynamics 365 and Power Platform. A standalone product with paying customers and its own brand. Whoever builds such a tool knows Power Platform inside and out.
For you as a partner, this means: We can understand existing Power Platform environments of your clients in days instead of weeks — and offer support or project takeover accordingly fast. Even for projects that didn't originally come from us.
Evidence 3
Our free license cost calculator with all current Microsoft Cloud SKUs, discounts, and bundle logic. That's licensing expertise lived, not claimed — and immediately usable for you as a partner in pre-sales and client conversations. Evidence that you have a serious specialist by your side for licensing questions.
Plus
When Microsoft isn't the answer, we develop with modern Java stacks and platform-independent technologies. Custom software, AI integrations, EU hosting. That way you remain capable of delivery even when your clients have sovereignty requirements — without bringing in a second partner.
Our attitude
Whether we work directly for an end client or together with you as a partner: the client's satisfaction is our benchmark. We don't think in hour quotas, but in results that reach the client. Even in white-label and subcontracting constellations, where we don't appear to the end client, we carry the same responsibility for quality and outcome as in our own engagements.
Transparency is no buzzword for us; depending on the type of cooperation, it is ensured through concrete mechanisms during project and service delivery: joint status routines, shared tickets and backlogs, traceable time tracking, clear escalation paths. As a partner you always know what we are working on — the end client always knows what you are working on. No black box, no surprises at billing.
Three models
Three classic models for cooperation between Microsoft houses and specialists. In all three, exchange works both ways — you give us inquiries, we give you inquiries back. Which model fits depends on how visible we should be and how your client relationship is set up.
You invoice the client as primary contractor, we invoice you. Your client relationship is protected, we don't appear to the client.
You hand over inquiries that don't fit your focus — we take on the project with fair, transparent commission to you. Conversely, we pass to you inquiries that don't fit us: web design, online marketing, ERP outside Business Central, IT infrastructure, security operations.
We appear together at the client — you as lead partner, we as specialists in the team. Both brands visible, clear division of tasks, separate or joint contracts possible.
Three further partner types
Some partnerships have a different character: strategic complementary specialists, classic client/sub relationships, or cross-border license resellers. Three constellations we cultivate explicitly.
We focus on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement and Power Platform — deliberately not on the ERP heavyweights. For the formerly Dynamics F&O world (now Finance, Supply Chain Management, Commerce, Project Operations as an ERP variant) and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, we are looking for strategic complementary partners who master this world productively — and with whom we serve joint engagements where CE plus ERP are needed.
Classic client/sub constellation within our subject area: You as an IT systems house, consultancy, or software firm engage us for Microsoft CE and Power Platform specialist work as a subcontractor. Conversely, we engage you for topics we deliberately don't cover ourselves — hardware, IT infrastructure operations, security operations centers, special migrations.
As a Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider (CSP), we serve the license business only for clients with seat in the EU/EEA area. Outside the EU — in the UK, USA, Switzerland (outside EU tenant logic), Türkiye, MENA, Asia-Pacific — we are not allowed or able to bill Microsoft subscriptions directly. We close exactly this gap together: arades regularly receives CSP lead inquiries from these markets — via our website, via our SaaS product devonso, and especially via our publicly used Microsoft License Cost Calculator (licenses.arades.de). We pass these leads to local CSP partners in the target markets.
Bilateral, plainly: You receive our leads for license sales in your country. In return, we receive from you engagements for Microsoft advisory depth that you don't cover yourself — or the opportunity to appear together at the client.
Partner promise · Value preservation
When we work on an engagement together, the role split is clear. Both sides keep their client relationship, their margin, and their visibility. We don't take anything away from you — and, conversely, we expect you not to repurpose us, in our specialization depth, into generalists.
Concretely: The hours that accrue in the client relationship largely remain with you.
Concretely: Specialized depth topics that you don't cover yourself (or don't want to cover).
A clear commitment: We make this promise explicit because it's how we work. From 20+ years of experience, we know that sustainable partnerships pay off more than short-term revenue gains.
Enablement
We don't see ourselves as a supplier who makes you dependent. On the contrary: in implementation projects, we build up your competence in parallel, as far as you want — and hand over responsibility where it makes sense for your client relationship.
By default, in every implementation project we enable you to the point where you can take on first-level support toward your client yourself after go-live — if you want. Documentation, training, knowledge transfer, and a clearly defined escalation model to us as second/third level are part of the delivery.
If you bring your own resources, we go further: we also enable your staff in the requirements-development and project-management phases, so they can take on these roles fully or partially themselves. This creates a collaboration that becomes more valuable with every joint project — for you, for us, and for the client.
The result: With every project, you grow in your Microsoft Business Applications competence, without having to build your own specialist team.
Concrete added value
Eight concrete added values from the cooperation. Seven of them you get from us — including lead handover for non-EU CSP partners. The last and, for us, most important one goes in both directions anyway.
In existing Power Platform and Dynamics environments — thanks to devonso, we get the overview in days that others need weeks for.
For existing clients of your choice — with clear response times and a direct line to the practitioners.
Via our License Cost Calculator — free for you and your clients. For CSP partners outside the EU/EEA region, we specifically forward qualified calculation leads from these markets.
As time-to-value accelerators in your offerings — directly usable in pre-sales and demos.
Modern Java stacks, AI integrations, EU hosting for sovereignty cases.
You speak with those who also develop. No message filtering, no delay.
From first-level support to project management — you grow with every project.
We also give back what doesn't fit us — web design, marketing, ERP, security.
Partner archetypes
We have experienced each of these constellations — and in each, the same applies: your client relationship remains your client relationship.
You ensure that servers, networks, end devices, and Microsoft 365 run as foundation — the most demanding discipline in the stack. We build on top, with Dynamics 365, Power Platform, Copilot, and custom apps. That way your clients get additional application value, without you having to leave your area of competence.
You have the business understanding, the strategic framework, the board's trust. We take care of clean implementation — either on the Microsoft stack or platform-independent, when sovereignty requirements (BSI, NIS2) demand a different answer. You remain the architect of the solution, we are your manufacturer in the background.
You are deep in Microsoft 365, Teams, SharePoint, Exchange. We complement exactly where your clients need applications that go beyond Microsoft 365: Dynamics 365, Power Platform, Copilot Studio, custom applications. The foundation stays with you. No creeping extension into your core domain.
You manage the ERP — a discipline of its own. We deliver CRM, Customer Service, Field Service, Customer Insights Journeys, and Power Platform extensions to go with it. We know the interfaces from practice — live reference with Oxaion and SAP via our Inter-Company Integration. You remain master of the accounting and logistics stack.
You have a good client base and deliver software, web, or marketing — but inquiries around Power Platform, Dynamics 365, or Microsoft licensing you currently cannot serve yourself. We become your Microsoft arm, without touching your client relationship.
Entry
No obligation, mutual getting-to-know, no NDA required. We clarify whether model, focus, and target markets match.
White-label, referral, co-selling, or a mix. You decide how visible we should be.
Framework agreement for ongoing cooperation or case-by-case agreement. Both are possible, both work.
On a real case, see whether the chemistry and the process fit. This is how lasting partnerships emerge.
FAQ on Microsoft partner landscape
Six criteria help with selection: depth of practice and platform history, mid-market industry experience, Microsoft CSP licensing capability, Application Care offering after go-live, DACH local presence, and transparent pricing. See the selection criteria checklist above on this page for details.
Microsoft Solutions Partner Designations are the current Microsoft Partner certification model (introduced 2022). Six designations cover the Microsoft cloud domains: Business Applications, Modern Work, Security, Infrastructure (Azure), Data & AI, Digital & App Innovation. Achieved via Partner Capability Score — combination of employee qualifications, customer adds, adoption growth, and technical success indicators.
CSP (Cloud Solution Provider) is the Microsoft licensing reselling model. CSP partners handle Microsoft license procurement, monthly invoicing, and license lifecycle management for their customers. arades GmbH is a Microsoft CSP partner with an established Microsoft escalation channel and its own public License Cost Calculator (licenses.arades.de) with all current Microsoft Cloud SKUs, discounts, and bundle logic.
Within the designations there are two tier levels. "Solutions Partner" is the base tier reached via a minimum Partner Capability Score across four axes (employee qualifications, performance, skilling, customer success). "Specialized Solutions Partner" is the higher tier and additionally requires a specialization (e.g., Low Code Application Development, Adoption and Change Management) with extended audit procedures.
Test the partnership
Initial conversation in 30 minutes — we mutually clarify whether model, focus, and target markets match. No NDA needed for the first round, no sales pressure.
