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Page 1 of 44Azure Expert Managed Service Provider(MSP)Audit Process and ChecklistSpring 2021ValidApril 1 – September 30, 2021VERSION 1.9Published April 1, 2021This document is subject to change.1
Page 2 of 44Table of ContentsTable of ContentsTable of Contents . 2Introduction . 3Application for Azure Expert MSP Status . 3Definition of an Azure Expert MSP . 3Program Process . 4Process Overview . 4Timing Considerations. 5Renewal Cycle . 5Program Pre-Requisites and Requirements . 6Azure Expert MSP Application Requirements for April 1 – September 30 2021 . 6Audit Process. 8Audit Phases . 8Glossary and Audit Phases and Roles . 10Glossary . 10Roles . 12Payment Terms and Conditions . 12Pricing Schedule . 12Payment Terms . 12Scoring Methodology . 12Sample Audit Score . 13Azure Expert MSP Audit Checklist. 14Audit Terms and Definitions . 432
Page 3 of 44IntroductionAzure Expert MSP is a program available as part of the Microsoft Partner Network. The program is designed toensure that customers and Microsoft field personnel can connect with the most capable Azure managed serviceproviders to meet specific business needs, with the following goals: Make the most relevant and capable managed services partners discoverable to customers. Recognize partners’ proven capabilities and specialization in harnessing Azure services in tandem with theirservice management expertise to deliver business solutions for their customers. Differentiate MSPs who have passed a rigorous onsite audit of their IT service management capabilities (acrosspeople, process and technology), and have demonstrated an ability to deliver consistent, repeatable highfidelity managed services on Azure.Application for Azure Expert MSP program/azureexpertmspDefinition of an Azure Expert MSPAzure Expert MSP status is aimed at Partners who already have an established Azure managed services practice andhave a minimum of 25 customers using their cloud management platform for the provisioning and management ofservices.Azure Expert MSPs are a highly evolved form of managed services partners. The core of an Azure Expert MSP’sbusiness places a significantly higher focus on “Automation & Dev-Ops” over traditional MSP’s who focus on thepeople & processes associated with the customer lifecycle. Azure Expert MSP’s are highly technical organizationswith skillsets across DevOps/Sysops, architecting cloud solutions and technical professional consulting. An AzureExpert MSP pivots on business outcomes of their customer’s solutions and applications, and not on workloads oroffers.An Azure Expert MSP must offer repeatable, highly automated solutions to enable and support hyper-scale cloudimplementations. Their service follows an agile customer-driven design, and mixes consultancy, migration andmanagement to evolve a customer from a “Design, Build, Operate” process to a dynamic “Design, Optimize,Transform” cycle. Focus is on creating end-user value through business value metrics, SLAs, resiliency, and continualoptimization to drive outcomes for customers.An Azure Expert MSP must: Be able to guide customers towards innovative business solutions to support their digital transformation effortsand high performance, agile environments. Deliver & manage a full customer cloud engagement lifecycle: Plan/Design Build/Migrate Run/Optimize. Implement Cloud Assessments, Cloud Enablement Services and Cloud Operations, supported by state-of-the-artCloud Tooling that enables margin expansion at scale. Demonstrate use of automation and well-articulated repeatable process and policy for operations, security andmanagement. Drive application innovation.3
Page 4 of 44 Manage from the application/solution down, not from the infrastructure up. Operate an automated CMP integrated with Microsoft Cloud Platform. CMP can be a combination of homegrowntools, enabling 3rd party ISV applications and APIs and Microsoft native tools. Provide application-level performance monitoring and management tied to business outcomes.The Azure Expert MSP program is designed for partners who offer full lifecycle managed services to customers. It isnot suited to partners who offer or deliver managed services through an indirect channel.Microsoft employs an independent third-party audit company to assess compliance against the Azure Expert MSPAudit requirements. The Azure Expert MSP audit is a systematic, independent, and documented process forobtaining evidence and evaluating objectively to determine the extent to which audit criteria are met.This document defines the requirements for the Azure Expert MSP program and provides guidelines for the auditingprocess.For more information, visit: ert-mspProgram ProcessProcess OverviewMicrosoft uses an independent third-party audit company, Information Security Systems International, LLC (ISSI), toschedule and conduct Azure MSP audits.Step Action1Review requirements s are submitted in 3 stages:(1) Pre-Requisites Phase(2) Customer Evidence Phase(3) Audit PhaseRecommended: Please review the audit checklist thoroughly and do notbegin your application unless you are ready to undertake the audit. Allpre-requisites must be met before you can begin your application. Pleasereview your status at https://partner.microsoft.com/dashboard42Review and validate customer evidence. Advise the partner that theircustomer evidence phase is complete, and they are approved to progress tothe audit phaseMicrosoft4Confirm to 3rd party audit company that Partner is eligible for auditMicrosoft3Schedule and confirm audit within 48 hoursISSI (with Partner)4Conduct pre-audit assessmentISSI
Page 5 of 445Conduct audit within 120 days of the approval for audit dateISSI7Provide Gap Report to Partner listing open action items*ISSI8Provide your assigned auditor any responses to open action items in GapReview Meeting, required*Partner9Submit Final Report to partner and Pass or No Pass Report to MicrosoftISSI10Confirm all requirements have been met for Azure Expert MSP Program andMicrosoftupdate partner on membership status*These steps will be skipped if the Partner has no open action items after the Onsite Audit.Timing ConsiderationsNote: Partners must meet all pre-requisites and submit admissible customer evidence before they can schedule theiraudit.IMPORTANT NOTE: Partners will be audited against the version of the audit checklist that is current at the time oftheir audit, irrespective of the date they began their application.Customer Evidence Phase reviews could require up to 30 days to be processed upon partner submission. If the partnerdoes not submit admissible customer evidence within 30 days upon initial customer evidence submission, then theirapplication will expire, and they will need to re-start the application process and re-submit entirely.Partners have 120 days to schedule and complete the Onsite Audit from the date of notification of a successfulCustomer Evidence Phase application but will be audited against the checklist that is active on the date of theirscheduled audit, thereafter. Audits must be scheduled at least 30 days in advance and will be subject to auditoravailability.Audit checklists are updated twice per year.Spring 2021: released 1st week of April 2021: latest application date to guarantee* you will be audited against thischecklist is August 1, 2021.Fall 2021: released 1st week of October 2021 – the latest application date to guarantee* you will be audited against thischecklist is Feb 1, 2022.*Subject to timely submission of admissible materials for the partner during the Customer Evidence Phase.Renewal CycleTo retain Azure Expert MSP status, partners must continue to meet all pre-requisites annually, understanding thatthe pre-requisites and the audit checklist are updated twice annually as mentioned, in order to reflect technologyand market advances.5
Page 6 of 44Renewing partners will be required to undergo a Progress Audit in subsequent years once annually till the thirdconsecutive year of membership in the program. The Progress Audit will focus on (but is not limited to): Changes and improvements to the partner’s managed services operations and activities Any new Azure Expert MSP Program Requirements added to this document since the previous audit Validation of any new tools implemented since the last auditPartners will undergo a Full Audit every third year.Year One – Full AuditYear Two – Progress AuditYear Three – Progress AuditYear Four – Full AuditProgram Pre-Requisites and RequirementsAzure Expert MSP Application Requirements for April 1 – September 30, 2021RequirementDescriptionMPN Program TierPartners must have an active Gold Cloud Platform CompetencyAzure ConsumptionMonthly Run-RatePartners must drive a minimum of USD 350,000 Azure consumed revenue (ACR) per monthderived from customer engagements. Consumed revenue will be measured via Cloud SolutionProvider (CSP) subscriptions, Partner Admin Link (PAL), Azure Marketplace and Digital Partnerof Record (DPOR) based on Microsoft Azure consumption trackers. We will not include anyconsumption that is for a partner’s own use or cannot be attributed to a customerUSD 175,000 of the monthly run-rate (MRR) must come from either CSP or PALACR is calculated at a Virtual Organization (VORG) parent level. We will not combine ACR frommultiple VORGs to calculate ACRThe minimum ACR monthly consumption revenue requirement must be met for 3 consecutivemonths to be considered monthly run-rate (MRR)Certified StaffPartner must have a minimum total of 15 individuals who are employed by the company, andwho each complete one of the qualifying exams and certifications.Currently, the qualifying Microsoft Professional Exams and Certifications include: Azure Administrator Associate Azure Developer Associate6
Page 7 of 44 Azure Solutions Architect Expert Microsoft Azure Data Engineer AssociateFor details on the individual certifications, see https://www.microsoft.com/learning/Partners must demonstrate compliance by showing associated certified personnel via theMicrosoft Partner Network (MPN)While retired exams are valid for 1 year post retirement, new and renewing partners will beexpected and encouraged to undertake the latest exams in market at the time of theirapplication or re-applicationCustomer ReferencesPartner must provide evidence of four (4) Azure customer references, including one (1)public reference with a published case study. Customer references must be for customerengagements started no longer than 12 months prior to the Azure Expert MSP programapplication dateAll cus
Page 1 of 44 1 Azure Expert Managed Service Provider (MSP) Audit Process and Checklist Spring 2021 Valid April 1 – September 30, 2021 VERSION 1.9
