TMC Global Just Earned Every Microsoft Partner Credential

TL;DR: Microsoft grades partners on six separate credentials, officially called Solutions Partner designations, covering Data & AI (Azure), Infrastructure (Azure), Digital & App Innovation (Azure), Business Applications, Modern Work, and Security. It’s estimated that fewer than 10% of Microsoft partners worldwide hold all six at once. If you’re evaluating a Microsoft partner right now, that framework is worth understanding on its own, whether you work with us or not. We just earned all six ourselves, plus two specializations, verified by Microsoft. Here’s what the framework means and what’s worth asking any partner before you pick one.

Most Microsoft partners get good at one or two of these, usually whatever’s closest to their core business. We hold all six.

What Does It Mean to Hold All Six Microsoft Designations?

If you’re sizing up a partner’s designations, here’s what’s actually behind the number. Each one is scored independently against Microsoft’s own bar, at least 70 out of 100 points on what Microsoft calls a partner capability score, built from documented delivery work, staff certifications, and verified customer outcomes. Microsoft recalculates that score using live data instead of a one-time test, so a designation earned this year still has to hold up next year. That’s worth asking any partner about, not just us: are the designations they’re showing you current, or from a few years back?

We also hold two specializations on top of our designations, in Small and Midsize Business Management and Agentic Business Solutions, deeper credentials that sit on top of a designation and require holding it first. The Agentic Business Solutions specialization lines up with the AI agent work Microsoft’s been building into Dynamics 365 and Business Central, which is exactly the kind of work covered in our AI Workflows for Microsoft Apps.

What Questions Should You Ask a Microsoft Partner?

If a partner only holds one or two designations, you’ll usually need a second or third vendor to cover the rest of your Microsoft footprint, which is where projects tend to lose time and budget. Here’s what we’d suggest asking any Microsoft partner you’re evaluating, us included:

One partner, one team, accountable for the whole stack. That’s the practical difference to look for, whether that ends up being us or someone else.

• Can they cover ERP, CRM, Azure, security, and Modern Work as one point of contact, or will you need a second vendor down the line?
• Has their skilling and customer success record been checked independently by Microsoft, or is it self-reported?
• Who owns the outcome when something crosses product lines? One team, or a handoff to someone else?

How TMC Global Lines Up With Where Microsoft Is Headed

We watched this shift happen firsthand at the AI Business Solutions Partner Executive Summit in 2025, where Microsoft’s own leadership talked about partners keeping pace with AI-driven change across the stack as frontier firms. In 2026, Microsoft launched its Frontier Transformation partner program, pushing the partner channel away from single-product specialists and toward partners who can own the full stack and stand behind the whole outcome.

“TMC Global is aligned with where Microsoft is going. AI-first, outcome-driven, Frontier.” — Eric Fink, Microsoft

“TMC Global is ahead of the curve translating AI-first ambition into business value.” — Isabell Sheang, Microsoft

Angela Escher, our Microsoft Alliance Manager, had a similarly direct reaction when the news came in:

“It strongly validates the expertise we’ve built, the outcomes we’re delivering for customers, and the incredible talent we have across this organization. I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished together, and this is not where it ends.”
— Angela Escher, Microsoft Alliance Manager, TMC Global

If the last two years were about proving we could cover the whole Microsoft stack, the next chapter is about what we build on top of it, especially the AI and agent work Microsoft keeps pointing toward.

TMC Global: the Microsoft partner you won’t outgrow. Six designations and two specializations are the scorecard version of that.

If it’s useful, here’s a Business System Review to see how your own Microsoft environment measures up. No pressure either way.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does TMC Global say it’s the Microsoft partner Microsoft wants customers to have?

Because we independently cleared every one of Microsoft’s six designation bars and have been awarded the Solutions Partner for Microsoft Cloud badge that Microsoft reserves for the partners who do. That’s Microsoft’s own scoring model and Microsoft’s own badge, not a claim we made up about ourselves.

Is Microsoft Gold Partner still a real credential in 2026?

No. Microsoft retired the Gold and Silver Partner competency tiers on September 30, 2022. The current equivalent is a Solutions Partner designation.

What’s the difference between a Solutions Partner designation and a specialization?

A designation covers a broad solution area, like Business Applications or Security. A specialization is a narrower credential inside a designation, and a partner must already hold the underlying designation to qualify for it.

How often does Microsoft re-evaluate Solutions Partner designations?

Microsoft recalculates the underlying partner capability score using data already captured in Partner Center, rather than a single fixed test, so a partner’s status can change if performance, skilling, or customer success metrics drop below the qualifying threshold.

What does the Agentic Business Solutions specialization cover?

It’s a specialization that sits on top of our underlying Microsoft designation, for partners with demonstrated expertise designing and deploying AI agents inside Microsoft business applications like Dynamics 365 and Business Central.

How can I verify a partner’s current Microsoft designations?

Microsoft maintains a public Solutions Partner directory where buyers can look up a firm’s active designations directly.

Key Takeaways

• Fewer than an estimated 10% of Microsoft partners worldwide hold all six Solutions Partner designations. TMC Global is now one of them.
• Microsoft has awarded TMC Global its own top badge: Solutions Partner for Microsoft Cloud, reserved for partners who hold all six at once.
• TMC Global held Gold Partner status for over 20 years before Microsoft retired the program in 2022, then earned all six of today’s designations from scratch.
• TMC Global is a women-owned, Microsoft-only partner built from three specialist practices, each already deep in its own lane before combining this year.
• The Infrastructure (Azure) designation was earned on Microsoft’s Enterprise track, the highest tier available.
• Full-stack coverage means one accountable partner, not several vendors stitched together across your Microsoft environment.
• Designations require ongoing proof, recalculated from live Partner Center data, not a one-time badge filed away.