Microsoft Solutions Partners with All Six Designations (2026)
Fewer than 200 partners globally hold all six. EPC Group full portfolio: Data + AI + Infrastructure + Digital + App Innovation + Business Applications + Modern Work + Security.
Last updated July 7, 2026 by Errin O'Connor, Founder & Chief AI Architect, EPC Group
Microsoft Solutions Partner designations replaced Gold Partner in Oct 2022. Six designations: Data + AI (Azure), Infrastructure (Azure), Digital + App Innovation (Azure), Business Applications, Modern Work, Security. Fewer than 200 partners globally hold all six. Each designation requires performance + skilling + customer success measures. All-six investment: ~$800K-$1.5M annually. All-six matters for enterprise: cross-workload expertise, Microsoft engineering access, vendor risk reduction. Specializations sit above Solutions Partner for deeper expertise. EPC Group holds all six + industry Specializations. Verify via Microsoft Partner Directory.
Key Facts
- Six designations: Data + AI, Infrastructure, Digital + App Innovation, Business Applications, Modern Work, Security
- Fewer than 200 partners globally hold all six designations
- All-six annual investment: ~$800K-$1.5M in training + certification + measures
- Solutions Partner designations refreshed annually with performance + skilling + success measures
- Specializations sit above Solutions Partner for deeper expertise
- EPC Group holds all six Solutions Partner designations
All Six Solutions Partner Designations FAQ
What are the six Solutions Partner designations?
Microsoft Solutions Partner designations replaced the Gold Partner tier in October 2022. The six designations: (1) Data + AI (Azure) — Fabric, Synapse, Databricks, Azure AI, Azure OpenAI Service, machine learning. (2) Infrastructure (Azure) — Landing Zones, hybrid connectivity, Azure Arc, Azure Migrate. (3) Digital + App Innovation (Azure) — Power Platform, custom .NET/Node.js apps, DevOps, GitHub. (4) Business Applications — Dynamics 365, Business Central, Power Platform, Copilot Studio. (5) Modern Work — Microsoft 365, Copilot, SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive. (6) Security — Entra ID, Defender, Purview, Sentinel, Compliance Manager. Each designation requires performance + skilling + customer success measures.
How many partners hold all six designations?
Fewer than 200 Microsoft partners globally hold all six Solutions Partner designations. Total Microsoft partner network: ~400,000+ partners worldwide including LSPs (licensing solution providers), CSPs (cloud solution providers), ISVs (independent software vendors), and consulting firms. Solutions Partner designation itself is achieved by fewer than 8,000 partners globally (top-tier). All-six designation is the smallest subset — partners with full portfolio depth across the entire Microsoft stack. EPC Group is one of the smaller number of partners globally holding all six designations.
Why does the all-six designation matter?
Six reasons the designation matters to enterprise buyers: (1) Depth across the stack — no single-workload gaps. (2) Cross-workload expertise — many enterprise projects span multiple designations (e.g., Copilot readiness spans Modern Work + Security + Business Applications + Data + AI). (3) Microsoft engineering access — Solutions Partners get earlier + deeper access to Microsoft engineering teams + preview features. (4) Investment level — earning + maintaining six designations requires significant training + certification investment (typically $1M+ annually for a mid-size firm). (5) Signal of enterprise focus — smaller firms usually cannot invest to earn all six. (6) Vendor risk reduction — full designation portfolio means less risk of "partner cannot deliver this workload."
How do partners earn Solutions Partner designations?
Solutions Partner designation requires three measures per designation: (1) Performance — customer growth + revenue thresholds specific to the designation area. (2) Skilling — number of certified individuals + specific technical certifications (typically 3-5 per designation). (3) Customer success — deployment quantity + active usage measures. Additional requirements: signed Microsoft partner agreement, Microsoft partner network membership, quarterly measure re-evaluation. Total investment per designation: ~$100K-$200K annually in training + certification + measure requirements. All-six investment: ~$800K-$1.5M annually depending on firm size + growth trajectory.
What Specializations complement Solutions Partner?
Above Solutions Partner designations, Microsoft offers Specializations — deep expertise in specific technical areas. Examples: (1) Cloud Security — advanced Defender + Sentinel + Purview. (2) Identity + Access Management — advanced Entra ID. (3) Microsoft 365 Migration + Deployment. (4) Modernization of Web Applications to Azure. (5) Windows Server + SQL Server Migration to Azure. (6) SAP on Azure. (7) Analytics on Microsoft Azure. (8) AI + Machine Learning on Microsoft Azure. Specializations require Solutions Partner designation as prerequisite. EPC Group holds Solutions Partner designations + industry-specific Specializations across Microsoft 365 Migration + Modernization of Web Apps + Analytics.
How do I verify a partner holds the designation?
Three verification methods: (1) Microsoft Partner Directory — search at microsoft.com/partners for firm name + verify designation display. (2) Partner-provided certificate — request Microsoft-signed designation certificate. (3) Case study alignment — designation requires case studies + customer success measures; partner should have relevant recent case studies. Red flags: (1) Firm claims designation but not in Partner Directory. (2) Certificate date is old (designations are refreshed annually). (3) No recent case studies matching designation area. EPC Group Partner Directory listing: https://partner.microsoft.com/en-us/find/marketplace, search "EPC Group" or "O'Connor Enterprise Group."
How does EPC Group leverage all six designations?
EPC Group leverages all six designations to deliver end-to-end enterprise Microsoft transformations: (1) Copilot Readiness engagements span Modern Work + Security + Business Applications. (2) Fabric implementations span Data + AI + Digital + App Innovation. (3) Full-stack transformations touch all six. (4) Regulated-industry compliance (HIPAA/SOC 2/FedRAMP/CMMC) requires Security + Modern Work + Infrastructure depth. (5) Custom AI + agent development spans Data + AI + Digital + App Innovation + Modern Work. (6) M&A tenant migrations span Modern Work + Infrastructure + Business Applications + Security. Chief AI Architect Errin O'Connor personally led EPC Group's attainment of all six designations.
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