PROGRAM STRUCTURE

Partner Tiers

A capability ladder for activation, delivery maturity and productive customer work, reviewed quarterly with Sales and Delivery.

TIER 3

Registered Catalyst

10% new eligible
ARR rate

BENEFITS

10% standard new ARR margin
8% renewal margin
Referral-only alternative: 10% of eligible first-year ARR
Self-service portal enablement and standard programme resources
Deal-registration protection and visibility
Annual review — no dedicated PSM or MDF

EVIDENCE FOR PROGRESSION

Executed partner agreement and completed onboarding
Internal Plansom activation complete

Apply for Registered Catalyst

TIER 2 Most common

Strategic Practice

15% new eligible
ARR rate

BENEFITS

15% standard new ARR margin
10% renewal margin
Shared PSM pod after activation
Pooled pre-sales and co-sell readiness support
Performance-based MDF up to $10K/year
Quarterly business review

EVIDENCE FOR PROGRESSION

Named practice owner and 1+ competent practitioner
Internal activation, reviewed demo and account plan
3+ qualified opportunities per quarter

Apply for Strategic Practice

TIER 1

Ecosystem Premier

20% new eligible
ARR rate

BENEFITS

20% standard new ARR margin
12% renewal margin
Dedicated PSM after activation and justified pipeline
Priority co-sell, executive support and pooled pre-sales
Performance-based MDF up to $25K/year
Joint quarterly GTM planning

EVIDENCE FOR PROGRESSION

Dedicated practice, executive sponsor and 3+ competent practitioners
Repeatable delivery, references and an agreed account plan
6+ qualified opportunities per quarter

Apply for Ecosystem Premier

Tier comparison

Criteria	Registered Catalyst	Strategic Practice	Ecosystem Premier
Qualification basis	Agreement + internal activation	Competence + account plan	Repeatable delivery + references
New ARR margin	10%	15%	20%
Renewal margin	8%	10%	12%
Quarterly opportunity target	First qualified opportunity	3+ / quarter	6+ / quarter
Referral-only option	10%	10%	10%
Product competence evidence	Internal use	1+ practitioner + reviewed demo	3+ practitioners + repeatable practice
Sprint capability	Introduce or support under supervision	Progress through joint delivery	Maintain repeatable delivery capacity
Account planning	First priority	Agreed account plan	Portfolio account plan
Business reviews	Annual review	Quarterly business review	Joint quarterly GTM planning
Partner success coverage	Self-service / portal	Shared PSM pod after activation	Dedicated PSM after activation + pipeline
Market development funds	—	Up to $10K/year	Up to $25K/year
Enablement	Self-service / portal	Standard	Advanced
Delivery authorisation	Phase-specific	Phase-specific	Phase-specific
Standing review	Quarterly	Quarterly	Quarterly
OEM / Embedded motion	—	—	Separate agreement

Opportunity registration establishes attribution and support but does not change the rate. Referral fee, tier commission and resale discount are alternative mechanisms and cannot stack. Payout occurs after customer collection under the signed agreement.

Operating rules

01Published economics

Rates apply to eligible collected subscription ARR only. Taxes, Sprint fees, partner services, pass-through consumption and non-recurring fees are excluded.

02Clear attribution

Source, influence and transaction are separate fields and may overlap, but each customer contract counts once in combined contribution reporting.

03Scheduled progression

Partners are promoted when they meet the next tier's published criteria at the scheduled review; otherwise they remain until gaps close.

04Customer ownership

Plansom owns the software contract in referral and co-sell. In resale, the partner owns the retail relationship and Plansom owns the partner order. The customer owns the business decision.

05Microsoft motion

Marketplace is a transaction route, not proof of co-sell or committed-spend eligibility. Confirm offer and customer eligibility for each opportunity.

06Benefit guardrails

MDF is a performance-based ceiling, not an entitlement: it requires approved budget, qualified pipeline milestones, an approved campaign plan and 50% partner co-investment. Deal registration adds no incremental commission. Pre-sales engineering is pooled until scale, and dedicated partner success coverage begins only after activation and productive pipeline justify it.