We recently spoke with Michael Slater, a sales leader at Sherweb focused on Microsoft and security solutions, about a range of topics impacting partners worldwide.
How the distributor guides MSPs through Microsoft incentives and opportunities
Sherweb works with thousands of channel partners deeply integrated in the vast Microsoft ecosystem. As a distributor, it also works with Microsoft on ways to deliver the most value to its mutual partners.
“We have to be able to speak Microsoft to partners and partners to Microsoft,” Slater said.
Why recent CSP changes inspired renewed efforts to engage partners beyond tech procurement
Microsoft partners are well aware of the ongoing changes the tech giant is implementing. Just this year, the company announced changes, including revised revenue thresholds, stricter Partner of Record (POR) validation, updated Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA) attestation, and enhanced security expectations.
Sherweb spun up a set of programs to help partners assess how they fit into the revised structure, a move its partners have called extremely helpful for business and growth decisions made earlier this year.
“The level of expertise that Sherweb brings is unmatched. I’m constantly amazed at how intimately they understand the Microsoft landscape,” Keith Harris, director of technology at Kelley Create, told us. “We would struggle to build our own expertise and keep current with the constant changes coming at us from Microsoft. That’s if we could even identify talent who would want to spend their days deciphering Microsoft’s maze of programs and terminology; that takes a special person to want to do that!”
Slater told Channel Insider his team’s focus is always on working with partners to consider more than the resale aspect of the solutions. Microsoft continues to offer a variety of financial incentives, enablement, specializations, and more, and Slater’s team builds the programs Sherweb’s partners often leverage to navigate that web of opportunity.
“There are some partners who miss thousands of dollars on the table just by not taking advantage of everything available to them,” he said.
AI and security fueling evolution in how tech giants work with channel partners
Many channel headlines this year have been dedicated to AI and security, a trend that won’t surprise Sherweb’s partners, who know the distributor is investing in it as well.
Even just five years ago, Slater says, most partners weren’t interested in the Microsoft security suite. Now, that demand has skyrocketed as partners consolidate into key ecosystems and leverage existing licenses and deals to go deeper with customers.
AI demand has also renewed the need for data and governance-related services, as customers seek ROI from projects that aren’t always set up to succeed.
All of this, Slater says, opens new doors for partners to close deals and create stickier relationships with customers in 2026.
Enabling partners to become the ‘frontier firms’ Microsoft wants to work with
Microsoft itself has leaned into messaging, encouraging partners to become what it calls “frontier firms.” These businesses, as Microsoft considers them, are incorporating AI into their operations to drive efficiency throughout their workflows. At the same time, frontier firm partners are delivering those same outcomes to their customers through Microsoft solutions.
To Slater (and many others this year), the channel is at a tipping point in which AI-related work will vastly alter how partners remain competitive in a crowded market.
“If you’re not moving in this direction, you’re going to get left behind,” Slater said. “I really don’t know, honestly, who’s going to be an MSP a few years from now without taking this approach. We have to teach partners how to build this as a business model.”
The enablement piece of the puzzle is something Sherweb will continue to build, Slater says, especially in hands-on all-day events and other opportunities for partners to truly understand both the technology and the value proposition behind Microsoft’s focus on AI tooling. Both companies also see that when partners succeed in AI conversations, they tend to succeed elsewhere, meaning this chain of growth shows little sign of slowing down next year.
“The fact is that our partners who are performing well in AI are performing well in all the other categories, too,” said Slater.