Short on time? Here’s a quick audio breakdown of the top five updates this month.
The most important Microsoft announcement for MSPs this month is the new Copilot in 30 trial program for SMBs, which is now live in the Sherweb portal. There are also several changes related to Microsoft shifting the balance between on-premises and cloud for Dynamics 365.
Here’s the full breakdown of what to have on your radar this month and what each change means for you and your customers.
TLDR: Deadlines and pricing
Short on time? Here’s what’s time-sensitive and what’s changing.
Dates to watch
- Now through December 31, 2026: Copilot in 30 trials are available in the Sherweb portal. (Jump to section.)
- December 1, 2026: Partner margins drop across the Dynamics Price List (DPL) and Solution Provider Agreement (SPA) program. (Jump to section.)
- February 1, 2027: All new Business Central on-premises subscriptions must be transacted through CSP, and the DPL/PSBC route retires. (Jump to section.)
- April 30, 2031: End of sale announced for Dynamics NAV. (Jump to section.)
Pricing and program changes
- New: Copilot in 30 pairs a 25-user, 30-day Copilot Business trial with partner resources for customers with fewer than 300 employees. (Jump to section.)
- Margin change: DPL margins have been reduced on perpetual, subscription and enhancement plan offerings. CSP margins remain unchanged. (Jump to section.)
- Now in effect: Four AI Business Solutions specializations now measure deployments by monthly active users instead of monthly consumed value, and the gross growth requirement is gone. (Jump to section.)
- Now in effect: Low Code Application Development and Intelligent Automation have been combined into the new Agentic Business Solutions specialization. (Jump to section.)
Product and feature updates
Copilot in 30 trials now generally available
Copilot in 30 is a new limited-time partner-led Microsoft 365 Copilot Business trial for your SMB customers. It’s now available in the Sherweb portal until December 31, 2026.
Built for organizations with fewer than 300 employees, the motion pairs a 25-user, 30-day Microsoft 365 Copilot Business trial with resources and guidance to help customers identify priority users, explore relevant use cases and evaluate potential value before broader deployment.
What this means for you
Through Copilot in 30, partners can introduce Copilot to more customers through a simple, repeatable framework built for scale. It also addresses the most common objection in SMB Copilot conversations, which is that customers can’t picture how it would actually help them.
This motion is designed to:
- Bring in net-new Copilot customers through a no-cost evaluation
- Help customers build their own use cases before they buy
- Build a long-term Copilot growth pipeline
- Open the door to Cowork opportunities and usage-based expansion
To get started, download the Copilot in 30 launch kit and review the Microsoft 365 Copilot Partner FAQ.
Learn more on the Sherweb blog.
Guide trials with a personalized success plan
Microsoft’s Copilot Success Planner is a free tool designed to help customers maximize their 25-user, 30-day Microsoft 365 Copilot Business trial. The planner creates personalized learning plans for trial users and provides admins and sponsors with a roadmap for setup, communications, progress tracking and end-of-trial evaluation.
What this means for your customers
The guided 30-day plan helps customers build Copilot into their daily workflow, covering Outlook, Teams, Microsoft 365 apps and agents, with recommended prompts and learning resources throughout the trial.
What this means for you
The planner offers a structured framework to support customer engagement, track adoption and facilitate trial-to-paid conversion discussions.
The Copilot Success Planner is available at no cost and does not require sign-in, making it easy to share with customers before a trial begins.
End of sale date for Dynamics NAV: April 30, 2031
As of April 30, 2031, customers will no longer be able to renew their service plans (such as EP and AP), renew subscriptions, purchase additional perpetual licenses or use Dynamics NAV subscriptions through a Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA).
What this means for you
While you still have time before the deadline, you have a definite end point to build customer conversations around. Start with customers on active Dynamics NAV service plans or subscription licenses, then build a roadmap to ensure a successful move to Dynamics 365 Business Central before April 2031. You’ll also want to walk those customers through the Microsoft programs available to bring down migration and licensing costs.
What’s changing with Business Central on-premises subscriptions in February 2027?
Starting February 1, 2027, all new Business Central on-premises subscription licenses must be transacted through the Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program. As part of this change, Microsoft is also retiring the Dynamics Price List (DPL) and PartnerSource Business Center (PSBC) purchasing routes for new Business Central on-premises subscriptions.
What this means for partners
If you currently sell Business Central On-premises subscriptions through DPL or PSBC, you need to enroll in the Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider program before February 1, 2027.
Contact your Sherweb account manager, email partners@sherweb.com or visit Partner Center to start the enrollment process before the deadline.
Pricing updates and promotions
DPL partner margin reduction planned for December 1
Effective December 1, 2026, partner margins under the Dynamics Price List (DPL) and Solution Provider Agreement (SPA) program will be reduced across perpetual license, subscription and enhancement plan offerings. This applies to the on-premises licensing channel only with no change in CSP partner margins.
What this means for you
Along with the Dynamics NAV end of sale and the Business Central on-premises move to CSP, this is another signal for partners to accelerate customer transitions to Business Central Cloud. Reinforcing Microsoft’s continued investment in cloud-based licensing and services, the cloud side is where partner margins remain stable. It’s also how customers can take advantage of ongoing innovation, AI capabilities and migration incentives.
You can get additional details through PartnerSource Business Center (PSBC) and Microsoft’s margin update documentation (PSBC login required) or on Microsoft’s blog.
Microsoft partner program updates
Changes to the Sales, Service, Finance and Supply Chain specializations
In August, Microsoft updated the AI Business Solutions specializations for Sales, Service, Finance and Supply Chain. The following changes apply across all four:
- Eligible customer deployments are now measured using Monthly Active Users (MAU) instead of Monthly Consumed Value (MCV)
- The gross growth performance requirement has been removed, simplifying qualification criteria
- Microsoft Marketplace product tags are being updated to match Microsoft’s current product portfolio and naming conventions
What this means for you
These changes are designed to make specialization attainment and renewal more closely aligned with actual customer adoption and usage rather than consumption-based metrics. If you hold or are working towards one of these four specializations, review updated performance criteria, validate customer adoption metrics and confirm your Marketplace offers are tagged correctly so they support future qualification and renewal.
Low Code and Intelligent Automation specializations have merged into new Agentic Business solutions specialization
As of July 31, 2026, the Low Code Application Development and Intelligent Automation specializations have been consolidated into the new Agentic Business Solutions specialization. Partners previously enrolled in either specialization were automatically transitioned to the new specialization, keeping their existing anniversary dates. There’s no change to the Solutions Partner designation.
What this means for you
Review your team’s current certification status and identify any gaps against the new requirements. This update creates a new pathway to demonstrate expertise across Power Apps, Power Automate, Copilot Studio and agentic AI solutions, helping differentiate your organization in the Microsoft ecosystem and with customers seeking AI-driven business transformation.
Other updates
Extending agentic capabilities of Dynamics 365 Sales through MCP
Microsoft has extended the capabilities of agentic Dynamics 365 Sales by enabling Microsoft-built sales agents, including the Sales Qualification Agent and Sales Opportunity Agent, to securely access trusted third-party sales intelligence in real time. Powered by Model Context Protocol (MCP), this new capability eliminates the need for custom CRM integrations or duplicate data storage, allowing agents to leverage external insights directly within sales workflows.
What this means for you
MCP enables secure access to external business data without requiring complex custom integrations. If you have expertise in Dynamics 365 Sales, Copilot Studio, Power Platform and AI integration services, you will be well-positioned to help customers deploy sales agents that can securely interact with a growing ecosystem of business applications and data sources.
Webinars and events
Sherweb webinars
Microsoft webinars and events
Technical training
- Microsoft Fabric: Databases (September 30-October 1)
- Agentify business processes with Power Platform across industries (September 29-October 2)
- AI-powered threat protection with Microsoft Security Copilot across Security Workloads (September 30-October 2)
Sales training
Other events
- Promptathon: Prompting techniques for everyday productivity (September 30)
Staying ahead of Microsoft change
If you have questions about how any of these updates affect your Sherweb account or your customers, reach out to our team. We’re here to help you turn Microsoft’s changes into opportunities for your business.
Catch up on past updates: August 2026 | July 2026
