Posted by Julie Golding, Partner Subscriptions Manager, Microsoft U.S. Partner Team.

Each month in the U.S. partner newsletter, our Microsoft Cloud Partner Program expert in the U.S., Julie Golding, delivers a message to Microsoft Cloud Essentials Pack subscribers, offering information about growth and engagement opportunities and tips for utilizing the benefits of the subscription. Read the Cloud Partner blog series.

A reminder about the Spring into Cloud Accelerate and Save promotion that I announced earlier this month. If you are among the first 150 eligible Cloud Essentials subscribers in the U.S. to qualify for and join the Microsoft Cloud Accelerate Program between May 1 and June 15, you will receive $900 towards your enrollment fee for joining. Read the promotion Terms and Conditions for eligibility requirements and additional details.

Cloud Accelerate members receive:

• Enhanced internal-use rights for Microsoft Cloud Solutions
• Delegated Administrative Rights for Microsoft Office 365
• Partner Advisory Hours to apply to support and services from Microsoft Partner Services
• Additional training and marketing support, including use of the Cloud Accelerate logo

You may also have heard that we are adding a Small Business Competency in June. The requirements and benefits of this competency will be focused on building a capable cloud partner ecosystem and be a key differentiator for partners who serve small business customers. Watch for details on the new U.S. partner portal, and if you are going to be at WPC in July, there is a session specifically about the competency in the Small and Medium Business Track.

Finally, remember that Cloud Essentials subscribers can register for the Practice Accelerator for Microsoft Office 365 at no cost. There are sessions scheduled through the end of June. If you are looking for on-demand training, the Cloud Learning Plan was recently refreshed with updated product courses.