Frequently asked questions

Get answers to the most frequently asked questions (FAQs) from software development companies across various topics.

Azure Sponsorship provides free Microsoft Azure usage to qualified partners and customers.

The Sponsorship program offers 100% discounted Azure usage for a specific amount of time on Azure pay-as-you-go subscriptions and Enterprise Agreements. This is a great way to lower Azure infrastructure costs to help accelerate your commercial marketplace business.

Marketplace Rewards doesn’t offer Azure Sponsorships for Microsoft Customer Agreements or Cloud Solution Provider agreements and may also not be used for reserved instances.
While the Azure distributed through this program is free of charge, a billing option must be set to offset charges that exceed the allocated Sponsorship amount.

What are the types of subscriptions eligible for Azure Sponsorship?
Existing Enterprise Agreements

Existing pay-as-you-go subscriptions

New pay-as-you-go subscriptions

Marketplace Rewards doesn’t offer Azure Sponsorships for Microsoft Customer Agreements.

How do I know which subscription option is right for me or my customer?
First-time user: A new pay-as-you-go subscription is the only choice for companies that don’t already have an Azure subscription set up.

Software-as-a-service (SaaS)partner: The Sponsorship is usually provisioned onto the partner's Enterprise Agreement or pay-as-you-go subscription.

Infrastructure as a service (non-SaaS): The Sponsorship may be provisioned onto your or your customer’s Enterprise Agreement or pay-as-you-go subscription.

What is the Microsoft Azure pricing for usage?
The pricing for Microsoft Azure usage under this offer will be 100% off standard published rates for the term and will revert to any contracted rates after the sponsorship expires or is fully consumed.
The Azure Enterprise Agreement must be in an active status. We are unable to provision a Sponsorship to an Enterprise Agreement in expired, extended, or transferred status.

During the Sponsorship term, the account owner who is managing the Sponsorship will log on to the Microsoft Azure Sponsorships portal and assign the Sponsorship to the Azure subscription. When the Sponsorship ends, any new Azure costs are applied to the Enterprise Agreement as usual.

You need the following permissions to create subscriptions for an Enterprise Agreement:
An enterprise administrator on any active enrollment account.

An account owner on the Enterprise Agreement enrollment.

More info can be found on this page: Create an Enterprise Agreement subscription - Azure Cost Management + Billing | Microsoft Learn
During the Sponsorship term, the account owner who is managing the Sponsorship will log on to the Microsoft Azure Sponsorships portal and assign the Sponsorship to the Azure subscription. When the Sponsorship ends, any new Azure costs are applied to the credit card on the account.

Is a "global sponsorship" the same as “pay-as-you-go“?
Yes.

What happens if there is no existing pay-as-you-go subscription or Enterprise Agreement?
For information on creating a new pay-as-you-go subscription, review these instructions. The new pay-as-you-go subscription can be created before or after submitting the Sponsorship request.

To create a new pay-as-you-go subscription after submitting the Sponsorship request, you must provide the valid Microsoft Services Agreement that will be used to create the subscription.

This means the account owner ID (email address) must be an existing Microsoft account or a properly provisioned organization ID that exists in Azure Active Directory. If no Microsoft account exists, you will need to create one.
Go to the Create a Microsoft account page.
Enter your email address and create a password. You can use a phone number instead or get a new email address.
Enter your first and last name.
Enter your country and region.
Enter your birth date.
Select Enter and you’ll receive a verification code via your email address.
Enter the code to authenticate.
Select Next and you should be good to go.
Requests for Azure Sponsorships are generally processed in three to five business days after valid account information is received. If information contains invalid information (i.e. invalid Enterprise Agreement number, invalid Account ID, Microsoft Customer Agreement instead of a valid Enterprise Agreement), there will be a delay until valid information from the partner and/or customer is provided.

Can a Sponsorship be backdated?
No. Sponsorships will apply only after the request date and are not retroactive.

Can the Sponsorship start at a date later than the submission date?
Yes. We can set the start date up to 30 days from the Sponsorship submission request date. The 90-day usage time limit will start on the requested start date.
Sponsorship benefits are provided by Microsoft and can be canceled by participants at any time. Payment is required for any outstanding fees incurred before or after the Sponsorship is activated by the account owner.

What is the Microsoft Azure pricing for usage?
The pricing for Microsoft Azure usage under this offer will be 100% off standard, published pay-as-you-go rates for the term.

What happens if I exceed my allotted Azure under the Sponsorship?
Unless otherwise specified or prohibited by law, Sponsorship will automatically convert to pay-as-you-go when the cumulative usage cap or end date is reached. The usage cap and end date are specified in the invitation email.

Is there a cash benefit for the Sponsorship?
There is no cash equivalent to this benefit. This is strictly an Azure service provided at no cost as part of Marketplace Rewards. Account owners can use the free Azure granted, but they cannot transfer the granted amount for any other purpose.

Can the Sponsorship be used to cover previous charges?
Unlike a credit, which is applied to a bill after the fact, this is a Sponsorship, which is granted for and applied to current or future use.

Can the Azure Sponsorships through Marketplace Rewards be used on Azure government accounts/subscriptions?
No, at this time Sponsorships may not be used for government accounts or subscriptions.
No, the Azure Sponsorship program for Marketplace Rewards doesn’t currently support Microsoft Customer Agreements or Cloud Solution Providers agreements.

I purchased my Azure subscriptions through a Microsoft partner. Can I use an Azure Sponsorship?
Purchasing Azure subscriptions through a Microsoft partner will fall under a Cloud Service Provider agreement. Azure Sponsorships through Marketplace Rewards currently do not support Cloud Service Provider agreements.

Can I use the Azure Sponsorship for Azure Reserved Virtual Machine Instances or on-demand reserved capacities?
No, the Azure Sponsorship program for Marketplace Rewards doesn’t currently allow Sponsorships to be applied to Azure Reserved Virtual Machine Instances or on-demand reserved capacities.

Where can I review the Azure Sponsorship terms and conditions?
You may visit Azure Sponsorship Offer | Microsoft Azure at any time to review the terms and conditions of the Azure Sponsorships benefit for Marketplace Rewards.

If I am providing an Azure Sponsorship for a customer and the customer would like to receive the Sponsorship over multiple years, is this possible?
No. Microsoft reserves the right to change benefit levels for the duration of the program. If the partner is requesting Azure Sponsorship on multiyear deals, we advise that they don’t make any promises to the customer(s) about Azure Sponsorships granted through Marketplace Rewards.

The Azure Sponsorship program through Marketplace Rewards and the amounts of Azure Sponsorship funding granted to each partner each Microsoft fiscal year may change at Microsoft’s discretion.
Usage can be viewed with the same account ID used to provision the Sponsorship. The account owner can view usage by downloading a usage report from the balance page on the Sponsorships portal.

The Azure account owner will receive the following automated emails about the Sponsorship:
Terms and conditions email. The account owner must accept the Sponsorship from this email.

Activation email. Once the Azure Sponsorship is accepted, the account owner ID will be notified via email.

Consumed Azure notifications. The account owner will also receive emails when the account reaches 50% and 90% consumption.

How often are expiration notification emails sent?
First notification: 30 days before Sponsorship expiration date.

Second notification: 7 days before Sponsorship expiration date.

Third notification: 1 day before Sponsorship expiration date.

What happens if usage exceeds the expiration date or monetary cap?
If usage exceeds the Sponsorship expiration date or if the Azure Sponsorship is considered fully consumed, any additional Azure usage charges are the responsibility of the account owner. The Sponsorship will automatically convert to a pay-as-you-go subscription or an Enterprise Agreement. The account owner must intentionally cancel the Azure service to avoid accruing additional charges. Microsoft will not reverse charges for Azure consumption before or after the Sponsorship is activated by the Azure account owner.

Does usage during a Sponsorship count toward Azure consumption revenue?
No. During a Sponsorship, usage is covered by Microsoft, so the account isn’t billed. Any usage that exceeds the Sponsorship amount and is paid for by the partner or customer will count toward Azure consumption revenue.
Learn how to create an Azure support ticket using these instructions.

If you have any further questions, please contact your Marketplace Rewards Engagement Manager.