FastTrack Ready Partner "Heads Up" February 7, 2022: Virtual Connections, Wizards as the benefit, FastTrack Migration SME Program

– Sat, 05 Feb 2022 03:27:00 GMT

Heads Up FastTrack Ready Partners
February 7, 2022
Wizards as the Benefit in the Playbook, Windows 11 Incentive Readiness Session, Virtual Connections

Awareness Only

FRP Virtual Connections is here

The FRP Virtual Connections event starts this week in the Americas and EMEA regions; the Asia region event starts next week.
All partners are encouraged to participate in the live event, to learn from and connect with Microsoft SMEs, as well as fellow partners. We have a total of 19 partner presenters sharing success stories for the Americas/EMEA event, and even more at the Asia event.

Agenda (Americas/EMEA): FRP Virtual Connections – Americas/EMEA
Note: Asia event agenda will be published soon and is following a similar format.

Register today:
Americas/EMEA event

February 8, 2022, 6:00 AM PT: FRP Connections – Americas, EMEA (Day One)
February 9, 2022, 6:00 AM PT: FRP Connections – Americas, EMEA (Day Two)

Asia event

February 15, 2022, 7:00 PM PT: FRP Connections – Asia (Day One) +1 day for Asia time zones
February 16, 2022, 7:00 PM PT: FRP Connections – Asia (Day Two) +1 day for Asia time zones

Program News

Wizard as the onboarding benefit (Advanced Deployment Guides) is now included in the FastTrack Service Description

In the January 24, 2022 newsletter we shared that the Wizards as the benefit guidance has been incorporated into the FastTrack Playbook, “Advanced Deployment Guides for Microsoft 365 and Office 365 Services.”
We are excited to share that this optional delivery method has been added to the FastTrack Service Description - Process and Expectations. The addition to the Service Description will help bring clarity to the scope of FastTrack services and enable partners to clearly position their services as a value-add.
This is a significant milestone for FastTrack with great contributions from our partner community. Thanks to all who participated in the pilot and especially to Marc Nys for leading the effort.

Join the conversation about Advanced Deployment Guides (Wizards) in Yammer.

FRP Power BI Dashboard Release: Changes to the Data Health Report

The following changes will be deployed to the Data Health report on February 2, 2022:

Removal of the Overall Status* columns
Teams Phone claims will be included in the results**

*As previously announced, Overall Status Notes are no longer required to be maintained on a weekly or monthly basis, however partners may be requested to provide ad-hoc updates.
**Important: FastTrack Ready Partners will need to update forecasts on Teams Phone by March 2, 2022.

FastTrack Migration SME Program

The FastTrack Migrations team has introduced the Migration SME program to assist those customers who have either struggled to onboard the FastTrack Migration Benefit or due to some uniqueness need a Migration subject matter expert (SME) to assist.

Refer to the knowledge article for details or the Yammer announcement to join the discussion about the Migration SME Program.

Windows 11 Deployment Incentive Readiness Materials

The recordings for the Windows 11 Deployment Incentive training are available on demand:

Additional program materials supporting the incentive:

https://aka.ms/W11DeploymentIncentiveOverview
Webinar Recording- https://aka.ms/W11DeploymentIncentiveWebinar
Webinar Deck- https://aka.ms/W11WebinarDeck
Editable Customer Flyer- https://aka.ms/W11PilotFlyer

Awareness: FastTrack Ready Partner Dedicated (FRP-D) RFA Assignments

A new program, for customers not meeting the assignment business rules and are not assigned to the FTC, has been launched to service RFAs previously supported by the FTC including:

Not eligible for incentive
Not part of the No Incentive program.

This will not impact existing RFA assignments to FRPs.
Refer to the Yammer announcement regarding FRP-D RFA Assignments.

Events and Training

Upcoming events calendar

Click on the links below to register for upcoming events.
FRP-specific events

February 8, 2022, 6:00 AM PT: FRP Connections – Americas, EMEA (Day One)
February 9, 2022, 6:00 AM PT: FRP Connections – Americas, EMEA (Day Two)
February 15, 2022, 7:00 PM PT: FRP Connections – Asia (Day One)
February 16, 2022, 7:00 PM PT: FRP Connections – Asia (Day Two)

Other recommended events

February 7-10, 2022: Training series - Troubleshooting Microsoft Teams (Asia/Pacific, EMEA, Americas)
February 8, 2022, 8:00 AM PT: Microsoft Defender for Business Office Hours
February 9-10, 2022: Enable Frontline Partner Bootcamp
February 17, 2022, 8:00 AM PT: Technical Training: A Deeper Look at Microsoft Defender for Business
February 22, 2022, 7:00 AM PT: M365 ISV Showcase: Collaborative Apps in Microsoft Teams
February 22, 2022, 8:00 AM PT: Meet the New Viva Addition – Ally.io OKR
February 24, 2022, 8 AM PT: February Conversation Series with Customer Engineering: Partner Center Viva Connections data card
February 24, 2022, 9:00 AM PT: What’s next in Security from Microsoft
February 28, 2022, 12:00 AM PT: Selling Microsoft Viva: How to Accelerate Sales Opportunities

Available on-demand

Click on the links below to view content on-demand.
FRP-specific events

Other recommended events

Selling Microsoft Viva: How to Engage Decision Makers

Feedback Focus

And the survey says…

Thanks to all of you who responded to our Q2 FRP Voice of Partner survey. You’ve provided a wealth of thoughtful insight! We look forward to sharing the results, and more importantly our actions with you, over the next couple of months.
One key measurement is how you feel we respond to feedback and act on it. We’re pleased that 69% of respondents feel that feedback is heard and acted upon.
25% of respondents have not yet tried the Insights/Feedback Forum. If that’s you, take time to share your ideas and suggestions or check out other ideas and add your voice by voting.
We also have a new way to share feedback directly from the Knowledge Base. From any article, use the link at the bottom of the page to submit feedback or suggestions on the content.

Workload News

Enable Frontline: Partner Bootcamp, learning path and resources

To help prepare you for success with your customers we’ve worked together with Microsoft Teams Engineering to create the Enable Frontline Partner Bootcamp. This live event will be delivered on February 9-10, 2022, 7:00 AM – 11:00 AM Pacific Time Zone with live chat Q&A.
Register today for the Enable Frontline Partner Bootcamp: https://aka.ms/EnableFrontlineBootcamp
Additional recommended Frontline worker resources:

Refer to the Yammer post sharing the Enable Frontline resources to join the discussion.

New Viva Connections Data Card released today in Partner Center

The Viva Connections Data Card is now available in Partner Center. This new card will enable you to see which of your CPOR customer tenants are ready for Viva Connections.
When logged in to Partner Center you will see a new feature in the Opportunities section highlighting which tenants are ready for Viva Connections. It will also provide links to training, walkthroughs, and presentations to assist you with the end-to-end journey of bringing Viva Connections to your customers. This data card will also advise of tenants that are close to being Viva Connections ready and what steps are required for those tenants to adopt Viva Connections.

Refer to the Yammer post announcing the New Viva Connections data card.

Documentation Updates

Terms and Conditions

Download the Terms and Conditions for current program details.
There are no changes to the terms and conditions.

FastTrack Playbook

Visit the Playbook Change Log for a complete list of updates.

Update Windows 10 to Windows 10/11 to support customers moving to Windows 11. Tasks updated include: 1247, 1701, 2218, 3190, 4033, 4083, 4084, 4096, 4180, 4188, 4190, 4218, 4220, 3734, 4021, 4024, 4031, 4032, 4068, 4275, 4276
The Communication Compliance Workshop deck now provides an overview of the Communication Compliance solution.

Service Description

Access the FastTrack Service Description.

IMAP has been removed as a Migration Type from the FastTrack Service Description.
Added clarity around FastTrack support of Windows 11.
Update MDE service description to include onboarding and configuration of Windows Server 202 R2 and additional insights process.
Update MCAS service description to include the appropriate links to Microsoft docs.

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