Microsoft looks to expand the role of partners in the Azure ecosystem with the Azure Networking MSP Partner Program-- a program enabling partners to offer cloud and hybrid networking services based around (obviously) the Azure portfolio.

The company says partners, such as networking-focused MSPs, network carriers and system integrators, play a "critical role" in enterprise cloud transformation, as they bring both knowledge and real-world experience to enterprise customer wanting to migrate to Azure. Thus, the program aims to help customers find the best MSPs for the job, with managed network services and offerings covering aspects such as network architecture, planning, deployment, operations, maintenance and optimisation.

In total the program covers connectivity (virtual networks, SD-WAN, virtual private networks, DNS management), security (DDoS protection and response, firewalls, web application firewalls and filtering, virtual network endpoints), delivery (traffic management, application gateways, load balancing) and monitoring (network and traffic monitoring and management) services. All will be available through the Azure Marketplace, and customers can purchase said services either through the marketplace or directly from the MSPs.

The program will also benefit early adopters of Azure Lighthouse, a means for partners to view and manage Azure at scale across all customers using a single control plane complete with higher automation and efficiency. It allows MSPs to seamlessly onboard customers via managed service offers using either the Azure marketplace or natively with ARM templates, empowering them to deliver managed network experiences for end customers.

"We firmly believe that Azure customers will greatly benefit from the new cloud networking focused services our partners are bringing to the market," Microsoft concludes. "Customers will be able to leverage these services to augment their own inhouse skills and be able to move faster and more efficiently while optimally leveraging the cloud to meet their enterprise business needs."

Go Enhancing the Customer Experience with the Azure Neteworking MSP Partner Program