EDPS Provider Requirements

To qualify as an EDPS provider, partners must meet the requirements in the following three areas:

1. Be a member of the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN)
   
   Partners must be a member of the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) and have a Microsoft Partner Network ID (MPN ID).
   
   • Learn more about the Microsoft Partner Network
   • Enroll in MPN to obtain an MPN ID
2. Have an active Unified Communications Competency
   
   Update: The Microsoft sartner Network UC Competency Structure has changed.
   Call to Action: Update requirements by your anniversary date.
   Impact: You can now deliver engagements for all UC workloads if you have UC Competency. See below for Microsoft's recommendation based on your area of focus. To avoid going into a "pending" status in EDPS, you must meet your new competency requirements by your anniversary date.
             If you are currently an EDPS partner and have not yet net the new UC Competency requirements, your current status may now be "Active-Non Compliant". This status is an indication that required assets (such as MCPs, customer references, tested products, etc) must be updated before your next anniversary date to maintain your MPN membership status as well as your EDPS membership status.
             Once the UC Competency expires, your EDPS status will go into pending mode and your organization cannot deliver EDPS engagements or receive payment on engagements delivered post status change until you obtain an 'Active" status once again.
   
   Updated Competency Requirements relevant to EDPS New and Existing Providers
   To qualify as an EDPS provider, Partner organizations must an active Unified Communications (UC) Competency with either Option 1 or Option 2 of the Silver or Gold level. The UC Competency Gold level will be available in October 2010. Once you are an approved EDPS partner, you may deliver engagements for all UC workloads: Messaging, Instant Messaging and Presence, Conferencing and Enterprise Voice for on-premise and cloud migrations and deployments.
   
   Microsoft Recommendations
   
   • However, we strongly recommend you obtain Option 2 of the Silver or Gold UC Competency prior to delivering Enterprise Voice engagements. This is the current equivalent of a voice R2-ready status.
     
     

     Partner Competency Options Aligned to EDPS Scenarios
     EDPS SCENARIO:	Exchange Messaging & Design Basic OCS	Basic Exchange OCS Design Enterprise Voice Design	Exchange Online Services OCS Online Services
     MPN COMPETENCY:	UC Competency Option 1*	UC Competency Option 2*	UC Competency Option 1 and 2* Online Services Readiness**

     
     * Silver or Gold level
     ** Online services readiness is currently comprised of the technology readiness (i.e., the Exchange and or Communications Server focus within the UC Competency) plus the readiness advised by the Online Services Partner readiness organization. For more details, please visit: http://microsoft.com
   • The employees designated as the “Microsoft Certified Professionals (MCPs)” employed by the partner organization (which helps the partner organization fulfill part of the UC Competency requirements) should be the consultants designated to deliver the EDPS engagements.
   Learn more about the Unified Communications Competency
   o View the Silver UC Competency requirements: https://partner.microsoft.com/global/program/competencies/40125158#silver
   o View the Gold UC Competency requirements: https://partner.microsoft.com/global/program/competencies/40125158#gold
   
   
3. Have a Windows Live ID that is associated to the partner MPN organization.
   
   During EDPS registration, partners must sign in using a Windows Live ID that is attached to the partner organization.
   • Sign up for a Live ID
   • Learn how to attach a Live ID to the partner organization

Once you meet these requirements, you are ready to register as an EDPS provider. After registering, view the EDPS Interactive Guide to walk you through the EDPS process from start to finish.

 

Partner Registration

To register for EDPS, visit https://iwsolve.partners.extranet.microsoft.com. View EDPS registration instructions to help you through registration. Below is a quick video clip to walk you through registration:

PS Training Pt 1 - Provider Registration