--- title: "Microsoft Co-Sell Solution Play Is Now Conversation" url: https://www.fours.com/resources/blog/microsoft-co-sell-solution-play-conversation/ canonical: https://www.fours.com/resources/blog/microsoft-co-sell-solution-play-conversation/ type: Blog description: "Microsoft co-sell Solution Play is now Conversation for FY27: the 11 valid pairs, where Microsoft's own docs disagree, and what happens to older values." --- # Microsoft Co-Sell Solution Play Is Now Conversation > Canonical HTML version: https://www.fours.com/resources/blog/microsoft-co-sell-solution-play-conversation/ 1. [Home](/) 2. [Resources](/resources/) 3. [Blog](/resources/blog/) 4. FY27 Microsoft Co-Sell: Solution Play Is Now Conversation # FY27 Microsoft Co-Sell: Solution Play Is Now Conversation For FY27, Microsoft's Referrals API swapped Solution Play for Conversation, but its co-sell guides still show last year's values. Here are the 11 valid pairs, where Microsoft's pages disagree, and what happens to older values. [![Sabrina Xie](/authors/sabrina-xie.jpg)](/resources/blog/author/sabrina-xie/) [Sabrina Xie](/resources/blog/author/sabrina-xie/) Oct 7, 2026 ![FY27 Microsoft Co-Sell: Solution Play Is Now Conversation](/images/blog/microsoft-co-sell-solution-play-conversation/hero.png) Explore AI Summary [![](/logos/company/openai.svg)](https://chat.openai.com/?q=Read%20and%20summarize%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fours.com%2Fresources%2Fblog%2Fmicrosoft-co-sell-solution-play-conversation%2F%2C%20then%20cite%20the%20source.%20Focus%20on%20what%20it%20says%20about%20Co-Sell%2C%20Azure. "Summarize with ChatGPT")[![](/logos/company/anthropic.svg) ](https://claude.ai/new?q=Read%20and%20summarize%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fours.com%2Fresources%2Fblog%2Fmicrosoft-co-sell-solution-play-conversation%2F%2C%20then%20cite%20the%20source.%20Focus%20on%20what%20it%20says%20about%20Co-Sell%2C%20Azure. 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"Summarize with Perplexity") Table of Contents - [What changed in Microsoft co-sell for FY27?](#what-changed-in-microsoft-co-sell-for-fy27) - [What are the FY27 Solution Areas and Conversations?](#what-are-the-fy27-solution-areas-and-conversations) - [Where do Microsoft’s own pages disagree?](#where-do-microsofts-own-pages-disagree) - [How does Fours handle Solution Play and Conversation values?](#how-does-fours-handle-solution-play-and-conversation-values) - [Which other co-sell fields should a CRM mapping fill?](#which-other-co-sell-fields-should-a-crm-mapping-fill) - [How do you check a Microsoft co-sell field mapping?](#how-do-you-check-a-microsoft-co-sell-field-mapping) - [Frequently asked questions](#frequently-asked-questions) - [Takeaways](#takeaways) _A Conversation is the second-level value on a Microsoft co-sell referral, beneath its Solution Area, and for FY27 it replaces the Solution Play: Microsoft’s Referrals API now takes one of 11 Solution Area and Conversation pairs. Microsoft’s own co-sell guides still say “Solution play” and show FY26 values, so a CRM mapping built from them sends last year’s taxonomy._ * * * Microsoft’s Referrals API reference now carries a note that applies to every co-sell referral created in FY27: > “For FY27, the Solution Play taxonomy is replaced by the Conversation taxonomy. Submit the second-level attribute with type Conversation (not SolutionPlay), and ensure you’re passing the updated Solution Areas and Conversations when creating referrals.” Microsoft’s user-facing documentation hasn’t caught up. Its co-sell guides still call the field Solution play; one still shows the FY26 values, and another still says the fields are optional for IP co-sell. Below: the FY27 table, where Microsoft’s pages disagree, the other fields a mapping should fill, and how Fours handles FY25 and FY26 values. For how an IP co-sell deal qualifies and registers, start with [how Microsoft IP co-sell works](/resources/blog/microsoft-ip-co-sell-how-it-works/). This post covers what you send; for referrals Microsoft sends you, see [triaging inbound co-sell referrals on AWS and Microsoft](/resources/blog/aws-microsoft-co-sell-referral-triage/). ## What changed in Microsoft co-sell for FY27? The Solution Play taxonomy was replaced by the Conversation taxonomy. Every co-sell referral still names a Solution Area, but its second-level value is now a Conversation, sent as an attribute of type `Conversation` rather than `SolutionPlay`. **A Conversation is the second-level value in Microsoft’s co-sell taxonomy**: the specific motion inside a solution area, in the place Solution Play held through FY26. Microsoft’s Create a referral reference marks both fields required on a brand-new referral; Conversation is “The Conversation of the Customer need in the opportunity. Required.” Both values travel in the same place in the request body: as attributes under `details.requirements.additionalRequirements`, each with an `id` that holds the value and a `type` that names the field. Microsoft’s own request example sends these three: ``` "attributes": [ { "id": "HaveNotDecided", "type": "CustomerMarketplaceIntent" }, { "id": "AI Business Solutions", "type": "SolutionArea" }, { "id": "Agentify your business processes", "type": "Conversation" } ] ``` Two details matter for an integration: the `type` string changed from `SolutionPlay`, and so did the values, so switching the type while keeping last year’s values doesn’t get a referral to FY27. Services co-sell referrals carry one more requirement: “PartnerRole, SolutionArea, and Conversation must be provided in details > requirements > additionalRequirements.” Microsoft’s FY27 runs from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027. The note says only “For FY27” and gives no separate cut-over date, so treat the FY27 values as the ones to send on any referral you create now. ## What are the FY27 Solution Areas and Conversations? There are five solution areas and 11 valid pairs. One conversation, “AI-ready productivity and security for every employee”, is valid under two areas, Security and AI Business Solutions, so a mapping has to choose the area as well as the conversation. In the order Microsoft’s Referral resources page publishes it: Solution Area Conversation Microsoft Services Accelerate AI Transformation with Microsoft Services Security AI-ready productivity and security for every employee Security Establish a trusted and secure platform for AI Windows and Devices AI Transformation with Surface and Copilot AI Business Solutions AI-ready productivity and security for every employee AI Business Solutions Agentify your business processes AI Business Solutions AI in the flow of human ambition Cloud and AI Platforms Modernize with confidence Cloud and AI Platforms Build a unified governed data and AI estate Cloud and AI Platforms Amplify your intelligence Cloud and AI Platforms Ubiquitous Innovation Microsoft’s Services co-sell overview still carries the FY26 table, and the two barely overlap. FY26 ran to 31 rows across four solution areas; FY27 has 11 across five. Microsoft Unified, an FY26 solution area, isn’t in the FY27 table, while Microsoft Services and Windows and Devices are new. None of the FY26 solution play names appears in the FY27 Conversation column, so no FY26 second-level value carries over unchanged. Copy the values exactly as published. They’re long strings with inconsistent capitalization (“Ubiquitous Innovation” against “Modernize with confidence”), and Microsoft doesn’t document how strictly it matches them. ## Where do Microsoft’s own pages disagree? On the field’s name, its values, and whether IP co-sell must fill it. Microsoft’s developer pages say Conversation and carry the FY27 table; its user-facing co-sell guides still say Solution play, and the two oldest still show FY26 values or call the fields optional for IP co-sell. Microsoft page Written for What it says on October 7, 2026 Referral resources Referrals API ”For FY27, the Solution Play taxonomy is replaced by the Conversation taxonomy.” Then the FY27 table Create a referral Referrals API Solution Area and Conversation, each marked “Required” Manage co-sell opportunities in Partner Center, last updated July 2026 Partner Center users Solution Area and Solution Play, each “Required for Services co-sell and IP co-sell”, with no table of values Services co-sell overview, last updated July 2025 Partner Center users ”The following table shows the values for Solution Areas and Solution Plays for FY26.” Understanding solution areas and solution plays, last updated July 2025 Partner Center users Four solution areas, including Microsoft Unified, and “For IP co-sell partners, these fields are optional.” The newest user-facing page settles the mandatory question for the portal: “The IP co-sell process now requires Solution Area and Solution Play to be specified for all new deals. This change applies exclusively to deals created through the Partner Center (PC) portal and bulk upload methods.” The API reference marks both values Required on a new referral, so don’t build on the July 2025 “optional” line by either route. None of the user-facing pages says whether the portal’s own field label has changed, and this post doesn’t assume it has. Build what a referral sends from the Referrals API reference. ## How does Fours handle Solution Play and Conversation values? Fours accepts both names, writes Conversation on every new referral, and handles values from earlier catalogs by fiscal year: Situation What Fours does Finding the field Labels it “Solution Play/Conversation”, so it’s findable under either name An existing field mapping Keeps working, because the mapping key is still `SolutionPlay`; there’s nothing to rewrite Creating a referral Always writes the value as Conversation, whichever name you sent Updating a referral Preserves the name you send, so an older client can keep updating `SolutionPlay` Creating with a current value Sends it as-is Creating with an FY26 value Maps it forward to its current equivalent automatically, so you don’t re-pick it Updating a referral that holds an FY25 value Rejects the update; set a current value on the referral instead A stored value outside the current catalog Shows it with a `(legacy)` marker Microsoft Unified is retired in Fours: it’s no longer a selectable solution area, though referrals created against it in an earlier catalog still exist. The `(legacy)` marker is informational. It doesn’t stop anyone reading the referral or working the deal; it tells you that editing that referral means picking a current value. Fours’ current catalog carries the same 11 pairs as Microsoft’s FY27 table. When a referral fails on these fields, its field reference says to check the pair: “A valid area and a valid conversation still fail when the conversation does not belong to that area”. ## Which other co-sell fields should a CRM mapping fill? Four more fields on the same Partner Center form shape how a Microsoft seller reads the referral: the customer need, the notes to Microsoft sellers, capture intent on IP co-sell, and the customer contact. Field What Microsoft says What to map Customer need Marked “Optional”. Microsoft’s generative AI suggests customer needs from “the inputs provided during referral creation (solution area, solution play, etc.)”, and partners “can select, edit, or override these suggestions as needed” A field that states the customer’s actual requirement. The suggestions start from the solution area and play, so they’re only as good as that pair Notes to Microsoft sellers Provide “The customer business problem statement” and “The specific help they require from Microsoft” The business problem and the specific ask, not a generic opportunity description Capture intent, IP co-sell only Whether the customer intends to purchase on Microsoft Marketplace: Yes, No, or Have not decided. In the API, a `CustomerMarketplaceIntent` attribute with the ID `Yes`, `No` or `HaveNotDecided` A CRM field that records buying intent, defaulting to Have not decided. Microsoft says you can change that value later on the deal details page Customer contact If the customer’s email domain matches your logged-in domain, Partner Center shows a passive warning, and “partners must acknowledge a mandatory confirmation checkbox before proceeding” The customer’s own contact, never your rep’s, and only with the customer’s consent, which Microsoft asks you to obtain first The rest of the form, from deal name and estimated value to the numeric sales stages your CRM stages map onto, is covered in [how co-sell works on AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud](/resources/blog/how-co-sell-works/). ## How do you check a Microsoft co-sell field mapping? In three steps: check the values as pairs against the FY27 table, check the attribute type, then preview the converted referral before it reaches Microsoft and watch for failures after. 1. **Check the values as pairs.** List every solution area and solution play your CRM picklists can send, and check each combination against the FY27 table, not each value alone. Decide which area owns “AI-ready productivity and security for every employee” for your deals. If you integrate directly, replace Microsoft Unified and every FY26 play name. In Fours, an FY26 value is mapped forward on create, but a referral holding an FY25 value needs a current one before it takes an update. 2. **Check the type.** If you call the Referrals API yourself, send the second-level attribute with `type` set to `Conversation`, alongside `SolutionArea`. If you map through Fours, leave the `SolutionPlay` key alone: Fours writes Conversation on create. 3. **Preview, then watch.** In Fours, run Test Mapping on the outbound field-mapping step to inspect the converted data, or open an opportunity and click Share. As the [co-sell configuration guide](https://doc.fours.com/cosell/cosell-configuration/) puts it, “if data looks wrong or empty there, it’ll be wrong in the partner portal.” Once real referrals flow, watch the referral list: a Create Failed or Update Failed status carries the partner’s error message when you hover over it, and a `(legacy)` marker flags a stored value from an earlier catalog. ## Frequently asked questions ### What replaced Solution Play in Microsoft co-sell? Conversation. For FY27, Microsoft’s Referrals API replaces the Solution Play taxonomy with the Conversation taxonomy, so a referral sends its second-level attribute with type Conversation instead of SolutionPlay, alongside the Solution Area. Microsoft marks both fields Required on a new referral. ### What are the FY27 Microsoft co-sell solution areas? Five: Microsoft Services, Security, Windows and Devices, AI Business Solutions, and Cloud and AI Platforms. Between them they carry 11 valid conversation pairs, and one conversation, AI-ready productivity and security for every employee, is valid under both Security and AI Business Solutions. ### Are Solution Area and Solution Play mandatory for IP co-sell? Yes, in Microsoft’s newest guidance. Its July 2026 co-sell page requires both for new IP co-sell deals created in the Partner Center portal or by bulk upload, and the Referrals API marks Solution Area and Conversation Required. An older page, last updated July 2025, still calls them optional. ### Why do Microsoft’s co-sell guides still say Solution play? Microsoft’s user-facing co-sell pages haven’t caught up with its developer pages. They still name the field Solution play, and one still shows the FY26 values. The Referrals API reference is where the FY27 change and the current table appear, so build mappings from it. ### What happens to FY26 and FY25 values in Fours? On create, Fours maps an FY26 value forward to its current equivalent automatically. An update to a referral that holds an FY25 value is rejected, so set a current value first. Any stored value outside the current catalog is shown with a (legacy) marker. ### Do I need to rewrite my Fours field mapping for Conversation? No. The field-mapping key is still SolutionPlay, so existing mappings keep working, and Fours writes every new referral as Conversation whichever name you sent. Check the pairs instead: Fours’ field reference warns that a valid area and a valid conversation still fail when they don’t belong together. ## Takeaways - For FY27, send the second-level attribute with type Conversation, beside a Solution Area; both are Required on a new referral. The table has five solution areas and 11 pairs, and no FY26 solution play name carries over. - Check values as pairs, not one at a time: Microsoft publishes the valid values as pairs, and one conversation is valid under two areas. - Microsoft’s user-facing co-sell guides still say Solution play and show older values. Build from the Referrals API reference. - In Fours, keep the SolutionPlay mapping key: new referrals go out as Conversation, FY26 values map forward on create, an FY25 value blocks an update, and (legacy) flags anything outside the current catalog. Fours maps Salesforce, HubSpot or Dynamics 365 fields onto Microsoft co-sell referrals, writes the second-level value as Conversation, and flags values from earlier catalogs with a (legacy) marker. See how the referral workflow runs end to end in [Fours’ co-sell automation](/platform/cosell/), and keep the [Microsoft co-sell field reference](https://doc.fours.com/cosell/cosell-microsoft-fields/) open while you map. ## Sources Primary sources for the platform rules cited above. Last verified October 7, 2026. Cloud providers change fees, eligibility, and program terms without notice — check the source before relying on a figure. - [Microsoft Partner Center: Referral resources](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/partner-center/developer/referral-resources) — The FY27 note, quoted verbatim: the Solution Play taxonomy is replaced by the Conversation taxonomy, and the second-level attribute is sent with type Conversation (not SolutionPlay); the FY27 Solution Area and Conversation table of five solution areas and 11 pairs; the CustomerMarketplaceIntent values Yes, No and HaveNotDecided - [Microsoft Partner Center: Create a referral](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/partner-center/developer/create-a-referral) — Solution Area and Conversation each marked Required on a new referral; both sent as attributes under details > requirements > additionalRequirements, as in Microsoft's request example; PartnerRole, SolutionArea and Conversation required for a Services co-sell referral - [Microsoft Partner Center: Manage co-sell opportunities in Partner Center](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/partner-center/referrals/manage-co-sell-opportunities) — Last updated July 2026: Solution Area and Solution Play required for all new IP co-sell deals created through the Partner Center portal and bulk upload; Customer need optional, with generative-AI suggestions built from the solution area and play; notes to sellers carry the business problem and the help required; capture intent applies only to IP co-sell (Yes, No, Have not decided); the warning and mandatory confirmation checkbox when the customer's email domain matches the partner's - [Microsoft Partner Center: Services co-sell overview](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/partner-center/referrals/services-co-sell) — Last updated July 2025: the FY26 Solution Area and Solution Play table, 31 rows across four solution areas including Microsoft Unified - [Microsoft Partner Center: Understanding solution areas and solution plays](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/partner-center/referrals/understanding-solution-areas) — Last updated July 2025: four solution areas including Microsoft Unified, and Solution area and Solution play described as optional for IP co-sell partners - [Microsoft Partner Center: July 2026 announcements](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/partner-center/announcements/2026-july) — Microsoft's FY27 runs from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 - [Fours docs: Co-Sell Fields in Microsoft](https://doc.fours.com/cosell/cosell-microsoft-fields/) — Fours behaviour: the Solution Play/Conversation label; the SolutionPlay mapping key; new referrals written as Conversation, updates keep the name sent; FY26 values mapped forward on create; updates to a referral holding an FY25 value rejected; the (legacy) marker; Microsoft Unified retired; a valid area and a valid conversation still fail when the conversation does not belong to that area - [Fours docs: Co-sell Configuration](https://doc.fours.com/cosell/cosell-configuration/) — Fours behaviour: field mapping between Salesforce, HubSpot or Dynamics 365 and Azure co-sell; Test Mapping on the outbound field-mapping step; the Share page as a preview; the partner error message behind a Create Failed or Update Failed status ## Keep reading - [AzureFrontier Accelerate for Marketplace: Migration GuideSep 28, 2026](/resources/blog/frontier-accelerate-for-marketplace/) - [Co-SellMicrosoft IP Co-Sell: How It Actually WorksAug 18, 2026](/resources/blog/microsoft-ip-co-sell-how-it-works/) - [AWSAWS Marketplace Engagement Score vs Quality ScoreOct 19, 2026](/resources/blog/aws-engagement-score-vs-quality-score/) - [AzureMicrosoft Publisher Agreement: AI and MPO RulesOct 15, 2026](/resources/blog/microsoft-publisher-agreement-ai-mpo/) [Browse every post on the Fours Blog](/resources/blog/) ### Stay Updated New posts, product updates and marketplace strategy are shared on LinkedIn as they publish. 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