Updated for FY27. Partner Admin Link (PAL) is the Azure attribution mechanism that lets Microsoft partners track the influence they have on the Azure services their customers consume. If you deliver managed services, build or optimise Azure environments, or hold admin access in a customer tenant, PAL is how Microsoft sees the work you're doing.
Under the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program, PAL associations feed Azure Consumed Revenue (ACR) back to your Partner One ID (still shown in places as your MPN ID). That data flows into Solutions Partner designation metrics, specialisation eligibility, incentive earnings and the way Microsoft sellers see your business in their reporting.
What's changed for FY27
- Terminology: the Microsoft Partner Network is now the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program, and your MPN ID is your Partner One ID. Both names still appear in the Azure portal.
- Attribution matters more than ever: ACR from PAL underpins Solutions Partner for Infrastructure (Azure), Digital & App Innovation (Azure) and Data & AI (Azure), plus the Azure specialisations sitting above them.
- AI workloads count: Azure AI Foundry, Azure OpenAI and Microsoft Fabric consumption all land in ACR when the association is in place.
- Incentives follow attribution: FY27 Azure incentives, accelerators and funding decisions all lean on what Microsoft can actually see against your Partner One ID.
Why bother creating PAL associations?
A PAL association lets you demonstrate, accurately and automatically, the influence your team has on a customer's Azure consumption. Without it, the work still happens, Microsoft just can't attribute it to you. Partners who drive Azure consumption use PAL to earn recognition, designation progress and financial incentives.
How do I activate PAL with a customer?
- Get admin access in the customer environment: a Microsoft Entra ID directory role, an Azure role assignment on the subscription or resource group, or delegated access through Azure Lighthouse.
- Sign in to the Azure portal with the account that holds that access, then search for "Link to a partner ID".
- Enter your Partner One ID (your MPN ID) and select Link.
- Repeat for every account, tenant and subscription your team works in, including service principals used by automation.
- Check the association shows up in Partner Center reporting, then re-check after staff or tenant changes.
Microsoft's own guidance is worth bookmarking: Link to a partner ID by using PAL or DPOR and Link a partner ID to your account.
Can more than one partner influence the same subscription?
Yes. PAL lets multiple partners earn recognition and incentives on the same customer subscription. That matches how the real world works, where two or more partners deliver services in one environment, for example across separate line of business apps or different specialisations such as AI, data or security.
Do we need customer participation to activate PAL?
You activate PAL by linking a valid Partner One ID to the admin credentials a customer has granted you. As a partner, you're responsible for making sure that:
- An authorised representative of the customer has consented to give you administrative access
- The customer understands they can revoke that access at any time
You can't assign or use your administrative access to add other parties without customer consent.
Will PAL help us earn our Solutions Partner designations?
Yes. PAL contributes ACR to the performance metrics and counts towards net new customer adds, so it's usually the fastest route to moving a stalled Azure designation score. If you want to see where you stand before you start, our Partner Center health check shows exactly what Microsoft can and can't currently see.
Related reading
- Which Azure level 2 services are associated via PAL?
- Mastering Microsoft Partner Center
- Microsoft funding tools
Did you know?
Noteworthy Partners can ask us to create a one-pager you can share with customers explaining everything PAL-related. It's branded with your business branding and includes the Microsoft terminology needed to explain why the association matters.
