For Ingram Micro Microsoft partners

Cumulus Growth Programme

Microsoft now rewards Secure AI workloads more than seat growth. Your customers now ask for a business case before they buy. Cumulus is the commercial programme that helps you sell that work. Ingram Micro runs it for its Microsoft partners, and TechGrowth delivers it.

Who this is for. Cumulus is open to Ingram Micro partners who buy Microsoft through Ingram Micro. Every price on this page is a partner price. Do you buy Microsoft somewhere else? You need an Ingram Micro account first, and we can introduce you.

3Membership tiers, from free to one to one
5PSteps in the commercial system you build
10Sector workshops, run once each between October and August
4Steps in the customer engagement you sell

Why now

Microsoft has changed what it rewards.

From July 2026, Microsoft points more of its partner rewards at Secure AI workloads. It also funds engagements that happen before the sale, and again after it. The traditional business still matters. Secure AI adds a layer of value above it.

Your customers have moved as well. Many already have Microsoft AI capability somewhere in the estate. Their boards now ask a harder question. What has actually changed in the business?

The shift

How the money model is moving.

You still sell licences and cloud. You can now also build AI workloads, and run them for a monthly fee.

How Microsoft rewards partners now
What changes
The traditional business
The new growth layer
What Microsoft rewards
New licences, sold by the seat
New Secure AI workloads, built into how the customer works
Who buys it
IT operations
The chief executive, the finance director and the operations director
What you sell
Technology, supplied and supported
A business change, and the technology that delivers it
How you get paid
Resale margin and day rates
Paid consulting, the build, a recurring service and Microsoft funding

Nobody is asking you to stop what you do today. The question is what you add to it.

The problem

Two sentences we hear from MSP owners.

The same problem causes both. It shows up at opposite ends of the same opportunity.

Before the decision
We only hear about it when they ask us to quote.
After the build
We built exactly what they asked for, but there was no next conversation.

Being brought in late does not mean your technical work is inferior. Whoever leads the commercial conversation writes the requirement everyone else quotes against. If the requirement is written without you, you compete inside somebody else’s decision. You then compete on scope and price.

We heard the same sentence from MSP owner after MSP owner during our channel interviews. “We are not consultants.” Nobody was afraid of Copilot. They were unsure about redesigning somebody else’s business, which is what the customer now needs.

Where the commercial work is missing

The customer

Business need

What should get better?

The missing work

The business case

What is it worth to them?

Your capability

Microsoft workload

What do we build?

The result

Recurring service

How do we keep it working?

Your customer knows what they want to improve. You know what you can build. The business case in the middle is the work nobody is doing. That business case decides who wins the project.

The alternatives

What MSPs do instead of Cumulus.

All four of these are reasonable. Each card shows where that option stops working.

Work it out on each deal

Working it out on each deal does win deals. Your team then works it out again on the next deal, and nothing you learned the first time gets reused.

Use vendor training

Vendor training teaches your engineers the product. It does not tell you which sector to target, which problem to lead with, or what to charge.

Hire a commercial director

A permanent hire gives you someone whose only job is this work. It also adds a large fixed cost, and takes months to produce a first executive conversation.

Bring in a consultancy

The consultancy controls the customer relationship. It has no reason to pass the build to you. Your team also cannot repeat the work next quarter.

Why Ingram Micro

What you cannot get from another distributor.

You can buy Microsoft licences from many distributors. These six things come with Cumulus.

Built with Microsoft

Ingram Micro built the programme against Microsoft’s FY27 direction, with Microsoft UK involved.

Commercial rather than technical

Certification and labs already exist elsewhere. Cumulus is the layer that turns technical capability into revenue.

Led by operators

The people delivering it have built and sold practices themselves. They are not trainers reading slides.

A live community

Members meet online every month, and in person once a quarter, with Microsoft in the room.

Consulting you can borrow

You can bring senior commercial consultants into a customer engagement without hiring them permanently.

Capital readiness through BGF

Eligible members get expert guidance on growth, funding options and preparing the business for investment.

The three tiers

Learn the system, build it in a group, or apply it in your own offices.

All three tiers use the same 5P System, with three levels of support. You can join at any tier.

Cumulus Growth Programme  ·  what each tier includes
What you get
Community
Free
Community
Practice
£3,500 / yr
Group programme
Executive
£12,000 / yr
One to one, in your offices
Community and networking
Secure AI Monetisation System
5P System
Positioning Map · Offer Factory · Trusted Pipeline Engine · Value Case Builder · Revenue Flywheel
Vertical workshops and target account lists
Included with Practice and Executive · £500 each for Community
£500 per workshop
The 5P System applied on site, one to one with your teams
Executive only
BGF Capital Readiness
Where eligible

Community explains the method. Practice builds your commercial system with a group of other MSPs. Executive applies the same system one to one inside your business. Both prices are for Ingram Micro partners.

Build it with a group

Growth Practice

£3,500 a year for Ingram Micro partners

  • You work through the 5P System with a cohort of other MSPs.
  • All ten vertical workshops and their target account lists are included.
  • Sign up for the first cohort and one Secure AI Business Envisioning Workshop is included at no charge.

How Practice works →

Apply it in your offices

Growth Executive

£12,000 a year for Ingram Micro partners

  • Executive includes everything in Practice.
  • A senior operator comes to your offices and works one to one with your leadership and commercial teams.
  • Sign up for the first cohort and three Envisioning Workshops are included at no charge.

How Executive works →

The system

The Cumulus 5P System has five steps and five methods.

Each step answers one question. Each question has a defined method, and each method has a defined output.

The 5P System  ·  the five methods
P1 · Positioning Map
Position
Where will we win?
Market → Buyer → Problem → Value → Right to win

At the end you have
One clear market position

P2 · Offer Factory
Package
What will we sell?
Who? → Problem? → Money? → Outcome? → Workload?

At the end you have
Three priced AI offers

P3 · Trusted Pipeline Engine
Prospect
How will we reach the right buyers?
Accounts → Relationships → Routes in → Conversation

At the end you have
A live executive pipeline

P4 · Value Case Builder
Proof
Why should the customer act?
Baseline → Opportunity → Value → Change → Risk

At the end you have
A decision-ready business case

P5 · Revenue Flywheel
Profit
How will value and revenue repeat?
Build → Adopt → Measure → Manage → Expand

At the end you have
Recurring revenue and a reference customer

Position → Package → Prospect → Proof → Profit. What you learn at P5 feeds back into P1 and P2.

Every session in the programme belongs to one of these five steps.

AI Business Consulting, delivered with you

Borrow the consulting capability, and keep the build.

Building your own commercial capability takes quarters. Your customers will not wait that long. Our specialists join your live customer engagements, and you keep the customer relationship.

The Customer Ascension Ladder  ·  four steps
Free
Secure AI Opportunity Assessment
Thirty to forty-five minutes, to find where Secure AI could help.

The customer gets
A shortlist of opportunities and a clear next step

£2,500
Secure AI Business Envisioning Workshop
One day, on site, with the leadership team.

The customer gets
An agreed view of the business, a list of priorities and a decision

From £15,000
Secure AI Business Case & Process Design
About thirty days, ending with a design you can build from.

The customer gets
A redesigned process, a business case and a high-level solution design

You price it
Secure AI Implementation
You lead the build and the recurring service.

You get
The technical implementation and the managed service revenue

Your customer only buys the next step when the last one was worth it. No step happens automatically.

You keep the customer relationship at every step. You also lead the technical work at the end of it. Both prices above are for Ingram Micro partners.

Step two

Secure AI Business Envisioning Workshop

£2,500 for Ingram Micro partners

  • The workshop takes one day, on site, with your customer’s leadership team.
  • The customer leaves with their own economics on one page, a list of priorities and a written decision.
  • You are in the room throughout, and you keep the customer relationship.

How the workshop works →

Step three

Secure AI Business Case & Process Design

From £15,000 for Ingram Micro partners

  • We take one priority opportunity and turn it into a design your team can build from.
  • The engagement runs in six stages, over about thirty days.
  • Your customer decides using evidence, in their own numbers.

How the design engagement works →

The vertical workshops

Ten sectors, one a month.

Each workshop covers how that industry makes money and who to call. You also get an offer pack and a list of named target accounts. Workshops cost £500 each for Community members, and are included with Practice and Executive.

October

Manufacturing

The manufacturing value chain, sector economics and executive discovery. See the workshop →

November

Legal

The legal value chain and the compliance buyer.

January

Education

Funding cycles, procurement, and the offers that get through an education buying process.

February

Financial Services & Insurance

Regulated risk, the compliance buyer, and where Secure AI fits in a financial services value chain.

March

Professional Services

Billable capacity, utilisation, and the offers that sell to firms run as partnerships.

April

Healthcare

Clinical value compared with administrative value, and why only one of them can be sold today.

May

Transport & Logistics

Asset-heavy operations, and where Secure AI fits in a logistics value chain.

June

Construction & Property

The economics of project delivery, and the offers that get through a construction procurement process.

July

Business Services & Facilities Management

Contracted service delivery, and the offers that suit a facilities management firm.

August

Retail, Consumer Brands & E-Commerce

Consumer demand signals, and how Secure AI can use them.

The manufacturing page is live now. We publish each of the other nine pages before its workshop runs. See every date in the calendar →

Microsoft co-op funding

You may be able to claim your membership back.

Membership and workshops sit in a Microsoft co-op category. If you are eligible, you may be able to claim back up to 100% of the fee. You claim it as the programme is delivered. We provide the invoice, the activity description and the proof of execution.

Microsoft also funds customer engagements, both before the sale and after it. You stay the claimant throughout. We prepare the claim pack and the evidence, and you review, sign and submit it.

Confirm your eligibility and your co-op balance with Ingram Micro. Agree the claim route with them before you count on the money.

Who it is for

Who Cumulus is for.

You sell Microsoft through Ingram Micro, or you are willing to open an account.
You have a sales team, even a small one.
Someone senior can lead this work and attend the sessions.
You want a repeatable way to sell Secure AI work, beyond one good deal.

No tier is limited by the size of your business. You choose a tier by how much support you want. Cumulus is a commercial programme, and Ingram Micro provides technical skilling and certification separately.

Common questions

What partners ask before they join.

  • How much time does it take? Practice takes about one day a quarter, plus one morning a month for the workshop.
  • Who should attend? One named director throughout. Your sales team attends the sales floor sessions.
  • Is this technical training? No. Ingram Micro already provides skilling and certification. Cumulus is the commercial layer.
  • What if we already have an AI offer? You will move faster. Bring it to P2, and we will price it and map it to Microsoft funding.
  • Will other members see our numbers? No. Cohort sessions cover the method and live problems. Your figures stay between you, us and your Partner Development Manager.
  • When do we pay? Membership is payable annually in advance, when you join. Workshops are payable one at a time.
Ask for an introduction

Tell us about your business and we will introduce you.

Cumulus is open to Ingram Micro Microsoft partners. If you already buy Microsoft through Ingram Micro, we introduce you to your own Partner Development Manager. Some partners buy elsewhere, or direct from Microsoft. We introduce those partners to Ingram Micro, so they can open an account.

What happens

A simple introduction to Ingram Micro

Tell us about your business below. We pass your details to the right Microsoft Partner Development Manager at Ingram Micro. They then contact you. There is no charge and no obligation.

You usually get a reply within a working day.

What you get

What you can join once you have an account

Community membership is free. Practice costs £3,500 a year and Executive costs £12,000 a year. Single vertical workshops cost £500 each.

Every price on this page is for Ingram Micro partners.










Prefer email? michael.williamson@techgrowthinsights.com

Start with Community, a single workshop, or the first cohort.

Community membership is free and opens the webinars and the community sessions. A single vertical workshop costs £500. Sign-ups for the first Practice and Executive cohorts close on 15 October 2026.

Win the business case before you win the build.