Expanding Our Partnership with Microsoft: 5 Standout Moments

While Abnormal's Cloud Email Security solution has only been available for about four years, our roots with Microsoft are starting to run deep.

Abnormal is a member of the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA) and is also a Microsoft Preferred Solution on the Azure Marketplace. Our partnership with Microsoft allows us to protect the global Microsoft Office 365 customer base with the industry’s most precise, scalable, and effective cloud-native email security supplement.

Throughout the last year, our partnership with Microsoft has created plenty of opportunities to celebrate. We wanted to take a moment to highlight some of the especially exciting moments from 2022.

In May, Abnormal was selected as a finalist for the Security Customer Champion category in the Microsoft Security Excellence Awards.

To be considered for the Security Customer Champion Award, an organization must be dedicated to going above and beyond to drive customer impact and have a proven track record of customer satisfaction. While ultimately we weren’t announced as the winner, being selected as one of three finalists from a pool of several hundred current MISA members is still an exceptional achievement.

One month later, Abnormal was named the winner of the 2022 Microsoft Rising Azure Technology Partner of the Year Award.

The Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards recognize Microsoft partners that have demonstrated amazing agility and creativity in building new technologies on Microsoft Cloud and platforms. The Rising Azure Technology Partner of the Year Award is given to a technology partner that has exhibited strong customer focus and success by leveraging Microsoft Azure as its primary cloud platform.

This recognition from Microsoft is proof of the dedication we have to our mutual customers as we continuously look for ways to improve our product and support their needs.

Microsoft has been around for nearly 50 years and Microsoft 365 is one of the most ubiquitous cloud solutions on the planet, which means being designated as a Microsoft partner in general is an accomplishment. This year we were honored to have been upgraded to a Tier-1 Managed Microsoft Partner.

Achieving this status required us to show that not only have we invested heavily in our technology and our company to deliver the quality of service that Microsoft demands but also that working with Abnormal has provided Microsoft with significant benefits. Being upgraded to a Microsoft Tier 1 Partner is proof of the progress we have made in terms of our joint sales activities with Microsoft as well as the confidence that Microsoft has in our platform.

We’re proud of this designation because it demonstrates the value that Microsoft sees in working with Abnormal and illustrates a shared commitment to continuing to expand the partnership.

Abnormal officially became available for purchase directly on Microsoft’s Azure Marketplace in September 2020. In 2022, we’ve worked hard to maximize the impact of our Azure Marketplace presence and provide additional value to Microsoft 365 customers as a Microsoft Preferred Solution.

First, we refreshed our listing to reflect the full scope of benefits enterprises can experience by augmenting Microsoft’s native threat intelligence-based defenses with Abnormal’s behavioral analysis-based protection. We also began deploying private offers through the Azure Marketplace, which allows us to provide customized pricing and terms to customers. And because the Abnormal platform is MACC-eligible, enterprises are able to decrement their Azure commitment by purchasing Abnormal through a private offer on the Azure Marketplace.

We’re passionate about helping enterprises protect their cloud email environments and are dedicated to frictionless commerce. This is why we appreciate the opportunities the Azure Marketplace creates to simplify and accelerate the evaluation, purchase, and implementation of Abnormal. Additionally, as a channel-first company, we look forward to upcoming opportunities to include channel partners in Azure Marketplace private offers.

In June, our VP of Marketing, Arun Singh, was invited to contribute a thought leadership piece for the Azure Marketplace Blog. In his article, Arun explored the evolution of the email threat landscape and how the shift from on-premises email servers to cloud email solutions like Microsoft 365 has necessitated a different approach to email security. In just five weeks after publishing, Arun’s post recorded more than 1,000 views.

This blog was the start of our in-depth journey with the Marketplace Rewards Program (now called the ISV Success Program). The ISV Success Program has provided key go-to-market advantages for Abnormal, and because the program is performance-based, we have seen these benefits increase substantially YoY. One such benefit is the ability to offer “Azure Sponsorships”, which has helped us reduce costs and increase velocity while closing deals.

Throughout 2022, we also had the opportunity to work together with Microsoft to co-host valuable, informative webinars, including “Is Your Secure Email Gateway Really Necessary? Blocking the Attacks Your SEG Never Could”. Our partners at Microsoft also joined us for a session at Vision 2023, our half-day virtual conference late last year.

In November 2022, we announced our partnership with Valimail, a zero-trust DMARC monitoring and enforcement solution.

Together, Abnormal and Valimail provide critical technologies that extend Microsoft’s native email security capabilities and fill in critical pieces of security infrastructure for enterprises around the globe. Abnormal, Valimail, and Microsoft combine to provide a best-in-class, well-integrated solution that offers complete BEC coverage across outbound and inbound email attacks alike.

Both Abnormal and Valimail are experienced and committed Microsoft IP co-sell partners, with Azure Marketplace offerings available. With this partnership, organizations receive all of the purchasing benefits of a traditional email security suite, without compromising on feature functionality. Microsoft 365 customers can easily implement both products to create a powerful solution—no complex setup or integration work required.

Our partnership with Valimail wouldn’t be possible without our mutual Microsoft connection, and we’re so glad that being a Microsoft partner has created opportunities for us to identify additional ways to help enterprises secure their cloud email.

With 2023 underway, we could not be more excited about the abundance of upcoming opportunities to continue growing our partnership with Microsoft. Be sure to keep an eye out for future news and announcements as we work together to protect the modern workforce from costly attacks.

Want to learn more about how Abnormal complements Microsoft? Download the whitepaper or watch our on-demand webinar.