By Phillip Milliken, Senior Program Manager, Azure CXP | FastTrack for Azure | Federal
We are continually making investments in areas that help our customers realize value faster. As a Senior Project Manager on The FastTrack for Azure US Federal team, I’m eager to introduce you to a program designed to support you in helping customers rapidly and effectively deploy Azure solutions in the cloud.
FastTrack for Azure (FTA) is a technical enablement program for organizations with cloud projects that enables swift design and deployment of Azure solutions in the cloud. For customers, this means access to tailored guidance from Azure engineers that leverages proven practices and architectural guides. For partners, it means smoother implementations thanks to a wealth of knowledge, best practices, and guidance from FastTrack for Azure engineers.
Within FastTrack for Azure Federal, our team proudly supports all US federal customers across FedCiv, US Department of Defense (DoD), and national intelligence branches.
The FTA team works side-by-side with partners to accelerate customer adoption of Azure cloud services throughout critical project lifecycle phases. Azure engineers support your team by reviewing the solution and architectural design and provide technical and operational guidance. They also provide technical knowledge, including code samples or templates, and oversee and assist with the solution proof-of-concept and dev/test deployments.
Other advantages to working with FTA Federal is that our team is part of the larger, global, Azure CXP group, allowing us direct access to the Azure product group and support teams which serves to amplify the voice of our customers and partners through critical feedback, product improvement, reliability engineering, and support escalation.
Figure 1. Joint activities between partner and FastTrack for Azure
The FTA team works with partners across multiple service lines including professional services, managed services, and Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) to improve customer experience and outcomes, and boost partner impact.
For example, professional services partner, FC Nuvem, worked with FTA to “reach new levels of quality and agility when deploying the solution to our customer,” said Emerson Ferreira, Cloud Solution Architect for the company. “This engagement expanded knowledge allowing us to apply this approach on new customers with similar needs.”
“The FastTrack for Azure team has been key in helping us build an Azure-optimized blueprint for our solution,” claims Samuel Nadeau, VP Cloud Infrastructure & Services for Sherweb, a managed services partner. “Our customers benefit from the combined knowledge of both SherWeb and Azure engineers.”
For one ISV partner, incorta, working with FTA engineers was a “tremendous help,” according to Karl Meyer, VP Business Development. “The engineers are phenomenal with addressing issues,” he added, noting their responsiveness, ability to navigate the ecosystem, and dedication to providing the answers to questions.
If you’re working with a federal customer and want to engage FTA to assist with the effort, take a moment to assess whether your customer’s project is eligible. Below are the five key pillars of eligibility criteria FTA uses to determine customer/project eligibility:
Figure 2. FastTrack for Azure eligibility requirements
* A defined project has an executive sponsor, committed customer/partner resources, established success metrics, and clear timelines for start/end of project.
We are continually expanding the portfolio of FTA-supported workloads to incorporate the latest Azure solution areas, including the most commonly supported workloads below**:
Figure 3. Workloads supported by Fast Track for Azure
**For guidance on Microsoft 365 workloads please visit FastTrack for Microsoft 365 landing page for more information.
If your customer project aligns with FTA engagement criteria, you may submit a customer nomination via the FastTrack for Azure Partner Nomination Tool. From there, we’ll get in touch to validate your nomination and eligibility and outline the next steps.
Visit the FastTrack for Azure (FTA) Partner landing page for the latest program information and FAQs.
Ready to get started? Begin your nomination via the FastTrack for Azure Partner Nomination Tool
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