Biz Apps Partner Podcast: Microsoft’s Ross Ladwig on Aligning AI Strategy with Partner Growth in FY26

In this episode of the Biz Apps Partner Podcast, John Siefert is joined by Ross Ladwig, Partner Solutions Sales – Biz Apps SMB, Microsoft. The two discuss the unique opportunities for partners during the era of AI, what he views as big trends in FY26, and what he’ll be discussing at the Biz Apps Partner Executive Summit.

Key Takeaways

• Big trends in FY26: From Ladwig’s perspective, there has been a strategic shift in Microsoft’s approach to AI, moving from pushing for adoption to focusing on proving ROI and building meaningful, practical solutions. This includes better supporting Microsoft’s sales teams by emphasizing use cases and framing the AI narrative with a result-driven mindset.
• Partner opportunity: AI presents a major opportunity for partners, but only if approached with the right mindset and infrastructure. As Ladwig puts it, “This year, I’m going to challenge my partners to take a step back and say, ‘how are you including AI into these conversations?’ Not to do what Microsoft’s telling you to do. How do you make more money for your organization?” He emphasizes the need for strategic integration, data readiness, security, and managed services.
• Intersection of roles: The current era of AI marks a pivotal moment where both IT leaders and partners, for example, are under pressure to define their AI strategies, with growing demand from customers and stakeholders. “That needs to accelerate because the demand now… its both sides of the puzzle… trying to find out, how do we intersect?”
• Session at Biz Apps Partner Executive Summit: Ladwig will participate in a panel discussion, “Understanding Microsoft FY26 Segmentation, Organization & Roles,” at the Biz Apps Partner Executive Summit with Microsoft leaders Erik Opsahl, Eric Fink, and John Roth. Ladwig explains that the discussion will highlight the importance of developing a clear AI game plan and help partners understand Microsoft’s direction and how to align for mutual success.
• Connect with Ladwig: During the event, Ladwig explains that he’s looking to have conversations with partners about their business strategy for selling business applications, because knowing this strategy is key to identifying impactful collaboration opportunities

Stream the audio version of this episode here:

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