Microsoft Acronyms Glossary

Microsoft has hundreds of external products and services, and internally has thousands of programs – all of which must be communicated daily. At Microsoft, acronyms are a daily part of the employee DNA and is used to describe these programs, products and services.

To someone on the outside of Microsoft, it can often be confusing and intimidating trying to understand and decipher these acronyms and how they are used.

Using our combined 40+ years of experience working at Microsoft we created this site (to be updated periodically) to help Microsoft Partners better understand these acronyms. Over time, we will add additional acronyms.

If you have any questions on a particular acronym or if we are missing any, please let us know by emailing blog@thepartnermasters.com

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P.S. Need to access this blog in the future? Use our shortlink! tpm.ms/TLA

AD

Active Directory

AAD

Azure Active Directory

AADAP

Azure Active Directory App Proxy

AADB2B

Azure Active Directory Business to Business

AADB2C

Azure Active Directory Business to Consumer

AADDS

Azure Active Directory Domain Services

AADIP

Azure Active Directory Identity Protection

AADP

Azure Active Directory Premium

AATP (Legacy)

Azure Advanced Threat Analytics

AATP

Authorized Academic Training Program

ABAC

Attribute-Based Access Control

ACA

Azure Customer Adds or Azure Container Apps

ACI

Azure Container Instance

ACO

Azure Credit Offer

ARA

Azure Readiness Assessment

ACR

Azure Consumed Revenue

ACR

Azure Container Registry

ACS

Azure Communication Services

ACV

Annual Contractual Value

ADAL (Legacy)

Azure Active Directory Authentication Library

ADE

Account Delivery Executive

ADFS

Active Directory Federation Services

ADO

Azure DevOps

AE

Account Executive

AFD

Azure Front Door

AIP (Legacy)

Azure Information Protection

AKS

Azure Kubernetes Service

ALM

Application Lifecycle Management

ALT

Azure Load Testing

AMM

Azure Migration and Modernization

AOG-G

Agreement for Online Services for Government

ARM

Azure Resource Manager

ARR

Azure Rapid Response

ASC

Azure Security Center (Legacy)

ASC

Authorized Support Center

ASF

Azure Service Fabric

ASfP

Advanced Support for Partners

ATS

Account Technology Strategist

ATU

Account Team Unit

AVD

Azure Virtual Desktop

AVS

Azure VMware Solution

AZ

Availability Zone

BDM

Business Decision Maker

BC

Business Central (Dynamics)

BIF

Business Investment Funds

BG

Business Group

BRL

Business Ready Licensing

BYOL

Bring Your Own License

BYOPC

Bring-Your-Own-PC

CA

Conditional Access

CAF

Cloud Adoption Framework

CASA

Campus and School Agreement

CBI

Commitment Based Incentive

CCSD

Consumer Channel Sales & Marketing

CDM

Common Data Model

CDN

Content Delivery Network

CDOC

Microsoft Cyber Defense Operations Center

CDP

Customer Data Platform

CDS

Common Data Service

CDX

Customer Digital Experiences

CE

Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement

CELA

Corporate, External & Legal Affairs

CIEM

Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management

CNAPP

Cloud Native App Protection Platform

CoE

Center of Excellence

CO-OP

Co-Operative (funding)

CPOR

Claiming Partner of Record

CPC

Cloud PC

CPOS

Cloud Point of Sale (Browser based)

CPP

Cloud Product Performance

CRM

Customer Relationship Management

CR

Compromise Recovery

CSA

Cloud Solution Architect

CSAM

Customer Success Account Manager

CSG

Cybersecurity Solutions Group (Legacy)

CSO

Co-Sell Opportunity

CSP

Cloud Solution Provider

CSPM

Cloud Security Posture Management

CSS

Customer Service & Support

CSU

Customer Success Unit or Commerce Scale Unit (D365)

CTP

Community Technology Preview

CU

Cumulative Update

CUI

Controlled Unclassified Information

CWA

Custom Workflow Activity

CWPP

Cloud Workload Protection Platform

CXP

Customer Success Experience (Engineering Team)

CX

Customer

D365

Dynamics 365

DAP

Delegated Admin Privileges

DaRT

Detection & Response Team

DBaaS

Database-as-a-Service

DCO

Data Center Optimization Team

DCR

Design Change Request

DSL

Device Subscription License

DCU

Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit

DLP

Data Loss Prevention

DMC

Digital Marketing Content

DMP

Distribution Managed Partner

DPOR

Digital Partner of Record

DSR

Data Subject Requests

DTA

Digital Transformation Academy

DTO

Discretionary Time Off

DUNS

Global Data Universal Number System Identifier of customer

DV

Dataverse

EA

Enterprise Agreement

EAP

Early Adopter Program

EAS

Enterprise Agreement Subscription

EASM

Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management

EC

Enterprise Commercial

ECIF

End Customer Investment Fund

EDU

Education

EES

Enrollment for Education Services

EID

Entra ID

EMEA

Europe Middle East and Africa

EMS

Enterprise Mobility & Security

EO

Executive Order 14028

EO

Exchange Online

EOP

End of Period

EOP (Legacy)

Exchange Online Protection

EOS

End of Service

EOU

Enterprise Operating Unit

EPG (No Longer Used)

Enterprise Partner Group

ERP

Enterprise Resource Planning

ES

Enterprise Services

ESA

Enterprise Subscription Agreement

ESI

Enterprise Skills Initiative

EXO

Exchange Online

F&O

Finance and Operations

F&SCM

Dynamics 365 Field and Supply Chain Management

FIDO

Fast Identity Online

FinOps

Finance and Operations (Dynamics 365)

FSCM

Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management

FT or FTC

FastTrack Center

FY

Fiscal Year

GA

General Availability

GBB

Global Black Belt

GCC

Government Community Cloud

GCC-H or GCCH

Government Community Cloud - High

GDAP

Granular Delegated Admin Privileges

GDPR

Global Data Protection Regulation

GPS

Global Partner Solutions

GRS

Geo-Redundant Storage

GSI

Global System Integrator

GZRS

Geo-Zone-Redundant Storage

HCI

Hyper-Converged Infrastructure

HWM

High-Water Mark

IaaS

Infrastructure-as-a-Service

IDNA

Identity & Network Access

IHV

Independent Hardware Vendor

IoT

Internet of Things

IP

Indirect Provider (CSP)

IP

Intellectual Property

IPCS

Intellectual Property Co-Sell

IRM

Insider Risk Management or Information Rights Management (Legacy)

ISD

Industry Solutions Delivery

ISV

Independent Software Vendor

ITAR

International Traffic in Arms Regulations

ITSM

IT Service Management

JEA

Just Enough Access

JIT

Just-in-Time Access

KQL

Kusto Query Language

LAR

Large Account Reseller

LB

Load Balancer

LRS

Local Redundant Storage

LSP

Licensing Solution Provider

LTSC

Long-Term Servicing Channel

MAG

Microsoft Azure Government

MAG

Modern Analytics Governance

M&O

Marketing & Operations

M365

Microsoft 365

M365D

Microsoft 365 Defender

MAC

Microsoft Administration Center

MACC

Microsoft Azure Customer Commitment

MAG

Modern Analytics and Governance

MAL

Managed Account List

MAM

Mobile Application Management

MAU

Monthly Active Users

MCA

Microsoft Customer Agreement

MCAPS

Microsoft Customer & Partner Solutions

MCAS (legacy)

Microsoft Cloud App Security

MCEM

Microsoft Customer Engagement Methodology

MCI

Microsoft Commerce Incentives

MCPP

Microsoft Cloud Partner Program

MCRA

Microsoft Cybersecurity Reference Architectures

MCS

Microsoft Consulting Services

MDA

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

MDAC

Microsoft Defender Application Control

MDAG

Microsoft Defender Application Guard

MDATP (Legacy)

Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection

MDC

Microsoft Defender for Cloud

MDCA

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

MDCG

Microsoft Defender Credential Guard

MDDR

Microsoft Digital Defense Report

MDE

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

MECM

Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager

MEID

Microsoft Entra ID

MDI

Microsoft Defender for Identity

MDM

Mobile Device Management

MDO

Microsoft Defender for Office 365

MDR

Managed Detection & Response

MEM

Microsoft Endpoint Manager

ME5

Microsoft 365 E5

MEA

Middle East and Africa

MFA

Multi-Factor Authentication

MEIA

Microsoft Entra Internet Access

MEPA

Microsoft Entra Private Access

MIAC

Microsoft Intune Admin Center

MIG

Microsoft Information Governance

MIP

Microsoft Information Protection

MIP

Managed Intellectual Property

MIRF

Make It Right Funds

MISA

Microsoft Intelligent Security Association

MITSC

Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center

MMP-C

Microsoft Managed Platform Cloud

MOSLG

Microsoft Online Services Licensing Guide

MOSA

Microsoft Online Subscription Agreement

MOSP

Microsoft Online Subscription Program

MVP

Minimum Viable Product

MPA

Microsoft Partner Agreement

MPC

Microsoft Partner Center

MPFX

Microsoft Power Fx

MPL

Managed Partner List

MPN

Microsoft Partner Network (Legacy)

MPOS

Modern Point of Sale (App)

MPS

Microsoft Professional Services

MPSA

Microsoft Product and Services Agreement

MSAL

Microsoft Authentication Library

MSDL

Microsoft Security Development Lifecycle

MSDN

Microsoft Developer Network

MSP

Managed Services Provider

MSSP

Managed Security Services Provider

MSX

Microsoft Sales Experience (CRM)

MVP

Most Valuable Professional

NCE

New Commerce Experience

NPSA

Net Paid Seat Adds

NFP

Not for Profit

NSI

National System Integrator

NSP

National Service Provider

NVA

Network Virtual Appliance

O365

Office 365

OCA

Outsourcer Channel Agreement

ODfB

OneDrive for Business

ODT

Office Deployment Tool

OEM

Original Equipment Manufacturer

OIDC

OpenID Connect

OKR

Objective & Key Result

OLA

Open License Agreement

OSA

Online Services Advisor

OSU

Online Services Usage

OU

Operating Unit

OVS

Open Value Subscription

PA

PowerApps

PaaS

Platform-as-a-Service

PAL

Partner Admin Link

PAM

Privileged Access Management

PAT

Partner Attribution Type

PAU

Paid Available Units

PAYG

Pay As You Go

PAW

Privileged Access Workstation

PBI

Power BI

PCF

Power Apps Component Framework

PCI

Permission Creep Index or Payment Card Industry

PDM

Partner Development Manager

PDOC

Partner Delivery Operations Center

PEC

Partner Earned Credit

PFE

Premier Field Engineer

PG

Product Group

PGA

Partner global account name

PIE

Partner Investment Engine

PIM

Privileged Identity Management

PL

Partner Led

PL

Pursuit Lead

PLD

Partner-Led Deal

PLP

Partner-Led Program

PLSR

Partner-Led Sales Resource

PM

Program or Product or Project Manager

PMA

Partner Marketing Advisor

PMC

Partner Marketing Center

PO

Dynamics 365 Project Operations

POE

Proof of Execution

POSH

PowerShell

POV

Proof of Validation

PP

Power Pages

PPAC

Power Platform Admin Center

PPAF

Power Platform Adoption Framework

PRACR

Partner Reported Azure Consumed Revenue

PSA

Project Service Automation

PSAS

Partner Sales Acceleration Services Team

PSfP

Premier Support for Partners

PTO

Paid Time Off

PTS

Partner Technology Specialist

PUA

Potentially Unwanted Applications

PVA

Power Virtual Agents

PY

Program Year

RA-GRS

Read-Access Geo-Redundant Storage

RA-GZRS

Read-Access Geo-Zone-Redundant Storage

RBAC

Role-based Access Control

RBI

Revenue Based Incentive

RMS (Legacy

Azure Rights Management Service

RPA

Robotic Process Automation

SA

Software Assurance

SA

Solution Architect

SA

Solution Area

SaaS

Software-as-a-Service

SAM

Support Account Manager

SAM

Security Access Manager

SAW

Secure Admin Workstation

SARA

Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant

SAS

Shared Access Signature

SASE

Secure Access Secure Edge

SBA

Survivable Branch Appliance

SBC

Session Border Controller

SCCM (Legacy)

System Center Configuration Manager

SCE (Legacy)

Server & Cloud Enrollment

SDE

Software Design Engineer

SDET

Software Design Engineer in Test

SEM

Strategic Engagement Manager

SE

System Engineer

SI

System Integrator

SIEM

Security Information and Event Management

SfMC

Support for Mission Critical

SL

Service Level (Azure)

SLA

Service Level Agreement

SLED

State, Local, Education

SLG

State and Local Government

SLO

Service Level Offering

SMB

Small, Midsized Business

SMC

Small, Midsize and Corporate

SOA

Service Oriented Architecture

SOAR

Security Orchestration Automated Response

SOW

Statement of Work

SPA

Single-Page Application

SPLA

Service Provider Licensing Agreement

SPO

SharePoint Online

SSL

Services Subscription License

SSO

Single Sign On

SSP

Solution Sales Professional

SSPR

Self Service Password Reset

SSSO

Seamless Single Sign-on

SSSP

Services Solutions Sales Professional

STU

Specialist Team Unit

SWA

Azure Static Web App

TAM

Total Addressable Market

TAM (Legacy)

Technical Account Manager

TFS

Team Foundation Server

TPID

Top Parent Identifier

TPOR

Transacting Partner of Record

TSP

Technical Sales Professional

TTM

Trailing Twelve Month

TTP

Technique, Tactics and Procedures

TVM

Threat & Vulnerability Management

UCaaS

Unified Communications-as-a-Service

UAL

Unified Audit Log

URS

Universal Resource Scheduling

USL

User Subscription License

UWP

Universal Windows Platform

VAR

Value Added Reseller

VAS

Value Added Services

VBD

Value Based Delivery

VDI

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure

VHD

Virtual Hard Disk

VL

Volume Licensing

VLSC

Volume Licensing Service Center

VSTS

Visual Studio Team Services (legacy)

W365

Windows 365

WAF

Web Application Firewall

WAF

Well-Architected Framework

WANI

Azure Workload Acquisition & Nurture Incentive

WDG

Windows & Devices Group

WE

Western Europe

WHFB

Windows Hello for Business

WINDC

Windows Declared Configurations

WPF

Windows Presentation Foundation

XaaS

Everything-as-a-Service

XDR

Extended Detection and Response

ZRS

Zone-Redundant Storage

ZTNA

Zero Trust Network Access