Importing an Azure CSP Subscription

You can import any Azure subscription available in your Partner center to Odin Automation. This can be useful in the following cases:

  • You have a subscription switched from another CSP Partner and now you want to import this subscription to Odin Automation. You can import the subscription to one of your customers or to a customer of a reseller. Odin Automation does not impose any limitations. However, your choice may be limited by your partnership agreement. Read the Switching CSP Partners for Azure Subscriptions section to learn what must be done before importing the subscription into Odin Automation.
  • You have Azure CSP customers and the associated subscriptions created earlier in Partner center that are billed outside Odin Automation. Now you want to onboard these customers in Odin Automation. In this case, you only need to know the customer's tenant name and the subscription's GUID before importing the subscription. These data can be obtained in the Partner center.

In both cases, if you decide to import a subscription to a customer of your reseller, you need to give this reseller the "Import" permission. See the following section Allowing Resellers to Import Subscriptions. After that, all the subsequent actions must be performed by following the instructions in Importing Azure CSP Subscriptions.

In Odin Automation, the process of importing subscriptions looks as follows:

Important: You must decide whether you will import the customers' subscriptions yourself or allow resellers to import subscriptions. In the list of resellers, there is a special button for this.

  1. In the subscription creation wizard, select the Import Existing Azure CSP Subscription option and provide the required data: the customer's tenant name, the subscription's GUID, the cut-off date, the verification parameter, and the Microsoft partner network ID.
  2. Three possible verification scenarios follow:
    • A customer goes through the verification procedure.
    • You verify a customer.
    • Verification is skipped (a customer already has an Office 365 or an Azure subscription in Odin Automation).

After a subscription is imported, the subscription start date will be the date when it was imported. The customer will receive the first invoice after one month. That is, if the subscription was imported, for example, on July, 6, and the "cut-off date" was July, 1, the customer will receive a single invoice on August, 6, for the period from July 6 to August, 5. The invoice will reflect the resource usage for the period from July, 1 to August, 5, and the usage fees will be calculated based on the price that was effective on the date of subscription import.

Allowing Resellers to Import Subscriptions

As a CSP partner, you can allow or disallow resellers to import subscriptions on their own. By default, all CSP resellers are not allowed to import subscriptions.

Important: To prevent mistakes when a reseller may start importing subscriptions owned by another reseller, we recommend that you allow resellers to import subscriptions only for a limited period of time and keep this option disabled by default.

To allow a reseller to import subscriptions, perform the following steps:

  1. Click the name of the application instance (Services > Applications > APS Instances > My Instances) and go to the Resellers tab. You will see the list of the subscribed 2nd tier resellers.
  2. Select the checkbox next to the reseller's name and click Allow Import.

Now a reseller will see a new option in OA Billing panel during the purchase wizard: Import Existing Azure CSP Subscription.

Going Through the Importing Wizard

Important: Before starting the importing wizard, make sure that the customer to whom you are assigning the Azure subscription is already created in Odin Automation.

The importing operation is performed in OA Billing control panel, Orders menu.

  1. Log in to OA Billing control panel and go to Operations > Orders.
  2. Click Add New Order and go through the wizard.
  3. In the Setup Account step, select Import Existing Azure CSP Subscription. Specify the following information:
    • End-Customer Tenant Name – the tenant name of the customer whose subscription is being imported.
    • Subscription GUID – the ID of the customer's subscription. This ID can be found in the Partner center or in the signed "Transfer form". If two identifiers, which are "Subscription ID" and "Azure Subscription ID", are available in the Partner center, you can use either, although "Subscription ID" is preferable.
    • Cut-off date – this is the date when Microsoft completes the transfer of a subscription, stops billing an old CSP partner and starts billing a new CSP partner. Starting from this date, the usage of Azure services is gathered and billed according to the configured rules and prices in Odin Automation. Make sure this date is confirmed with all the involved parties: previous partner, customer, and Microsoft.
    • Verification Email – the email address of the customer's administrator. A message with the verification instruction is sent to this email. By following the instruction, a customer will create a specified user in the Azure portal for verification purposes. The verification will be finished by the customer.

      • If the customer already has an Office 365 or an Azure subscription in Odin Automation, the verification process is not needed and will be skipped. Select Do not send in this case.

      If you did not provide your customer with access to the Azure portal and you manage their tenant by yourself, or a customer delegates you all control and maintenance tasks, you can pass the verification on behalf of your customer. Select Do not send in this case. See the following section Verifying the Imported Customer.

    • Microsoft Partner Network ID – the MPN ID of the reseller (if any).
  4. Finish the wizard and open the created order.

Verifying the Imported Customer

If you selected the Do not send option in the previous step, you must verify the customer by yourself. Perform the following steps to do this:

  1. Go to Services > Applications > Azure Cloud Solution Provider > Instances > <instance name> > Customers tab.
  2. In the Verification column, click Instruction. A message box will appear above the customer's list.
  3. Follow the instruction in the message box: sign in to the Partner center and create the user specified in the instruction.
  4. After the user is created, click Verify.