Early Career · Technical Talent · Global
CloudCore
building the cloud talent
Microsoft needed.
A 1 year early career programme designed to close a critical skills gap, accelerate technical readiness and build a global community of cloud professionals across five regions.
CLIENT
Microsoft
DURATION
1 year
PILOT OF 14
Grew to 70
1 year
Fast track intensive programme
4
Immersive in-person events
3 years
2017-2020
Global
Participants spanned the globe
THE BRIEF
A skills gap
that couldn't wait to be filled.
CloudCore was designed and delivered by Toni-Marie during her time at Microsoft. It was built to address a specific and urgent problem: the TSP and CSA roles central to Microsoft's cloud growth required deep Azure expertise that was increasingly difficult to find in the external market.
At the same time, internal data was surfacing a consistency problem. New hires across regions were having vastly different first 90 days. Shadowing quality, access to customers, mentoring and hands-on learning varied enormously. Early career professionals were reporting pressure to perform as experts from day one, without the structured runway to actually get there.
The core problem: Emerging cloud technologies were evolving faster than traditional career paths could keep up with. Microsoft needed a global, scalable and consistent early career programme that built deep technical capability while giving new hires the confidence, community and time to grow into their roles properly.
PROGRAMME DESIGN
Four pillars.
One unified journey.
CloudCore integrated in-person intensives, structured online learning and on-the-job development into a single 1 year journey. Rather than treating each element separately, the programme was designed so that each strand reinforced the others.
01
In-person learning
Four immersive events across the year, each bringing cohort members together for technical depth and human connection.
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Azure Fundamentals, Cloud Infrastructure, Data and AI
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Developer Fundamentals, DevOps and Automation
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Hands-on labs: LAMP stack, Logic Apps, Cosmos DB, Machine Learning
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Soft skills: stakeholder management, communication, career readiness
02
Certifications and online learning
Five hours per week of structured self-directed learning, covering both technical and professional development.
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Azure Apps, Data Platform, Advanced Analytics, AI, Big Data, IoT
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Challenger Sales methodology
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INSEAD Business Strategy and Financial Acumen
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Microsoft Leadership Principles
03
Structured on the job learning
A formalised learning plan running alongside day-to-day work, with accountability built in from the start.
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Technical shadowing tracked through a shadowing log
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Customer demos and real engagements
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Dual mentoring: manager plus technical mentor
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Application of lab learning to live customer scenarios
04
Global community
A deliberate infrastructure for peer connection across regions, built to reduce isolation and drive belonging.
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Global peer networks across APAC, EMEA, LATAM, WE and US
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Monthly cohort calls
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Virtual Teams communities
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In-person mixers and panels at each event
WHAT IT ACHIEVED
Three years of proof
that early investment works.
CloudCore ran from 2017 to 2020. It closed a critical skills gap at scale and created a reliable pipeline of cloud-ready Technical Specialists and Solution Architects at a time when the market could not supply them. Microsoft now has a strong pool of senior CSA talent that came directly through the programme.
Faster technical readiness
Participants built deep Azure exposure across architecture, data and developer fundamentals significantly earlier than those on traditional onboarding paths.
Strong talent ROI
Improved retention and performance, low attrition among early career CSAs and TSPs, strong rewards outcomes and increased promotion velocity across cohorts.
A scalable global pipeline
CloudCore provided a clear, repeatable path for bringing early career hires into Azure technical roles at scale across five regions simultaneously.
Lasting cross-regional networks
Participants built connections across regions that extended well beyond the programme itself, shaping collaboration and culture long after their cohort year ended.
Consistent first-year experience
CloudCore replaced a patchwork of regional onboarding approaches with a single, coherent experience that every new hire could rely on, regardless of location.
A strategic differentiator
CloudCore proved that investing early, intentionally and comprehensively in early career hires is not just good developmental practice. It is a genuine competitive advantage.
 CloudCore cohort one overlooking the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas |  CloudCore cohort 2 Microsoft Redmond HQ |  CloudCore cohort 2 whiteboarding |
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WHAT PARTICIPANTS SAID
In their own words
"As part of the programme, we were fortunate enough to spend time with business leaders and other early in career TSPs, learning from each other and understanding what we can bring to the role. I return with a new network of peers from 23 countries, a better understanding of how we can help customers on their Digital Transformation journey and an ITIL® Certificate in IT Service Management, but most importantly I return feeling excited about Microsoft's future and with a better understanding of how to contribute to it."
THE TMC GROUP ROLE
The programme that shaped
the TMC approach.
CloudCore was designed and run by Toni-Marie during her time as an internal leader at Microsoft. From the programme architecture and event design through to facilitator briefings, global logistics and on-the-day management across five regions, every element was driven by her directly.
Running a programme of this scale simultaneously across APAC, EMEA, LATAM, Western Europe and the US over three consecutive years is where the TMC Group methodology was forged. The rigour, the attention to detail and the conviction that early career investment is a strategic decision rather than a nice-to-have all come directly from this work.