IA role card — industry-focused opportunity creator and pipeline accelerator. Covers industry use case specialization, proactive Stage 1 pipeline creation, industry partner sales, co-innovation, and flexible multi-account engagement. Triggers: Industry Advisor, IA, industry use cases, industry pipeline, ROTH expansion, industry partner sales, co-innovation, industry ISV, industry vertical, AI Halo, industry hero use case.
IA role card — industry-focused opportunity creator and pipeline accelerator. Covers industry use case specialization, proactive Stage 1 pipeline creation, industry partner sales, co-innovation, and flexible multi-account engagement. Triggers: Industry Advisor, IA, industry use cases, industry pipeline, ROTH expansion, industry partner sales, co-innovation, industry ISV, industry vertical, AI Halo, industry hero use case.
Role Card: Industry Advisor (IA)
Mission
Lead with the industry perspective to drive opportunities through industry use cases. Understand the customer's business and identify opportunities to support customers in achieving their strategic objectives — targeting multiple accounts based on specific industry use cases, personas, and geography.
Territory Model
From Account Assigned to flexible engagement: IAs target multiple accounts based on specific industry use cases, personas, and geography.
Industry use case specialization and focus: IAs actively target market opportunities and create pipeline, leveraging their industry knowledge and networks to generate new pipeline.
From Industry Generalist to Specialist: IAs focus on specific ROTH or industry verticals, allowing them to lead with deeper industry knowledge and more targeted solutions for customers.
Core Accountabilities
I. Solution Area Sales by Industry
Proactive Stage 1 pipeline creation and qualification of opportunities with industry use cases.
Continue to accelerate AI design wins.
Contribute to MACCs in majors leading with industry differentiation.
Leverage industry expertise, AI Halo narratives, and industry hero AI use cases to unlock new ROTH.
Metric: Customer adoption of industry use cases associated with personas outside IT; new MACCs signed in customers with IA-created and qualified pipeline.
II. Industry Partner Sales
Proactive Industry Advisor inbound and outbound lead generation.
Accelerate Industry ISV ACR growth.
Metric: IA-created outbound opportunities shared with all partners (incl. Industry GISV). Target to exceed 30% of total IA opportunities created. Industry GISV ACR growth faster than Enterprise ACR growth and variance to target (ACR and AI).
III. Industry Co-innovation
Drive repeatable industry market-making AI co-innovation.
Translation of ISE co-innovation into repeatable patterns with GSI and ISD.
Metric: N/A.
IV. Operational Excellence
Drive Stage 1 pipeline creation and qualification with new industry use cases.
Metric: Variance to industry regional pipeline targets.
Key Habits
Engagement Models
IA-Driven
Liaise with manager (IAM) to identify opportunities within their territory leading with industry use cases.
Coordinate with AEs to open the pipeline.
Qualification and completion within specified timeframe (IAM defines based on workload).
IA will check out when opportunity is qualified or no new pipeline available, or as agreed with IAM.
Account Expansion
Coordinate with the AE to proactively expand an account, specifically driving BDM relationships leading with industry use cases.
IA engaged in account opens multiple opportunities.
Qualification and completion within specified timeframe (IAM defines based on workload).
IA will check out when opportunity is qualified or no new pipeline available, or as agreed with IAM.
Field Request
Field identifies opportunities where an IA can create opportunities leading with industry and industry use cases.
AE requests IA to open/generate opportunities against a specific ROTH/use case.
IAM will approve request and allocate IA for a specified timeframe (IAM defines based on workload).
Key Business Partners
The IA leads with the industry perspective driving opportunities through industry use cases. IAs understand the customer's business and identify opportunities to support customers in achieving their strategic objectives. Develop relationships with key account team members internally and externally, including:
Partner
Category
Account Executive
Internal Microsoft
Executive Sponsor
Internal Microsoft
Guest Executives
Internal Microsoft
Sales Manager(s)
Internal Microsoft
ATS
Internal Microsoft
CSAM
Internal Microsoft
Commercial Executive
Internal Microsoft
PDM
Internal Microsoft
Solution Area Specialist
Internal Microsoft
SPT
Internal Microsoft
CxOs and Line of Business Leaders
External Customer
ISVs
External Partners
GSIs
External Partners
Advisory
External Partners
MCEM Stage Accountability
Stage
Role
Stage 1
Lead — proactive industry-led pipeline creation, qualification with industry use cases, ROTH expansion
Stage 2
Contribute — provide industry context for solution design, validate industry use case alignment
Stage 3
Contribute — industry expertise for proof positioning, customer business context
Stage 4
Monitor — available for industry context if delivery requires it
Stage 5
Contribute — surface industry expansion signals, identify new ROTH opportunities from adoption patterns
Ownership Scope in MSX
Stage 1 opportunity creation and qualification leading with industry use cases
Industry use case documentation on opportunities
Pipeline generation metrics tied to industry regional targets
IA owns industry-led Stage 1 pipeline creation and qualification; Specialist owns pipeline progression through Stages 2–3.
IA coordinates with AE to open pipeline; AE retains customer relationship ownership.
IA checks out when opportunity is qualified or no new pipeline available, per IAM agreement.
IA does NOT own ongoing opportunity management post-qualification — handoff to Specialist/AE.
IA engagement timeframe is defined by IAM based on workload; respect check-out boundaries.
IA drives BDM relationships leading with industry use cases; AE/ATS own broader executive relationships.
Hard Blocks (agent must STOP and redirect)
NEVER create_milestone — this is Specialist-owned. If milestones are missing, flag the gap to the Specialist.
NEVER update milestone structure (name, date, monthlyUse, workload, commitment) — redirect to Specialist or CSAM.
NEVER update opportunity fields post-qualification (stage beyond Stage 1, close date, revenue) — redirect to Specialist.
IA may create/update/close tasks related to industry qualification, use case documentation, and partner lead tracking on milestones they contribute to.
Cross-Role Skill Lens
When running shared skills, apply this IA focus:
Skill
IA Focus
account-landscape-awareness
Industry use case coverage across accounts, ROTH expansion gaps, partner pipeline contribution
risk-surfacing
Industry qualification stalling, IAM timeframe overrun, partner pipeline contribution below 30% target
pipeline-hygiene-triage
Stage 1 pipeline quality, industry use case documentation, qualification timeframe compliance
pipeline-qualification
Industry use case fit, persona alignment (outside IT), ROTH/vertical match
expansion-signal-routing
Industry-led expansion signals from adoption patterns, new ROTH opportunities, partner co-sell signals
customer-evidence-pack
Industry use case artifacts, customer business context, partner engagement evidence
Cross-Role Communication
With Account Executive: Coordinate to open pipeline; align on account expansion strategy; hand off qualified opportunities
With ATS: Align industry use cases with customer technology strategy; coordinate on AI Halo narratives
With Solution Area Specialist: Hand off qualified Stage 1 opportunities for progression; provide industry context for deal shaping
With SE: Provide industry business context for proof positioning; align use cases with technical proof plans
With CSAM: Share industry context relevant to customer success outcomes and adoption
With IAM: Align on territory priorities, engagement timeframes, and workload allocation
With Partners (ISVs, GSIs, Advisory): Drive inbound/outbound lead generation; accelerate Industry ISV ACR growth; translate co-innovation into repeatable patterns
Big Picture Role Alignment
IA = industry-led pipeline creation, use case specialization, partner pipeline acceleration
