CLA Cements Tech Leadership with Dual Microsoft AI & Cloud Designations

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – January 21, 2026 – CliftonLarsonAllen LLP (CLA), a leading professional services firm, has secured two significant Microsoft Solutions Partner designations, signaling a deepening commitment to advanced technology and a strategic pivot beyond its traditional accounting and advisory roots. The firm announced it has earned designations for both Data & AI (Azure) and Digital & App Innovation (Azure), placing it in an elite tier of Microsoft partners.

This achievement is more than a simple accolade; it represents a validation of CLA's capabilities in a fiercely competitive and rapidly evolving market. For clients, it serves as a hallmark of the firm's proficiency in harnessing complex data, integrating artificial intelligence, and developing modern cloud-based applications to solve pressing business problems.

A New Standard of Expertise

The designations are part of the Microsoft Cloud Partner Program, a framework launched in late 2022 that replaced the long-standing Gold and Silver competencies. This new program sets a significantly higher bar for partners, moving away from simple certification counts to a holistic "Partner Capability Score" (PCS). To achieve a designation, firms like CLA must demonstrate excellence across three core pillars: Performance, measured by the growth of their customers' Azure cloud consumption; Skilling, which requires a deep bench of professionals holding advanced technical certifications; and Customer Success, proven through successful deployments and usage growth of Azure services.

Earning a minimum of 70 out of 100 points on this rigorous scorecard, with points required in every sub-category, ensures that designated partners are not just certified, but are actively and successfully delivering value to clients. This stringent process is Microsoft's way of ensuring its top-tier partners possess tangible, real-world expertise, enhancing their credibility and differentiating them in a crowded marketplace. For CLA, achieving this status in two critical, high-demand areas underscores a sustained investment in both talent and technology infrastructure.

From Complexity to Clarity: The Client Impact

At the heart of this achievement is a direct benefit to the organizations CLA serves. The firm is leveraging these capabilities through its "Go Digital" framework, a strategic approach designed to guide businesses through the complexities of digital transformation.

"Securing these Microsoft designations reflects our vision of empowering organizations to thrive in a digital-first world," said Michael Pelletier, Principal at CLA. "But more than that, it's about using the right technology to help our clients solve real business challenges. By reimagining legacy systems and unlocking the potential of AI-driven insights, we're helping clients transform complexity into clarity, while positioning them for innovation, resilience and long-term success."

A key technology in CLA's arsenal is Microsoft Fabric, an all-in-one, AI-powered analytics platform. This tool allows the firm to help clients unify disparate data sources into a single, coherent "data lakehouse." By breaking down data silos, businesses can move beyond reactive, historical reporting and embrace proactive, predictive insights. This transformation enables everything from streamlined financial reporting and optimized supply chains to sophisticated, AI-driven decision-making. The goal is to turn a company's raw data, once a source of confusion, into its most valuable strategic asset. One client, Frasier, noted that CLA's digital services are "transforming our data management... streamlining reporting and analysis by integrating over a dozen systems into a unified data lakehouse."

The Race to Digitize Professional Services

CLA's announcement does not happen in a vacuum. It is indicative of a profound shift across the entire professional services industry. Traditionally known for audit, tax, and advisory services, major firms are now aggressively building out technology consulting practices to meet soaring client demand. Competitors like RSM and BDO Digital have also achieved similar Microsoft partner statuses, highlighting a sector-wide race to become the go-to partner for digital transformation.

This strategic pivot is fueled by staggering market growth. The global digital transformation consulting market is on an explosive trajectory, with various analysts projecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 11% and 15% over the next decade, potentially pushing the market value into the trillions of dollars. This demand is driven by businesses of all sizes seeking to modernize legacy systems, enhance operational efficiency, and leverage data analytics to gain a competitive edge.

The convergence of accounting and technology firms is creating a new competitive landscape where deep industry knowledge—a traditional strength of firms like CLA—is combined with cutting-edge technological expertise. By embedding data science, AI, and cloud development capabilities directly into their service offerings, these firms are moving "beyond the balance sheet" to provide a more holistic and forward-looking form of strategic counsel.

Building for a Digital-First World

With its more than 9,000 professionals spread across nearly 130 U.S. locations, CLA is positioning itself to bring these high-level digital capabilities to a broad market. The Microsoft designations serve as both a strategic asset and a clear statement of intent. They signal to current and prospective clients that the firm has the validated expertise to guide them through the next wave of technological disruption.

By aligning closely with Microsoft's powerful Azure ecosystem, CLA is not just adding new tools to its toolkit; it is fundamentally evolving its value proposition. The focus is shifting from interpreting the past to architecting the future, helping clients build the resilient, data-driven, and innovative operating models required to succeed in an increasingly digital world. This strategic alignment ensures that as technology continues to accelerate, the firm and its clients are well-equipped to navigate the challenges and seize the opportunities that lie ahead.