Microsoft partner nominations open; small partners encouraged to enter
Submissions have opened for the Microsoft Partner Awards with one previous winner encouraging smaller Microsoft partners to get involved.
The awards, now in their eighth year, ‘recognise excellence in New Zealand’s IT sector by integrating Microsoft solutions’.
Last year Wellington IT support specialists IT Engine took out two awards – claiming awards for server platform and small business segment.
The company was also a finalist for the Midmarket Solution Provider category.
Delia Gill, IT Engine managing director, says the awards proved a boost for staff morale and reiterated that the company was on the right track.
She says while it is hard to say whether the awards have directly translated into increased business for IT Engine, ‘I think we’re more likely to be looked at and given an opportunity to tender for projects [because of the wins]’.
“We’re only a small company with 12 staff and we went up against the big boys and won. So smaller companies need to realise that if you have a really good project there’s just as much chance that you’ll win too.”
The 2015 awards include two new categories in the Marketing Partner of the Year and ‘Rising Star’ Partner of the Year, which replaces the SMB and Midmarket segment awards.
More than 20 awards will be handed out across seven categories with winners of the awards announced at an awards ceremony at The Pullman Hotel in Auckland on 19 March, 2015.
Other changes this year include three category changes, with Business Intelligence Partner renamed to data analytics, Windows Azure Solution Provider renamed to cloud platform and the server platform and management/virtualisation categories merged to create a data center category.
Brent Kendrick, Microsoft New Zealand SMB and partner lead, says the 2015 Awards are set to be a landmark event in the Kiwi IT industry, and a reflection of the company’s ongoing transformation in a ‘mobile first, cloud first’ world.
“The journey that Microsoft has been on for the past few years has seen us refocus our business and services towards a mobile first, cloud first world, and it’s been an honour to have our partners join us on that path and work with them as they transform their own business to be successful in the cloud.”
Kendrick says this year, the ceremony will be a few weeks earlier to allow category winners ample time to submit a global application. Microsoft has also invited all Partners to invite their customers to share in their success at the black tie awards night.
