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Microsoft NZ announces 2016 Partner Awards finalists
Microsoft NZ announces 2016 Partner Awards finalists
Cloud solutions dominate as record number of entries make annual event the biggest ever
AUCKLAND, 3 March 2016 – Microsoft New Zealand today announced the finalists for the 2016 Microsoft Partner Awards, with cloud solutions continuing to stand out for their transformational impact on the Kiwi IT sector.
With a record number of submissions, the 2016 annual Microsoft NZ Partner Awards is set to be the biggest in its nine years of existence. The awards recognise excellence in the IT sector from those companies that integrate Microsoft solutions into their products and services to accelerate innovation and go above and beyond customer expectations.
Brent Kendrick, Microsoft New Zealand’s Director for Small and Midmarket Solutions and Partner, says there was an even broader range of entries this year.
“This year we were happy to see a good mix of new and old, large and small partners entering compelling IT solutions in their submissions. The relevance and impact of cloud computing continues to be a strong theme this year, and the finalist partners are, by no accident, those that are transforming their businesses most intentionally and effectively toward cloud-based services.”
In 2016, a new special internal recognition category called Partner Seller will be included for the first time, which recognises partners who are not only best-in-class solution sellers but who also collaborate most effectively with the Microsoft team to deliver value to customers.
“This category is unique in that partners don’t submit projects themselves. Instead, the Microsoft NZ sales teams nominate and recognise the best partner sellers directly,” says Kendrick.
Kendrick noted that New Zealand companies have also traditionally done well in the Microsoft Global Partner Awards program. This year’s global winners will be announced at Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference taking place in July in Toronto Canada.
According to Kendrick, the Microsoft headquarters team has taken special notice of the internal recognition category that makes its debut in New Zealand this year and has decided to include it as a new category at the global level.
“New Zealand has tended to punch above its weight in this global competition, as we celebrated two global winners and four global finalists in 2015.
“Last year we included our new Marketing Partner of the Year Award as a local New Zealand award for the first time ever. The Microsoft team in our Redmond headquarters loved this idea as well and have now included a similar marketing category in this year’s Global Partner Awards.”
The local New Zealand partner winners will be announced on the 31st March 2016 at a black tie, sit down dinner event at The Langham in Auckland with entertainment, speakers, networking opportunities and live music. Partners are also welcome to invite their customers to join in their success at the event. Tickets can be purchased here.
A full list of finalists follows:
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