Microsoft Names 1999 Microsoft Certified Solution Provider Partner of the Year Award Finalists
Select Group of MCSPs Recognized for Outstanding Development And Implementation of Business Solutions
REDMOND, Wash. – June 30, 1999 – Microsoft Corp. today announced the finalists for its 1999 Microsoft® Certified Solution Provider (MCSP) Partner of the Year Award, as well as nominees for eight additional categories of computing excellence. Now in their fifth year, the Annual MCSP Awards are designed to recognize and reward the expertise of MCSP firms that develop and implement software solutions using Microsoft products and technologies. Thirty-three overall finalists, selected from approximately 450 entries, will compete in 10 categories, including Microsoft Partner of the Year, Best Electronic Commerce Solution and Best Business Operations Solution.
The Partner of the Year Award recognizes MCSPs, both domestic and international, that have contributed particularly outstanding customer solutions across the various service area categories over the last year and that most embody what it means to team with Microsoft. U.S. nominees for Partner of the Year are Metamor/NTP Consulting of Bedford, N.H.; Forte Systems Inc. of West Chester, Pa.; Metamor Technologies Ltd. of Chicago; and Micro Modeling Associates Inc. of San Francisco. International nominees are Bras & Figueiredo Informatica of Sao Paulo, Brazil; Ipex Israel of Petach-Tikva, Israel; and Trinity Expert Systems Ltd. of Coventry, England.
“These finalists are demonstrating excellence by delivering outstanding technology solutions for our mutual customers that address business needs such as e-commerce, knowledge management and business operations,”
said Sam Jadallah, vice president of Enterprise Sales at Microsoft.
“These awards are an exceptional opportunity for Microsoft to recognize the fine work that our MCSPs are doing for industry-leading companies around the world.”
Microsoft Chairman and CEO Bill Gates and Jadallah will announce the winners on July 23 in San Francisco at an awards ceremony being held in conjunction with Fusion 99, Microsoft’s annual worldwide business symposium for its MCSPs. Award winners will be selected by a panel of industry experts including Eric Lundquist, editor in chief at PC Week; Sandy Reed, editor in chief at InfoWorld; Rob Enderle, vice president and research leader at GIGA Information Group; Robert DeMarzo, publisher of VARBusiness; John Russell, vice president and editor in chief at Solutions Integrator; as well as an internal panel of Microsoft judges.
Eight Additional Award Categories Recognize Excellence and Innovation
In addition to the domestic and international Partner of the Year Awards, Microsoft will present eight other awards to MCSPs in the following categories:
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Best Electronic Commerce Solution. This category focuses on the use of Internet technology to expand business reach and streamline business processes through the implementation of business-to-business, business-to-consumer, financial and information services, and corporate purchasing solutions. The finalists for this award are Hypermedia Systems Ltd. of Budapest, Hungary; Inforte Corp. of Chicago; and NDC Group Inc. of Alexandria, Va.
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Best Knowledge Management Solution – Business Intelligence. Business intelligence solutions capture information that helps organizations understand customer buying patterns, identify sales and profit growth opportunities, and improve overall decision-making. Business intelligence solutions include data warehousing, data marts, decision support and analytical applications. Business intelligence systems also deliver enhanced informational views, querying, reporting and modeling capabilities. The finalists for this award are Cotelligent USA Inc. of Costa Mesa, Calif.; Digital Design of St. Petersburg, Russia; and IKON Technology Services/DataWiz of San Francisco.
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Best Knowledge Management Solution – Collaboration. This category considers solutions that enable interpersonal and team communication and collaboration by providing a platform through which to share knowledge, information and stored data. The finalists for this award are Adroit Innovations PTE Ltd. of Singapore; EDS of Plano, Texas; and IntelliNet Corp. of Atlanta.
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Best Business Operations Solution. This category considers the implementation and integration of commercial line-of-business (LOB) solutions based on the Microsoft platform, with a particular focus on effective and innovative integration with the customer’s existing application environment. Examples of LOB solutions include, but are not limited to, ERP, customer management, sales force automation, accounting, and supply chain management solutions. The finalists for this award are Analytical Software of Seattle; BTG Inc. of Fairfax, Va.; Clarity Consulting Inc. of Chicago; and DataLan Corp. of White Plains, N.Y.
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Best Infrastructure Solution. This category considers implementations of Microsoft technology as the underlying architectural infrastructure for an organization, focusing mainly on desktop operating systems and management, and server and network operating systems and applications, with an emphasis on increasing productivity and flexibility while reducing costs. The finalists for this award are FastLane Technologies Inc. of Kanata, Ontario; Interlink Group Inc. of Denver; and Sessionware Inc. of Campbell, Calif.
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Best Small Business Solution. These solutions demonstrate innovative and effective approaches to applying Microsoft technologies in the small-business customer segment (small businesses are defined as having fewer than 50 PCs or 100 employees). The finalists for this award are Calypso Systems Inc. of Chicago; DPI Business InfoSystems of Hunt Valley, Md.; IntraNetics Inc. of Woburn, Mass.; and mii – marcus izmir informationsmanagement gmbh of Vienna, Austria.
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Excellence in Microsoft CTEC Training. This category is for Certified Technical Education Centers (CTECs) that provide value-added training solutions that result in customers’ successful use or adoption of the BackOffice® family of products. Training must be based on Microsoft Official Curriculum but may be supplemented by other training offerings. The finalists for this award are Infotec Commercial Systems of Santa Monica, Calif.; The Information Management Group of Chicago; and Micro Endeavors Inc. of Upper Darby, Pa.
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Best Business Solution by an Independent Software Vendor. This category is for independent software vendors only and will recognize outstanding LOB solutions for vertical or horizontal markets. The finalists for this award are ICL, Retail Systems Division of Dallas; Lenel Systems International Inc. of Pittsford, N.Y.; and SME Corporation of Mill Valley, Calif.
Microsoft Certified Solution Providers are independent organizations working with Microsoft that include a wide range of companies, such as systems integrators, custom application developers, installation and deployment service providers, business consultants, and training organizations. MCSPs add value by offering their customers a full range of services, including Internet, intranet and e-commerce solutions, line-of-business applications, and client/server
implementations. Currently, there are more than 18,500 MCSPs in more than 50 countries worldwide. For more information on the MCSP program, visit http://www.microsoft.com/certpartner/ .
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