July 2009
Solutions not Products - A report from WPC09
Provoke are a Microsoft Gold Partner, but what does that mean? Well, simply put, it means that we leverage Microsoft technologies when we are designing and developing solutions for our clients. People often confuse the use of Microsoft technologies with Microsoft products, and it is worth highlighting that Provoke are a solutions provider and not simply a software vendor. Part of our commitment to Microsoft is to ensure that we are always up-to-date with new technologies and strategies, and we are able to do this through some great relationships with our colleagues at Microsoft New Zealand, and Microsoft in the US.
One of the highlights of the year for us is the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference. This event provides us with an opportunity to spend an entire week entirely focussed on strategy, and to get the inside scoop on upcoming technologies. The event this year was held in New Orleans, and Provoke sent Brendon Ford, our Chief Technology Officer, and JR, the Manager of our Consulting Practice. The focus of the week was around the new release of Windows 7, the new functionality in Office 2010, and an early look at the new SharePoint 2010 feature set.
Provoke are a leader in SharePoint deployments in New Zealand, and both Brendon and JR were very keen to get their hands dirty on trialling out the new version, ahead of the rest of the world. Being a Microsoft Gold Partner gives us unique access to executives at many levels across Microsoft, and during the course of the week, Brendon and JR met with many different teams to discuss opportunities for our clients.
A great focus for our clients over the last 12 months has been around leveraging their existing technology stack to create greater efficiencies in their businesses, as well as a number of concerns around data protection and security. Whilst in New Orleans, our team met with senior members of the Forefront team responsible for security, and attended a number of closed sessions looking at how to protect an enterprise. A lot of the conference content was also around ways to help customers better utilise their existing licencing arrangements, and our Consulting Practice are experts at identifying business needs and aligning them to technology solutions.
Provoke have a specialist SharePoint Team and they have already started to test out strategies with SharePoint 2010. We have also deployed Windows 7 across our business, and some of our teams are trialling Office 2010. It is only by being a valued Microsoft Gold Partner that we are able to stay ahead of the competition on all these developments, and it is a status that we are proud of. The value that we obtain from being invited to such events as the Worldwide Partner Conference is immense, and we strive to deliver solutions to our customers that leverage our investment in Microsoft technologies and our learnings from being at the front of the technology bow-wave.
Brendon is also heading off to Las Vegas in October for the Microsoft SharePoint conference 2009. Again, this is an event that will allow us to bring back some great technology solutions for our clients, and will keep Provoke positioned as one of New Zealand's premier providers of business solutions.
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