Microsoft Australian Partner Conference awards - get your entries in now.
The Australian Partner Conferences awards are now open for submission & so drop everything and get your entry in before June 16th. See here for all the details: https://partner.microsoft.com/Australia/40043064
Though the conference this year is only open to Gold & Certified partners, all members of the Microsoft Australia partner program are invited to submit an entry.
Below are is the full list of of categories - get your entries in!
Robbie
PS - full disclosure - I'm lead judge on the SBSC Partner of the Year award & so will be unable to provide any advice or comments on your entry before submission.
Small Business Specialist Partner of the Year This award recognises a local Partner who has consistently delivered quality, innovative solutions for their small business customers. With a focus on the latest Microsoft technology, the recipient will have demonstrated the business value of using products such as Microsoft Windows ® Small Business Server 2003 R2, Windows Vista ™ and the 2007 Microsoft ® Office system, along with (but not limited to) solutions based on Windows Mobile ® , Microsoft Dynamics ™ CRM or Microsoft Forefront ™ . This award is open to all currently enrolled members of the Australian Small Business Specialist (SBSC) Program and typically showcases examples from customers with up to 50 employees. Your submission should focus on your unique and innovative approach, how your solution is scalable for other organisations - and potentially, how you have leveraged the SBSC Program for success.
Please note: in order to qualify for this award, you must be enrolled in the Australian Small Business Specialist Program.
Hosting Services Partner of the Year This award recognises Partners who’ve demonstrated a commitment to innovation —and to Microsoft. In answering these questions, please demonstrate how your company (and the hosted services you’ve developed) have targeted an end-customer business challenge, either by identifying a new market opportunity or by creating an innovative technology solution. Along with demonstrating your innovation, be sure to show how your company is committed to partnering with Microsoft. Indicate which Microsoft product (or products) your services are built on, or how you’ve actively promoted it.
Please note: in order to qualify for this award, you must be active in the Microsoft Advanced Infrastructure Solutions competency - with a Hosting Solutions specialisation.
Microsoft ® Dynamics ™ Competitive Solution of the Year This award recognises Partners who have developed and sold effective Microsoft ® Dynamics ™ solutions that compete against similar technology solutions in the market. For this award, we will only be recognising competitive solutions - as we wish to enhance Microsoft's market share in both ERP and CRM. Competitive solution offerings will form a platform for future growth.
Please note: in order to qualify for this award, you must have actually sold and delivered at least one instance of this solution - and must also have developed marketing collateral to promote it. Your solution must also be competitive in the marketplace (i.e. offered, pitched or positioned against similar technology solutions).
Microsoft Dynamics Fastest Growing Partner This award celebrates and recognises the Partner sales team that has grown their sales transactions and revenue by the greatest amount in the past year. This award reflects our priority of growth in the Dynamics business. We understand that in highly competitive sectors - such as ERP and CRM - it takes a high performance team to lead the field in growth.
Please note: in order to qualify for this award, you must have booked at least six sales during FY08. The winner of this award will be the Partner that demonstrates the highest average growth rate - calculated based on (a) revenue growth and (b) growth in the number of deals booked compared to FY07.
Learning Solutions Partner of the Year This award recognises commitment and ability to deliver high-quality learning services - using Microsoft technology - to meet customer needs. It also demonstrates how customer satisfaction is enhanced through skills assessment, technical training, student mentoring, and Microsoft Certified Professional exam preparation. If you are a Certified Partner for learning Solutions and provide training services based on Microsoft technology, or have been innovative in your approach to training, you can nominate your organisation for this award. You must also be able to demonstrate how you use sales and marketing resources to support your innovative training approach.
Please note: in order to qualify for this award, you must be active in the Microsoft Learning Solutions competency. You must also answer both Part A and B and select at least three measurable criteria from the list when completing your submission.
Citizenship Initiative of the Year This award recognises Partners who have influenced or made a sustained commitment to creating jobs and education opportunities for under-served or remote populations, with special consideration for indigenous communities. Can you demonstrate the impact of your work in this field? Do you work with a non-profit organisation in an innovative way to empower under-served communities? Do you provide access to technology or technology skills training which results in job creation or education opportunities? If so - submit your program to showcase your unique and positive contribution toward making a difference and the knowledge economy more accessible.
Please note: in order to qualify for this award, you must:
1. Demonstrate your technology innovation in association with a non-profit organisation.
2. Help in creating job opportunities, facilitate education, or provide access to technology.
3. Help under-served, remote or indigenous communities.
4. Supply evidence of your service along with your entry.
5. Provide references along with your entry.
Distribution Partner of the Year This award recognises local distribution Partners - using similar criteria to the new Worldwide Award, which will be announced at this year’s Worldwide Partner Conference. You will be judged by how well you executed key launches, strategies and marketing activities - as well as your engagement with Microsoft and our reseller community. You will also be judged based on your innovation surrounding important Microsoft campaigns for FY08 - including Unified Communications and Virtualisation.
Please note: in order to qualify for this award, you must have a valid channel agreement as a Distributor of Microsoft VL, OEM or FPP.
For more information please contact Sarah Arnold.
Licensing Solutions, Software Asset Management Partner of the Year This award recognises Partners who consistently seek to innovate their Software Asset Management (SAM) solutions and services, and provide ongoing attention to customer-service excellence. Successful entries will include descriptions of innovative solutions, services and marketing strategies used to provide outstanding service, achieved results, and appropriate customer supporting evidence.
Please note: in order to qualify for this award, you must be active in the Licensing Solutions competency, and have a Software Asset Management specialisation.
Licensing Solutions, License Delivery Partner of the Year This award recognises Partners who consistently seek to innovate their licensing solutions and services, and provide ongoing attention to customer-service excellence. Successful entries will include descriptions of innovative volume-licensing solutions, as well as services and marketing strategies used to increase Volume Licensing revenue, retain Volume Licensing customers, and provide outstanding service. Submissions should also provide a description of achieved results and appropriate customer supporting evidence.
Please note: in order to qualify for this award you must be active in the Licensing Solutions competency and have License Delivery specialisation.
ISV / Software Solutions Partner of the Year This award recognises Partners who excel at developing and delivering packaged software to customers. Your solution must work with one or more of Microsoft's latest server platforms and middleware products, including Microsoft ® SQL Server ® 2005, Microsoft ® Windows Server 2003, BizTalk 2006, Microsoft ® Office SharePoint Server 2007, Microsoft Business Solutions (all products and versions) and Microsoft ® Exchange Server 2007. Your solution must also be built using Microsoft ® .NET ™ development frameworks and tools, including Microsoft ® Visual Studio ® 2005 or Microsoft ® Visual Studio ® 2008. Your ISV software solution qualifies if it has helped customers make better-informed decisions and has facilitated effective collaboration with colleagues, customers and Partners. If you are applying for this award, you should also have demonstrated effective Partnering with Microsoft by using Microsoft Partner Program benefits and engaging with Microsoft to develop, create demand for and sell our software solutions.
Please note: to qualify for this award, you must be active in the ISV/Software Solutions competency.
ISV / Software Solutions Innovation Partner of the Year This award recognises an ISV who has developed an innovative, disruptive approach to solving a new or existing business or consumer need based on the latest Microsoft server or client technologies. If you are applying for this award, you must have demonstrated leadership in the areas of innovation, market potential, media and analyst buzz, investor value creation and customer adoption. You must also have at least three active business customers or 1,000 consumers.
Please note: to qualify for this award, you must be active in the ISV/Software Solutions competency.
Mobility Industry Solutions Partner of the Year This award recognises Partners who specialise in developing, deploying, supporting, and marketing software solutions and services based on Windows Mobile ® technologies. Submit your entry for this award if you are working with customers to implement mobile business solutions that help accelerate business cycles, increase productivity, reduce operating costs or extend business infrastructures.
Please note: to qualify for this award, you must be active in the Mobility Solutions competency.
Information Worker Solutions, Unified Communications Partner of the Year This award recognises Partners who have excelled in offering breakthrough communication solutions based on the Microsoft ® Office system. Have your technology and marketing offerings increased your customers' employee productivity and enabled a more-effective workforce? Has your innovative thinking helped to solve a technical challenge or helped to address your customers' business needs and empower their people? Submit solutions that enable intuitive and seamless communications across email, instant messaging, voice, data, video, and Web conferencing, and earn recognition for the unique and positive impact you have had on your customers' business pain points.
Please note: to qualify for this award, you must be active in the Information Worker Solutions competency and have Unified Communications specialisation.
Information Worker Solutions, Portals and Collaboration Partner of the Year This award recognises Partners who have excelled in offering breakthrough solutions using the Microsoft ® Office system. Have your technology and marketing offerings increased your customers' workforce productivity, enabling teams to work more effectively across boundaries with partners and customers? Has your innovative thinking helped to solve a technical challenge or helped to address your customers' business needs and empower their people? Submit your collaboration solution to highlight the unique and positive impact you have had on your customers' business pain points.
Please note: to qualify for this award, you must be active in the Information Worker Solutions competency and have Portals and Collaboration specialisation.
Information Worker Solutions, Office Deployment Partner of the Year This award recognises Partners who have excelled in offering breakthrough solutions to deploy the Microsoft® Office system in customer organisations. Have your technology and marketing offerings helped your customers lower their deployment costs and realise a better deployment experience through more-efficient deployment planning? Has your innovative thinking helped to solve a technical challenge or helped to address your customers' business needs and empower their people? Submit your deployment solution to demonstrate the unique and positive impact you have had on your customers' business pain points.
Please note: in order to qualify for this award, you must be active in the Information Worker Solutions competency and have Office Deployment specialisation.
Information Worker Solutions, Enterprise Content Management Partner of the Year This award recognises Partners who have excelled in offering breakthrough Microsoft ® Office ® system solutions. Have your technology and marketing offerings increased your customers' employee productivity, simplified their access to information and people and enabled a more-effective workforce? Has your innovative thinking helped to solve a technical challenge or helped to address your customers' business needs and empower their people? Submit your solution to show the unique and positive impact you have had on your customers' business pain points.
Please note: to qualify for this award, you must be active in the Information Worker Solutions competency and have Enterprise Content Management specialisation.
Business Intelligence Partner of the Year This award recognises Partners who provide data-warehousing and business-intelligence solutions that improve organisations by providing business insight to all employees —leading to better, faster, and more-relevant decisions.
Please note: to qualify for this award, you must be active in the Data Management Solutions competency, Business Intelligence specialisation or Information Worker Solutions Competency with Performance Management specialisation.
Data Management Solutions, Database Management Partner of the Year This award recognises exceptional Partners who support customers with mission-critical applications. Show how your solution used Microsoft ® SQL Server ® 2005 to reduce application downtime, increase scalability and performance, and tighten security controls.
Please note: to qualify for this solution you must be active in the Data Management Solutions competency and have Database Management specialisation.
Security Solutions Partner of the Year This award recognises Partners who have demonstrated superior expertise in providing services focused on developing security strategies, governance, policies, procedures, risk assessments and risk management, while providing overall information-protection and security-management services. Submit your solution to showcase the unique and positive impact you have had on your customers' business pain points.
Please note: to qualify for this award you must be active in the Security Solutions competency.
Advanced Infrastructure Solutions, Thin Client Partner of the Year This award recognises Partners with proven expertise in helping customers implement Microsoft ® Windows Server Terminal Services or Windows Vista ™ Enterprise Centralised Desktop environments. If you have provided a comprehensive, end-to-end solution that leveraged the robust capabilities of either of these technologies, submit your solution. This is an opportunity to demonstrate how you have helped customers deliver applications to users that perform to requirements.
Please note: to qualify for this award, you must be active in the Advanced Infrastructure Solutions competency.
Advanced Infrastructure Solutions, Partner of the Year This award honours Partners with proven proficiency in implementing solutions based on Microsoft ® Windows Active Directory Domain Services (ADDS). Win recognition for innovative solutions you have developed for ADDS in heterogeneous environments, or solutions that provide value-added security and compliance capabilities for ADDS. Submit your solution and show how you have helped customers solve tough business challenges.
Please note: to qualify for this award, you must be active in the Advanced Infrastructure Solutions competency and have Active Directory specialisation.
Environment and Sustainability Solution of the Year This award honours Partners who have delivered solutions on Microsoft technology that have supported customers reducing or managing their environmental impact, or related outcomes.
Please note: to qualify for this award, you must be a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner or Microsoft Certified Partner.