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MS introduces cloud solution provider programme in SA

Regina Pazvakavambwa
By Regina Pazvakavambwa, ITWeb portals journalist.
Johannesburg, 03 May 2016
Businesses are turning to the cloud to meet customers' expectations, says Microsoft.
Businesses are turning to the cloud to meet customers' expectations, says Microsoft.

Microsoft South Africa has introduced a Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) programme which it says enables partners to be responsible for direct billing, to directly provision and manage customer subscriptions, to take ownership of support and become the first point of contact for all customer cloud needs.

Derek Kudsee, partner sales lead at Microsoft SA, says partners will be able to more easily help companies take full advantage of cloud services and empower staff to securely collaborate and communicate from almost anywhere, anytime, and while using any device.

"By joining the Microsoft CSP programme, partners will deepen customer relationships and expand business opportunities in the cloud.

"To meet the local growing demand of Microsoft's cloud-based solutions, we're thrilled to expand the capabilities for cloud partners under this new programme."

BMI-TechKnowledge says cloud computing initiatives are seeing rapid acceleration in the local market, and cloud services will likely grow from R2.6 billion in 2015 to R6.4 billion by 2020.

Meanwhile, First Distribution was awarded entry into the CSP programme.

Kevin Derman, First Distribution's GM for cloud and hosting, says there is a continual and growing interest in cloud technologies, and being awarded entry into the Cloud Solution Provider programme allows First Distribution to build stronger relationships with its partners, and provide them with the best cloud solutions to propel their businesses.

Microsoft says the opportunity to address the needs of businesses both large and small is so huge that it has opened the CSP programme up to all partner types - those that want to invest gradually in developing systems and tools and for partners that already have support and billing capabilities.

Businesses are turning to the cloud to meet customers' expectations and on-demand delivery, it adds.

To be in a position to deliver on these demands, cloud service providers have to service the complete customer lifecycle, says Microsoft.

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