BUI earns new Microsoft Support Services designation in SA first

BUI is the first Microsoft Solutions Partner in South Africa to earn the new Support Services designation.

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When a critical business system fails during peak trading hours or a ransomware attack hits at three o’clock in the morning, the strength of your technical support team can mean the difference between a minor incident and a catastrophic outage. And for business and enterprise leaders, the stakes are high: disruptions carry financial, operational and reputational risks.

According to industry research, unplanned downtime costs organisations about $14 000 per minute, with large corporations facing costs as high as $23 750 per minute. Apart from the financial impact, IT failures and security issues can erase public trust that took years to build. In this environment, how do you identify a Microsoft partner truly equipped to support your company when it matters most?

Historically, there hasn’t been a benchmark for measuring support quality beyond a partner’s industry status and track record. But that’s changing. The new Microsoft Solutions Partner for Support Services designation sets the standard for partner support capabilities – and BUI is the first Microsoft partner in South Africa to achieve it.

BUI is also one of the few Microsoft partners worldwide to have earned this designation ahead of its broader market rollout, following its announcement at Microsoft Ignite 2025 in San Francisco. Awarded only to partners who demonstrate deep technical skills, mature service delivery frameworks and consistent customer outcomes, the designation signals both expertise and excellence.

“This recognition validates the way we handle managed support every day,” says BUI Chief Technology Officer Willem Malan. “When systems are under pressure or security threats emerge, our customers know they can count on us to provide clarity and resolve issues with urgency and precision. We take that responsibility seriously, which is why we’ve deliberately invested in building a world-class team.”

BUI has been a Microsoft partner for more than 25 years, working side by side with Microsoft and guiding customers through multiple technology eras: from on-premises IT infrastructure to hybrid architectures and today’s cloud-enabled, AI-powered digital platforms.

With this longevity comes something not many other partners can claim: end-to-end knowledge of the entire Microsoft stack, spanning Windows, Azure, Microsoft 365, identity, security, governance, compliance, Copilot, emerging agentic solutions and more.

“We’re always at the frontier of innovation, but we have the benefit of decades of experience – and that gives us an edge when we’re supporting customers,” says BUI Global Service Delivery Manager Bertus Van Staden. “We understand how legacy systems integrate with modern Azure environments. We understand the knock-on effects of configuration changes. And after years and years of support engagements, we can spot patterns quickly. All of this means we’re better prepared to assist when customers call on us.”

From left: Megan Ely (Service Desk Manager), Naas Marais (Service Delivery Manager: Consulting Services), Morne Fourie (Service Delivery Manager: Cloud Managed Services) and Bertus Van Staden (Global Service Delivery Manager) form the senior leadership team responsible for BUI’s managed support operations.

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BUI's approach to support is built on three foundational pillars that it believes every organisation should expect from a technology partner.

1. Certified experts available around the clock

Modern Microsoft estates are complex environments where infrastructure, cloud services, identity and security are tightly interwoven. Incidents can cause ripple effects across workloads, users and data, which makes rapid, expert diagnosis critical.

“When technical issues occur, they rarely sit neatly in one layer – and they rarely happen at convenient times,” says Malan. “Our support engineers are Microsoft-certified professionals, and they’re available 24/7. When an incident disrupts operations, day or night, our customers have immediate access to experts who understand their environment and can respond with care and consideration.”

2. Sophisticated security operations centres

Configuration gaps, identity misalignment and delayed patching can create exposure in business environments. At BUI, security is embedded in its support model, not treated as a separate function. From three state-of-the-art security operations centres (SOCs) in South Africa, BUI's team carries out threat detection, incident response and proactive security monitoring.

“Resolving issues is only part of our responsibility as a support partner,” notes Van Staden. “We also look at how to reduce risks and prevent repeat incidents because that’s what protects business continuity in the long run.”

3. Structured engagements and accountability

Comprehensive support requires process discipline as well as technical skill. BUI's tried-and-tested frameworks include defined service-level agreements, centralised ticket governance, clear escalation pathways to Microsoft and transparent reporting.

“We measure our success by customer outcomes,” says Malan. “Certifications matter. Designations matter. Competencies matter. But what really separates us from other Microsoft partners is how we engage with people. We take the time to understand our customers – their organisations, challenges, risk profiles and goals – so that we can support them strategically, not just technically.”

This philosophy underpins BUI’s main managed support offering: Concierge360.

Concierge360 is a BUI-led support service to help organisations derive more value from their Microsoft investments. It provides structured oversight, escalation assurance and operational alignment across the Microsoft technology ecosystem.

The service is available in two engagement models, depending on how customers choose to structure their Microsoft support strategy.

1. Concierge360: Unified Support Overlay is for organisations that want to keep Microsoft Unified Support while gaining stronger operational control and visibility. The service provides governance and case lifecycle management, ensuring support engagements deliver measurable results.

Key features include:

• 24/7 Microsoft case life cycle management
• Active SLA tracking and escalation assurance
• Structured governance and monthly value reviews
• Support entitlement and proactive services planning
• Alignment between support, secure deployment and business adoption
• Optional licensing guidance, advisory, enablement and proactive services

2. Concierge360: BUI-Led Support is a credit-based annual model for organisations that prefer BUI to act as their primary support contact, with structured escalation to Microsoft where required. It combines predictable commercial control with enterprise-grade operational support.

Key features include:

• Credit-based annual support model
• 24/7 break-fix incident response
• Escalation pathways to Microsoft
• Coverage across the Microsoft cloud and hybrid stack
• SLA-backed delivery
• Optional licensing guidance, advisory, enablement, and proactive services

“Both models reflect our belief that technical support should be holistic, predictable and matched with how businesses actually operate,” says Van Staden.

Being the first Microsoft Solutions Partner in South Africa to achieve the Support Services designation signals best-in-class capabilities delivered locally – but being among the first worldwide demonstrates readiness ahead of the broader market. As Microsoft prepares to roll out this designation in 2026, BUI enters that phase already validated.

“The Microsoft landscape keeps expanding with new products, new services and new integrations,” reflects Van Staden. “Our job is to support what exists today and ensure we’re ready for what our customers will need tomorrow.”

Malan concurs: “We’re committed to maintaining the expertise our customers depend on and evolving our capabilities as technologies and cyber threats change. For organisations looking to build secure, resilient, fully supported Microsoft environments, we’re here to lead the way. Not because we’ve just earned a new designation, but because supporting and enabling business success is what we’ve been doing for decades.”

Contact BUI to schedule a consultation or support assessment.