Faritec Raises the Bar on Microsoft Offering

JSE-listed IT services and solutions company Faritec has reinforced its position as one of Microsoft South Africa's biggest partners in line with shifting its focus towards becoming a service-orientated annuity income based organisation,

As one of South Africa's top 200 empowered organisations as ranked in the Financial Mail, with an A rating from Empowerdex, Faritec generates well over R300 million in Microsoft business from many of South Africa's leading corporations, parastatals and government departments. Its Microsoft customer base includes South African Revenue Services, the Barloworld Group, City of Johannesburg, City of Cape Town, Sasfin, MTN, Naspers and Arivia.

The Faritec customer base numbers around 1200, about 40 of which are major Microsoft implementations. The company employs 550 people and has managed a smooth transition of its business model to concentrate on services and solutions. This has been leveraged across the organisation to build its capability and competence in the Microsoft space.

David McMurdo, Faritec's newly appointed Microsoft Business Manager, says the company is using Microsoft's Infrastructure and Software Optimisation models to drive part its services focus.

"We have invested heavily at an organic and acquisitive level to further develop the Microsoft business within our organisation," McMurdo says.

The Faritec Microsoft offering consists of three core components: Software Asset Management (SAM); Infrastructure Optimisation and Infrastructure Understanding. By combining all three elements, Faritec is able to provide customers with a strategic IT roadmap for their Microsoft platforms.

Software Asset Management helps customers understand the software in their environment, while Infrastructure Optimisation takes customers through four optimisation steps from basic to dynamic in order to make the most of infrastructure components such as desktops, servers and networks.

The newest offering is Infrastructure Understanding, which looks at the nuts and bolts of the customer organisation by analysing performance-driven facets such as how servers are set up and how networks are configured.

"Our overarching objective is to become customers' trusted IT advisor based on our ability to provide strategic IT roadmaps which make a tangible, measurable difference to their operations," McMurdo says.

In addition, Faritec is in the process of aligning its Software Asset Management offering and its LicenseRight methodology with Microsoft's Software Optimisation Model, due for release by the software giant in July 2008. The model concentrates on helping customers migrate from basic software asset management, which is ad hoc, to optimised, dynamic software asset management. In this latter environment, LicenseRight is a strategic asset to the customer's overall business objectives, and there is near real-time alignment with changing business needs.

"We provide our customers with a capability framework to build an optimised infrastructure by offering guidance and best practices for step-by-step implementation," McMurdo says. "This approach drives cost reduction, security and efficiency gains."

As a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, Faritec currently holds gold status in five of the key Microsoft Competency areas, including Licensing Solutions; Advanced Infrastructure; Network Infrastructure; Security Solutions; and Information Worker.

In the security arena, by leveraging off Faritec's established Security Operations Centre, Faritec has created a Microsoft security centre of excellence, providing professional services, creating security roadmaps and blueprints, and managing software licensing requirements by leveraging the available technology in Microsoft Forefront and System Centre.

Faritec's efforts in the Information Worker space revolve around the Microsoft Collaboration suite, including Microsoft Exchange, SharePoint and Microsoft Office. Faritec also focuses on Microsoft .Net as a key platform for creating customer-centric applications.

At the Business Productivity level, the company concentrates on Microsoft Business Intelligence in assisting customers to understand the three levels of Business Intelligence - Personal BI, Team BI and Organisational BI. Through this understanding, Faritec aligns with Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Performance Point and Microsoft SQL Server.

"Last but not least, through having a sound understanding of the maturity of a customer's IT environment, a detailed overview of the IT Infrastructure and the software usage within the environment, Faritec is able to deliver the complete Microsoft People Ready Business Message as an experienced Microsoft Software and Service partner" says McMurdo.