InfoVerge, a managed services company building a strong reputation in IT consulting, business application development, data management and security, is scaling up its Microsoft competencies to deliver greater value to its customers. The company is deepening its Microsoft accreditations and specialisations to better meet local market needs, according to Itumeleng Chuene, Chief Revenue Officer at InfoVerge.
“From our inception nearly 15 years ago, we made a strategic decision to build our business around Microsoft, starting with SharePoint,” says Chuene. “While SharePoint remains powerful for document and records management, we soon realised it was just a drop in the ocean compared with what the wider Microsoft ecosystem offered – both for our customers and for us. That insight led us to pursue accreditation across multiple Microsoft solution areas.”
A turning point came in 2018, when InfoVerge joined Microsoft’s Emerging Partner Programme. “The programme was a catalyst for our business,” Chuene says. “It gave us the technical certifications we needed, provided sales methodology training and support, and opened doors to the market so we could achieve our growth goals.” He adds that it paved the way to new customer engagements, deeper relationships and sustained account growth that continues today.
“Being classified as a Gold Partner was a major achievement,” Chuene notes. “Even with the changes to Microsoft’s accreditation model, we remain committed to securing all six Solutions Partner designations before the end of 2027.” Today, InfoVerge is one of only a handful of South African companies to have achieved three to date – Security, Infrastructure, and Digital & App Innovation – each aligned with both its own business strategy and that of its customers.
“The requirements to achieve and retain Solutions Partner status are stringent,” Chuene explains. “Each partner is reviewed monthly by Microsoft against a combination of technical competency, new customer acquisition and solution usage. You need full, end-to-end capability: the expertise to recommend the right solution, the technical skill to deploy and implement it, and the team to drive adoption, change management and training – so the technology delivers real value rather than becoming a costly white elephant.”
The company is now working towards the remaining three designations – Business Applications, Data & AI, and Modern Work – along with key specialisations that will return it to the top tier.
AI is a growing area of focus. “Our customers are all talking about AI, so we are scaling our capabilities to support them,” says Chuene. “We believe in eating our own dog food: before we take any solution to market, we adopt it internally first. Our participation in Microsoft’s frontier programmes gives us early access to new technology, so we can test it thoroughly and bring our customers only the solutions we are confident will deliver genuine value and efficiency.”
InfoVerge’s track record spans significant public-sector engagements, including a data management and AI project for South African Tourism, a modern work deployment for the Free State Department of Education, and a security implementation for the South African Nursing Council.
The company also helps long-standing customers get more from their existing Microsoft investments. Chuene points to Microsoft Teams: “Before COVID-19, many organisations had Teams but weren’t using it to its full potential. When hard lockdown hit in 2020, we moved quickly to help customers adopt Teams and other Microsoft tools so they could keep working remotely. We supported almost 10 000 users during that period – work that contributed to our recognition as Microsoft New and Emerging Partner of the Year in 2021.”
For Chuene, growth and empowerment go hand in hand. “We pride ourselves on not just growing, but empowering our customers and partners,” he says. “While we’re headquartered in Gauteng, our satellite offices in other provinces keep us close to our customers and allow us to uplift local communities – whether through our internship programme or by working with other local Microsoft partners to ensure customers receive continuous, local support.”
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