South African IT companies selected as finalists for prestigious international award

South African companies PQ Chem, Ixchange and IT-IQ have been announced as finalists for the worldwide Microsoft Solution and Partner of the Year Awards. The three South African companies were winners for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. A panel of Microsoft judges selected the 29 finalists for the international awards from more that 875 entries based on excellence in customer solution delivery and service.

Begun in 1998 as the Microsoft Certified Solution Provider (MCSP) Awards, the Microsoft Solution and Partner of the Year Awards have been expanded this year to include a wider group of solution areas and to better recognise the growing international market. For the 2000 awards Microsoft received an unprecedented number of entries from more than 79 countries around the world, including India, Australia, South Africa, Malaysia and Brazil.

Based on the case studies submitted, one outstanding partner from each of Microsoft`s five regions (North America, Middle East/Africa, Latin America, Europe and Asia/South Pacific) was chosen as a finalist in one of the following award categories: MCSP Partner of the Year, Microsoft Business Solution of the Year, Microsoft CTEC Training Partner of the Year, Microsoft E-Commerce Solution of the Year, Microsoft Platform Solution of the Year and Microsoft Packaged Application of the Year.

Ixchange`s JustEnough.com was selected for the Microsoft E-Commerce Solution of the Year. The award is open to all partners for the most innovative solution built using Microsoft`s Internet products and solutions.

JustEnough.com was chosen due to its potential for changing the way companies optimise their inventories. "The idea behind the JustEnough.com project was to create a product that would allow companies to run their inventory optimisation system, any time, anywhere with no geographic or time limitations," says Ixchange CEO Derek Kreunen. "Winning this award is very encouraging, it not only recognises our solution but endorses the business practices we employed to accelerate JustEnough.com from scratch to the point where it is ready for launch in the U.S," adds Kreunen.

PQ Chem, part of the PQ Africa group, was named the winner in the Packaged Application Partner of the Year for the EMEA region. This award is presented to a company with one or more packaged applications available for resale in horizontal markets or vertical industries. PQ Chem won the award for its Continuous Improvement System designed to support the Continuos Improvement Process of Sasol Synthetic Fuels. According to Mike Sewell, managing director of PQ Chem, "The system is a totally web based application and allows all employees to register their ideas to improve the operations of the plant in terms of safety, improved through put, reduction of cost, and new products."

IT-IQ won the award for the CTEC Training Partner of the Year for the EMEA region for demonstrating the most successful and innovative training solution. Partly owned by the Datatec Group, IT-IQ People Development is a nation-wide technology education and services business that offers total IT education solutions. As well as over 50 training rooms in South Africa, IT-IQ has a formal alliance with IT-IQ UK, enabling the company to address the needs of their international clients. "We are thrilled to be named a finalist for this award and it serves to recognise the strength or our partnership with Microsoft," said director of IT-IQ, Violet van Niekerk.

"Microsoft congratulates Ixchange, PQ Chem and IT-IQ on their achievement. Outstanding customer solutions have made these partners leaders in their field, and each of the finalists are well-deserving of this recognition," concluded Bev Scott, partner manager for Microsoft South Africa.