Microsoft acknowledges top performing A/NZ partners

Rachel Bondi (Microsoft)

Microsoft has acknowledged its top performing Australian and New Zealand partners for 2021, both at home and on the global stage, during its Global Inspire Partner Awards.

Within the local region, the Australian partner of the year award went to Engage Squared while Fusion5 took home the New Zealand partner of the year title. 

According to Rachel Bondi, chief partner officer of Microsoft Australia’s Partner Solutions Group, Engage Squared was considered by the tech giant to be a “clear leader in delivering exceptional digital employee experiences”. 

Meanwhile, Fusion5 was labelled a “small but mighty” partner in the education sector, with Bondi claiming that it has transformations underway in 90 per cent of New Zealand’s universities, with it creating frameworks to ensure returns on investments and improving enrolment numbers and student outcomes. 

“Again and again Fusion5 develops solutions that allow organisations to get past their own operations, in order to properly focus on their own customers’ needs,” Bondi said. 

There were also the regional growth awards — introduced in Australia last year and in New Zealand for the first time this year— which went to Velrada in Australia and Auror in New Zealand. 

Velrada’s work over the last 12 months — which included projects with BHP, Catholic Education Western Australia and Maurice Blackburn — was highlighted by Bondi, while Auror did “phenomenally well on the world stage” with its work with global retailers. 

In the global awards, multinationals Insight Enterprises and Thales Group won the Solution Assessment and Defence and Intelligence awards, respectively, with their Australian arms praised for their efforts in the region. 

Additionally, the New Zealand-based Mobile Mentor, which also has locations in Australia and the US, scored the top spot in the Modern Endpoint management category. 

“When the US Coast Guard, Mayo Clinic, Vanderbilt Health and the New Zealand Defence Force needed an Intune partner – they came to Mobile Mentor," Bondi said. 

“Meanwhile in its engagement with Alive Hospice, Mobile Mentor helped implement zero-touch provisioning – the ability to configure a new laptop, tablet or smartphone, without anyone from IT having to touch the device before the user opens the box, delivering benefits for the Hospice and the patients in its care.” 

Bondi added that the Partner of the Year awards were designed to showcase the work of Microsoft’s partners and their teams, as well as highlighting “the impact that they have brought to bear”. 

“There is impressive momentum across the entire partner community in Australia and New Zealand and I am confident that we can build on this success and continue to grow by delighting clients in the coming 12 months,” she said. 

“Congratulations to all the winners for your absolutely outstanding efforts.”