Partner Solution Case Study
/ EPM Partners Boosts Sales as Microsoft Partner
Overview
Country or Region: Australia
Industry: Professional Services
Customer Profile
Founded in Sydney, Australia, in 2008, EPM Partners is a services company helping customers by implementing and supporting Enterprise Project Management (EPM) solutions.
Business Situation
EPM Partners wanted to ensure a high standard of service for its customers by giving them access to Microsoft training and support tools, as well as leveraging joint sales and marketing opportunities.
Solution
EPM Partners became a certified Microsoft Partner with the Project & Portfolio Management competency after submitting customer references and passing project management exams.
Benefits
· Access to New Products
· Excellent Customer Service
· Increased Sales / “Being a Microsoft Partner with the Project & Portfolio Management competency means we are well-informed and well-prepared to serve the marketplace. With the resources available to us we stay on top of what is happening with the Microsoft products and solutions which translate into knowledge and value that is passed directly on to our customers.”
Dan Stopher, Director, EPM Partners
Australian professional services company, EPM Partners, is focused exclusively on providing enterprise project management solutions. The company chose to attain the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) Project & Portfolio Management competency to build credibility in the market, and access support and demand generation tools from Microsoft. This has contributed to EPM Partners’ strong business growth and has provided its customers with exclusive previews of Microsoft Project Professional 2010 and Microsoft Project Server 2010.
Situation
EPM Partners is a professional services company based in Sydney, Australia. The company specializes in providing enterprise project management solutions to a range of clients, including the Australian Taxation Office and UniSuper, a major superannuation fund dedicated to people working in higher education and research.
EPM Partners was formed after its founders discovered a market need for professional services and support for companies deploying the enterprise project management solutions based on Microsoft Office Project Professional 2007 and Office Project Server 2007.
From the outset, EPM Partners recognized the importance of becoming a Microsoft Partner as a key means of gaining the trust and confidence of its customers. Microsoft is the major provider of project and portfolio management (PPM) solutions, and partners are able to demonstrate a high degree of competence and expertise with Microsoft technologies to their customers. It was important for EPM Partners to have access to the wealth of Microsoft resources available, including training, sales, and customer support tools that would complement the company’s existing project and portfolio management expertise. At the same time, as a new company, EPM Partners was also looking to leverage the marketing and sales opportunities that a formalized partnership with Microsoft would present.
To provide its customers with high levels of technical expertise, service delivery based on best practices, and quickly gain credibility in the market, EPM Partners initiated partner certification shortly after its inception in 2008. After passing the required certifications, the company positioned itself as a trusted provider of support and expertise for customers implementing PPM solutions based on Microsoft Office Project Professional 2007 and Microsoft Office Project Server 2007. Credibility gained from working with the 2007 product meant the company was well placed when Microsoft Project Server 2010 was launched. EPM Partners was the first company to implement the solution in Australia in 2010.
Solution
Working with a Microsoft Partner Development Manager (PDM), EPM Partners became a Microsoft Partner with the Project & Portfolio Management competency. The certification required EPM Partners to employ or contract at least two IT professionals or project managers who each passed exams in managing projects in Microsoft Project 2010 or configuring Microsoft Project Server 2010. EPM Partners was also required to submit three customer references for PPM solutions that were deployed within the previous 12 months.
EPM Partners also needed to build a business plan as an important part of the certification process, and for this the management team received valuable support from the local Partner Development Manager (PDM). Dan Stopher, Director, EPM Partners, explains, “The person we worked with was very helpful during those early days, in aligning our strategy while at the same time sharing our vision and our excitement about the new business.”
The certification process took almost three months, during which time EPM Partners’ management met regularly with the PDM to work through strategies and receive guidance.
Benefits
Since becoming a Microsoft Partner with the Project & Portfolio Management competency, EPM Partners has benefitted from having a close relationship with Microsoft. The company has access to Microsoft products in advance of their release date and can professionally assist customers with important upgrade decisions. With easy access to training for customers and employees, as well as support tools and product information that can be passed on to its customers, EPM Partners has quickly built a reputation as a trustworthy service provider in the PPM solutions market. Both of these factors have driven an increase in sales and business growth for the company.
Access to New Products
As a Microsoft Partner, EPM Partners had access to Project Server 2010 significantly ahead of the release date. This meant the company was able to run Project Server 2010 “Test Drive” events in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, where customers enjoyed hands-on sessions using the software. As a result, several of EPM Partners’ customers have already implemented Project Server 2010.
Stopher says, “We have new customer engagements as a direct result of the Project Server 2010 Test Drives. Microsoft’s support was key to the success of these events.
Excellent Customer Service
Partnering with Microsoft helps EPM Partners provide excellent customer service, as consultants’ knowledge and skills are kept up-to-date with immediate access to support resources, training, and product information on EPM solutions based on Microsoft Project Professional 2010 and Project Server 2010.
The local Microsoft team stays in regular contact with EPM Partners and has facilitated introductions to prospects when demonstrations have been required, reassuring prospects that the consultants are knowledgeable and that the company is a trusted Microsoft partner. In 2010, introductions from Microsoft accounted for nearly 25 percent of total revenue streams.
Increased Sales
Both EPM Partners and Microsoft invest time in the relationship, and this has brought rapid business growth for EPM Partners. Since inception in 2008, the company has continued to grow based on a combination of factors including a close partnership with Microsoft and the company’s reputation as a center of expertise on Office Project Server 2007 and now Project Server 2010.
The next step for EPM Partners is to achieve the Project & Portfolio Management Gold competency to gain further value and benefits as a top level Microsoft solution partner. These include access to the Partner Training and Readiness Resource Center, Technical Advisory Services, additional software licenses, and further marketing tools like events and announcement toolkits. The company commenced this process in the last quarter of 2010.
Stopher concludes, “Being a Microsoft Partner with the Project & Portfolio Management competency means we are well-informed and well-prepared to serve the marketplace. With the resources available to us we stay on top of what is happening with the Microsoft products and solutions which translate into knowledge and value that is passed directly on to our customers.”
Microsoft Project Server 2010
Microsoft Project Server 2010 brings together the business collaboration platform services of Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 with structured execution capabilities to provide flexible work management solutions. Project Server 2010 unifies project and portfolio management to help organizations align resources and investments with business priorities, gain control across all types of work, and visualize performance through powerful dashboards.
For more information about Microsoft Project Server 2010, go to:
www.microsoft.com/project/2010