IT solutions specialist TSG has struck gold with a "best in class" endorsement from global technology giant Microsoft.
The company has been awarded a sixth Gold Status Competency, which reaffirms its position as an expert in Microsoft technology and giving it a competitive edge within the IT industry.
The competencies are awarded by Microsoft to partners with proven skills and experience in specific areas to set them apart from the competition.
The latest competency achieved by TSG is in small business, adding to collaboration and content, customer relationship management, enterprise resource management, midmarket solution provider and server platform.
TSG, which was founded in Newcastle, has regional headquarters across the country including in Scotland, Teesside, Manchester, the East and West Midlands, Leeds and Southampton.
Less than one per cent of the 650,000 Microsoft partners worldwide are regarded highly enough to hold a single gold competency, so to hold six is a rare achievement internationally.
They are not a permanent honour as the requirements to achieve and maintain them change every year and TSG has to constantly train and develop its people to ensure the essential skills are in place to meet the criteria.
“By achieving a gold competency, partners have demonstrated the highest, most consistent capability and commitment to the latest Microsoft technology,” said Phil Sorgen, corporate vice president Worldwide Partner Group at Microsoft Corp.
"These partners have a deep expertise that puts them in the top one per cent of our partner ecosystem, and their proficiency will help customers drive innovative solutions on the latest Microsoft technology.”
David Filmer, TSG’s training and development manager, said: “To renew our five competencies and add a sixth was no mean feat. In 2012 Microsoft launched five new products which required training and development across the TSG team to ensure we had the right knowledge, skills and experience in place to retain our competencies. Essentially it was like starting from scratch, as each product brought with it changes to the accompanying competency.”
TSG’s chief executive David Stonehouse added: “Picking up the sixth Gold Status Competency demonstrates to our customers that we go that extra mile to show we are trusted, expert advisors for our key strategic partners.
“A lot of our customers rely heavily on Microsoft’s product stack. Achieving all these Microsoft Gold Status Competencies reflects our continued investment in helping customers get the most out of Microsoft’s portfolio of products."
He added that the company had invested heavily in ensuring its staff were as technically proficient as possible and added value to customers’ businesses.
TSG’s six Gold Status Competencies complement its end-to-end servicing across the ITC spectrum of products and are earned by demonstrating successful projects through customer references as well as passing technical and sales assessments.
David Filmer added: “The renewal has been a genuine team effort, with colleagues from across the business developing skills, studying for and passing certifications across Microsoft products such as Dynamics NAV 2013, CRM 2011, Server 2012, Office 365, Windows 8, SQL Server, SharePoint 2013 and System Centre. ”