O2 has launched an Applications Centre of Excellence to help its top performing partners develop and market bespoke applications for corporate customers.

The scheme sits alongside O2’s recently unveiled Enterprise, M2M and Data Centres of Excellence.
Of the company’s 30 UK applications partners, 12 have been invited to join the Centre of Excellence. They will have to adhere to a stringent set of duties including sales and revenue targets and sharing opportunities with O2. In return they will receive additional sales, marketing and technical support.

O2’s UK business sales director Ben Dowd said: “Our competitors develop a bespoke solution themselves. We are working with a broad range of partners.”

Dowd indicated that he wanted all of his company’s applications partners to aspire towards the accreditation, but claimed the Centre of Excellence would not work with more than 15 partners. “There was a market and customer need for this and there is a big opportunity,” he said.

Handheld PCs are part of both the Data and Applications Centres of Excellence. Founder Pierre Lams said: “The real benefit is it draws attention to our company. Customers look to us potentially in preference to other companies.”