Trustmarque bags top Microsoft services badge

VAR's fledgling services arm proves its worth as software vendor bestows high-end certification

It takes two: Trustmarque gained the services badge after working with Microsoft on a public sector project

VAR Trustmarque Solutions claims its attainment of Microsoft Services Ready status will allow its customers to benefit from cheaper and more expeditious services delivery.

The York-based firm claims the new certification follows a successful project conducted in tandem with Microsoft Consultancy Services. The team-up covered a deal with an emergency services organisation in the south of England, said Trustmarque.

The Services Ready badge is Microsoft's highest services-based accreditation and is based on the software giant's Core Infrastructure Optimisation offering. Partners gunning for certification must be assessed on delivery of the vendor's System Centre IT management product range.

Phil Mercer, infrastructure optimisation solutions manager at Trustmarque, claimed nine months work had gone into attaining Services Ready status. He added that end users could now enjoy cost reductions and quicker delivery.

"The accreditation means that we can extend Microsoft’s own quality of service, for their own products, to our customers," he said.

Ranjit Sodhi, Microsoft’s UK Services Ready programme manager added: “[The accreditation] means that Trustmarque customers can be assured that it has access to the latest best practices alongside Intellectual Property from Microsoft Consultancy Services for them to use in all their engagements. We are delighted to continue to support the growth of Trustmarque’s consulting capability.”

Last year Trustmarque unveiled the services-centred Trustmarque Enterprise Solutions Group (TESG). The company claimed at the time that it hoped to more than double the percentage of its revenue gathered from services. In another move towards value, rather than volume, the VAR stepped away from its Microsoft pass-through business supplying other resellers earlier this year.

Trustmarque claims the launch of TESG has been central to driving the firm's gross profit margin as high as the 19 per cent figure it achieved in January.

TESG head David Papworth said: “Engaging an IT consultancy firm can be a significant investment for any organisation. The reputation of IT projects going over time and over budget is far too common, so IT managers and CIOs are keen for companies like Trustmarque to solve this problem, not aggravate it."