MS puts Teksys at top of league
Corporate reseller promoted to Microsoft's Partner Premier Support scheme
Corporate reseller Teksys has been promoted to Microsoft's premier league as a result of its commitment to the vendor.
Microsoft's Partner Premier Support scheme has just 35 members in the UK, out of 4,000 certified partners. The scheme costs between £40,000 and £150,000 a year to join.
According to Shaun Frohlich, executive chairman at Teksys, the status is worth the investment. "It sets us apart from rivals and the high cost of entry makes it an exclusive club," he said.
As a result, Teksys will receive the highest level of Microsoft support, including information, technical updates and insights into product development strategies.
Steve Beswick, enterprise partner director at Microsoft UK, said: "There are no specific requirements that resellers have to meet, but there is money involved for support, which means only resellers of a certain size want to take it on."
Frohlich added that the move was good timing for Teksys, following last week's launch of Windows 2003 Server, Microsoft's biggest product launch of the year so far. It also launched SQL Server Enterprise Edition 64-bit and Visual Studio.Net 2003.
Windows 2003 Server has received a mixed reaction from the channel, but the consensus is that Microsoft has worked hard to ensure that the software is easier to use.
Ross Miller, managing director of Large Account Reseller Trustmarque Solutions, said: "Microsoft has finally realised that it has to make software easier for customers to understand and it has done this. We are encouraging our customers to upgrade."
James Governor, principle analyst at RedMonk, said: "Microsoft has done a lot of work to make this a better operating system, but IT purchasing is treading water and the question is, will firms see Windows Server 2003 as a lifeline or a weight around their ankles?"