We’re so proud to announce that we won the Azure Infrastructure Partner of the Year Award and the Security Partner of the Year Award at the 2021 Microsoft South Africa Partner Awards on Tuesday evening (28 September 2021). In addition to these accolades, BUI was named as a finalist for the Modern Work Partner of the Year Award and the Microsoft Consulting Services Partner of the Year Award.
Held annually, the Microsoft SA Partner Awards recognise outstanding accomplishments by Microsoft Partners in a variety of categories related to competencies, cloud technology, and entrepreneurial spirit. This year’s ceremony was an online event, and Microsoft SA Chief Executive Officer Lillian Barnard praised the Microsoft Partner Network for supporting organisations through the social and economic upheavals of the past 12 months.
“It’s been a challenging time for many South Africans and yet we have remained resilient, and worked together to support our customers, our broader community, and each other,” Barnard said in her opening remarks to attendees. “Our impact and achievements in FY2021 have elevated us to a new level of operational discipline and performance excellence,” she added, acknowledging the agility and innovation shown by partners in response to customers’ evolving business needs.
BUI Managing Director Ryan Roseveare highlighted the importance of holistic protection after receiving the Security Partner of the Year Award for the third time in a row. “This past year has been an absolute turning point for security,” he explained. “The rapid pace of digital transformation and the shift to remote and hybrid productivity put security firmly in focus, and the rising levels of cybercrime made businesses re-evaluate their risk profiles. We’ve certainly seen an increased number of customers looking for new ways to secure their on-prem and cloud resources.”
The security trophy, continued Roseveare, is a testament to the BUI team’s deep expertise. “We take security seriously. It’s in our blood. It’s what we do every day. And we’re always improving our skills, expanding our capabilities, and exploring next-generation tools to provide superior service and support to our customers. Microsoft’s security stack is very powerful, and we’re able to leverage end-to-end solutions to help organisations protect and defend their critical data and assets.”
Master of Ceremonies Aki Anastasiou announced BUI’s victory in the Azure Infrastructure Partner of the Year category with a brief nod to the company’s milestones in 2021. “Well done to BUI for achieving the highest infrastructure-related Azure Consumed Revenue, having a 100-percent cloud-based cyber security operations centre powered by Sentinel, and for celebrating your 21st birthday this year,” Anastasiou said from the virtual stage.
“We’ve built our business around Microsoft Azure,” responded Roseveare. “For more than two decades, we’ve empowered customers to maximise their technological investments. And we’re all in when it comes to the cloud. Azure is a phenomenal platform. It’s constantly growing. And it has the features and functionality to enable connection, collaboration, and innovation at scale,” he added.
As a Microsoft Azure Expert MSP and trusted local partner, BUI completed several major modernisation and migration projects during SA’s coronavirus lockdown period, and continues to build on its reputation for excellence. “It comes down to our people and our processes,” notes Roseveare. “We have a specific culture around skills and skills development, and we invest in our teams to ensure that we remain on the cutting edge. Then, we develop repeatable practices to streamline the digital transformation journey for our customers. The Azure Infrastructure Partner of the Year Award is a prestigious prize, and we’re thrilled with this honour.”
BUI holds advanced specializations in Adoption and Change Management, Cloud Security, Identity and Access Management, Microsoft Windows Virtual Desktop, Teamwork Deployment, and Threat Protection, among others, as well as 16 Microsoft competencies in cybersecurity, productivity, and cloud solutions. “We’re committed to helping customers reap the full benefits of Azure, in terms of cost savings, performance, security, and agility. And we’re excited to support South African enterprises as they move forward into the new year,” concludes Roseveare.
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We’re proud to announce that we’ve earned the Teamwork Deployment Advanced Specialization from Microsoft in recognition of our premier capabilities in the deployment of Microsoft Teams, SharePoint Online, Exchange Online, and Yammer workloads for customers.
This is the sixth advanced specialization we’ve achieved since September 2020, after similar accomplishments in Adoption and Change Management, Identity and Access Management, Microsoft Windows Virtual Desktop, Threat Protection, and Windows Server and SQL Server Migration to Microsoft Azure.
Microsoft 365 teamwork solutions play a critical role for enterprises, notes Chief Technology Officer Willem Malan. “With these cloud-powered tools, business teams are able to meet, chat, call, and collaborate online, and they’re able to do it securely – from their offices, factories, warehouses, and dining-room tables – as they adjust to the hybrid and remote-work scenarios we’re seeing today,” he says.
Microsoft Teams, in particular, has emerged as a powerhouse platform for business communication and co-operation, observes Malan. “There are about 145 million daily active users on Teams, across locations and time zones around the world. It’s a very comprehensive shared online workspace, and Microsoft continues to introduce new features to help people carry out their daily tasks and stay in touch with their colleagues, clients, and service partners, no matter where they’re based. From one-on-one conversations to group calls and company-wide video conferences, Teams delivers the rich functionality required for seamless collaboration in diverse environments,” he explains.
As enterprise leaders look to the cloud for efficiency and scalability, they must remember the importance of people-centric change, advises Malan. “You have to choose the right tools for your people and their specific needs. You have to make sure that those resources are configured and deployed correctly. And you have to give your teams the training and support they need to adopt and embrace the new technology, as quickly and easily as possible,” he adds.
The Teamwork Deployment Advanced Specialization not only validates our expertise in this area, but also demonstrates our commitment to delivering innovative, customised solutions for the modern workplace.
“We’re excited to help our customers embrace the Microsoft productivity suite. From flexible communication and collaboration with Teams to email and calendaring with Exchange Online and content management with SharePoint Online, our specialists are empowering business organisations to become more productive every day,” concludes Malan.
Microsoft Teams is a shared virtual space geared for modern communication and collaboration.
See how one of South Africa’s top digital banks uses Teams to ensure business continuity.
Small and medium-sized businesses are facing unprecedented challenges amid the COVID-19 pandemic. And for those with newly remote workforces, effective teamwork can be one of the biggest issues. After all, how do you work together if you can’t be together in the same location? How do you collaborate from afar when you’re accustomed to in-person meetings and group-level planning sessions? How do you communicate quickly and effectively when face-to-face conversations are no longer possible? Microsoft’s answer is Teams.
Teams is Microsoft’s communication and collaboration hub within Office 365. It’s an integrated software solution that allows people to chat, collaborate, and meet – virtually – whenever they like, from wherever they are.
For the past three years, Microsoft Teams has empowered SMBs locally and globally. Today, more than 40 million people are active on Teams every day, using the secure platform (web and mobile) to carry out essential business tasks and to maintain contact with remote workers, colleagues, managers, customers, and service partners.
Microsoft favourites like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are built into Teams to create a comprehensive shared workspace where it’s as easy to share files as it is to share ideas. Powerful communication tools are integrated as well, to enable one-on-one conversations, group discussions, and online meetings. With Teams, remote workers can:
Microsoft has made the free version of Teams available to everyone in response to the current coronavirus crisis. There’s also a way to explore the benefits of premium Teams even if you don’t have Office 365.
Free Teams. The no-cost version of Teams gives you unlimited chat, built-in group, one-on-one audio or video calling, 10 GB of team file storage, and 2 GB of personal file storage per user. Explore the differences between free and paid plans here.
Teams via the Office 365 E1 Trial. In early March 2020, Microsoft announced a free six-month Office 365 E1 Trial, including Teams, because of the increased need for people to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Contact us to learn more about this special offer.
Teams via your existing Office 365 licence. Microsoft Teams is part of Office 365. If your organisation is correctly licensed for Office 365, then you already have access to Teams. Talk to your IT staff (or your BUI account manager) about activating Teams if you haven’t already done so. And share the in-depth resources below to help your people maximise Microsoft Teams while they’re working remotely during South Africa’s national lockdown.