Cape Town, 4 December 2007 — PIC Solutions, the leading credit risk management company in the Africa and Middle East region, today announced it has attained Gold Certified Partner status in the Microsoft Partner Program with competencies in Data Management as well as ISV/Software Solutions, recognising PIC Solutions expertise and impact in the technology marketplace.

As a Gold Certified Partner, PIC Solutions has demonstrated expertise with Microsoft technologies and proven ability to meet customers’ needs. Microsoft Gold Certified Partners receive a rich set of benefits, including access, training and support, giving them a competitive advantage in the channel.
 
“We are extremely pleased to have attained Gold Certified Partner status in the Microsoft Partner Program. This allows us to clearly promote our expertise and relationship with Microsoft to our customers,” said Stephen J. Leonard, Managing Director, PIC Solutions. “The benefits provided through our Gold Certified Partner status will allow us to continue to enhance the offerings that we provide for customers.”
 
“Customers are looking for partner companies that can bridge the gap between their business demands and technology capabilities,” said Allison Watson, vice president of the Worldwide Partner Sales and Marketing Group at Microsoft Corp. “They need to trust in a company that can act as an expert adviser for their long-term strategic technology plans. Microsoft Gold Certified Partners, which have certified expertise and direct training and support from Microsoft, can build a positive customer experience with our technologies. Today, Microsoft recognises PIC Solutions as a new Gold Certified Partner for demonstrating its expertise providing customer satisfaction using Microsoft products and technology.”
 
As one of the requirements for attaining Gold Certified Partner status, PIC Solutions had to declare at least one Microsoft defined Competency. Microsoft Competencies are designed to help differentiate a partner’s capabilities with specific Microsoft technologies to customers looking for a particular type of solution. Each competency has a unique set of requirements and benefits, formulated to accurately represent the specific skills and services that partners bring to the technology industry. PIC Solutions has attained two of these competencies.
 
The ISV/Software Solutions Competency recognises the skill and focus partners bring to a particular solution set. Microsoft Gold Certified Partners that have obtained this competency have a successful record of developing and marketing packed software based on Microsoft technologies.
 
“Solutions competencies are an important way for Microsoft to better enable ISVs to meet customer needs,” said Sanjay Parthasarathy, corporate vice president of the Developer & Platform Evangelism Group at Microsoft. “They allow ISVs to keep and win customers through their deep knowledge of solutions-based Microsoft platform technologies. Microsoft has a long history of working closely with ISV partners to help them deliver compelling solutions and applications to our mutual customers, and the Microsoft Competencies are an important step in continuing to enhance vital relationships with ISVs worldwide.”
 
The Data Management Solutions Competency is designed for Microsoft Certified and Gold Certified Partners that have proved their competency in deploying data warehousing, online analytical processing, data mining, decision support and in-depth reporting solutions. Specialisations within the competency are Business Intelligence and Database Management.
 
“Microsoft Competencies make it easier for our partners to position their offerings to our mutual customers, better align their business with Microsoft’s marketing initiatives and form closer relationships with other industry partners,” said Bill Baker, general manager of business intelligence for SQL Server at Microsoft Corp. “Through the Data Management Solutions Competency, we can assist our industry partners’ proficiency in developing and deploying business intelligence applications more quickly and easily, and help them align with our goal of making business intelligence solutions more pervasive and accessible to everyone.”
 
The Microsoft Partner Program was launched in October 2003 and represents Microsoft’s ongoing commitment to the success of partners worldwide. The program offers a single, integrated partnering framework that recognises partner expertise, rewards the total impact that partners have in the technology marketplace, and delivers more value to help partners’ businesses be successful.