One solution, two awards

by Robert Dutt


Regular readers of CRN Canada have likely identified a trend towards us talking about the kind of power that can be brought to bear when solution providers work together, bringing their unique expertise to solve a customer’s problem. 

Last night’s Microsoft Impact Awards showed just how much power two solution providers can put together, as two different VARs won Impact Awards in different categories for their work on the same project for the same company.

The solution in question was a development for retail property manager Cadillac Fairview, and the solution providers involved were Envision IT and CMS Consulting. 

I had a chance to chat with Peter Mackenzie and Peter Carson of Envision IT prior to the evening’s festivities, and they explained that what they had crafted for their client was a custom and retail-focused extension of SharePoint’s intranet-type services, allowing retailer tenants to post their own content to the “community” (mall or shopping centre) Web site and providing deep integration with a number of backend resources and Web-facing utilities. In describing the solution for the customer, they were quick to hold up their fellow nominee Brian Bourne and the crew at CMS for the part they played, building the security infrastructure for the same client. 

We talk about the amount of work solution providers do together and the ways it can help a customer, but this was an extremely up-front example. Certainly, Microsoft Canada is happy with the work these two partners are doing, and with two award-winning solution providers plotting their IT direction, one would certainly hope Cadillac Fairview are happy with the unique position they are in.

All in all, the 2008 Impacts were another great night of recognition for one of the largest and most influential partner ecosystems in the country. There were a lot of great stories being told about the kinds of value the channel provides to businesses every day. Hearty congratulations to all the nominees and winners from the whole crew here at CRN Canada.