Simon Bright (Intergen)
Microsoft has signed a strategic partnership with local IT services provider Intergen that will see the two companies work together to drive Azure uptake in the local market.
The partnership is, in the words of the two companies, a three-year program in which Intergen and Microsoft will work in close collaboration at an executive level to identify customers and transform their adoption of Azure.
Intergen, a subsidiary of Australian IT services provider Empired – which is in the process of being acquired by Capgemini – boasts an especially strong Microsoft technology pedigree.
Indeed, Intergen claims to be one of just 77 Microsoft partners globally to have earned the Microsoft Azure Expert Managed Services Provider (MSP) status.
As such, it comes as little surprise that the company should be further strengthening its partnership with the vendor to help bolster what is one the fastest growing business segments for the global company.
“The connection between Intergen and Microsoft is already strong,” said Simon Bright, Intergen CEO. “However, with this new partnership, we are coming together even more to help customers migrate, manage, and modernise on the Azure cloud platform.
“The move to cloud is no longer a nice-to-have for organisations; it is a must-have in terms of operational resilience, reliability, security, scalability and agility in the new normal business environment.
“Microsoft continues to significantly invest in New Zealand, which will ultimately benefit Intergen’s customers. This includes the announcement of its first onshore datacentre, which will give organisations in the region access to enterprise-grade cloud services, providing additional assurance around data sovereignty into the future.
“This only serves to reinforce that the time is right for Intergen to extend its relationship with Microsoft in the region even further,” he added.
Credit: Microsoft In May last year, Microsoft revealed its plans to establish its first datacentre region in New Zealand, in what it described at the time as "a major milestone toward delivering enterprise-grade cloud services in the country".
“It’s so exciting to welcome Intergen on board as an Azure growth partner and see how committed Intergen is to helping its customers leverage cloud platforms to deliver new products and services and grow their businesses together,” said Vanessa Sorenson, managing director of Microsoft New Zealand.
“It’s partnerships like this that will make the cloud dividend forecast by IDC a reality, bringing 102,000 new jobs and adding $30 billion to New Zealand’s economy over the next four years,” she added.
As reported in July, Capgemini’s proposed A$233 million buyout of ASX-listed Empired could catapult the firm into the local big-league by virtue of Empired' ownership of Intergen.
At the end of its June 2020 financial year, Empired reported the NZ business performed “exceptionally well” with sector leading growth of 11 per cent.
That took Intergen’s revenue to A$67.5 million, or around NZ$70 million, 41 per cent of total Empired group revenue.
