By Emeka Aginam
Microsoft has announced the winners and finalists of the 2011 Microsoft Partner of the year awards and the Microsoft West, East and Central Africa (WECA) partner awards this was made known at the just concluded Microsoft worldwide partner conference 2011 – the company’s premier annual event for industry partners – held last month in Los Angeles, the United States of America.

With this development three  partners from Nigeria and one from Ghana respectively  received awards, showcasing the best of the region’s partner network to the world and testament to the high level of Microsoft technology expertise present in West Africa.

The annual partner of the year awards honour Microsoft partners for delivering innovative solutions during the past year that directly address customer challenges.

Meanwhile, more than 3,000 entries were submitted by partners from more than 100 countries; the award finalists and winners were selected from a group of nominations based on their commitment to customers and exemplary use of Microsoft technologies.

Signal Alliance, one of the  IT companies  from Nigeria with a  focus on systems integration, using primarily Microsoft solutions including SharePoint 2010, Unified Communications Volume Licensing, Service Management among others, and  IPMC from Ghana were awarded Country Partner of the Year Awards.

Similarly, Signal Alliance also tied with Ha-shem Network Services which operates in the Small and Medium Business space, and Tavia Technologies (Communication Sector) to win the WECA Partner Awards.

Tavia Technologies is an innovative Nigerian based Technology Solutions Provider which delivers cutting edge solutions for optimal business performance in the areas of Web, Wireless & Business Intelligence services.

With excitement, the General Manager, Microsoft Anglophone West Africa, Emmanuel Onyeje said that ,  “Our partners form a critical part of our business model; our success is highly dependent on the quality, expertise and commitment of our partner ecosystem.

These awards serve to recognise those partners who excel in developing, deploying and supporting our software solutions and driving regional competitiveness”.

“Congratulations to all the 2011 Partner Award winners and finalists. Each of these partners has demonstrated a unique approach and exceptional dedication in addressing the technology and business challenges of its customers,”  Jon Roskill, corporate vice president of Worldwide Partner Group at Microsoft said, adding that, “The efforts and expertise of these outstanding partners continue to bring incredible value to the companies they serve and the marketplace as a whole. We are honoured to recognise their success.”

Moji Sodunke, General Manager, Ha-Shem Network Services while thanking  Microsoft for the recognition said that the award was  a confirmation of our hardwork throughout the year.  We hope to do even better in the coming year.”