The development of cloud solutions is accelerating – ICT suppliers must keep pace .

Cloud technology is developing at a record speed and new services and solutions become available faster and faster. However, technology becomes obsolete also in the cloud: it must be discarded, updated and renewed. This requires constant renewal from the ICT partner.

Customers already know to demand their ICT supplier certificates that show expertise in information security expertise, for example. In the same way, it is good to ensure the level of cloud expertise of the supplier. Microsoft's Solutions Partners designations help to identify this expertise.

Microsoft does not grant these designations lightly, but carefully evaluates the capability, technical know-how and customer success of its partners. The partner must show how it has utilized solutions in the customer environment, ensured the competence of its personnel and adopted the technology more and more widely.

Enfo has strong and broad cloud expertise

The designations awarded by Microsoft indicate that the supplier is able to use the best cloud solutions effectively in the customer environment. Enfo has already achieved five of the six designations:

• Data & AI: We manage data in different systems and create analytics and AI solutions. 
• Digital & App Innovation: We modernize and build cloud-native applications.
• Infrastructure: We migrate our customers' key infrastructure to the Azure cloud.
• Modern Work: We increase productivity and enhance hybrid work with MS 365.
• Security: We protect our customers with comprehensive information security and identity solutions.

The designations recognize our long-term work to develop cloud expertise. For example, we achieved the Security title among the first in Finland: we master the best information security solutions in the cloud, and Enfo's Security Operations Center (SOC) relies heavily on Microsoft's Sentinel.

Specializations tell about deep expertise

ICT suppliers can also demonstrate their deep technical expertise by applying for specializations that complement the designations. Their criteria are strict: specialization can only be applied for after reaching a certain designation, after which the supplier's technical ability is typically verified by an audit.

Enfo has achieved three Microsoft specializations:

• Cloud Security: We produce comprehensive information security solutions for Azure, hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
• Infra and Database Migration: We manage demanding cloud migrations from different environments to Azure.
• Analytics on Microsoft Azure: We help to making full use of data with cloud analytics.

Continuous development benefits our customers

Achieving and maintaining this recognition requires continuous development of our cloud expertise. Our customers, above all, benefit from this. Microsoft offers its certificated partners programs that are not available to everyone, among other things. For example, AMMP (Azure Migration and Modernization Program), which facilitates cloud migration, is limited to companies with Infra and Database Migration Azure specialization. When customers cooperate with partners that have both designations and specializations in order, the customers have the opportunity to get Microsoft’s direct support for different cloud projects.

Also Microsoft takes care of its partners' expertise and maintains it: Enfo's experts have regular development meetings with Microsoft about the development and new features of cloud technology. Enfo’s Cloud Support service ensures that all this expertise and information about new cloud services is passed on to our customers and helps them utilize the latest cloud technology.

Author Jouni Nuutinen has more than 10 years of experience in cloud technology-based solutions for customers' varying needs. Nuutinen is responsible for Enfo's cloud services.