axon IT First in the North West to receive Microsoft Gold Partner Status

Macclesfield-based IT solutions provider axon IT is celebrating after becoming the first business in the North West to be awarded Microsoft Gold Partner status with virtualization competency, making the company the only provider of virtual and cloud computing-based systems in the region to be endorsed by Microsoft.

The accreditation comes after Microsoft announced significant changes to the way it assesses its partners. The new system means that all companies previously awarded Microsoft recognition will need to re-qualify for their status, choosing a competency relevant to their line of business.

axon IT’s Gold Partner status in Virtualization is the result of a series of gruelling technical exams taken by the firm’s engineers, a number of sales and marketing assessments and a collection of high quality references given by the company’s current customers.

Graham Fern, Technical Director at axon IT commented: “The changes Microsoft has made to its assessment process will be instrumental in separating the wheat from the chaff, and ensuring that Microsoft partners are up to date with the latest technology. In recent years the industry has become swamped with Microsoft Gold Partners, so by forcing companies to re-apply for their status, customers can be sure that they are dealing with a genuine, qualified and fully competent solutions provider.

“Our engineers have taken a total of 25 exams to help move the business forward and gain this accreditation, and their hard work and dedication has now paid off. We were thrilled to learn we were the first in the North West to achieve Gold Partner status with the virtualization specialism, and feel this will be instrumental in driving axon IT into the future of virtual solutions and cloud computing.”

axon IT was founded in 2001 by Graham Fern and Mike Agutter (alongside another partner) with a limited budget and zero investment. Within just a few months the company had won major accounts including British Gypsum, and in the ten years since, Fern and Agutter have successfully grown the business to boast a turnover of more than £800,000 and 12 employees.

As a Microsoft Gold Partner, Avaya Business Partner and Cisco Select Partner, axon IT works at the highest level of expertise and competence to provide fully tailored IT and telephony systems.

Specialist expertise and knowledge includes virtualisation and cloud based computing, VoIP and intelligent business communications, disaster recovery planning and secure data backup. The company also runs a highly successful fully managed automated offsite data backup solution via its Manchester-based data centre – axonBackup24/7.

axon IT
Charter House
1-3 Charter Way
Macclesfield
Cheshire
SK10 2NG

Press Contact:
Anna Nicholls
alnicholls@axon-it.com
0845 313 0025

This release was published on openPR.