Private-label ASP TeleComputing ASA, (Oslo Stock Exchange: TCO) announced today that it has become the sixth company worldwide to achieve Microsoft Gold Certified Partner status for Hosting and Application Services.
In October 2000, European ASPs Equant and NetStore were the first to be certified in the European phase of Microsoft’s global ASP Certification Program for their Hosted Exchange services. In March 2001, ManagedOps.com Inc., Qwest Communications International Inc. and USinternetworking Inc. (USi) were the first U.S. ASP partners to meet the criteria.
TeleComputing has focused its U.S. business fully on enabling service providers to deliver hosted applications, leveraging the TeleComputing TECOS operations support system (OSS) platform, managed services and best practices. TeleComputing’s Microsoft Gold Certification is oriented primarily around providing gold-certified private label Exchange services for other service providers, who in turn offer hosted Exchange to their enterprise clients.
“The implications for our Network Service Provider customers is that they can be more comfortable knowing that we’ll provide a high-quality service to their customer base,” TeleComputing President and CEO Jason Donahue told InternetNews.
On behalf of its 12 private label clients in the U.S. and Europe, TeleComputing supports hundreds of popular and customized software applications, such as Microsoft Office, Microsoft Exchange, Intraspect and Great Plains, as well as payroll, CRM, ERP, database and other software solutions. TeleComputing offers direct ASP services to over 400 clients in the Nordic region as well.
To garner Microsoft certification, 15 separate areas of TeleComputing’s infrastructure, delivery methodology and service practices passed Microsoft’s assessment process. These processes covered many facets of the company, including sales, service development, operations, security, technical support and workforce management.
“TeleComputing consistently demonstrated outstanding levels of process maturity, reflecting the quality of their hosted Exchange 2000 offering,” said Rosa Garcia, general manager for Worldwide Partner Programs at Microsoft. “The fact that TeleComputing has been able to pass a rigorous set of Microsoft criteria for achieving designation as a Gold Certified Partner provides TeleComputing’s customers with the confidence and proof that TeleComputing’s private label service and operations meet the highest levels of quality possible industry wide.”
As a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner for Hosting and Application Services, TeleComputing receives exclusive benefits from Microsoft, including usage of the Gold Certified Partner logo, extensive technical training and support, priority lead referrals, pre-release product information, and inclusion in various business development and joint marketing activities.
“Achieving Gold Certified Partner status and passing Microsoft ASP Certification is one more proof point of our capabilities to consistently deliver exceptional services and customer satisfaction to our network service provider and other private label customers in the U.S. and Europe,” Donahue said. “We have invested almost $40 million dollars and over four years in perfecting the industry’s finest Microsoft-centric hosted application service management platform and methodology.”
TeleComputing’s private label solution provides a complete application services delivery solution, including a technology platform, consulting, design, development, managed services and a sales JumpStart program. Service providers can purchase the whole solution or select components on an a-la-carte basis. TeleComputing’s solution enables telecom and network service providers to quickly deploy incremental, value-added, services on top of their core network services.
Founded in 1997, TeleComputing is the largest ASP in the Nordic region. The company’s U.S.-based global service provider solutions business provides private label and technology solutions to companies in the U.S. and Europe. The company has a presence in the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, with approximately 180 employees and five primary offices.
See related ASP News story on InternetNews.com, Telecomputing Targets Telcos, May 31st 2001.
