Datacraft Achieves First Microsoft Certified Masters in Singapore for Office Communications Server Technologies

Datacraft, the region's leading IT services and solutions provider, is set to enhance its Microsoft Solutions offering by empowering several of its seasoned professionals with coveted Microsoft Master Certifications. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) July 27, 2010 - "Messaging and collaboration have become business-critical components of any modern organisation and this market is clearly dominated by Microsoft through its Microsoft® Exchange and Microsoft® Office Communications Server offerings. In order to unleash the full potential of these solutions, it is paramount to be able to make sense of the intricacy and complexity of the solutions," said Kelvin Chin, Microsoft Professional Services Head at Datacraft Asia.

Over the past six years, Datacraft has gained a foothold in the messaging and collaboration space for being one of the best in project planning, deployment and management. This can be seen in the numerous successes spanning the corporate and public sectors across Asia.

To reinforce its leadership position, Datacraft is investing in premium Microsoft technology certifications such as the Microsoft Certified Master (MCM) program, which provides access to exclusive information and unique tools that are not even available to Microsoft Gold Partners.

"Masters certifications in the specific areas of Microsoft communications and collaboration tools will put our specialists in a unique position of knowing what Microsoft developers envisaged as the ideal end state of a product implementation. This means that our specialists can in turn lead our clients to that ideal state through the shortest route possible," explained Chin.

Dino Flores, Microsoft Solutions Consultant at Datacraft Asia, is one of the specialists who recently completed the rigorous three-week training regime to become one of just nine certified Microsoft Office Communications Server Masters in Asia. Intense as it was, Flores maintained that this has been one of the most valuable training of his career.

He was most impressed by the real-world scenarios that made the skills learnt more applicable. "We were able to gain deep insight into the actual intent behind all the product functionalities, particularly through the interaction with Microsoft Partners who have implemented the products in ways that the developers originally intended. The practical examples provided invaluable support and relevance to what was taught in theory."

Flores added, "Not only will the certification add significant advantage to our services offering, we are now better equipped to help our clients understand what they should be asking and expecting of their Microsoft tools from the outset, so as to achieve the desired result."

Chin reiterates how this drive towards outcomes-based planning will become increasingly important as clients move towards a unified communications environment whereby all systems within an organisation will need to work together for optimal performance. "A superficial understanding of the Microsoft communications and collaboration tools just does not cut it. We need in-depth knowledge to deliver the cohesiveness that unified communications demands," concludes Chin.

About Datacraft
Datacraft is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dimension Data plc (LSE:DDT), a US$4 billion leading global IT solutions and services provider. Datacraft operates in over 55 offices across 13 Asia Pacific countries. We help clients plan, build, support, manage, improve and innovate their IT infrastructures. Datacraft combines an expertise in networking, security, data centre, storage, Microsoft solutions and converged communications & contact centre technologies, with advanced skills in consulting, integration, training and managed services to craft IT solutions for businesses.

For more information, please visit www.datacraft-asia.com

For further information, please contact:
Esther Quah (Datacraft Asia) Tel: (65) 6322 6688
(Email: esther.quah ( @ ) datacraft-asia dot com)
Tng Szu Lin (Datacraft Asia) Tel: (65) 6322 6605
(Email: szu-lin.tng ( @ ) datacraft-asia dot com)

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