Microsoft Announces Winners of 2009 Central and Eastern European Partner of the Year Award

Munich — 15 July 2009 — Recognising excellence in the partner network in Central and Eastern Europe, Microsoft today announced the winners of the 2009 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards. The awards honour Microsoft Registered Partners, Microsoft Certified Partners and Microsoft Gold Certified Partners that have delivered exemplary solutions for their customers during the past year.

Award winners were chosen from the partner network in the region and recognised at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2009, the company’s premier annual event for industry partners, held between 13 and 15 July in New Orleans. The award winners were selected by Microsoft from a group of nominations based on their dedicated use of Microsoft technologies to provide solutions for their customers’ needs.

“Last year at Worldwide Partner Conference, we announced we would be investing $100m per year over the next three years. This year, we are bolstering our partner readiness program through this investment, including training over 50,000 individuals in the new technologies which will be on offer in the region,” said Charles Arizmendi, Director, Partner Strategy and Programs, Microsoft Central and Eastern Europe. “Microsoft succeeds only when our partners succeed and supporting them in meeting customer needs helps generate more profit and employment, which in turn delivers growth for the whole economy. These awards demonstrate that we are proud of their achievements and their vital contribution to the local business ecosystem.”

Microsoft’s dynamic ecosystem, with over 250,000 partners in EMEA, accounts for as much as two-thirds of the IT industry in this region. The Worldwide Partner Conference is designed to showcase best practice examples, connect partners to local executives and, critically, help them develop compelling solutions for customers using new technologies such as Windows 7, helping fuel short-term recovery and long-term growth. IDC has just released a report looking at the economic impact of Windows 7 on the European market*. Windows 7 is likely to be a very important opportunity for partners and the report quantifies the forecasted economic impact that Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system will have worldwide from launch in October 2009 to the end of 2010. The impact is seen in IT employment, revenues to firms in the Microsoft ecosystem, and investment in products and services working with or supporting the new operating system.

The 2009 Microsoft Central and Eastern European awards recognise innovation and business value in 44 categories, and winners represent the top performers of the region’s IT industry. This year, there are 33 winners from the Central and Eastern Europe partner ecosystem:

Advanced Infrastructure Solutions, Active Directory Partner of the Year

• DPA SIA, Latvia
• Digital Design, Russia

Advanced Infrastructure Solutions, Windows Desktop Deployment Partner of the Year

• SIVECO ROMANIA SA, Romania

Business Intelligence Partner of the Year

• NPS D.O.O., Slovenia

Custom Development Solutions, Application Infrastructure Development Partner of the Year

• Span d.o.o., Croatia

Custom Development Solutions, Smart Client Development Partner of the Year

• E Smart Systems, Serbia

Custom Development Solutions, Web Development Partner of the Year

• ecommerce.cz, a. s., Czech Republic
• Aplana Software, Russia

Hosting Solutions Partner of the Year

• NetDirect s.r.o., Czech Republic

Information Worker Solutions, Enterprise Content Management and Forms Development Partner of the Year

• SOFTSERVE, Ukraine

Information Worker Solutions, Portals and Collaboration Partner of the Year

• Competentum Group, Russia

ISV/Software Solutions Partner of the Year

• TETA S.A., Poland

Learning Solutions Innovative Partner of the Year

• Compendium Centrum Edukacyjne Sp. z o.o., Poland

Licensing Solutions, License Delivery Partner of the Year

• D A Q U A S spol. s r.o., Czech Republic

Licensing Solutions, Software Asset Management Partner of the Year

• IPR-INSIGHTS, Hungary

Microsoft Dynamics Distribution Partner of the Year

• XAPTHungary, Hungary

Microsoft Dynamics Financial Services Partner of the Year

• E-consulting, Ukraine

Microsoft Dynamics Manufacturing Partner of the Year

• New Dimension, Kazakhstan

Microsoft Dynamics Public Sector Partner of the Year

• GMCS, Russia

Microsoft Dynamics AX Partner of the Year

• CSF POLSKA SP Z O O, Poland

Microsoft Dynamics NAV Partner of the Year

• NPS d.o.o., Serbia

Mobility Solutions Business Application Partner of the Year

• SAGRA TECHNOLOGY SP Z O O, Poland

Mobility Solutions Integration Partner of the Year

• LOGOTEC ENGINEERING S.A., Poland

Mobility Solutions Partner of the Year

• LOGOTEC ENGINEERING S.A., Poland

Networking Infrastructure Solutions Partner of the Year

• NetDirect s.r.o., Czech Republic

Newly Recruited Partner of the Year

• Infobox, Russia

OEM Hardware Solutions, System Building Partner of the Year

• M SAN GRUPA d.d., Croatia

Small Business Specialist Partner of the Year

• Digital Design, Russia

Software-plus-Services Development Partner of the Year

• NetDirect s.r.o., Czech Republic
• Aplana Software, Russia

Software-plus-Services Integration Partner of the Year

• ICZ a.s., Czech Republic

Unified Communications Solutions, IM/Presence Partner of the Year

• CPU d.o.o, Serbia

Unified Communications Solutions, Messaging Partner of the Year

• CPU d.o.o, Serbia

About the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference
Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference provides Microsoft’s partner community with access to key marketing and business strategies, leadership, and information regarding specific customer solutions designed to help partners succeed in the marketplace.

Along with informative learning opportunities covering sales, marketing, services and technology, the Worldwide Partner Conference is an ideal setting for partners to garner valuable knowledge from their peers and from Microsoft. More information can be found
at http://www.microsoft.com/partner/events/wwpartnerconference and on the Partner Program home page at https://partner.microsoft.com.

News and new digital content will be posted continually throughout the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference. For the latest content, please visit the event newsroom at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/events/wwpc/
For the latest on the Central and Eastern Europe partners and news:
http://www.microsoft.com/emea/presscentre/microsoftinceevpr/WPC.aspx

About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realise their full potential.

For latest news from the Central and Eastern Europe region, please visit:
http://www.microsoft.com/emea/presscentre/microsoftinceevpr/default.mspx

For all news in EMEA, please visit
http://www.microsoft.com/emea/presscentre/default.aspx

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This material is for informational purposes only. Microsoft Corp disclaims all warranties and conditions with regard to use of the material for other purposes. Microsoft Corp shall not, at any time, be liable for any special, direct, indirect or consequential damages, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other action arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of the material. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting any kind of warranty.

Microsoft PR Contacts
Stephanie Kane
Weber Shandwick for Microsoft Central and Eastern Europe Headquarters
E-mail: skane@webershandwick.com

Notes to editors
* The Economic Impact of Microsoft’s Windows 7, by John F. Gantz, Al Gillen, Amie White, IDC July 2009, sponsored by Microsoft (available upon request)