Gêneses Services firm achieves growth with comprehensive solutions

Employees at Gêneses IT Consulting struggled to locate content needed for efficient client solution delivery. Each consultant designed customized services of varying quality that reduced productivity. This inconsistent delivery negatively impacted customer satisfaction and lowered customer confidence. By leveraging Microsoft® SharePoint® Practice Accelerators (“PAs”), the company was able to improve consultant and sales efficiency, reducing delivery time by 30% while closing deals 80% faster.

The moment we began to participate in the PA, and thus truly ‘practice’ over a particular solution, we achieved excellent results. Felipe Moreno Pre-Sales Microsoft, Gêneses

Situation

Gêneses IT Consulting needed to improve consistency and integrity of the Microsoft® solutions it delivered to clients. “We could not have a complete vision of a Microsoft product or solution because we only knew what we could learn on TechNet and in webcasts,” says Felipe Moreno, Pre-sales Microsoft, Gêneses. When consultants encountered problems with Microsoft products they had limited access to relevant, accurate, and timely information.

Practice delivery was inconsistent because training was incomplete or not available, and each consultant interpreted material differently. Gêneses technical teams did not share knowledge with sales professionals to help them explain and land opportunities with potential clients. Customers were unsure what they were being asked to invest in, thereby extending the sales cycle and reducing the project closure rate.

Gêneses adopted four Microsoft® Practice Accelerators (“PAs”):

• Business Productivity Online Services (“BPOS”)

• Exchange

• Desktop Optimization (“DOWO”)

• SharePoint®

Designed to help partners build a services practice around Microsoft solutions, a Practice Accelerator is a comprehensive set of reusable tools, resources, and best practices introduced with training via Microsoft Office Live Meeting. It enables consultants to successfully identify customer requirements and project scope, design requirements, and deploy a solution. The complete documentation set includes project guides, templates, architecture guidance, as well as planning and design guides.

The technical teams that attended formal PA events found both an accessible, extensive library of information they previously missed and training on how to use it. PA presentations helped simplify customer presentation preparation; ensuring clients heard the same message from Gêneses sellers and consultants. Moreno asserts, “The material and content provided in Practice Accelerators are extremely essential to disseminate internal knowledge for our projects to work.” PA content provides consultants with extensive information that they use to rapidly configure client solutions.

The material and content provided in Practice Accelerators are extremely essential to disseminate internal knowledge for our projects to work. Felipe Moreno, Pre-Sales Microsoft Gêneses

Practice Accelerators have opened significant opportunities for Gêneses. The company has substantially increased efficiency, decreasing Business Productivity Online Services project delivery time by 30%, while closing deals 80% more quickly. Fast access to comprehensive content, standardization, and improved internal communication allows higher production using the same headcount.

Customers are receiving better services as well. Clients perceive Gêneses IT to be more secure and reliable for BPOS hosting projects. When surveyed, 40% of accounts rate delivered services as ‘very good’ and 60% as ‘excellent’.

Extending expertise has enabled Gêneses to provide new service levels. Prior to attending the SharePoint PA, the company offered installation and configuration services while outsourcing all development and customization to another provider. Learning from and with the PA content and tools now helps consultants deliver some of these services. Less reliance on other providers improves project margins while increasing control over ultimate success and delivery.

Improving reputation and customer confidence has helped Gêneses achieve 50% growth since adopting PAs. Combining better utilization of existing resources and a 20% increase in project win-rate using PA marketing messaging has resulted in 20% higher margins and a 30% increase in the number of projects delivered. Moreno notes, “We have a better margin on services because our well trained professionals have internalized the PA knowledge.”

Members of the Microsoft Partner Network receive benefits to help expand their skill set, compete with confidence, and execute reliable deployments. Using their benefit of advisory hours, partners can take advantage of Microsoft’s Technical Enablement offerings (including Practice Accelerator) which provide essential overviews, best practices, and deep-dive technical skills on Microsoft solutions. Partners can also use their advisory hours for Technical Pre-Sales and Advisory Services to get customized guidance for competing, developing, and deploying solutions to effectively service their customers.

We have a better margin on services because our well-trained professionals have internalized the PA knowledge. Felipe Moreno, Pre-Sales Microsoft Gêneses

For More Information

For more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (877) 568-2495. Customers in the United States and Canada who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to:

www.microsoft.com

For more information about Microsoft Practice Accelerators visit the website at: http://partner.microsoft.com/practiceaccelerator or email: ASKPTS@MICROSOFT.COM

For more information about Gêneses IT Consulting products and services, call (11) 2136-7800 or visit the website at: http://www.geneses.com.br