Microsoft Gold Partner

Microsoft Gold & Silver - enterprise-level skills and capabilities

All Microsoft partners are equal.  Aren’t they?

In a word, no. Microsoft partners fall into a number of categories, from those supporting small businesses to those that are delivering enterprise-scale solutions for large organisations.  There are also partners that are differentiated by the types of solution that they can deliver, whether that is Microsoft 365, Azure, Dynamics or other solutions. But how do you, as a customer, know what level of capability your chosen partner is able to provide?

The primary differentiator between these partners are validated competencies. A competency is focused around a specific solution or capability across the Microsoft services and applications.  For example, there is a competency for Messaging, which covers Exchange, or one for Cloud Productivity, which covers the Microsoft 365 applications.

A competency is primarily gained through completing two, and in some cases three, elements:

• Having a specified number of staff who have completed one or more technical exams
• Having a specified number of enterprise-scale deployments, which are validated by Microsoft
• Achieving a revenue target (this applies to a small number of competencies)

Depending on the number of staff qualified, and the scale of deployments, we can earn either a Gold or Silver competency.

That’s not the end of it, though. Each competency is re-evaluated on an annual basis, and to keep our competencies we have to validate new deployments in the relevant solutions.

So, having eleven Gold and three Silver competencies provides a clear indication of the level of skills, capabilities and customer deliveries that Silversands is able to provide.

Cloud Productivity The Cloud Productivity competency indicates our skills and capabilities in delivering and managing innovative Microsoft 365 solutions including Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive & Teams.
	Cloud Platform The Cloud Platform competency demonstrates our skills and capabilities deploying, migrating, and maintaining cloud applications and services on Microsoft Azure, helping our customers to create secure, scalable, and reliable cloud solutions.
Messaging The Messaging competency shows our capability to deploy, configure, migrate and manage Exchange and Exchange Online solutions in on-premises, online or hybrid configurations.
	Collaboration and Content The Collaboration and Content competency highlights our ability to create efficient and effective collaboration and communication practices and solutions in enterprise environments on platforms including SharePoint (on-premises, online and hybrid), OneDrive and Teams.
Datacenter The Datacenter competency shows that we have the capability and skills to design, implement and maintain Windows Server in large scale and virtual environments.
	Windows and Devices The Windows and Devices competency ensures that we have the knowledge, skills and experience to design, build, configure and manage Windows desktop and applications on physical devices and as virtual deployments.
Enterprise Mobility Management The Enterprise Mobility Management competency demonstrates our capabilities with regard to planning, deploying and managing Microsoft 365 mobility and security, such as Endpoint Manager, System Center Configuration Manager and access control services to ensure that enterprise customers are secure, compliant and connected.
	Data Analytics The Data Analytics competency demonstrates our ability to create business intelligence solutions and our proficiency in connecting disparate data sources, performing data transformations, and visualising data.
Project & Portfolio Management The Project and Portfolio Management competency indicates our ability to design, build enterprise-wide project management solutions built on the Power Platform.
	Application Development The Application Development competency evidences our skills, capabilities and experience to design, create and manage cloud and web-based applications across Azure and Microsoft 365.
Security The Security competency demonstrates the skills and experience we have to design, implement, manage and monitor security and compliance solutions across Azure, 365 and on-premises platforms.
	Data Platform The Data Platform competency indicates our skills and capabilities in designing, building and securing database and related systems.
Application Integration The Application Integration competency highlights our capabilities in advanced integration and configuration to enhance business efficiency and results.
	Small and Midmarket Cloud Solutions The Small and Midmarket Cloud Solutions competency shows our capabilities delivering cloud productivity and security solutions for small and mid-size organisations who are deploying or migrating to Microsoft 365 and Azure.