Partner of the Year Award at Inspire close Friday April 7 16:59 (AEST) – Line Up Your Great Customer Story!

Filipa Preston is the CEO of Software Optimisation Services and the Vice Chair of IAMCP Australia but she has another title you probably won’t see on her business card, she is the Poster Child for the Power of Possibility.

In 2001 Filipa sat in Anaheim with 14000+ Microsoft partners and watched the award recipients at a Microsoft Fusions Award ceremony (as the Inspire Awards were then known). She decided there and then “One day I’m going to win one of the Global Partner awards”. It took her 10 years to have the courage to resign from the safety of her Corporate job and start her business. Six year later in 2016, Software Optimisation Services won the global Microsoft Software Asset Management (SAM) Partner of the Year Award, the first Asia Pacific partner to win in the SAM category.

But clearly it wasn’t just the power of positive thought that led her to winning that award. Filipa’s company specialises in IT asset management and delivered outstanding services to a number of clients, amongst them Housing Authority in Western Australia. She says that having a client willing to share a great story was instrumental to winning that award and encourages other Microsoft partners to collect client-value-experience stories. “It doesn’t have to be about spending a ton of money in getting good production to be noticed. It’s about getting a good story and good content,” says Filipa. “We delivered value to the client, we showed up areas that they thought had been dealt with, the customer was delighted with the outcome.”

Before winning the award, Software Optimisation Services had street credibility in Australia and a good footprint. But winning the award gave them prestigious global recognition and there was huge honour from Microsoft in being recognised in an area that delivers solid intelligence. The award also allowed people to see what they do globally for the software asset management community. But aside from the validation, the growth in business as a result of winning the award and the global recognition they have received, Filipa will never forget the minute Satya Nadella said to the Poster Child of Possibility: “Thank you and I appreciate everything you did to make our business great.”

The 2017 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards nomination tool is open now until April 6, 2017, at 11:59 P.M. Pacific. No extensions or exceptions. We look forward to reading your submissions and we can’t wait to see you at Microsoft Inspire 2017.