NZ Category Submission Guidelines
Self-Nomination
1 December 2015 – 4 February 2015
Submissions to: nzawards@microsoft.com
Questions to: nzawards@microsoft.com
Microsoft New Zealand Partner Awards 2015
Contents
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2
How the Microsoft Partner Awards 2015 could benefit your business ............................................................... 2
Start preparing your award nominations today ..................................................................................................... 3
Gold or Silver Level Competency Requirement ...................................................................................................... 3
Instructions for preparing award nominations ....................................................................................................... 3
Segment Awards ............................................................................................................................................................. 4
Education Partner of the Year ............................................................................................................................... 4
Submission ...................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Introduction
Welcome to the Microsoft New Zealand Partner Awards 2015. We are excited to offer Microsoft partners a
variety of awards designed to showcase solutions built on Microsoft technologies that provide benefits to
all customers. These awards have been designed to celebrate success related to partner competencies,
cloud technology, entrepreneurial spirit, and industry excellence.
How the Microsoft Partner Awards 2015 could benefit your business
Award recognition means visibility for your organisation. Awards help create new business and customer
opportunities, generate press coverage, and lead to more market recognition.
Microsoft New Zealand Partner Awards 2015 benefits:
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Customised logos and web banners that help you showcase your company as an honoured
Microsoft partner
Custom public relations templates to help promote your award-winning status
Trophies and nationwide recognition for winners to display their success
Testimonial letters from Microsoft New Zealand’s General Manager
Finalists and winners are invited to an exclusive awards ceremony, the event is a unique opportunity
to network with Microsoft executives in specific business areas and strengthen your relationship with
Microsoft.
Selected winners may also be given further preference and opportunity to showcase their solutions
at Microsoft Partner events in 2015, e.g. at Microsoft roadshows or Partner breakfasts.
All winners will receive consultation with the Microsoft Partner and Account teams for a joint-case
study opportunity after the awards (PR & customer case study consultation will be Microsoft funded
within the next 24 months- if selected)
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Microsoft New Zealand Partner Awards 2015
Start preparing your award nominations today
This document contains specifications for one distinct category and details the eligibility requirements and
case questions. These questions should be used as a template for your entry submission. Entries can be
submitted via email to nzawards@microsoft.com from Monday 1st December 2014 until Wednesday 4th
February, 2015 at 5pm.
Gold or Silver Level Competency Requirement
This will be the second year in the history of the Microsoft New Zealand Partner Awards where eligibility for
ALL award categories requires a minimum Gold or Silver level Microsoft competency. The competency
must be locally earned and not inherited from overseas affiliation. Please be sure to check that you have a
relevant competency and that this competency is active and current prior to submitting your award
submission. Gold or Silver competency may be obtained after submission (on the assumption that
competency is processing) but must be validated before the judging process begins February 5th 2015,
5:01pm. If competency is not yet obtained at the time of submission but will be confirmed before the
submission period closes, this information must be disclosed within an entrant’s submission. Submissions
will be checked against MPN competency status prior to judging, entrants without a Microsoft competency
will be held back from judging.
Instructions for preparing award nominations
Prepare your Microsoft 2015 Partner of the Year Award nominations by following these two steps.
Step 1: Review the relevant guidelines to your category (or multiple categories) and the official Terms and
Conditions.
Step 2: Email the completed award submission(s) in Microsoft Word or PDF format to
nzawards@microsoft.com. Please ensure the submission addresses all of the questions for any given
category, there is no word count restriction. You may enter multiple awards categories, but each submission
must be a separate document. All submissions must be received by Wednesday 4 February 2015, at 5pm to
be eligible entries. Improperly submitted entries will not be judged.
Your submission must include the following Partner and Customer contact information--please fill in
the below tables.
The following timeline applies to this year’s partner awards:
Calendar Item
Submissions open
Date
Monday, 1 December 2014
Submit to: nzawards@microsoft.com
Final submissions due date
Finalists Announced
Partner Awards Night
Official Press Release Announcing Winners
Global Award Submissions Close
Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (and Awards- in
Orlando, Florida)
Wednesday, 4 February
2015
Wednesday, 25 February
2015
Thursday, 19 March 2015
Monday, 23 March 2015
Friday, 25 March 2015
Monday 12-16 July 2015
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Microsoft New Zealand Partner Awards 2015
Segment Awards
Education Partner of the Year
The Education Partner of the Year Award recognizes a partner organization that excels at providing
innovative and unique services or solutions based on Microsoft technologies to education customers.
The partner shows that they understand how to leverage technology to deliver learning outcomes in the
classroom.
The successful submission for this award will demonstrate industry knowledge and expertise, as well as
consistent, high-quality, predictable service or solutions to education customers. Successful entrants will
also demonstrate business leadership and success through strong growth in new customer additions and
revenue by integrating with Microsoft cloud-based technology such as Windows 8/8.1 UI Apps, Office 365
for Education, Exchange Online, and Microsoft Azure in addition to the Windows Phone platform.
Partners applying for this award should demonstrate effective engagement with Microsoft by taking
advantage of the Microsoft Partner Network to develop, create demand for, and sell their software solutions
or services.
Eligibility:
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Currently a Gold or Silver level Partner in the Microsoft Partner Network
Have a current Microsoft Pinpoint directory listing
Questions:
1. Is your solution specific to one particular customer, or does it have broader market potential? Upload or
provide outside references or data sources that illustrate exceptional customer experience or
satisfaction (links to published articles, case studies, videos, customer testimonials, etc.).
2. Did your company partner with any other Microsoft partners in designing, developing, implementing,
and/or integrating this solution? If yes, please describe your partnering story and how it benefited the
customer.
3. Describe how using Microsoft technologies in your solution helped you win against the competition in a
customer situation from a technical and business perspective.
4. Describe which education solution area your solution maps to and which Microsoft technologies you
have used
5. Indicate if your solution is cloud-based, uses Microsoft Azure, or if there is a Windows Phone application
or integration. If so, state how this addressed your customers’ needs.
6. Describe the problem your solution solved for customer(s). If possible, identify the impact of the
customer's pain points, contrast before and after scenarios, and provide metrics on benefits received by
the customer.
Note: There is no word count restriction for these responses
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Microsoft New Zealand Partner Awards 2015
Submission
Partner Contact Information
Company Name
Company Address (Street, City, Postal Code)
Company Web Address
Company Profile: Please briefly describe in a
paragraph or two- the company mission statement,
company history, what your main solutions/products
or services are (this may be used for press purposespre or post event).
Contact Details
Contact Name and Position
Contact Email Address
Contact Phone Number
Business Focus: Please describe your business focus
and the market areas in which you operate. (Limit
500 characters)
Please attach a ‘print ready’ high resolution image of
your company logo (this may be used for press
purposes- pre or post event) Must be pdf,
Photoshop or vector formats ( .ai, .eps, .psd, .pdf)
Customer Contact Information (if applicable for your category)
Company Name
Company Address (Street, City, Postal Code)
Company Web Address
Contact Details
Contact Name and Position
Contact Email Address
Contact Phone Number
Customer Size: in # of seats
Industry/Business Focus: Please describe the
customer's business focus. (Limit 500
characters)
Yes/No: I have received permission from the
customer and give consent to use the customer
story for publicity purposes.
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Microsoft New Zealand Partner Awards 2015
Entry
Option 1: You may answer question by question, or
Option 2: You may use a free-form style as long as the key questions are addressed
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Microsoft New Zealand Partner Awards 2015
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Microsoft New Zealand Partner Awards 2015
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