The 2020-2021 NBA season is approaching, and like every other major league sporting event taking place this year, it’s shaping up to be one for the books: a late start date (still TBD), with a shortened season, and potentially no fans in the stands.
Can it get any harder? Believe it or not, it can. Try winning three championships in a row; in all of NBA history, only three teams have ever won three consecutive NBA championships: the Celtics, the Lakers (both in Minneapolis and Los Angeles), and the Bulls. As the saying goes, if it’s not hard, then it’s probably not worth doing.
Threepeats are not exactly rare in the sports world, but they are indeed special. And although there is no equivalent in the business world, achieving AWS Managed Service Provider certification three years in a row is still a major accomplishment. Sungard Availability Services (Sungard AS) is one such three-peater, announcing its acceptance into the robust Amazon Web Services (AWS) Managed Service Provider (MSP) Partner Programme for the third time.
The AWS MSP Partner Programme recognises and validates leading APN (Advanced Partner Network) Consulting Partners that are highly skilled at providing full lifecycle solutions to customers. Next-generation AWS MSPs can help enterprises invent tomorrow, solve business problems and support initiatives by driving key outcomes. AWS MSPs provide the expertise, guidance and services to help companies work through each stage of the cloud adoption journey: plan and design, build and migrate, run and operate, and optimise.
The AWS MSP Programme validation process consists of a rigorous multi-day onsite audit performed by an independent, third-party auditor. It aims to confirm the partner’s ability to provide next-generation managed services and capabilities in cloud architecture, automation, optimisation and management to their client’s AWS environments.
By migrating to and building on AWS, companies around the world are re-defining what is possible. The explosive growth of technology solutions available from AWS and APN Partners, combined with the need for faster and more agile solution development, raises many questions for companies seeking to modernise their business.
The AWS MSP Partner Programme was created to help customers identify validated APN Consulting Partners that are skilled at cloud infrastructure and application migration, and deliver value to customers by offering proactive monitoring, automation, and environment management. AWS MSP Partners are fundamental to helping customers take advantage of the AWS Cloud.
One of Sungard AS’ customers, thedatabank GBC, is a Minnesota-based general benefit corporation that offers a CRM system (constituent relationship management) with tools for fundraising, advocacy and communication. A provider of innovative software solutions for the nonprofit and government sectors, their core product, Databank CRM, is an all-in-one cloud solution that allows organizations to communicate with supporters through email, text, voice, and social media.
“Our focus at thedatabank is on data security, and we maintain a state-of-the-art data center with Sungard AS using AWS Managed Services to protect our clients. Data is safer with thedatabank than it is in our clients’ own offices, and we can do it all at a reasonable cost thanks to our Sungard AS and AWS solution,” said Mark Paquette, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer for thedatabank. “AWS has opened up an entirely new array of services to us – from communication to analytics and reporting – all under one roof.”
Likewise, Dublin-based Expert Revenue Systems (XRS), a credit management software services firm, has relied on Sungard AS as a key infrastructure partner for over ten years. XRS has been helping businesses improve their debt recovery and credit control for more than three decades. Their specialised software suite Collector is used by major Irish and international banks, debt collection companies as well as more than 60 credit unions to improve their credit management and recovery processes.
“Our partnership has delivered many successful releases of our industry leading Software as a Service platform, and most recently our brand-new automated self-service portal for managing customer arrears and debts,” said Sean Grant, Chief Technology Officer, XRS. “Along our cloud journey, we have travelled from Sungard AS data centres to Managed AWS. Working with the Sungard AS team, we have leveraged the AWS offering to deliver an enhanced and more reliable service at a reasonable cost. We depend on Sungard AS Managed AWS 24/7 for eyes on our infrastructure.”
Threepeats are something to celebrate, no matter whether you’re in basketball or in business. Just don’t forget to manage your pacing, distribute your scoring, and build chemistry between the players. Or, as AWS might put it, ensure that your MSP Partners are experts on all AWS products and features, that their business processes are best-of-breed, and that they can deliver the high-level of customer focus AWS is known for.