67 up, replace it with Microsoft tools and eliminate the other costly ones.” Another area of focus is productivity and collaboration, particularly with Microsoft Teams. “We make sure a company can truly move to Teams as their single voice and video platform,” says Gatke. These value-driven services have helped Connection gain Microsoft’s attention. “Last year, when Copilot came out, we shot to the top of Microsoft’s leadership visibility,” says Gatke. “Microsoft saw the potential of Connection and really started investing in us.” The partnership now extends beyond product readiness into joint go-to-market strategies. “We’re always trying to stay in lockstep with Microsoft,” says Caron. “That includes lead sharing, pipeline development and synchronised account planning. We come to the table as a joint force and that really resonates with our customers.” Part of Connection’s success lies in knowing where to complement, rather than duplicate, Microsoft’s capabilities. “We look at the products and solutions Microsoft provides, and then ask where we can step in to develop an offering to fit a need that Microsoft isn’t able to cater for itself,” says Caron. “One of our sweet spots is small and medium corporate customers where Microsoft may not have the support engine. We can support both the largest enterprises and these smaller entities.” Connection’s depth of expertise is reflected in the various Microsoft certifications it holds and its role as a cloud solution services provider, though both Caron and Gatke emphasise that the organisation’s real value is evident in the outcomes it delivers for customers. Gatke shares a notable example. “We worked with a customer that does underwater construction around the world, using ships, cranes and deep-sea divers,” he recalls. “AI might not be the first thing that comes to mind with a company like this, but they quickly saw its potential, from streamlining common tasks like developing customer contracts to more specialised use cases, such as gaining deeper insights into the waterways they operate in, navigating maritime law and improving operational efficiency. What they needed from us was help managing the technical readiness, security and infrastructure to actually implement AI.” From navigating deep waters to helping customers embrace next-generation productivity tools, Connection is showing what it means to “live in the gaps,” as Caron puts it, by helping organisations succeed in the spaces between their business goals and the raw capabilities of their tools. “We simply want to be more for our customers,” says Gatke. “And ‘more’ means completing the solution with services.” “ We make sure a company can truly move to Teams as their single voice and video platform” BRIAN GATKE Photo: Adobe Stock/ivanko80
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