Growing Cisilion’s Microsoft Business

“Working with intY is like using the best estate agent to sell your house – they just deal with all of it. If we were to set up on our own, we would have hit hurdle after hurdle after hurdle.” Rob Quickenden, Chief Technical Officer, Cisilion

Background

Since forming in 2000, Cisilion has had a clear mission: to inspire intelligent change by delivering next generation IT infrastructure that transforms the way businesses work.

With a reputation for excellence, Cisilion has a proven track record of successfully implementing IT solutions for its global client base in 70 countries across five continents. The company’s award-winning projects are complemented by its long-standing and strategic relationships with some of the world’s leading technology partners, including Cisco and Microsoft.

Challenge

Cisilion wanted to grow its Microsoft business and set up a Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) service. However, the company had limited knowledge of Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Azure and fell short on the expertise required.

The lack of a cloud service was becoming a barrier to the company’s growth and ultimately hindered its ability to service its customers. Cisilion turned to intY to guide and support it on its journey to creating a Microsoft CSP Practice.

Solution

intY assigned a dedicated account manager to understand Cisilion’s requirements. By taking a programmatic approach, the account manager was able to identify the areas where support was needed and set about orchestrating assistance to the various functions within Cisilion.

“One of the things that attracted us to working with intY is they just laid it all out in black and white. It really helped to take all the pain away,” commented Rob Quickenden, Chief Technical Officer, Cisilion.

Technical Microsoft expertise was provided by intY to the Cisilion team. Cisilion’s Microsoft business was grown through the invaluable advice that was given on how the Microsoft platform works and on dealing with customer support requirements, as well the company’s legal obligations to its customers.

An extension of the team

From the beginning of the relationship, intY acted as an extension of the Cisilion sales team. One example of that is the intY account team’s willingness to travel from its office in Bristol to be a part of the Cisilion team on the sales floor in London.

This collaboration enabled intY to interact closely with the Cisilion sales team, pre-sales team, and licensing specialists. Being embedded within the team and involved in strategy sessions enabled intY to anticipate the requirements of Cisilion and its customers.

“We often dedicate afternoons for planning sessions to discuss our strategy. When choosing a partner for your Microsoft CSP journey, these are the things that you’ll never read about, but are invaluable for driving your business forward,” said Rob.

Armed with this insight, the intY account team focused on delivering just what Cisilion needed, when they needed it, to grow and extend its capability at a pace that worked for them.

Anticipating needs

With its deep understanding of both the Microsoft environment and Cisilion’s service model, intY was able to anticipate Cisilion’s requirements. With intY’s inhouse expertise and development capabilities, it created applications and tools that effectively bridge the gap between Cisilion’s existing products and specific future requirements.

To accelerate its growth further, intY provided Cisilion with a range of wrap around complementary services that enhanced its existing Microsoft ecosystem.

“Our decision to work with intY as a single vendor in providing these services has been a testament to our growth. The intY team are real people and they have taken the time to build a personal level of relationship with us. They’re good at anticipating our needs and that’s such a powerful part of any partnership,” expressed Rob.

Results

Six years ago, Microsoft was merely 5 – 6% of Cisilion’s total business, now it has impressively grown to 50%. The Microsoft CSP platform has enabled Cisilion to integrate its products, services, managed services and transformation services.

The additional services and applications developed by intY have provided Cisilion with the tools to offer comprehensive product and licencing services to its customers.

“Our growth has been phenomenal and without intY we would never have got to this point. I feel intY knows our business as well as we do. We now have a fast-growing sustainable business model and intY been a massive part of that success journey,” concluded Rob.