Akibia Leverages Microsoft Certified Partner Program in the Data Center.

Business/Technology Editors

WESTBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 13, 2001

IT support services division expands upon its traditional UNIX 

expertise to meet mission-critical customer needs

Akibia IT Support Services, the leading independent provider of customized mission-critical UNIX and Windows support services, today announced its membership in the Microsoft Certified Partner Program as part of its continuing commitment to meet customer needs in the data center.

"The landscape of data center technologies certainly has changed over the years," said Tom Willson, Akibia CEO, who founded the support firm in 1988. "Now more than ever, it's important to have a support partner with qualified professionals who are up-to-speed on the latest Microsoft technologies. By joining the Microsoft Certified Partner Program, we can assure our customers that we are committed to operating only in business areas to which we are completely committed and in which we are experienced focused experts."

With the increasingly important role of Microsoft in the mission-critical data center environment, customers have asked Akibia to take a more active Windows support position in order to provide a more complete solution. Akibia's Professional Services practice for systems and database administration serves as an on-site extension to a customer's IT team, specializing in performance tuning and monitoring, upgrades, conversions and rollouts.

"Windows is rapidly growing in importance in most enterprises from an end-user operating system to a mission-critical operating system" noted Thomas Bittman, vice president and research director at Gartner, Inc. "Market requirements for skilled Windows server administrators are growing faster than the supply of qualified skills. It is becoming more important than ever to optimize organizational structure in terms of technology skills development, data center skills development and retention(1)."

Complemented by the firm's traditional UNIX roots, Akibia's dedicated Microsoft practice enables the firm to support the ever-changing, complex data center with customized solutions unique to each customer. The firm currently supports UNIX and Windows systems at such industry leaders as Dell Computer Corporation, EMC, Bose Corporation, Nortel Networks and Cisco Systems.

"When customers are looking to implement a Microsoft technology solution for their business, their best bet is to turn to an expert--a Microsoft Certified Partner," said Rosa Garcia, general manager of the Partner Programs Group at Microsoft. "Microsoft provides its Certified Partners with in-depth access to existing and emerging Microsoft technologies and related training and resources to help ensure that they have the technical intimacy needed to deliver quality solutions. Today, Microsoft recognizes Akibia for demonstrating this level of expertise and welcomes it as a new Microsoft Certified Partner."

(1) Source: Gartner "Microsoft and the Enterprise: Looking Beyond Windows 2000" Presentation, T. Bittman, May 2001.

About Akibia IT Support Services

Akibia IT Support Services, a division of Akibia, Inc., is the leading independent provider of customized mission-critical UNIX and Windows support services. The firm delivers hardware and software support, systems and database administration, and education to companies such as Cisco Systems, Inc., Bose Corporation and Bell & Howell. Akibia's tailored infrastructure management solutions ensure the absolute availability of its customers' global technology environments. For more information, call 508-621-5100 or visit the Akibia web site at www.akibia.com.