Microsoft experts within the Microsoft Premier Team conducted a thorough health check and assessment of MTN SA’s entire Active Directory infrastructure, Group Policy infrastructure, as well as Group Policy operational & design (including the execution of best practices) and described the environment as “the best they had ever seen in all their years at Microsoft”.

The Microsoft Premier Team is a global network of experts that have an exceptional knowledge of Microsoft products. The comprehensive assessment conducted by Microsoft is a proactive approach, incorporating a range of tests and analysis, to identify any risk or problems that could have an adverse impact on MTN. The assessment covers areas such as health, configuration standard, delivery and administration capability, backup and disaster recovery.

Reflecting on the recognition by Microsoft, Integr8 joint CEO Lance Fanaroff says, “Integr8 drives continual improvement of services delivered to MTN through industry standard practices and methodologies. Proactive service improves system reliability and mitigates risks.” “The initiatives to drive stabilisation, optimisation and growth are identified from numerous sources including vendor assessment. These improvement initiatives, which cover both process and technology, create value for MTN and enhance operational maturity,” he adds.

Integr8 was awarded the contract to provide support for the Wintel and Linux Server environments for telecommunications giant MTN SA. As part of this contract, Integr8 deploys,supports and maintains a myriad of technology skills sets and competencies pertaining to infrastructure, security, messaging and collaboration, virtualisation, system management, line of business (Wintel), and line of business (Linux). These services cover several specialised areas such as Active Directory, Exchange, sharepoint, autonomy email archiving, SCCM, SCOM, Microsoft Identity Management, VMware, HyperV, Citrix, F5, and Compliancy, among many others.

The Company continues to play an important role in helping to ensure the mobile operator’s infrastructure remains up to date and in line with game-changing trends. Trusha Vanmali, MTN service deliver manager at Microsoft South Africa, says that the findings from the Microsoft premier team’s assessment which is recommended by Microsoft to be run annually showed continuous improvements and positive returns for MTN in operations stability, and which re-enforces the operations excellence attitude Integr8 has been driving.

"It is not only the deep technology skills set that Integr8 provides; they have managed to build a team that is service-orientated and has a “Can-Do” attitude," concludes Charles Losper from the MTN Innovation Centre.