Interactive Telecoms, based in Vittoria Street, has been officially announced as the industry leader’s preferred partner, despite being less than three years old.
It is the first time the award has gone to a company based in the Midlands. Margaret Brewer, Managing Director of the company, said: “This is phenomenal. It’s a great first for the West Midlands, but for us, it is just out of this world.
“We are absolutely thrilled that we have not only registered on Cisco’s radar but demonstrated our belief, understanding and passion in their product to the extent that the company has deemed us worthy of this accolade.”
Brewer and Operations Director Alison Moore were presented with the award, and companies including British Telecom and IBM were also awarded with other Cisco accolades. In total, eight companies were awarded with accolades.
Margaret said: “For a small business to be in the presence of such globally-recognised businesses, and to have been awarded with this title, is immense. The award was launched in 2006 and to date has been held by S2S, part of the Bailey Teswaine group, Minx Technology, part of Insight, and Euronet, a well-established industry presence. To join the ranks of those big hitters is a huge achievement.
“We made the decision when we formed the business that we wouldn’t recommend any other supplier because Interactive Telecoms’ entire ethos focuses on quality of product and service, and that conviction has led to us being extremely successful in providing end-to-end service for customers seeking effective communications systems.
“Last October, Operations Director Alison Moore and myself went to a Cisco conference in London and watched providers being awarded with Partner of the Month and Partner of the Quarter awards, and we set ourselves a goal to win Partner of the Month in October 2009.
“To win the Cisco partner of the Year less than a year later, beating off competition from hundreds of other, far more established, providers who could have been singled out for this accolade. I cannot even start to explain how important this is to us, it is magnificent and we’re over the moon,” she added.
Cisco selected Interactive Telecoms because the organisation was impressed by the team’s innovation and its incremental business approach.
The Cisco awards are presented annually to recognise the excellent work of Channel Partners in the delivery of Cisco solutions to customers. The eight winners were selected from a list of 2678 Cisco Certified Channel Partners in the UK and Ireland for their outstanding performance, expertise, sales performance and exceptional customer satisfaction.
Margaret added: “We’ve had a very successful, exciting couple of years building the business, developing the only Cisco demo suite between London and Manchester, and have moved from strength to strength. This is the icing on the cake.
“2009 was already shaping up to be a tremendous year, we’ve appointed new staff and have a better offering than ever, but to be confident of this level of support from Cisco cements our drive and determination.”