Digital transformation: support along each step of the journey

As companies explore how technology can help transform their businesses to meet new demands, they are looking to cloud providers for guidance. Microsoft’s Customer Engagement Facilities answer this call, creating unique opportunities for customers to bring their toughest challenges to the table and receive savvy guidance that combines industry expertise, technical know-how, and business acumen.

These facilities bring a wealth of resources that enable customers and partners to gain a competitive advantage and accelerate digital adoption. Microsoft’s Customer Engagement Team celebrates the art of the possible, quickly transforming lofty ideas into reality, backed by world-class expertise and powered by collaborations with partners like Virtusa.

The applications are endless. Let’s say you’re trying to stand up a virtual way to meet with customers. Or perhaps your medical office needs more telemedicine options. Maybe you need AI to let customers try on your premium sunglasses online before they buy. These ideas sound fantastic on a whiteboard, but how do you turn them into cloud-based services that help you outmaneuver your competitors? How do you avoid the slipups and wrong turns that other companies have experienced trying to launch similar services?

Microsoft created its Customer Engagement Facilities to help businesses answer these questions – and more. With customers at the core of each offering, the services and experiences are designed to accelerate ideation, streamline development, and uncover new ways to reach transformation goals. Channel partners like Virtusa work hand in hand with Microsoft teams to create solutions and services that showcase the art of the possible, presenting new ways to drive disruption across various industries.

Exploring technology, discovering industry solutions, and addressing business challenges

Microsoft’s Customer Engagement Centers are designed to support each step of the way on the digital transformation journey.

Executive Briefing Center (EBC)

Based in Redmond, Washington, the EBC connects Microsoft customers and channel partners directly with engineers, salespeople, and business function leaders. Customers bring their challenges to the EBC, and the teams troubleshoot and share relevant client use cases, addressing their challenges with a balance of Microsoft technology powered by partner solutions. Customers walk away with a clearer understanding of how to combat the issues that could lie ahead of them as they look to transform their businesses.

Industry Experience Center (IEC)

Also based in Redmond, the IEC showcases real-world examples of partners and customers innovating their businesses with Microsoft technology. Customers who take the curated tour at the IEC not only explore multiple use cases within their industries, but also see various cross-industry solutions that can help address their challenges. The IEC contains a mix of Microsoft homegrown and channel partner-created solutions, further highlighting the flexibility and adaptability of Microsoft’s platform.

Microsoft Technology Centers (MTC)

MTCs are a strong option for customers unable to travel to Redmond to visit the IEC or take part in an EBC session. These local hubs in major cities worldwide provide customers with the opportunity to understand the art of the possible with the aid of technical architects who focus on creating solutions aimed to meet business outcomes. As part of each MTC visit, customers can see and interact with channel partner solutions like those available in the IEC, making the MTC a valuable resource for channel partners as well. 

There are over 40 MTCs globally including:

• North America: Atlanta, Boston, Calgary, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Irvine, Minneapolis, Montreal, New York, Philadelphia, Reston, Seattle, Silicon Valley, St. Louis, Toronto 
• Latin America: Mexico City, Sao Paulo
• Europe, Middle East, Africa: Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dubai, Dublin, Israel, Istanbul, Johannesburg, Milan, Moscow, Munich, Oslo, Paris, Stockholm, Thames Valley, Warsaw
• Asia: Beijing, Bengaluru, Guangzhou, Mumbai, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Taipei, Tokyo

Enriching activities for Microsoft customers

Microsoft’s Customer Engagement Centers provide a variety of resources, demonstrations, and technical expertise to show customers what they can do on the Microsoft platform. These sessions are designed and hosted by senior-level Microsoft leaders and include:

Envisioning workshops: These get-togethers with technical and business leaders help develop ideas aligning platform capabilities with original business opportunities. These are not skim-the-surface engagements. Customers come away with a shared vision, roadmap, and agile timeline reaching all the way to deployment. 

• Executive briefings: Customers collaborate with cloud experts to fine-tune your strategy and ensure that business outcomes and methodology are aligned
• Immersive experiences: Walk-throughs and exhibits explore multiple nuances of cloud solutions built by both Microsoft and channel partners.
• Rapid prototype development session: Customers use a predefined scope and specific goals to achieve a working prototype of a new cloud service. 

While some sessions zero in on business decision-making to help you see how Azure and other tools drive business outcomes, others provide guidelines on critical metrics that can ensure a measurable return on investment.

With an extensive global business reach, Microsoft is well seasoned in many of the familiar and unique challenges in the marketplace. Whether tackling simple or elaborate business challenges, from robotics and artificial intelligence to IoT solutions, these resources serve as a framework to help customers draw the most from their investment.

The right kind of cloud partner

At Virtusa, we’ve seen firsthand how access to Microsoft’s expansive roster of successful business leaders, combined with its technical acumen and industry breadth, can help transform business outcomes and accelerate innovation. We are excited to continue partnering with Microsoft to bring our shared customers to these Engagement Centers, where they can gain momentum to speed time-to-market, reduce costs, and get a step ahead of the competition.