Phoenix Software named Microsoft UK Partner of the Year after helping its staff and the public sector to thrive

Phoenix Software, which has helped thousands of public sector organisations digitally transform, has been named Microsoft’s UK partner of the year for 2021.

The company, which was founded more than 30 years ago, saw cloud consumption rise sharply over the past year as it supported critical, public-facing organisations through the COVID-19 pandemic.

With a focus on customer satisfaction, Phoenix ensured its customers were able to adopt hybrid working models during lockdown, enabling them to continue delivering valuable services to their own customers. Phoenix ran pandemic-response-focused webinars that helped customers with Azure Virtual Desktop, Microsoft Teams and security, as well as delivering numerous free Azure Managed Services to the not-for-profit sector. The company also sought to boost digital skills throughout its customer base.

Phoenix has more than 90 dedicated in-house Microsoft consultants, attained Azure Expert Managed Services Provider status, achieved multiple Advanced Specialisations and has a dedicated FastTrack team to ensure customers are fully supported. Phoenix is also developing in-house Security, Power Platform, Data and AI and DevOps capabilities to scale and grow the business and meet Public Sector demand.

Sam Mudd, Managing Director of Phoenix, said: “The public sector has had to maintain services over the past year and a half to help people through the pandemic under tremendous amounts of pressure. We want to help them continue to do that and see the benefits.

“We have teams that are aligned specifically to local government, central government, NHS, emergency services housing, charities and education – and within education there are schools, colleges and universities. We’ve got a very pure understanding of what our customers need and we’ve been working continuously to develop solutions and offerings that we think are relevant to their needs.”

Phoenix’s 257 employees are critical to its work with almost 3,000 customers, who include The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, The Together Trust and City College Peterborough as well as and numerous other public sector bodies.

Sam Mudd, Managing Director of Phoenix Software

Sam Mudd, Managing Director of Phoenix Software

Diversity is also important to Phoenix. Women make up two-thirds of its board and 34% of its employees. The company has also launched leadership training and staff feedback programmes, it provides work experience for local people with accessibility needs and employees run internal networks that focus on charities, diversity and inclusion, mental health and sustainability.

A focus on diversity and inclusion is one of the many aspects of business that Phoenix shares with Microsoft.

“We wanted our staff to feel empowered, and we wanted to make sure that we became an attractive employer so that we would be a magnet for the best of the best,” Mudd added. “We listened to our staff and understood what they wanted us to do to make Phoenix a great place to work – and we acted on that.

“Every year we look at how we can improve and that will continue. This award is just the start of our next chapter. We see a huge amount of synergy between what Microsoft is doing and what we are doing. It seemed very natural to lean in even more to Microsoft because we believe Microsoft is a significant part of public sector expenditure. Microsoft technology is the answer to most of the public sector’s questions. We made a decision that if we are going to technically skill-up our workforce, we’re going to do it with Microsoft because we have a great partnership with them.”

Orla McGrath, Global Partner Solutions Lead at Microsoft, said: “Phoenix has made a phenomenal transition over the past few years from a licensing specialist to an Azure Expert Managed Service Partner focused on being a trusted advisor to the public sector delivering remarkable outcomes. 

“Their focus on culture and putting inclusivity at the heart of what they do, has really shone through in all the interactions with the Phoenix team. I’m really looking forward to seeing the partnership grow further in the months and years ahead.”