OREANDA-NEWS. July 02, 2010. CROC received the IBM Beacon Award in the category ‘Outstanding Overall IBM Business Partner in Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa.’ The award ceremony was held in Rome. This prestigious honor is awarded each year to a select number of IBM Business Partners in order to recognize technical excellence and innovative solutions based on IBM products and services. CROC is the only Russian company named an IBM Beacon Award winner.

Boris Bobrovnikov, Director General of CROC, said, “Many Russian corporations trust the IBM brand because it delivers innovations for business growth. This is the reason we strive for development. We have the highest expertise in Russia in IT infrastructure management and monitoring; we lead the Russian market in number of software authorizations; and every year we get stronger in computing infrastructure, risk management solutions, and data centers. Over the last four years, we implemented 800 joint projects, and many of them were unique in Russia in terms of innovation. To name a few, we were the first in the retail sector to implement a centralized Master Data Management system for Х5 Retail Group; we pioneered an MDM system creation based on the IBM InfoSphere MDM Server in the financial sector; we implemented an E-Case document management system based on IBM FileNet hardware and software in the Arbitration Court of the Mari-El Republic; and we put in operation the most powerful supercomputer in the industrial sector in Russia and the CIS for NPO Saturn. TRUST National Bank's IT infrastructure upgrade based on new generation IBM Power7 servers put us ahead not just in Russia but in EMEA too.”

The IBM Beacon Award provides a wide range of industry recognition, increased visibility and promotional opportunities to award winners and finalists. Hundreds of nominees were judged by a team of major industry-focused journalists, analysts and IBM executives who selected 21 winners in 9 overall categories covering hardware, software, and service solutions, mid-market, ISV and technical awards as well as a focus on Smarter Planet. In 2010, three new categories were added: New Intelligence, Smart Work and Smarter Planet.

“Our Beacon Award winners represent the tremendous power of the IBM Business Partner ecosystem in creating unique client value through our combined capabilities, expertise and offerings,” said Rich Hume, general manager of IBM Global Business Partners and Mid-Market. “By winning the 'Outstanding Overall IBM Business Partner in Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, Africa' award, CROC has demonstrated its ability to deliver innovation to the market and help clients achieve higher value and better business outcomes.”