CLEVELAND, Jan. 4 -- VAR Business magazine recently announced its pick of the top 2005 VARs of the Year and Agilysys, Inc., a leading provider of enterprise computing solutions, is proud to be affiliated with three of the top six companies selected as the best in the industry. Future Tech Enterprise, Lighthouse Computer Services and MSI Systems Integrators are all Agilysys partners who were chosen for their financial success, technical aptitude, business acumen and unrivaled dedication to customer service. In this first year of the publication's competition, more than 300 entries were submitted from more than 170 solution providers.
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"Agilysys KeyLink Systems Group (KSG) is pleased with our business partners' industry recognition," said Pete Coleman, executive vice president, Agilysys. "All three of our award-winning partners have many outstanding qualities that have earned them this 'best in class' distinction and we're pleased to be associated with them."
This past summer, VARs, integrators and IT solution providers competed for recognition in six different categories: Homegrown Technical Innovation; Sales Excellence/Demand Generation; Advanced Technology Deployment: Security; Advanced Technology Deployment: Security; Advanced Technology Deployment: Mobility; Customer Return On Investment (ROI); and Business Ingenuity. Nominations were accepted on the VAR Business magazine web site from mid- September to mid-October and announced in the November 28, 2005 issue.
Future Tech of Holbrook, N.Y., won top honors in the Business Ingenuity category for erecting one of the East Coast's first structurally secure disaster-recovery data centers to complement its existing competencies and resources. The company also earned high marks for developing a contracting vehicle, known as ContractOne, that consolidates a customer's IT contracts for goods and services under one umbrella.
Lighthouse of Lincoln, R.I., was recognized for its know-how in the Sales Excellence/Demand Generation category. The 10-year-old IT services and systems consultancy doubled its revenue each year selling IBM hardware and related services but within the last two years has moved beyond hardware and integration services into consulting. The company's nimble disposition allowed it to take advantage of enormous growth opportunities within five key areas: midrange servers; storage, backup and disaster-recovery services; IT regulatory compliance; networks and security; and Microsoft technologies. The decision to reorganize along those lines to better suit its end customers' needs has only propelled its growth.
MSI Systems Integrators of Omaha, Neb., took home the prize in the coveted Customer ROI category. Their end customer, Farm Credit Services of America needed a more efficient infrastructure for loan origination, a business growing at 12.5 percent annually. MSI recommended a $120,000 virtualization solution that allowed the bank's loan processing time to fall from days to just four seconds.
"As a solutions organization, our innovative clients have come to expect nothing less than a solid ROI from MSI," said Jim Simpson, president and chief executive officer, MSI Systems Integrators. "This solution illustrates an effective team effort between Farm Credit Services of America, the MSI team, Agilysys and our industry-leading vendors."
Agilysys KSG offers its business partners seamless access to industry leading services and capabilities enabling them to develop unique business solutions for their clients. For more than 20 years, solution providers and value-added resellers have turned to KSG to expand their market presence, accelerate profitable growth and improve operational efficiencies.
About Agilysys, Inc.
Agilysys is one of the foremost distributors and premier resellers of enterprise computer technology solutions. It has a proven track record of delivering complex server and storage hardware, software and services to resellers, large and medium-sized corporate customers and public-sector clients across a diverse set of industries. In addition, the company provides customer-centric software applications and services focused on the retail and hospitality markets. Headquartered in Mayfield Heights, OH, Agilysys has sales offices throughout the United States and Canada. For more information, visit http://www.agilysys.com.