Microsoft Announces First Small Business Specialist in Tampa/St. Petersburg 

New designation distinguishes Chris Fraser, as an expert in small-business solutions and services.

Microsoft Corp. today announced Chris Fraser at Fraser Comapny has become the first Small Business Specialist in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area. To attain this new designation, Fraser has demonstrated expertise in planning and building solutions for small businesses. As part of the Small Business Specialist Community, Fraser will receive a rich set of benefits from Microsoft, including access to training specifically designed for the small-business industry, small-business marketing materials for reuse, special partner offers, and the ability to use the Small Business Specialist logo in marketing materials, which can help give the company a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

The Small Business Specialist Community, available as a competency-like designation as part of the Microsoft^® Partner Program, was developed in response to input from customers and partners that expressed a need to build easier connections that enable small-business customers to quickly and easily identify technology partners best suited to support them.

“Small businesses are looking for partner companies that understand their unique business needs,” said Craig Kampel, Gulf States Area General Manager, Microsoft Small and Midmarket Solutions & Partner Group. “With resources like the Small Business Specialist Community and the partner locator tool on the Microsoft Small Business Center Web site, it will be much easier for small businesses in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area to identify local partners that are best able to address their specific needs. We are confident this offering will help Fraser reach its full potential by creating more visibility, opportunity and demand in the local small-business segment.”

“Fraser Company is very pleased with our new status as a Microsoft Small Business Specialist,” said Chris Fraser CPA/CITP, consultant for Business Technology and IT Risk Management. “This special designation validates and showcases our expertise with high-value, strategic solutions for small businesses. With this early visibility into new Microsoft products, services and programs, we will be able to add even more value to the small-business clients we serve out of our St. Petersburg office.”

As one of the requirements for attaining Small Business Specialist status, Fraser had to pass Microsoft’s Small Business Sales and Marketing Skills Assessment. This assessment is designed to test the company’s knowledge of the dynamics and dependencies of the small-business market, as well as the value to small business of several software solutions, including Windows^® XP Professional, Microsoft Office 2003 and Windows Small Business Server 2003. In addition, at least one individual in the company had to pass a certification exam that measures the ability to design and implement solutions for the small and medium-sized business by using Windows Small Business Server 2003 and the Windows Server System™.

The Small Business Specialist Community was announced earlier this month at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2005. To enroll, partners can click here.  If not in Tampa Bay, to find a Small Business Specialist in your area, please click here.