GCIT has been a certified Microsoft Partner since 2002 — one of the first Gold Partners on the Gold Coast, and one of the only local Microsoft Solutions Partners specialising in Modern Work.
The IT industry has very little formal regulation. There is no equivalent of a bar exam or a registration body like you see for doctors, lawyers, or nurses, yet businesses are asked to hand us complete access and responsibility over their data and operations.
We wanted a better way to earn that trust, and demonstrate that we know what we’re doing. We committed early on to rigorous training and ongoing certifications, as a verifiable way to demonstrate competence and accountability.
Microsoft’s partner program has evolved significantly. Today, one of the most meaningful signals of capability is the Solutions Partner designation, which is awarded based on measured performance, skilling (certifications), and customer success.
Microsoft describes “Solutions Partner” as a company that is a member of the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program. For Modern Work specifically, this designation recognises partners who specialise in using Microsoft 365 solutions and services to help customers work, learn, organise, connect, and create.
This aligns directly with the work GCIT delivers every day, including:
Microsoft certification has been part of our DNA since the early 2000s, with James and Elliot Munro taking their first Microsoft Certified Professional exams while still in high school.
That early focus helped us meet Microsoft’s partner requirements, and it set a pattern we have continued ever since — building capability first, then proving it through program requirements and project outcomes.
Today, certifications held across the team include:
In 2013, we stepped up our investment in Microsoft training, certifications, and customer evidence to achieve Gold-level partner competencies, including specialisations aligned to small business and midmarket delivery (and later, Small and Midmarket Cloud Solutions).
That era of the Microsoft partner program has since evolved, and Microsoft Gold Partnerships are a thing of the past. The current framework maps those prior competencies (including Small and Midmarket Cloud Solutions) into the Modern Work designation path.
GCIT’s history includes being one of the first Microsoft Gold Partners on the Gold Coast, and the first Gold Partner specialising in Small Business and Small and Midmarket Cloud Solutions.
Our Microsoft cloud capability has been proven through real cloud projects, delivered to real organisations, with measurable outcomes for more than 10 years.
In 2015, as an early implementor of Microsoft Cloud services, we were recognised by Microsoft Australia as the winner of Excellence in Small and Mid-market Cloud Solutions.
While the Microsoft Australia partner awards program finished up soon afterwards, we’ve continued delivering high-quality Microsoft cloud outcomes for customers on Microsoft 365 today.
We’ve always preferred to take a “don’t take our word for it” approach.
Working with a Microsoft Solutions Partner for Modern Work means choosing a provider whose capability is supported by Microsoft’s partner framework — tied to skilling, customer success, and delivery performance.
For customers, that translates into:
We also operate with a security and quality mindset, demonstrated by our ISO certifications — including ISO 27001, ISO 9001, and ISO 14001.
This matters because Modern Work is not only about the productivity tools themselves, but about improving productivity securely, consistently, and continuously.
