Global technology distributor Westcon-Comstor's Sub-Saharan Africa operation has confirmed the launch of Azure Virtual Vault, a platform designed to assist reseller partners accelerate their Microsoft Azure business.

According to Westcon-Comstor the platform has been developed to help customers drive Azure competencies, facilitate training and increase business growth, and is presented in a gamified way "to demystify Azure and attain rewards along the journey".

Open to all Westcon-Comstor resellers, the platform takes the user on a journey of understanding and learning of the technology layers and workloads within Azure. Each stage within the process is linked to a reward and partners can navigate and track their progress within the online portal.

In a statement the company explains that key sections of the Vault include garnering better knowledge of Azure and its benefits through its Pizza-as-a-Service journey that extend the types and uses of Azure when deploying different cloud computing models for clients, as well as specific training on four pre-determined Azure workloads.

The primary workloads loaded within the Azure Virtual Vault include migrating virtual machines to Azure, Azure backup and site recovery, building a modern datawarehouse and Azure IOT.

Each workload includes a gamified assessment, which when complete unlocks a first round of rewards, once all assessments are complete, partners are provided with a code to try and crack the Azure Virtual Vault which is filled with a host of high-value rewards.

"Our Azure Virtual Vault provides gamified assessment of partner competencies around a range of specific Azure workloads. It is an engaging and interactive means by which partners can attain a deeper understanding of Azure and receive rewards after specific training is completed, and workloads are unlocked within the vault," states Tidiane Lo, Director at Westcon-Comstor Sub-Saharan Africa.

"We are taking partner engagement to the next level by simplifying the sometimes-daunting process of training on Azure workloads. Resellers can unlock business rewards in the form of free assessments, Marketing as a Service, access to technical expertise to name but a few. Resellers no longer want to be tied to pre-defined training sessions and prefer flexibility to complete modules at their own pace."

Africa's cloud adoption

Lo added that the rate of cloud adoption in Africa is growing and Westcon-Comstor must ensure that its reseller and partner base servicing this market has the necessary skills to support the growth.

He describes Azure as one of the fastest-growing cloud services globally and it is critical for businesses that offer cloud services to have Azure competencies to support their end user customers.

"This is particularly relevant for end-user customers looking to embrace and deploy a hybrid or multi-cloud offering - our role as Westcon-Comstor is to ensure that the industry itself has the skills to support this growth and this need. In our view Africa remains in the perfect position to leapfrog legacy technology infrastructure - the cloud is the best way to do it and Azure the perfect partner to make it happen," Lo said.