August 22, 2005- Houston, Texas- Microsoft announced Gold Partner Status awarded to Houston based technology consulting firm, The Rand Group, giving them the highest level of achievement as a Microsoft Certified Partner. Less than 4% of Microsoft Partners have attained Gold Partner status. The Rand Group is the only Houston based firm specializing in Navision to become a Gold Partner and one of the first Microsoft Business Solutions partners ever to achieve the status.

Gold Partner status is determined by a combination of criteria including Microsoft certifications, tested Microsoft-based solutions, business wins as measured through customer references, Microsoft competencies, and customer satisfaction. The Rand Group received a 100% customer satisfaction rating through client satisfaction surveys, placing them the top 5% of Microsoft solution providers.

Microsoft Gold Partners must declare one Microsoft competency in order to qualify, this is a measure of a partner's proven skill set and capabilities in a specific horizontal solution. This differentiation helps customers find the right solutions partner to fit their needs. The Rand Group has competencies in both Microsoft Business Solutions (MBS) and in Information Worker.

MBS is the umbrella for Microsoft financial applications including Great Plains, Navision, Solomon, and Microsoft CRM. An Information Worker competency means that The Rand Group exhibited outstanding understanding and achievement in Enterprise Project Management, Portals and Content Management, Desktop Deployment, Office Smart Client Development, and Message and Collaboration.

As a Gold Certified partner, The Rand Group has demonstrated expertise with Microsoft technologies and proven their ability to meet customers' needs. Microsoft Gold Certified Partners receive benefits that in turn are passed along to clients, including increased access, training and support, keeping them ahead of the competition.

About The Rand Group, LLC
The Rand Group is recognized as one of the top 100 technology firms in the country and a top managed Microsoft Business Solutions Partner. The Rand Group (TRG) maintains a staff of industry experienced Microsoft certified professionals, developers and systems engineers to ensure successful implementation and support. By combining our technical services team, accountants and TRG's proven methodology, the company has continually provided quality customization, deployment and technical support services for more than 8 years. TRG's experience and service delivery help build better technology blueprints for businesses.

TRG was formed in 2003 by the acquisition of technology consulting division of Hein & Associates LLP. Prior to the formation of TRG, the same management team provided the service offering of TRG at Hein for 7 years. Hein and Associates is a regional accounting firm with offices in Denver, Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Phoenix.

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