The Microsoft New Zealand Partner Awards recognise innovative partners who are demonstrating inventive use of digital technology, and are open to all Microsoft partners big and small. While 2021 was a challenging year, that didn’t stop Microsoft’s incredible partners from delivering some excellent work for their customers that have helped them transform, boost their resilience or support their customers and all New Zealanders to achieve more. Enlighten Designs’ work to support Carter Building Suppliers is a perfect example of this. 

Carters recognised the value of making it easier for tradies to access their trade information on-line with a purpose-built app, envisioning a customer experience that exceeded expectations. They wished to service their huge user base with a seamless user experience and the ability to place orders on the go. 

Enlighten Designs worked closely with Carters every step of the way as we validated their requirements and worked through Discovery & Design processes to design and build the solution using agile processes. The Carters Trade App was built using Microsoft .NET on Xamarin and is hosted on Microsoft Azure integrating into SAP Hybris eCommerce. These technologies were deliberately selected for their scalability and security, and to ensure a best-in-class user experience. 

The mobile app has removed trade user friction, pushed Carters’ online presence right out into any building site, and accelerated the avalanche towards online ordering – allowing Carters to continue to provide exceptional service to their customers. 

Matt Bostwick, Partner Director at Microsoft New Zealand says, “We congratulate Enlighten Designs for achieving Highly Commended in the Digital & Application Innovation category. This year our partners have gone above and beyond to support their customers and innovate in exciting ways under extremely challenging circumstances, and we were absolutely blown away by the calibre of entries we received.”

“It shows how fortunate we are in the standard of New Zealand’s tech innovation and achievement, and I’m extremely proud to be part of such an ecosystem of excellence.”

“We are pleased to have Enlighten's efforts recognised by Microsoft with this award, along some really big names in the industry,” says Damon Kelly, Founder and CEO, Enlighten Designs. 

“With the increase in demand for businesses to have a stronger digital presence, we are growing exponentially, both locally and internationally, with the goal to keep delivering better and valuable technological solutions for our clients. This commendation reaffirms that our approach and hard work is paying off as we continue to innovate and work together with Microsoft and gear up for another successful year. “