What is the Microsoft Catalyst Programme?

The Microsoft Catalyst programme, delivered by UBDS, helps your business to conceive and realise accelerated business transformation through a range of curated stages. With a focus on Microsoft technology and your business applications, the programme helps your organisation become proactive, connected and outcomes-based. The programme also reduces strain on our clients' budgets, as we apply for Microsoft funding on their behalf.

Catalyst is based upon design-led thinking, which considers the desirability, operational feasibility and financial viability of a given implementation. This human-centred approach to digital transformation puts people’s needs at the core of the transformation, allowing us to effectively solve your business challenges together. In fact, it is proven that there is a 9x higher return from initiatives that consider the desirability of solutions versus the viability and feasibility alone.

Through the Microsoft Catalyst programme, UBDS can help you solve your business challenges, shape the future state of your organisation, accelerate your journey and realise value faster. You will have a clear vision aligned to your organisational objectives.

The programme delivers digital transformation through the IDEA framework:

Inspire

This phase is about solution envisioning whereby we work together with you to imagine and define the future state of the business through a design-led thinking envisioning workshop.

The outputs expected from the envisioning workshop include an understanding of your challenges and opportunities, identifying key themes and stakeholders, prioritising ideas in terms of level of effort and business value, and identifying the top initiatives to take forward to the next stage.

Design

This phase focuses on prioritising key initiatives to reach your desired digital transformation goals, quantifying the potential business and technological impact of organisational change, and aligning business value goals to technology with a tailored solution roadmap.

Through a thorough business value assessment, we are able to provide quantified benefits to further establish the business case for transformation.

Empower

This phase brings your organisation’s vision to life through visual assets, solution demonstrations and immersive experiences that showcase the transformation vision and value.

You can expect a demo tailored to your challenges, clearly showcasing how the solution solves these challenges and the associated benefits.

Achieve

This phase focuses on creating a deal crafted proposal which details how you can accomplish positive changes across your organisation, achieve business objectives, and prepare for implementation to drive success.

The programme adds value to you in a number of ways:

1. Access to innovative solutions: The programme helps UBDS to bring new and innovative solutions to market that leverage Microsoft technologies. This can provide you with access to solutions that can help solve your business challenges and achieve your goals.
2. Support from Microsoft: Customers who use solutions developed by partners in the Microsoft Catalyst programme may have access to support from Microsoft, in addition to support from UBDS.
3. Trust in the quality of the solution: Only partners who have demonstrated their commitment to developing solutions that meet high standards of quality and are fully accredited are allowed to participate in the programme. Therefore, you can be confident in UBDS’ ability, and trust in the quality of the solution that we will deliver.