Microsoft Direct Cloud Solution Provider Rand Group Appoints Chief Technology Officer to Help Drive Company Vision

HOUSTON, TX–(Marketwired – June 21, 2016) – As markets shift, Rand Group is poised to pivot their focus and stay highly competitive and successful in the technology reseller space. As part of the ongoing focus to remain at the cutting edge, they have signed Joe Eldridge as Vice President and Chief Technology Officer.

Eldridge brings an exceptional tenure in the software engineering space, with a specific focus on Microsoft technologies. His 19 years’ experience included a vast range of activities from business applications to low-level firmware design. He has spent a majority of his career working as an Engineer and Engineering Lead.

From his start as a Software Developer for the Boeing Company, Mr. Eldridge moved to Microsoft where he began as a Software Developer for their Commercial Internet System (MCIS). He moved onto Microsoft Commerce Server where he worked as a Software Developer, and later a Program Manager, which led to his next role as the Lead Program Manager for Microsoft BizTalk Server. Subsequent roles included working as a Lead Program Manager for Lync (now Skype for Business), Lead Program Manager for Microsoft Dynamics AX, and Director of Microsoft Product Activation. His final role at Microsoft was as a Lead Program Manager for Microsoft Surface.

Eldridge opted to leave Microsoft and join Rand Group when he felt the need for a more well-rounded challenge that went beyond simply working with the technology.

As Chief Technology Officer, Mr. Eldridge will focus heavily on ensuring Rand Group is properly tooled to engage in a deeper level of Professional Services. With the increase in cloud computing opportunities and the ongoing changes to the Microsoft partner ecosystem, Eldridge intends to work closely with the development teams to deliver a noticeably improved set of competencies and a superior balance of skills. As an initial part of this endeavor, he is working closely with the rest of the Executive team to better define what skills are needed, and how the team should look for grow and diversify over the coming months. They are also exploring toolsets and benchmarking the company’s activities in anticipation of change and growth.

“I’m an opportunist,” says Eldridge, “and I know that now is the time to capitalize on engineering trends and really help Rand Group bring their services to a higher level. We don’t just want to satisfy our clients, we want to be an ongoing partner in their success, and that means helping to innovate for them. We want to be a more high speed, low drag organization and that’s going to require some better processes. We’re going to redefine the way we do business by setting exceptionally high standards for design and development. I’m going to oversee the development team here, and make it my personal responsibility to ensure each member of our team has the resources to do better, to be better.

“And as an added bonus, moving to Houston has allowed me to be closer to my children as they grow.”

Eldridge intends to develop an Engineering Excellence Program which would take Rand Group technical resources through a series of carefully curated sessions that relate to standardization, innovation, trends, and technical breadth expansion, and to set the standard for cloud services partners nationwide.

Mr. Eldridge hopes that his programmatic training approach coupled with his enthusiasm and leadership will not only drive better performance from the current team but will also help attract and retain increasingly better talent resources.

About Rand Group

Established in 2003, Rand Group is a member of Microsoft’s Inner Circle, which recognizes the company as among the top 1% global experts in Microsoft Dynamics. As a complete front to back technology enablement solution provider, Rand Groups helps clients succeed through the use of secure, stable infrastructure, transaction processing systems and management analytics, as well as all aspects of web presence, including digital marketing. Headquartered in Texas, with two offices in Houston, and another in Vancouver, Rand Group has repeatedly appeared in Accounting Today’s Top 100 VAR listing, ranking #20 in 2015.

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