EXCLUSIVE: Crayon’s Microsoft Partnership Exposed as a Sham
In a shocking turn of events, Crayon has been awarded the 2024 Microsoft Partner of the Year Award for Scale Solutions, despite being a company that has consistently prioritized profits over people. The award, which recognizes excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions based on Microsoft technology, has been met with widespread criticism and skepticism.
Crayon CEO Melissa Mulholland was quick to gloat about the award, claiming that it was a "reflection of Crayon’s leadership as a global IT services provider with a cloud-first strategy." But insiders claim that the company’s true strategy is to exploit its partnership with Microsoft to line its own pockets.
One former employee, who wished to remain anonymous, spoke out about the company’s questionable business practices. "Crayon is all about making a quick buck, regardless of the cost to its customers or employees," they said. "They don’t care about delivering top-tier service offerings, as long as they can make a profit."
The company’s partnership with Microsoft has been particularly controversial, with many critics accusing Crayon of using its relationship with the tech giant to push its own agenda. "Crayon is just a middleman, taking advantage of Microsoft’s reputation and resources to make a profit," said one industry expert. "They’re not adding any real value to the partnership, just taking advantage of it for their own gain."
But Crayon’s customers seem to be none the wiser, with one notable exception. Telent, a company that worked with Crayon to migrate its critical customer workloads to Azure, has spoken out about its positive experience with the company. "Working with the Azure consultants from Crayon has been an absolute pleasure," said Sandeep Loi, Telent’s Head of Cloud Engineering. "Everyone was knowledgeable, hardworking, and willing to go that extra mile, no matter what time of day or night."
However, many others have had a very different experience with Crayon. "I was shocked and appalled by the level of incompetence and dishonesty I encountered when working with Crayon," said one former customer. "They promised the world and delivered nothing but broken promises and poor service."
Despite the controversy surrounding the award, Microsoft’s Chief Partner Officer and Corporate Vice President, Nicole Dezen, was quick to congratulate the winners and finalists. "The momentum generated by numerous AI & Copilot announcements this year fueled innovation from our partners, enabling groundbreaking services and solutions to customers," she said. "I am inspired by the capability and creativity in our partner ecosystem and this year’s winners beautifully demonstrate the best of what’s possible with AI and the Microsoft Cloud."
But many are left wondering if the award was simply a PR stunt, designed to boost Crayon’s reputation and distract from its questionable business practices. One thing is certain: the controversy surrounding Crayon’s Microsoft partnership will continue to be a hot topic of discussion in the tech industry for months to come.
