HOUSTON – May 7, 2007 - The eConsortium Group, today announced it has attained Gold Certified Partner status in the Microsoft Partner Program with special competencies in Information Worker Solutions and Networking Infrastructure recognizing The eConsortium Group’s expertise and impact in the technology marketplace. As a Gold Certified Partner, The eConsortium Group has demonstrated expertise with Microsoft technologies and proven ability to meet customers’ needs. Microsoft Gold Certified Partners receive a rich set of benefits, including access, training and support, giving them a competitive advantage in the channel.

“We are extremely pleased to have attained Gold Certified Partner status in the Microsoft Partner Program. This allows us to clearly promote our expertise and relationship with Microsoft to our customers,” said Lisa Parris, President. “The benefits provided through our Gold Certified Partner status will allow us to continue to enhance the offerings that we provide for customers.”

“Customers are looking for partner companies that can bridge the gap between their business demands and technology capabilities,” said Allison Watson, vice president of the Worldwide Partner Sales and Marketing Group at Microsoft Corp. “They need to trust in a company that can act as an expert adviser for their long-term strategic technology plans.

Microsoft Gold Certified Partners, which have certified expertise and direct training and support from Microsoft, can build a positive customer experience with our technologies. Today, Microsoft recognizes The eConsortium Group as a new Gold Certified Partner for demonstrating its expertise providing customer satisfaction using Microsoft products and technology.”

As one of the requirements for attaining Gold Certified Partner status, The eConsortium Group had to declare a Microsoft Competency. Microsoft Competencies are designed to help differentiate a partner’s capabilities with specific Microsoft technologies to customers looking for a particular type of solution. Each competency has a unique set of requirements and benefits, formulated to accurately represent the specific skills and services that partners bring to the technology industry.

Designed to provide additional benefit and support to partners specializing in collaboration, portals and other productivity solutions, the Information Worker Solutions Competency is utilized by Gold Certified Partners that provide their customers with solutions built on familiar programs which enable them to better manage, prioritize and collaborate on increasing volumes of information. Partners that have obtained the Information Worker Solution Competency can help their customers realize increased service revenues and new market opportunities. Specializations within the competency are Enterprise Project Management, Messaging and Collaboration, Office System Desktop Development, and Portals and Enterprise Content Management.

“Partners play a critical role in delivering solutions and applications to customers with the Microsoft Office system,” said Chris Capossela, corporate vice president of the Information Worker Product Management Group at Microsoft Corp. “The value of solutions competencies is that they enable Microsoft to deliver resources and training to partners meeting their customer needs. And for partners, the opportunity to highlight their expertise to customers is tremendous in the growing information worker solutions market.”

The Microsoft Partner Program was launched in October 2003 and represents Microsoft’s ongoing commitment to the success of partners worldwide. The program offers a single, integrated partnering framework that recognizes partner expertise, rewards the total impact that partners have in the technology marketplace, and delivers more value to help partners’ businesses be successful.

The eConsortium Group has been a Microsoft Partner for over 10 years and specializing in Networking and Infrastructure Solutions as well as Communication and Collaboration built on Microsoft Exchange and Sharepoint Technologies. In addition to its Microsoft Partnership they also offer other vendor solutions such as Symantec, GFI, IBM, Polycom and custom software development. The eConsortium Group has just opened a training center in the Galleria area and can be reached at 713-974-6680. Please see their web site at www.econsortium.org for more information.