Magirus is the only EMC-authorised training partner in the UK and has completed recently the construction of new classroom training facilities at its UK headquarters in Bracknell. The new courses compliment a full range of literally hundreds of EMC software and hardware training courses available through Magirus's 30 EMC resellers.
Courses are held at Magirus's purpose-built training centre in Bracknell or at end user sites. A 1Mb broadband link is all that is needed for a course to be delivered to an end-user location.
Courses vary from 2-4 days, at the end of which delegates can obtain EMC certification.
"A major benefit of training is a typical estimated saving of around 20 percent in support and administrative costs for end users," said Denise Bryant, Magirus UK's director for EMC distribution, "trained staff spend far less time on monitoring and logging calls and on account administration - meaning they are free to focus on more rewarding and mission-critical work."
For resellers, Magirus training services represent a low-risk revenue opportunity with minimal administration. "We've made it as simple as possible by providing an online link so resellers can get their customers to book and pay online with a credit card. This way our partners don't even have the hassle of administration," said Bryant. Additionally, resellers may use this training to become EMC certified themselves. This will enable them to provide EMC Authorised Services to their end users thereby gaining an additional high margin revenue stream.
According to Magirus, training contributes to the success of the solution and its implementation as well as increasing the overall size of the deal for partners. Furthermore, training is often a source for unearthing additional business which is then handed off to the reseller.
The Magirus training facility in Bracknell comprises three modern classrooms, refreshment and break-out areas. The company offers a wide spectrum of courses in EMC software and hardware, ranging from EMC NetWorker 7.3, the centralised data recovery and back-up software, through to the latest CLARiiON storage systems.
The latest additions to the Magirus training portfolio include the soon to be released EmailXtender 4.8 software, which offers end users a more flexible policy-based approach to e-mail archiving, further helping businesses to be compliant with new laws and codes of practice while at the same time enabling administrators to easily monitor the operational efficiency of their archive. The new version of EMC DiskXtender 6.2 for Windows software expands policy-based file system archiving, which migrates inactive data off production storage to archive disk, tape or optical devices. The new software enables end users to quickly search single or multiple file systems and makes electronic discovery requests more accurate, fast and less costly.
Magirus is also one of the largest VMware Authorised Training Centres in the UK. The company runs several courses per week in Bracknell, supplemented by courses in other parts of the country. According to Bryant, "we have 12 consultants who are also actively involved in real-life implementations which provide an extra dimension and edge to our training. This way our trainers are at the forefront of the latest developments and they can pass on the benefit of on-the-job practical experience as well as the theory."
Ian Nave, sales manager at Redstor said, "The feedback from customers who have taken the training is a big thumbs up for the quality of the facilities and trainers. They have particularly liked the mix of theory and hands-on practical sessions. We see great potential for these courses which have the added benefit of a healthy margin for a minimal time investment. And a trained customer - who gets the most out of their investment - is invariably a happy customer."