The service gives decision-makers all the information and support then need to ensure they make the right strategic investments in Cisco training for their business. Building on the foundation of Cluster’s popular skills gap analysis service for Cisco partners, it provides detailed cost-mapping and return-on-investment projections that can be understood immediately at board-level.
It has been launched in response to growing demand from Cisco partners, as Matthew Hathorn, CEO of Cluster, explains. “In addition to performing a skills audit, we have been asked by a number of Cisco partners to provide a more in-depth, consultative analysis of requirements, and to set out a schedule and cost-benefit scenario. In doing so, we are able to give Cisco partners a much more detailed picture of where they need to invest and what kind of ROI they can expect from development of Cisco competencies. The C-Level Partner Audit Service formalises that process and makes it more visible and accessible.”
The launch also further aligns Cluster with the direction Cisco is taking with its partner development, Hathorn notes. “Cisco is making it very clear that it wants more partners to develop higher-levels of competency and accreditation in key architectures – and that it will invest more in partners who develop those abilities. That also makes sense from the partner’s perspective – in a crowded market it’s vital to differentiate and be capable of adding real value. Cisco Partners can do that by acquiring the ability to help customers take full advantage of new technologies, such as Unified Communications, Data Centre and Telepresence.“
Cluster‘s team will work ‘hand in glove’ with Cisco Partners to develop a complete education proposition, Hathorn notes and help them to set out clear objectives, such as attainment of specific Cisco accreditations and increased sales. Cluster will even assist in presentations of the gap analysis and training programme to C-Level executives.
Once a programme is approved, Cluster will work with the partner to schedule attendance of appropriate trainings. As well as a full schedule of courses that enable partners to achieve formal Cisco accreditations, Cluster offers its own range of achievement-focused sales courses. These are renowned for the positive outcomes they achieve in terms of increased competency of sales teams and subsequent results in sales performance.
By focusing on developing the competency of trainees, teaching engineers how to deploy and use Cisco Architectures and sales professionals how to sell, rather than the simple attainment of an exam-pass, Cluster adds more value. This approach has proved highly effective in enabling Cisco Partners to deliver measurable benefits and achieve a positive return on investment in Cisco education and training.