Since the start of 2011, Azlan has hosted monthly, free-of-charge Cisco Data Centre Foundation sessions for reseller account managers, pre-sales and post-sales personnel, as part of its ACDC programme. To date, ten Cisco Partners have completed the course and Azlan expects a further ten to attend training during June.
Resellers who complete the Foundation course qualify for additional rebates on Cisco Data Centre offerings. Further courses will be taking place throughout the year. The courses are having a positive effect on sales. Azlan has already established a position as the leading distributor for Cisco Data Centre across Europe and has just completed a record quarter for sales in the UK. It expects to see further growth as a result of its continued investment in reseller recruitment and training.
One reseller who took the Cisco Data Centre Foundation course said: “I felt that the training provided by the team at Azlan was excellent. I went into the training with a basic understanding of some of the technologies covered. However, it was pitched at the right level and I came out of the training knowing that I can comfortably talk to my customers and explain the value proposition that UCS, MDS and Nexus technology offers. I would recommend this course to anyone who feels that they need their understanding of Cisco Data Centre technologies sharpening up – I believe this will allow us to uncover new Cisco Data Centre opportunities we may have missed previously.”
Mark Walker, Director Converged Infrastructure at Azlan, stated: “By engaging on go!virtual, resellers can very quickly get fully on-board with Cisco Data Centre solutions and start exploiting the benefits of the additional rebates and support. Cisco partners who have taken the course are seeing positive results and we’re now aiming to bring even more resellers on board and really start to accelerate sales of Cisco Data Centre.”
Azlan’s go!virtual isa flexible on-boarding programme for Cisco Data Centre virtualisation technologies. It provides support for resellers at every stage of their development, from initial registration, through to navigating training requirements and finally generating new business. It was developed in conjunction with Cisco and VMWare to meet the needs of both existing Cisco Partners and new resellers.
As well as the dedicated ACDC (Accelerate Cisco Data Centre) training programme for virtualised solutions, go!virtual provides partners with access to a dedicated microsite populated with a wealth of collateral and sales and marketing tools. Partners that engage on the go!virtual programme also receive lead-generation and business development support.