AT&T, Qwest Get Into The Certification Game

AT&T and Qwest Communications International, intent on staying on top of increasingly complex data services sales, are rolling out certification programs to their partners.

Qwest's Tom Hall says partners must be certified as services get more complex.

Keith Olsen, vice president of global channel management at AT&T, Bridgewater, N.J., says today's customer is looking to the solution provider as a single source for consultation, network design, implementation and life-cycle management.

"Customers can feel confident about these channel partners . . . if they are certified [to sell AT&T solutions]," he says. "It's all about addressing the buying decisions of the end user."

Following the lead of hardware and software vendors, carriers look to give their channel partners credibility

AT&T's certification will cost solution providers about $3,000 per person, he says. Members of the company's new top-tier Solution Provider Program are eligible to use co-op money to fund training, and Olsen says the first 200 people in AT&T's agent program to sign up for the certification program will be trained for free.

Qwest's certification program opens the company's online training system, once reserved for its inside sales team, to all solution providers. Testing will take place at a third-party facility.

The program ensures that providers have a complete understanding of data communication issues before they approach a customer, says Tom Hall, senior vice president of indirect channels and government markets at Qwest, Denver. "As you get into more complex services, you are going to have to be certified to sell. Otherwise you can do more damage than good," he says.

Solution providers agree.

The certification program ensures that providers have a complete understanding of data communication issues, says Hall.

Bob Curry, CEO and CTO of Chicago-based iemagine, a solution provider that helps companies set up ASP services, says partnerships are essential in an industry where technology evolves rapidly. Certifications, he says, prove a partner understands the hosting business and technology.

"Credibility is an important issue in the ASP market," he adds.

Richard March, senior director at Reality Research and Consulting, says carriers can use certification to introduce solution providers to new revenue opportunities.

"Two of the hottest areas we hear about in terms of the solution provider business is voice-over-IP and wireless and remote solutions," he says. "In both of these cases, solution providers see a lot of opportunity but don't have the required personnel and skill sets right now to pull off those implementations."

Although March views the new AT&T and Qwest programs as "smart moves that will ultimately lead to growth and partner loyalty," he says carriers still have work to do on their partner programs.

"The real issue facing [the carriers] is the ability to execute on these programs," he says. "There is a great deal of wariness in the channel toward promises. . . . Winning the hearts and minds of the channel is a lot easier said than done."

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