EMC Offers Acceditation

Under the EMC Partner Accreditation and Certification Program, scheduled to be officially unveiled this Wednesday, the company offers tracks for solution provider companies as well as individual personnel, said Shawn Pearson, channel productivity manager at EMC, based here.

At the individual level, sales personnel can become EMC Accredited Sales Professionals, while presales technical people can seek EMC Accredited Presales Technical Professional designations. They can opt for standard accreditation or senior accreditation.

On the services side, implementation personnel can become certified as EMC Proven Professionals.

At the company level, solution providers can qualify for one of two levels, depending on the ratio of accredited or certified personnel on-staff to expected EMC revenue, Pearson said. The program will offer increased lead and marketing support, including the use of EMC logos, as well as account control, he said.

Kevin Reith, manager of strategic technology at Info Systems, said two-thirds of the Wilmington, Del.-based EMC solution provider's sales staff and a handful of its engineers have already signed up for the program.

EMC is making a big push into smaller enterprises and is depending on the channel to do it, Reith said. "This program is the right thing for us, to be there and give a strong show of support," he said.

"Resellers who are working hard and are committed will see the benefits," said John Murphy, executive vice president at Advanced Systems Group, a solution provider in Denver. "As a side benefit, those that do make the commitment get more respect from EMC."

The program should increase EMC's indirect sales but is not aimed at paring down the number of partners, Pearson said.