Avaya To Add CRM Certifications

Avaya

Offered through VUE testing centers, the new certifications include examinations for specialists in both design and implementation of multimedia contact centers, proactive contact solutions and interactive response systems.

The certifications help Avaya build a channel that is well educated on both voice and data networks, said Jan Burton, vice president of global channel strategy and distribution at Avaya, Basking Ridge.

"To truly find the convergence players, that is not easy. It's been a true challenge for us," Burton said.

Solution providers that attain Avaya's certifications can distinguish themselves from their competitors, said Frank Rust, vice president of TeleServe Technologies, a convergence solution provider based in Indianapolis.

"The main thing is that it will set you apart from other business partners," Rust said.

The emergence of IP telephony has created skills gaps for voice integrators that now have to learn about data networking and data integrators that now have to learn about voice, Rust said.

"Voice-over-IP is forcing people to either cross the line and get cross-trained or work well together, and I can tell you from experience that they don't work well together," he said.

The Avaya Certified Associate in Communications Networking (ACACN) certification is a prerequisite to Avaya's specialist-level certifications.

Each 90-minute, 90-question CRM specialist exam costs $125.