Cisco to crown UC ‘Masters’

Two UK resellers have now passed Cisco’s top-level Master specialisation for Unified Communications (UC), the networking giant has revealed.

Unveiled at Cisco’s partner summit in Las Vegas last year, the qualification represents the highest level any partner can obtain on Cisco’s Advanced Technologies.

John Donovan, managing director of Cisco channels UK and Ireland, said: “Two partners have passed their final audit in the past two weeks. We’re hoping to notify them this week.”

He said the partners cannot be named until they have been notified.

So far, the vendor has only launched Master qualifications for UC and security. Donovan said several partners were also working towards gaining the security badge.

Although some partners have criticised the new qualifications for being too costly and for lacking exposure among end-users, Donovan said those who make the grade stand to reap handsome rewards.

“It will give them the opportunity to differentiate themselves with customers and Cisco’s sales force,” he said. “When we officially announce the first two partners, we’ll use that as an opportunity to reinforce the benefits of the Master accreditation.”

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