Fast Lane team heads up Vortex 6

Parker: We plan to become the UK partner of choice

The team behind Cisco training specialist Fast Lane is back in the channel with new outfit Vortex 6 and plans to become the networking vendor’s top UK training partner.

Having left Fast Lane earlier this year, former managing director Peter Olive and sales director Cassian Parker resume their roles at Vortex 6. Other Fast Lane alumni in senior positions include Matt Broadway, Kat Wass and Martin Smith.

Vortex 6 became an authorised Cisco Learning Partner earlier this month.

Parker said: “We plan to become the UK partner of choice, then grow into Europe and go worldwide.”

He added that engaging with Cisco could be “a bit of a minefield” for partners and Vortex 6 would focus on helping VARs in this regard. The firm has also developed end user training.

“It used to be about your basic CCNA certification ­- get certified, get your discount from Cisco. Now we put business value on the solutions and offer a high-level enablement programme,” he said.

Parker claimed the time had been right to embark on a new venture. “There was a change of management direction and structure [at Fast Lane] and we felt we wanted to leave and set up another organisation,” he said.

Aggrey Lutta, services director at Cisco Gold partner CAE Technology Services, claimed the Vortex 6 team’s temporary absence had “left a gap” in the Cisco training space. “They understand resellers and can tailor and simplify the Cisco programmes,” he said. “Some other providers are less flexible.”