Cohort opens first ShoreTel training centre

Vendor targets more centres after distributor becomes first to pass new training accreditation

Smee: ShoreTel's growth prompted investment

ShoreTel has hailed distributor Cohort Technology's efforts in becoming the first company to pass its new advanced training certification and is hoping more partners will follow suit.

Europe's first ShoreTel certified training centre will now be based at Cohort's headquarters in Basingstoke. It will offer the Implementing ShoreTel IP System training course for resellers. Cohort's managing director Grahame Smee said the growth of ShoreTel's UK channel had necessitated the opening of the centre.

He said: "ShoreTel is appealing to more and more established voice partners as the brand grows. There is always a need for training and a lot of our partners are recruiting new staff."

Smee said his company's experience of running training courses would stand it in good stead for the ShoreTel centre. He said: "We have always been recognised as having quality value add services and we provide training for several of our other vendors. For our partners we can offer the full package."

Shoretel's EMEA managing director Mark Swendsen said he hoped to open more such facilities in the near future. "Cohort is the first partner to have passed our new advanced training certification and there are pretty rigorous standards. Cohort has done a fantastic job and this is a way to get them into our recurring revenue scheme," he said.

Swendsen revealed the centre would be used to train existing partners and new recruits, as well as end users. He said: "All the training centres are designed to be centres of excellence in terms of quality. We track customer satisfaction and training is the single easiest way to ensure a happy customer."