Park Place and Softcat turn training trial into long-term collaboration

UK’s largest VAR extends partnership with Park Place’s Uptime Academy

Park Place Technologies has partnered with Softcat to educate and upskill the VAR’s workforce by granting it access to its internal training portal, Uptime Academy.

Uptime Academy will provide sales enablement to Softcat’s support services team.

The partnership will focus on areas such as third-party maintenance (TPM), infrastructure managed services, as well as Entuity, Park Place’s enterprise network monitoring software.

Entuity became part of Park Place when it was acquired by the firm in 2019.

The agreement comes after a trial period that saw the participation from two dozen individuals, who reportedly commended the delivery style and practical knowledge gained from the courses, as well as their bite-sized format.

Uptime Academy contains material created in-house by Park Place subject matter experts, as well as content from third-party specialty providers.

The organisation’s internal learning management system also allows tracking of learners’ progress through courses, curricula, and certifications.

“Our internal Uptime Academy training portal offers hundreds of courses, ranging from IT basics to deep dives into specific Park Place services,” said Ian Anderson, senior director, partner sales in EMEA, at Park Place Technologies.

“Sharing that knowledge base with a partner empowers and hopefully motivates its people to develop their talents, contribute to their personal growth, and fuel the success of Softcat and Park Place.”

Kevin Rickard, senior team leader for support service sales at Softcat, added: “Having access to the Park Place Uptime Academy has significantly empowered our specialists in several ways.

“It has given us a detailed insight into how Park Place works and how their services, management, and fulfilment of contracts flow.”