VCE allies launch co-branded training

Cisco, EMC and VMware deepen partnership with joint education push

The three vendors behind the Virtual Computing Environment Company (VCE) have stepped up their collaboration by launching joint education bundles.

Formed in 2009, VCE saw VMware, Cisco and EMC pool their resources to bring to market private cloud-enabling infrastructure packages known as Vblocks.

The co-branded education solutions will combine the latest curricula from the triumvirate of vendors to help end users master disciplines such as cloud architecture, virtualisation, storage, datacentre networking and data science.

According to the trio, the dawn of the era of cloud, big data and converged infrastructure has led to the emergence of new job roles that "require next-generation skill sets".

The courses will be aimed at creating a "logically organised framework" for end user staff working in disciplines as diverse as cloud architecture, systems administration, storage, backup and recovery, datacentre networking, systems management and data science.

Although the training is co-branded, the trio will deliver their own courses, normally as instructor-led classes. Select courses will be made available onsite at either Cisco or EMC, or in the form of EMC video instructor-led training.

Jeanne Beliveau-Dunn, vice president and general manager of Learning@Cisco, said: "Today's datacentre is composed of heterogeneous technologies, with the cloud blurring the lines between technology silos.

"IT organisations must cultivate new cloud architecture skills, understand how to use big data and maintain deep domain expertise with a renewed understanding of virtualisation and technology convergence. With this offering Cisco and EMC are leading the way in transforming skills for the next generation of IT professionals."

Tom Clancy, vice president of EMC Education services, said: "The education solutions Cisco and EMC are offering through this collaboration are conveniently packaged, flexible and value-priced."