Fusion, helping Cisco Channel Partners plan, monitor and analyse partner programs at the touch of a button

Technical and business training specialist Vortex 6 today announce Fusion, the industry’s first Cisco certification management software solution, developed for Cisco Channel Partners to help improve the management of their partnership with Cisco. The financial consequences of losing certifications can be significant; Fusion is an easy to use, intelligent planning tool that will help businesses save time and money. Fusion is the ultimate Cisco certification management tool, helping Partners to plan, monitor and analyse their status at the touch of a button. 

The software has been developed to allow any vendors certification programs to be accommodated.

The executive management planning, reporting and modelling tool provides customers with a secure online intuitive dashboard of their business status and key analytical data.   Features include a traffic light system highlighting actions requiring attention and focus, alerts for expiring certifications and the resulting ramifications, certified employee information and details and tracking against plan and budget.  This benefits the partner by allowing them to proactively plan and manage their relationship with Cisco, minimising the risk of losing certifications and saving time and money.

Verizon Business, a leading provider of IT, Communications, Security and Network Solutions has successfully implemented Fusion as part of the roll out initiative and is enjoying greater strategic planning alongside cost savings.

“The system is incredibly powerful and has been well received by our internal teams involved in certifications”, commented Melanie Comyn of Verizon Business.  “The software generates accurate reports detailing our certification levels, renewal dates and alerts if we have staff changes pending that impact on certification. It has enabled me to take on extra responsibilities by reducing the effort required to manage our certifications and stay on top of Cisco certification changes and requirements.  For Verizon Business as a whole it allows us to plan on a more strategic level how best to align our Cisco certification with our customer needs and broader market strategy.  We estimate that Fusion costs the same as hiring a Training administrator for approximately one day a month based on a three-year period. For us, Fusion will immediately save money by allowing the team responsible for certification to focus our time on other areas instead of having to juggle certification and training schedules for our employees.” Comyn adds.

“We have made a significant financial and time critical investment over the past seven months, working closely with Cisco and our customer base”, commented Peter Olive, Managing Director at Vortex 6. “We have created a powerful, cutting edge application that helps Cisco Partners better manage their certifications and relationship with Cisco.  It is an industry first and automates what, until today, has been a lengthy and laborious manual process.  Our success with Verizon confirms that Fusion will significantly reduce the time and frustration for Channel Partners associated with managing their partner status.  They can now enjoy up to the minute, concise data management and charting for forecast and budget analysis at the touch of a button.”

Phil Ruston, Cisco UK&I Channel Operations Manager added, “We welcome any innovative solution that helps our channel partners increase the benefit they receive from our certification program and whole heartedly support services aimed at allowing partners to equip themselves with the right skill set to meet the needs of their clients.”

The system also creates detailed reports on certification at a company, department or individual level to ensure Partners maintain the required certifications as personnel that may leave or join the business. Fusion facilitates easy “what if” modelling to show the Partner what they have to do and the cost to become specialised in each sector.

Fusion is available as either a hosted or on demand service and is seamlessly updated every time the Cisco certification criteria changes and accurately models all core and specialisation areas on a company and per employee level. For Partners with international operations, the system supports multiple sites which are essential in calculating Cisco theatre wide certification requirements. The system also allows streamlined accesses to booking of training courses.