SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 21, 2013 – Cisco today announced the availability of Business Transformation Certifications and training. The curriculum and exams, previewed at Cisco Partner Summit 2013 earlier this year, are designed to help the direct Cisco® sales force and channel partners satisfy a customer desire to engage in higher-value, structured, business-relevant conversations.

In response to the shift in Enterprise IT budget planning, combined with the increasing influence of business leaders in the IT spend decision making process, Cisco and its partners are moving from selling hardware to selling solutions that solve business issues. Customer leaders recognize that IT and business architectures, solutions and services play a critical role in efforts ranging from automation and cost reduction to innovation and transformation. They demand that investment business cases clearly outline financial outcomes. To succeed in this competitive global economy, organizations must refine their business models, execute flawlessly and move quickly to seize new opportunities. Cisco partners must therefore be able to work with technology groups as well as business leaders to help overcome complex business challenges.

Key Facts

• The three Business Transformation Certifications will help to identify and enable individuals who can best support customers' long-term strategic objectives and consistently align business priorities with technology strategies.
• The Business Transformation Certifications include two Business Transformation Specialist tracks:
  • Transformative Architecture
  • Business Value
• New certifications include:
  • Cisco Transformative Architecture Specialist
  • Cisco Business Value Specialist
  • Cisco Certified Business Value Practitioner
• Training and certifications will cover topics such as:
  • Identifying and engaging with the right stakeholders
  • Understanding customer's business strategy and priorities
  • Strategic questioning, to discover a customer's pain points and opportunities
  • Defining how Cisco architectures, Smart Solutions and services can deliver business-relevant results
  • Creating a business case, with a portrait of benefits, investments, costs and risks

Supporting Quotes

• Jeanne Beliveau-Dunn, vice president and general manager at Learning@Cisco, said: "Customers are making purchase decisions based on integrated business solutions that provide competitive advantage, drive growth and enable their long-term strategic initiatives. To accelerate results, we are shifting our sales approach from an IT hardware emphasis toward one centered on architecture and solutions. Individuals need to understand and develop sales and engagement models with a stronger focus on customer business leadership. At Cisco, we are committed to delivering the certification programs that afford learners with the skills and knowledge to keep up with evolving practices, and their employers with unrivaled value."

• Alan Sturgess, Consultancy Practice: Technology Leader, Networking, Security and Unified Communications, Computacenter (UK) Ltd., said: "Cisco Business Transformation training provided a consolidated methodology for understanding business goals and translating them into technology roadmaps. This allowed us to address both the immediate and future business needs of the customer. The techniques covered can be leveraged whenever engineers or consultants are engaged with the customer. Most technology deployments, large or small, are generally driven by an underpinning business outcome. From my perspective, these techniques can only enhance the customer experience and, by association, help develop stronger relationships."

Availability

• The new exams and training are available now. Candidates can register for the exams through Pearson VUE, the primary test delivery partner for Cisco. Training courses are offered by Cisco Learning Partners, the only authorized source for Cisco IT training delivered exclusively by Certified Cisco Instructors. 

Supporting Resources

• Find out more about the Business Transformation Certification program and training products today at: http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/certifications/specialist/bus/bus_transformation.html

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