It's generally gratifying to be considered a master of something, especially when it's by experts and masters in that particular field. For Computer Design & Integration LLC, just such a fate came to pass recently as it announced the new rank of Master Service Provider from no less than Cisco itself.
Computer Design & Integration took the ranking as part of Cisco's Cloud and Managed Services Program (CMSP), and the ranking is generally offered to those who offer managed service information technology infrastructure library (ITIL) processes and assorted tools designed to help make Cisco's line of tools in that market better. Those partners that “employ sophisticated managed services practices to deliver services that reflect exceptional customer experiences” are eligible for Managed Services Master certification, which is in itself a valuable certification to have on hand.
Better yet, Computer Design & Integration also took home other Cisco certifications, landing the Cisco Powered designation for its disaster recovery as a service tool and its infrastructure as a service tool. These certifications are given to those systems that meet Cisco standards for user experience, making it similar to the Managed Services Master certification, but in a different field.
George Gosselin, Computer Design & Integration's chief technology officer, commented “Cloud-enabled services are transforming how businesses capitalize on information technology. Achieving the Masters designation within the Cisco Cloud and Managed Services Program brings greater breadth and depth to our cloud-based capabilities, and further supports our goal of empowering customers through reliability, flexibility, control and agile business growth.”
Not only do the certifications provide a valuable point of reference for sales efforts, they also demonstrate Cisco's own faith in the certified company's ability to provide cloud services. With points like these in hand, it becomes easier to convince hesitant companies to deal with one company over another thanks to the halo effect that Cisco certification would bring about. It's hard to not do business with a company that's won awards from Cisco, after all. That's valuable in its own right, and Cisco also gets value in these certifications. It has a line of companies it can point interested users to, when the need arises for a certain extra component to round out a Cisco lineup. These companies, already vetted on some level, let Cisco look like a miracle worker since everything that's needed goes in right away.
Cisco's awards program is good for all sides of the equation, and that should make Computer Design & Integration all the happier to take home a slate of new awards over the last several weeks with this latest ranking. New credibility, new peace of mind, and a host of other, albeit less tangible, prizes come included.
Edited by
Stefania Viscusi
