The Advanced Technology Services (ATS) division within BTG Systems Integration is pleased to announce that is has managed to re-qualify as a Cisco Gold Partner.
The Cisco Gold certification is the highest partner qualification a business partner can receive from the networking giant, and is recognised by customers the world over.
Partners aiming to achieve this certification need to ensure they have the skills, qualifications and personnel to support customers` Cisco product choice at the highest levels. In addition, partners need to prove the ability they have to design, sell, implement and support a Cisco networking environment.
Says Patrick Hastings, Divisional Director of ATS at BTG Systems Integration: "Achieving and maintaining your partner status is by no means an easy task in this ever-changing ICT industry. One has to ensure you retain staff, keep training people, define stringent quality of service policies, all while ensuring your customers are kept satisfied.
"At ATS we are delighted that we have managed to maintain and even improve our focus and efforts within all of the above-mentioned areas and so doing have been rewarded for our commitment to Cisco as a partner."
A critical component of the Cisco Gold certification is customer satisfaction, and all partners who attain this status have to participate in the Cisco customer satisfaction survey, and meet the objectives defined therein per region, in ATS`s case EMEA. The emphasis of this certification lies in the additional value a partner can provide a customer, a critical element of ATS`s defined managed services delivery offerings.
Comments George Atrash, Channel Manager at Cisco Sub-Saharan Africa: "Gold partnership gives our customers access to the same tools and services we ourselves use to monitor customer expectations and satisfaction, which enables a partner to define to an exact point how they are viewed by the client. The Gold Partner certification is by the mere nature of its design one of the most desired certifications in the networking industry.
"Through its ongoing commitment and investment into its Cisco team ATS has once again proved to us at a global level that it is geared and qualified to sell, install and support Cisco solutions in SA. The company has managed to maintain the highest levels of certification, staff, support, specialisation and customer satisfaction required by our Gold partners on a global scale."
ATS has had tremendous success on the Cisco product set in the local market, and Hastings adds that the Cisco Gold certification is becoming more and more a prerequisite on tender documents and request for information (RFI) documents, issued by both the government sector as well as large blue chip enterprises. It is with this that he states the certification is a must-have for the company, and justifies the ongoing investment that ATS makes to attain and retain Gold status.
"This certification proves to our customers that we are committed to the ongoing support of their technology environment, to Cisco that we value the contribution it makes to our company, and to our staff that we will continue to invest in them while aiming to be an employer of choice," ends Hastings.
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BTG Systems Integration is a subsidiary of the multibillion-rand JSE-listed Bytes Technology Group South Africa (Pty) Ltd, a member of BTG Ltd and Altron group. The company provides its clients with world-class software and service offerings based on platforms, processes and methodologies from acknowledged industry leaders. BTG Systems Integration`s business units include: Managed Consulting Services (MCS), SAP ERP Practice, Advanced Technology Services (ATS), AXAPTA ERP Practice, KRONOS Time and Attendance, Microsoft Solutions, Configured Solutions and Software Designs. World-class partnerships and products include Business Objects, Microsoft, Enterasys, Centennial, Cisco, HP, DameWare, Serena, Chordiant, Interwoven, Prism and See Beyond. BTG Ltd is divided into international and South African operations. KAGISO has a 27% shareholding in BTG SA (Pty) Ltd. The South African operations include: Bytes Systems Integration (the combination of the former Bytes Technology Networks, Bytes Business Solutions, Bytes Software, Spearhead and CS Holdings - Systems Integration Division); Bytes Document Solutions (formerly Xerox SA), Bytes Specialised Solutions (formerly NDS), Bytes Managed Services, Bytes -Business Communication Systems (formerly Alcatel Business Systems) and Digital Healthcare Solutions. International comprises: BTG UK operations and our Africa operations based in Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique and Mauritius. BTG has offices throughout SA, as well as in Africa and the UK.
Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. The South African office was started in late 1994, with a single office in Johannesburg and two members of staff. Growing significantly year-on-year, Cisco is now represented in all major South African centres by local offices and/or partner organisations. The South African team offers support in sales, pre-sales, marketing and promotions as well as a pre-sales help-desk. By breaking the team into these segments, it allows Cisco to focus on the unique requirements of each target market, so that it can ensure it is providing its individual customers with products and services that meet their needs.
For more information about Cisco Systems, please visit http://www.cisco.com.
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