In an initiative to increase and standardise the quality of authorised training provided to customers and partners, Novell is reducing the total number of Novell Authorised Education Centres (NAECs) from 240 to 140 across 21 national markets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Last year, more than 60 000 IT industry professionals received training through NAECs.
Martin Bawden, Novell channel and distribution manager believes the reduction of NAECs will substantially improve the quality of training to provide a platform for partners and customers to benefit from Novell`s expertise in directory-enabled networks. "This initiative follows Novell`s reform of its distribution channel last November, which led to resellers reporting a higher quality service and increased revenue opportunities."
"Through working with fewer partners, Novell is able to ensure that all partners meet the very highest standards detailed in our NAEC agreement. Our customers rely on the strength of the NAEC brand when attending Novell training courses. We want to ensure the value of this brand is maintained through the quality of training our customers receive."
Novell EMEA executed a detailed and comprehensive review process that was based on assessing NAEC performance and listening to customer feedback. The key criteria for NAEC selection are to ensure that Novell-approved training standards and courses are available across the entire geographic region.
The initiative comes at a time of renewed growth for Novell. For the first six months of fiscal 1999, Novell`s revenue increased 17 percent year-over-year to US$601m (about R3.6-billion). This is due to increasing demand for NetWare server software that deploys Novell Directory Services (NDS), and other directory-related software and services. This demand is led by the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, with Q2 (February-April 1999) revenue up 35 percent to $105-million (about R600-million).
"Novell is on its way to becoming a growth company again," said Bawden. "The market`s enthusiastic response to NetWare 5 underlines the need for strong support in services and training. Moreover, new Internet standards-based products and partnerships have led to demand for higher levels of advice, education and support from our partners and customers."
"While the news may be of disappointment to the partners affected by the realignment of the channel, it is important that these changes are put into context. The process is designed to provide focus and to ensure that the channel is proactively engaged in true partnership with Novell to deliver effective, relevant, quality training solutions for our customers` increasingly complex needs," added Bawden.
Novell pioneered network training and certification in the IT industry, and further distinguishes the CNE program as the most successful approach to IT certification to date. With the largest channel for training and the greatest student success rate, Novell Education continues to lead the IT industry as the leading IT training provider.
In the EMEA region as a whole, Novell currently has more than 36 000 Certified Novell Engineers (CNEs), 76 500 Certified Novell Administrators (CNAs), 800 Certified Novell Instructors (CNIs), and 3 300 Master Certified Novell Engineers (MCNEs).
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