Vodacom Achieves Cisco Gold Certification in South Africa

[Johannesburg,  25 August,  2011: Vodacom announced today it has achieved Cisco^® Gold Certification.  To earn Gold Certification, Vodacom was required to meet rigorous standards set forth by Cisco in networking competency, service, support and customer satisfaction.

"As a Cisco partner since 2007, Vodacom is delighted to have achieved Gold Certification status," says Chris Ross, Managing Executive Commercial, Vodacom. "Along with our subsidiary Stortech, we currently employ more than 100 CISCO skilled technicians, and 10 Cisco Certified Internetworking Experts (CCIEs). We align ourselves with Cisco's key architectural plays: borderless networks, collaboration and virtualization. We see Cisco as a market leader and together with our own offerings; we believe we are uniquely positioned to provide end-to-end solutions to the market."

"We are committed to providing the tools, training and programs that facilitate partner growth, differentiation and profitability," said Edison Peres, senior vice president of worldwide channels at Cisco. "With specializations in data centre, unified communications, routing and switching, security, and wireless LAN, Vodacom has made an investment in developing the capability to deliver the integrated and customized technology solutions that today's customers demand."

The Cisco Resale Channel Program provides a framework for partners to build the sales, technical and Cisco Lifecycle Services skills required to deliver Cisco solutions to end customers. Through the program's specializations and certifications, Cisco recognizes a partner's expertise in deploying solutions based on Cisco advanced technologies and services. Using a third-party audit process, the program validates a partner's technology skills, business practices, customer satisfaction, presales and postsales support capabilities, and other critical factors that customers consider when choosing a trusted partner.

As a Cisco Gold Certified Partner, Vodacom has met the requirements for attaining the broadest range of expertise across multiple technologies by achieving Cisco advanced specializations in data centre, unified communications, routing and switching, security, and wireless LAN. In addition, Vodacom has integrated Cisco Lifecycle Services into its offerings and is required to maintain high levels of customer satisfaction. Cisco Gold Certification provides Vodacom with access to comprehensive sales, technical, and lifecycle services training and support available from Cisco.

Vodacom is specialized in the provision of the following Cisco technologies: