Company milestones are always important to take note of; those special times in a company's history where a certain number of users are reached or sales are made are all important to a company's identity, and even encourage other businesses to work with those firms. Recently, ePlus made just such a milestone happen itself, as it landed a new designation from Cisco (News - Alert).
More specifically, the designation meant that Cisco recognized ePlus as a Unified Contact Center Enterprise Authorized Technology Provider (ATP (News - Alert)), a designation that means ePlus has satisfactorily completed a series of training programs and assorted prerequisites that allow ePlus to not only sell, but also install and support a variety of Cisco unified contact center solutions.
Those who want to qualify for ATP status will find a gauntlet of conditions waiting. Not only do those companies need to achieve ranking in Cisco Advanced Unified Communications (News - Alert) Specialization ratings, but the companies also need to have top-notch levels of customer satisfaction. Interested companies also need to have employees with specific capabilities, and need to have a lab in place for not only development activities, but also for replicating customer faults with an eye toward making fixes. The lab even has specific requirements associated with it, including that it “...contain current, upgraded and maintained Cisco Unified CCE solutions, each configured for real world testing to simulate current end user conditions.”
This isn't ePlus' first connection with Cisco, either. It's already, at last report, a Gold Certified Partner with Master Specialization ranking in collaboration, cloud building, managed services and security. It holds Cisco Powered designations for managed business communications and security services alike, and is an Authorized Technology Provider in several different areas. This in turn led to ePlus' senior vice president of advanced technology solutions Jerry McIntosh pointing out that ePlus was “...pleased to add another ATP designation to our list of Cisco credentials,” and that the use of Cisco Unified Contact Center Enterprise allowed the company to “...help customers rapidly deploy a distributed contact center infrastructure with personalized self-service....”
Indeed, ePlus holds a laundry list of certifications with Cisco, and that's a good sign for anyone who wants to bring in some new power in the contact center. This should really improve ePlus' ability to compete in the market, thanks to the sheer number of certifications it holds with Cisco to speak to its level of expertise. While companies are always cognizant of price tags, it's not the only measure by which a supplier is selected. Expertise and after-sales service are often important factors as well; buying the cheapest system only to discover it can't be fixed later on is a great way to potentially waste the cost of the cheapest system. With ePlus' array of honors, meanwhile, it's much less likely to be stymied if something should go wrong in the future, and that makes for a better overall customer experience, the best measure to determine the likelihood of repeat business.
All these designations should give ePlus a real market edge, and make it better off when competing. Not only can ePlus offer up a great line of Cisco solutions, but it can also provide the necessary service afterward, making it an excellent long-term prospect, and one that companies should really appreciate.
Edited by Maurice Nagle