* Novell invests in Linux training for top third-party stars
There’s some noise coming out of the Novell dealer network concerning certification and classes that, hopefully, I can clear up today.
A longtime reader, and Novell reseller, wrote me a couple of weeks ago, saying:
“Novell is offering Platinum and possibly some Gold resellers access to an upgraded version of the SuSE Certified Linux Professional (soon to be phased out in favor of the Novell Certified Linux Professional) certification course starting next month. My problem with this approach is why limit it to 500 partners (Platinum and enough Gold to reach 500)? OES [Open Enterprise Server] and NLD [Novell Linux Desktop] are Novell’s future so why is Novell limiting its reseller channel certification training to 500 reseller partners when Microsoft has thousands of certified Windows resellers? Novell needs to be re-building its channel with free SuSE CLP/Novell CLP certification training for all Platinum and Gold partners.”
Novell is currently offering resellers a free, two-day Novell Linux Desktop 9 (NLD) boot camp (check through normal channel sources for details), but the Novell/SuSE Certified Linux Professional course – a five-day course – does look enticing. Don’t confuse the CLP course with the Certified Linux Engineer (CLE) certification, which Novell has offered for some time. As a Novell spokesperson explained:
“The Novell CLP is the new certification on the distribution itself (vs. the CLE, which is the higher level cert around the Novell services running on Linux). SuSE had just launched this SuSE CLP prior to the acquisition, and never really marketed it or provided much in terms of training. We’re [i.e., Novell] going to be actively pushing it. What this 500 figure refers to is free training. The normal cost of the five-day in-house course is $6,000. We’re offering it for free to 500 of our top partners, a $3 million investment by Novell in training.”
I can’t see anything wrong with Novell offering this free training to their top producers (the Platinum resellers), those who have made a very strong commitment in terms of people, money and resources to promoting Novell products. The two-day boot camp, offered to all resellers, is a demonstration of Novell ‘s commitment to those who would hope to become major partners. I don’t see a problem here, just a win-win for Novell, its reseller partners and the customers who rely on those resellers. Sounds good to me.
