A DIGITAL initiative to train network operations managers in New Zealand has paid off for customers of Cisco's Stratacom switches.
Normally training courses for Cisco WAN certification are only run in Cisco's San Jose, California site.
But recently DIGITAL facilitated a New Zealand-first training programme at its Auckland location bringing together its own networks staff as well as its customers Netway and Clear.
"DIGITAL's purpose-built networks expertise centre, established last year, was the logical choice to conduct the training," says Mike Roguski manager for DIGITAL's South Pacific Territories Networks group.
"We have the right facilities and associated hardware including a Cisco BPX broadband ATM switch. Both Netway and Clear completed the necessary hardware configuration by providing their own switches," he says.
The course was run by Laurina Ferro a senior Cisco course developer and instructor who is also responsible for the BPX Switch and Services Configuration (BSSC) certification.
"The programme was run as a beta course for the BSSC which gives me the opportunity to test the new materials and train the other instructors. By holding the course in New Zealand we have managed to solve some local training requirements as well as saving me the commuting regime to and from California," she says.
"The benefits of on-shore training," according to DIGITAL's Roguski, "are obvious when you consider the huge savings in money and man-hours associated with sending our people overseas."
"DIGITAL annually invests a huge amount of money to train and qualify its engineers. In fact in the last year alone DIGITAL New Zealand invested $30,000 per head in Cisco certification."
"We now have four certified Cisco engineers with another three in progress. This expertise pool is widely utilised both in the New Zealand market as well as the Asia-Pacific region. As such, New Zealand is now a centre of expertise in the region resulting in a great demand for these people and their time," he says.
05 March 1998
