San Francisco, CA - July 12th, 2006 - FusionStorm -- "Making Technology Work" -- a leading enterprise managed service provider and systems integrator announced today it has achieved Gold Certification from Cisco Systems. The Cisco Channel Partner program provides FusionStorm with the resource framework to develop an expertise to sell, plan, design, implement and operate Cisco networking solutions. To earn Gold certification, FusionStorm had to meet or surpass the stringent personnel, training, customer satisfaction, specialization, and post-sales support requirements set forth by Cisco.
"The Cisco Gold Certification provides us with recognition for our commitment to deliver the industry's most competitive Cisco-based solutions to our clients. This includes our award-wining managed services and managed hosting solutions, as well as networking, unified communications, security and storage solutions," said John Varel, CEO of FusionStorm.
"We are committed to creating the tools, training and programs that help drive channel partner profitability through improved productivity and return-on-invested capital," said Surinder Brar, senior director, channel programs and strategy, worldwide channels for Cisco. "With specializations in security, wireless LAN and unified communications, FusionStorm has secured the training, skills and knowledge to play a pivotal role in accelerating the adoption of Cisco technology solutions."
The program delivers state-of-the-art technical and sales training so that certified partners can increase their ability to deliver services related to the latest Cisco technologies for maximized productivity. Cisco Gold Certified partners are recognized and rewarded for employing some of the industry's best-trained network technicians who can demonstrate their expertise in planning, designing, implementing and supporting Cisco network solutions. These teams of network technicians are audited annually to ensure that they consistently deliver industry-leading support and maintain the rigorous Cisco standards for network expertise and support capabilities.
As a Cisco Gold Certified Partner, FusionStorm enjoys several benefits, most notably, access to the latest Cisco customer satisfaction tool, Partner Access onLine (PAL). The new PAL tool is based on the same technology that Cisco uses to monitor and improve its own customer satisfaction. Other benefits include increased access to the Cisco technical support teams as well as access to password-protected websites with real-time product and training information.
Cisco Gold Certified partners provide 24x7 technical services with one-hour response time for problem resolution and four-hour on-site response capabilities. These rigorous support requirements highlight FusionStorm's commitment to supporting its strategic business network and sustainable business models.
About FusionStorm FusionStorm -- "Making Technology Work" -- is a leading national provider of IT products, professional services, support contract services and 24x7 managed services for enterprises of all sizes. The company assists organizations by providing complete solutions for system infrastructure, storage, networking, voice-over-IP communications, security, database, disaster recovery, managed hosting and remote managed services, both on-site and in the data center. FusionStorm offices include San Francisco (HQ), Santa Clara, Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, Chicago, Cincinnati and Boston. The company's web site is www.fusionstorm.com and the toll-free phone is 800.228.TECH (8324).
