There are a lot of different certification programs for networking consultants out there.

3Com, Cisco, Novell and all the others each have their own certification programs and, according to some VARs, they're starting to become a little overwhelming.

Ross Bérubé, principal of InterNetworX Solutions, is one of those VARs. "It can seem that way, if you're trying to be something to everyone," he says, "The simple fact of the matter in this business, which a lot of people tend to forget, is that you can't know everything. You have to decide where you're going to focus."

Don Chapman, vice president and general manager of Markham, Ont.-based Novell Canada Ltd., agrees that there are a lot of certification programs out there and that it's important for VARs to decide where they want to specialize and pursue certification in that stream. "VARs cannot represent all solutions available on the market, because they cannot garner the expertise to represent them," he says, "Part of the complaint may be that they're trying to be everything to everybody, instead of deciding where their opportunities for value lie and making sure they have the knowledge and expertise to do it."

But it's not that often you come across a customer that uses one vendor's products exclusively. Because of this, it's often important for VARs to be certified in more than one product line, and that can be an expensive and time-consuming process. "There's a tremendous amount of time involved. I would say that anyone who holds more than three major certifications is suspect of not being current," says Bérubé.

Chapman insists that Novell is trying to partner with other certification bodies, like Microsoft, to promote cross-certification with limited overlap. For instance, a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer can take a number of extra courses to receive their Certified NetWare Engineer certification. He also insists that vendors initiate certification programs simply to provide customers with a reliable benchmark for VARs, not in any attempt to realize additional profit. "If the customers cannot be assured of a certain level of competence, it can be disastrous to the companies," he says. "It has nothing to do with profit, it has to do with the quality and consistency of the services offered."

But Bérubé isn't so sure that certification programs are simply vendors' way of looking out for the customers' best interests "From the point of view of the company, it's a great marketing tool, both in that they can say, 'Look, we have some qualified people out there,' and it's also a marketing tool from the point of selling educational material and training," he says. "It's also a great marketing tool for the VARs because they can turn around and say, 'Look, we have a certain number of bodies with certification in the various platforms.'"

May Fong, marketing programs manager at Burlington, Ont.-based 3com Canada Inc., agrees that certification programs offer VARs a powerful boost in the marketplace. "For the VARs themselves it's a differentiator in the marketplace. You have to keep up to date and you have to be able to offer your customers the support they need," she says. 3com is trying to make the certification process less of a headache by breaking it down into modules that can be completed quickly by people who are already knowledgeable.

But, of course, not all VARs consider certification to be a headache. Daniel Tarasofsky, vice-president sales at AMT Group, a Toronto-based networking company that deals exclusively in Cisco solutions, is comfortable with the number of certification programs out there. "There are a lot of companies that want certification now. Everybody's starting to dictate that to work with our hardware, you have to be certified," he says. "It does get a little bureaucratic, but at the same time I think it's important. So even though there are a lot of companies right now demanding certification, I think that in the end it will be more worthwhile for the consumer."

But, like Bérubé, Tarasofsky realizes that certification is only part of the equation. While many companies demand that his people be certified, they also demand that they be experienced. "They might say, 'Yes, that's fantastic, your people are certified, but I want to know who's certified and has actually done work," he says.

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