Cary, N.C. – January 26, 2009—Two highly respected
technology companies, Global Knowledge and Firefly, are providing
data center education and consulting solutions to Cisco channel
partners and customers through a worldwide alliance announced
today. The companies’ consulting and training services will blanket
the entire new technology lifecycle, from early adoption to late
market maturity.
Global Knowledge is a leader in IT
training, with a robust portfolio of courses and a strong,
worldwide marketing and sales foothold. Firefly offers targeted
consultative education and professional services that help its
customers continually evolve their IT architectural strategies to
take advantage of new technologies rapidly, while ensuring that
technology decisions remain aligned with their business
objectives.
"We’ve launched a ‘one world’
alliance with Firefly," said Global Knowledge President and CEO
Joseph Cece. "It’s a connection that recognizes the talent,
infrastructure, and commitment required to enable the use of
cross-functional and interoperable technologies that empower the
success of our customers."
Manufacturers, value-added resellers
(VARs), customers, and educators need to work together throughout
the technology lifecycle, especially in the innovator and early
adopter stages. "The best ideas flourish in an environment where
collaboration is the driving force," said Firefly CEO Pat Bodin.
"What we’re trying to achieve with this partnership is to help
manufacturers, VARs, and customers achieve a solid grasp of their
mutual goals and keep up with the fluidity and pace of our industry
throughout the technology lifecycle," he added.
Global Knowledge, a worldwide Cisco
Learning Solutions Partner award winner, will employ its marketing,
sales, instruction, and training course delivery tools and
techniques to drive the market infusion of the latest in converged
data center virtualization training solutions.
Firefly targets its services to
manufacturers and channel partners that are engaged in developing
and delivering new products to market. As an education and
consulting services organization, the company mentors early adopter
customers and their channel partners.
"Through this collaboration, we will
accelerate the adoption of technology by helping our customers
bridge the gap between their business requirements and technical
solutions," said Bodin. "Once that happens, customers can rely on
the proven ability of Global Knowledge to deliver volume training
worldwide to drive mainstream adoption," he said.
"This alliance offers positive,
bottom-line results for our customers that can be directly
attributed to combining Firefly’s mentoring and consultative
relationships with our worldwide IT training delivery mechanisms,"
added Cece.
Currently, Global Knowledge and
Firefly are collaborating on the design and development of
integrated virtualization solutions training from leading
technology companies including Cisco and VMware.
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About Global
Knowledge
Global Knowledge is the worldwide
leader in IT and business training. We deliver via training
centers, private facilities, and the Internet, enabling our
customers to choose when, where, and how they want to receive
training programs and learning services. Our more than 700 courses
span foundational and specialized training and certifications.
Founded in 1995, Global Knowledge employs more than 1,200 people
worldwide and is headquartered in Cary, N.C. The company is owned
by New York-based investment firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson, and
Stowe. For more information, visit www.globalknowledge.com.
About Firefly
Firefly Communications, LLC is the leading global provider of
advanced technology training and consulting solutions. Offering
expert-led classroom instruction, state-of-the art remote lab
access, and educational consulting services, Firefly has developed
and delivered innovative learning solutions for numerous Fortune
500 and FTSE 250 companies. For more information, visit
http://www.fireflycom.net.