[Dirky]

Hi,
Just wondering if it is worth my while working towards this?
I run a small company in the NW of UK but I have no real idea how many potential Blackberry customers there are in this area, and if it is worth the money and effort to become certified?

I appreciate any comments from those certified
Thanks
D

[Stern]

certification is still quite new as people have only really been able to take the exams since May.

However I would say that the certification route is better suited to people looking to add it to their CV to make them more employable. I don't really know how much of a difference it will make to the average customer looking to get set up with Blackberry.

I suppose what area you work in and what makes you money. It would be more important to a IT reseller offering Blackberry Installs and support than it would for a Dealer who just sells tariffs and handsets

[Jadey]

I'd agree with Stern, as I am not sure what business you are in.
Depending on what you do, this might be of interest BlackBerry - BlackBerry Partners | BlackBerry Alliance Program

[Dirky]

Originally Posted by Stern

certification is still quite new as people have only really been able to take the exams since May.

However I would say that the certification route is better suited to people looking to add it to their CV to make them more employable. I don't really know how much of a difference it will make to the average customer looking to get set up with Blackberry.

I suppose what area you work in and what makes you money. It would be more important to a IT reseller offering Blackberry Installs and support than it would for a Dealer who just sells tariffs and handsets

Thanks guys, sorry I should have said a little more about what I do.
At present the majority of my work comes from small business IT support. I've done the MS MCDST stuff and lots of the MS training courses at my previous employer before starting my own company.

The only Blackberry stuff I've done is my own BES express work on my Exchange 2003 testbed. Of course I use BB for my day to day work, email, scheduling etc and think its a terrific product and service. Though I am very unsure what needs there are in the locale for BB support or installations.
I think it is the BlackBerry Alliance Program which possibly puts you in touch with prospective customers who may need BB support/sales.
Reading the 'blurb' its £600 for the year:-

New Members
On joining the programmes, new members receive very
attractive pricing on BlackBerry Enterprise Server™ software
with 20 client licences, enabling them to establish a powerful
testing and development architecture. New members
also receive one free BlackBerry device on joining the
SP Alliance Programme.

Assuming it gets you a couple of leads it might not be bad value? Anybody signed up for it?
What model BB do they provide? Is it network locked?

Thanks for any more information,

Mike

[Jadey]

Never used it I'm afraid. My company is large enough to have in-house IT, and we were tasked installing/running BES. Lots of people in my position use the support that comes with their network (I originally bought my BES from o2 along with devices and contracts, now moved to t-mobile. I don't have t-support so also buy new BES upgrades from t-mobile).
Other (larger?) companies have t-support contracts directly with RIM.

Small companies who don't want the responsibility of buying/running/supporting BES & hardware and the back end mail infrastructure, or who have a small number of devices, would probably just go for a hosted solution.

So, although I think there is a market for what you are doing, I don't know how large it would be.

[Stern]

You might want to start some coversations with dealers in your area specifically ones that work with data and Blackberry. You may be able to partner with these guys to offer install and support contracts on Blackberry deals they set up.

I work in the b2b data/blackberry sales arena. We have a network of business partners or 'dealers' who sell Blackberry, they often team up with an IT resellers to provide Blackberry installs and support, some of them use us (which is where I come in) and some take advantage of installs direct from the likes of Vodafone.

If you can undercut the network price for an engineer install and provide reliable support you will find that those leads/contracts will become regular and as a result you will proabably be able to upsell some more IT services for that company.

going back to the certification I would suggest you go for it especially if you are still a small/young company looking to build your client base.

[Frank Castle]

I took the exam just so it proves to me that I know what the heck I'd doing Doesn't hurt to show my employer that yes I passed and have a an official RIM title.

All that being said I think after the 90's and certification maddness they have lost some of their value. I went through the whole MCSE, A+ thing and now they are just a peice of paper. Places want experience, certification title may get you in the door but unless you know what your doing you won't last long.

(In no way am I implying you or any of the fine people on here don't know what their doing)

[CCK01]

Is there any training (classroom or CBT)?

[hdawg]

BlackBerry - BlackBerry | Wireless Handheld Devices, Software & Services from Research In Motion (RIM)