IBM taps Pragmatix to help develop new certification program

Elmsford, New York (4/11/05) - When IBM Global Service recently developed the IBM e-business Hosting Services Sales Professional Certification, the company tapped the expertise of one of its accredited Business Partners, Bill Abram, President of Pragmatix. The IT company is based in Elmsford, NY and provides web-based solutions, networking, secure hosting, e-commerce, and e-business applications for Fortune 500, mid-sized, and growing companies.

Created for IBM employees and IBM Business Partners, the exam is designed to confirm that a sales professional has the knowledge and skills necessary to sell IBM's full continuum of hosting offerings. These services include colocation and managed hosting, applications and business processes, and network-delivered infrastructure services.

Passing the rigorous 60-question multiple choice exam leads to qualification as an IBM Certified Specialist - e-business Hosting Services Sales.

To develop the exam, IBM worked with several other Subject Matter Experts, like Abram, who contributed to the creation of test objectives and participated in all phases of the exam development.

Abram, who has collaborated on a number of partner enablement initiatives, relished the challenge of devising the new exam. "I was able to substantially increase my knowledge about the service offering," he said. "I now have a much better understanding of where it fits in the marketplace and which customer needs it addresses."

Working with the development team during the role analysis and question-writing phase helped Abram communicate better with clients and prospects about e-business Hosting services.

"I was able to broaden my base of experience to draw on," he said. "When creating the exam questions, we tried to base them around real-world scenarios. We wanted to test not just knowledge of the services, but also understanding of how the services are applied to particular sets of customer requirements."

Hosting services from IBM are designed to enable organizations to add new capabilities quickly and easily, reduce fixed costs and IT complexity, and focus on their core competencies.

"Attaining IBM e-business Hosting Services Sales Professional Certification helps enable Business Partners to increase their competitive differentiation and deliver more value to clients," said Lynne Mitchell, who led the team that developed the exam.

Sales professionals interested in taking the e-business Hosting certification exam should visit www.ibm.com/certify, the official web site for the Professional Certification Program from IBM.

About Pragmatix, Inc.
Established in 1992, Pragmatix (www.pragmatix.com) is a consulting and technology services Company dedicated to helping clients streamline operations through innovative e-business solutions. Pragmatix offers a highly refined array of services, including IT leadership, custom application development, managed hosting, and support. An IBM Business Partner, and Microsoft Certified Partner, Pragmatix combines proven technologies, expert skills, and industry acumen to help clients generate higher revenues, lower costs, increased efficiencies, and greater competitive advantage. During the past decade, Pragmatix has implemented a wide range of solutions for both Fortune-100 and mid-size companies including AXA/Nordstern, Applied Materials, Bank of America, Business Week, Chubb Insurance, IBM, Pfizer, Reader’s Digest, and Visa. For more information on Pragmatix, visit www.pragmatix.com or call 914-345-9444.