HPE Partner Ready
Certification and Learning
FY16 Enterprise Sales
Certification and Knowledge
Credits
FAQ APJ
Contents
FY16 Enterprise Sales Certification .......................................................................................................................2
Partner Ready Specializations - Knowledge Credits program ................................................................................4
Partner Education Manager information ................................................................................................................8
For additional questions ......................................................................................................................................8
Frequently Asked Questions – Asia Pacific, Japan
For HPE and Partner use.
FAQ APJ
For HPE and Partner use. Page 2
Find answers to the most common questions being asked about the new FY16
Enterprise Sales Certification and the new Knowledge Credits program.
FY16 Enterprise Sales Certification
1. What technology categories are included in HPE?
HPE includes the traditional enterprise categories of server, storage, and networking, as well as technology solutions for modern
data centers such as the cloud, Big Data, virtualization, converged systems, and related technology services.
2. How is the Enterprise Sales Certification portfolio changing, and why are changes being made?
The Enterprise Sales Certification program is evolving. We will no longer be producing multiple technology-specific sales
certifications. Instead, starting 1 November 2015, a single Enterprise Sales Certification will be available that focuses on providing
the crucial skills needed to successfully build pipeline.
3. Why is this change being made?
In today’s world, skills are needed to identify and qualify new opportunities and build stronger customer relationships. HPE will be
helping you to practice through real customer scenarios utilizing the Transformation Areas and HPE solutions. The philosophy is
that this is much more closely aligned to the way in which HPE partners are selling to their customers, and therefore these skills
will be more valuable to you.
4. Is the HPE Sales Certified - Enterprise Solutions [2016] Sales Certification tied to the Transformation Areas?
Yes. The Enterprise Sales Certification course is a selling course that focuses on helping partners build pipeline. The
Transformation Areas are an essential component of the new Sales Certification, enabling our sellers to build bigger and better
deals that touch more of the customer’s data center and provide better business outcomes. The Transformation Areas reflect the
challenges and issues customers are facing today. This course teaches partner sales reps how to have customer conversations about
the things that customers care about, focusing on customer outcomes, which will translate into a larger number of selling
opportunities.
5. Is there a Sales Certification focusing on SMB solutions as well?
Yes. Partners with SMB customers and those who want to offer SMB solutions out of the storage, networking, and server
portfolios can take the course in preparation for HPE Sales Certified – SMB Solutions [2016]. This training course touches on
Transformation Areas at a high level while focusing on the products our SMB partners can sell with an emphasis on the “S” in
SMB.
6. Will I have to earn a new Enterprise Sales Certification each year?
Yes. The Enterprise Sales Certification will be updated annually. The technology business is dynamic and HPE will continue to
ensure that we provide leading-edge training to assist our partners in driving sales and meeting business and customer goals.
7. I recently completed the 2015 portfolio specialized Sales Certification (networking, storage, servers, and/or cloud) to meet my
FY16 Partner Ready program compliance requirement. Can this 2015 Sales Certification be used to meet my FY16 Partner Ready
program compliance?
No. Certifications taken in FY15 will only count toward FY16 program entry. Partners are required to achieve the FY16 Sales
Certification by
31 July 2016 in order to qualify for entry into the FY17 Partner Ready program.
8. Is there a training course available to help me prepare for the new 2016 Enterprise Sales Certification?
Yes. A Web-based training (WBT) Selling HPE Enterprise Solutions, Rev. 15.41 (ID: 01056515) is recommended as part of your
exam preparation. Check with your regional Partner Ready Certification and Learning representative for additional training
options. We will also publish a downloadable study guide that contains screenshots and scripts in a PDF format for your use when
taking the exam. You should then sit for Exam HPE2-E65. After passing the exam, you will achieve the HPE Sales Certified –
Enterprise Solutions [2016] certification.
FAQ APJ
For HPE and Partner use. Page 3
9. What is the time investment required for the Web-based training supporting the HPE Sales Certified – Enterprise Solutions [2016]
certification exam?
The WBT sales training is approximately 5.5 hours in duration. The training is segmented into chapters, giving you the option to
pause and return to the training at a later time if desired. Here are the modules:
Module 1: Introduction to the New Style of Business and the four Transformation Areas
Module 2: Understand customer needs for Transforming to a Hybrid Infrastructure
Module 3: Validate the opportunity for Transforming to a Hybrid Infrastructure
Module 4: Qualify the opportunity for Transforming to a Hybrid Infrastructure
Module 5: Identify opportunities based on Protecting the Digital Enterprise
Module 6: Identify opportunities based on Empowering Data-driven Organizations
Module 7: Identify opportunities based on Enabling Workplace Productivity
10. In which languages will this training be available?
The WBT courses will be available in English, Japanese, Korean, and Simplified Chinese.
11. In which languages will the Sales Certification exam be available?
Exams will be available in English, Japanese, Korean, and Simplified Chinese
12. I have participated in a Transformation Area workshop training. Can I now pass the Enterprise Sales Certification exam without
going through additional training?
Sales reps who have attended Transformation Area workshop training will be able to take Exam HPE2-E54 (HPE Workshop:
Transforming
to a Hybrid Infrastructure) that is related to the workshop content. Passing this exam will grant you the HPE Sales Certified –
Enterprise Solutions [2016] certification. It is available from 1 September 2015. (Enter the private access code for this exam when
registering at the Pearson VUE website: TA1HybridWorkshop).
For anyone who did not attend the Transformation Area workshop, they should take Exam HPE2-E65. They will be able to achieve
the
HPE Sales Certified – Enterprise Solutions [2016] certification after passing the exam. A web-based training, Selling HPE
Enterprise Solutions, Rev. 15.41 (ID: 01056515) related to the exam is available.
13. Is HPE software included as part of the new FY16 Enterprise Sales Certification program?
No. software has three distinct business groups (Enterprise security, IT management, and Big Data). Each group has a distinct set
of partner audience and go-to market strategy. Partners will be offered portfolio training and tools aligned with the business group
categorization that enable them to sell the right software to their customer base.
14. How many individuals should hold the new HPE Sales Certified – Enterprise Solutions [2016] in a partner organization in order to
meet FY16 Partner Ready Platinum Converged Infrastructure, Gold and Silver specializations?
PARTNER METAL STATUS APJ CATEGORY 1 COUNTRIES APJ CATEGORY 2 COUNTRIES
NO. OF UNIQUE LEARNERS NO. OF UNIQUE LEARNERS
Platinum Converged Infrastructure 7 6
Gold 4 3
Silver 1 1
FAQ APJ
For HPE and Partner use. Page 4
Partner Ready Specializations - Knowledge Credits program
15. What are Knowledge Credits?
Knowledge Credits are reward points recognizing a partner employee’s investment in courses and events that HPE makes available
to partners. Activities eligible for Knowledge Credits include TekTalks, New Product Introduction (NPI) training, Sales Briefings,
portfolio overview training, and participation in major knowledge transfer events, such as HPE Technology & Solutions Summit
(TSS). Partner employees may receive Knowledge Credits for completing online learning activities and participating in selected
face-to-face training activities.
16. What is the value of achieving Knowledge Credits?
Partners have been investing time and energy in HPE-sponsored activities to stay up-to-date throughout the year, but until now, this
effort has not been formally acknowledged. The introduction of Knowledge Credits provides recognition that partners are investing
in and participating in continuous learning with HPE; keeping their knowledge and skills up-to-date; and improving their ability to
contribute to higher sales, better business outcomes, and satisfaction for your customers. This program will be announced and
reinforced to the industry and customers. Earning credits also means that partner employees help their organization meet Partner
Ready specialization status requirements and achieve the associated benefits.
17. How can my organization obtain Knowledge Credits?
To start earning Knowledge Credits, a partner employee must first hold the HPE Sales Certified – Enterprise Solutions [2016]
Certification or any one of the eligible technical certifications. The list of eligible certifications can be found on the My Learning
Portal. No Knowledge Credits will be awarded if the employee does not fulfil the prerequisite requirement.
18. What does 1 Knowledge Credit equate to?
In general, 1 Knowledge Credit is equivalent to 30 minutes of learning, 2 Knowledge Credits is equivalent to 1 hour of learning,
and so on. Activities less than 30 minutes will generally accrue 1 Knowledge Credit.
19. How many Knowledge Credits are required as part of the Partner Ready program criteria?
Silver Partners will need to achieve 50 Knowledge Credits per business unit specialization. Gold Partners will need to achieve 100
Knowledge Credits per business unit specialization. Platinum Partners will need to achieve 300 Knowledge Credits in total or 100
per business unit specialization.
20. How did HPE determine 50 credits for Silver Partner Ready status per business unit specialization? How did HPE determine
100 credits for Gold per business unit specialization? How did HPE determine 300 credits for Platinum Partners?
These levels were determined by examining the spectrum of learning activities available to teams to achieve optimal business
results for a given specialization level, as well as what was feasibly achievable in a 9-month period. Our HPE Partner Ready
Certification and Learning team modeled scenarios based on experience with our own direct sales force and adopted requirements
based on typical partner business scenarios throughout the world.
21. How much time is my organization given to earn the minimum Knowledge Credits?
Knowledge Credits acquired will count toward a partner organization’s Partner Ready program requirements. Credits can be earned
between 1 November 2015 and 31 July 2016.
22. Where can I find the list of courses and events that qualify for Knowledge Credits?
The list is available via the My Learning Portal
23. Will HPE make changes to the courses and events that earn Knowledge Credits during the year?
HPE will update the Knowledge Credits curriculum as required to ensure we are training partners on the most up-to-date content.
Please refer to HPE’s Knowledge Credits catalog for the latest offerings.
FAQ APJ
For HPE and Partner use. Page 5
24. If I hold a storage Technical Certification, can I earn Knowledge Credits from the networking portfolio?
Yes. As long as you hold a qualifying certification, you can earn Knowledge Credits from any eligible activities.
25. If one person in my organization earns an eligible certification, does that mean that everyone else in my entire organization can
now accumulate Knowledge Credits for my company?
No. Any individual wanting to earn Knowledge Credits must hold at least 1 certification from the list of qualified certifications
himself or herself before becoming eligible to earn Knowledge Credits.
26. Can Knowledge Credit-eligible courses and events be taken by a partner employee who does not hold, nor plan to hold, a
certification?
Anyone can take and complete an activity that awards Knowledge Credits. However, Knowledge Credits will not be awarded if an
individual does not hold at least 1 qualifying certification.
27. If I attend an HPE event that covers more than 1 HPE portfolio, how will my Knowledge Credits be counted?
Your Knowledge Credits will be awarded according to the number of presenting portfolios at the event.
28. If an individual attends the same activity twice, can he or she earn the same Knowledge Credits twice?
No. For online training activities, the system only allows for the training activity to be counted once.
29. Can credits be awarded retroactively?
No. Knowledge Credits cannot be earned if an individual does not hold a qualifying certification first. Credits are only awarded if
the individual holds at least one qualifying certification at the time the completed activity is recognized.
30. I am a partner with two Silver (networking and server) specializations. Will I need to earn Knowledge Credits for each
specialization?
Yes. You will need to earn Knowledge Credits for each specialization. Silver specialization requires 50 Knowledge Credits to be
earned per business unit. In this case, the partner will need to earn a minimum of 50 Knowledge Credits toward the networking
program and a minimum of 50 Knowledge Credits toward the server program.
31. I am a partner who has obtained a new or higher specialization during the program year. Will my company still need to obtain 100
Knowledge Credits for Gold and/or 50 for Silver new specializations?
If a partner joins anytime during Q1, Q2, Q3, or Q4, then the partner will only need to meet the partial Knowledge Credits
requirements by the next fiscal year’s onboarding deadline (31 July 2016 is the next onboarding timeline for FY17 Partner Ready
program entry.).
For example, a Gold Specialist requires 100 Knowledge Credits.
A partner who obtains a new Gold specialization in Q2 only needs to obtain 75 Knowledge Credits.
A partner who obtains a new Gold specialization in Q3 only needs 50 Knowledge Credits.
A partner who obtains a new Gold specialization in Q4 only needs 25 Knowledge Credits.
Pro-rated Knowledge Credits table
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
Asia Pacific (July 31) Nov 1–Jan 31 Feb 1–Apr 30 May 1–Jul 31 Aug 1 – Oct 31
Japan (March 31) Apr 1–Jun 30 Jul 31–Sep 30 Oct 1–Dec 31 Jan 1 – Mar 31
Knowledge Credits per Silver = 50 Silver = 37.5 Silver = 25 Silver = 12.5
specialization Gold = 100 Gold = 75 Gold = 50 Gold = 25
FAQ APJ
For HPE and Partner use. Page 6
32. Where can a partner check their knowledge credit achievement and their gap?
Partner companies will be able to see the total Knowledge Credits they need to achieve in the Partner Learning Management Tool.
Access
to this tool is available to HPE Partner Education Managers and HPE Partner Portal Administrators (PPA) through the My
Learning Portal
33. What if my company does not have a HPE Partner Education Manager?
Your Partner Ready Partner Portal Administrator will need to assign himself/herself or someone else with a training responsibility
to become a PEM in the system. Steps on how to assign a Partner Education Manager are available on the Partner Education
Manager page on the Partner Ready Portal.
34. Converged Systems is not a Partner Ready specialization. However, our organization would like to learn more about the offering.
Are there Knowledge Credits available for Converged Systems?
Yes. Activities associated to Converged Systems will offer Knowledge Credits in both the storage and servers catalogs. Please visit
the Knowledge Credits catalog on storage or server for details.
35. If a partner employee holds a technical certification that qualifies to enable Knowledge Credits but will expire later in the same
year, will this certification be considered after the expiration date?
Yes. Once you have achieved an eligible certification for the year in question, you can continue to earn Knowledge Credits for the
remainder for that year.
36. Can I use my Knowledge Credits to extend the validity date of my technical certification?
No. Knowledge Credits are a requirement for partner organizations. Partner employees are still required to re-certify themselves
periodically through a formal process (that is, exams) in order to validate their technical knowledge.
37. If a partner organization exceeds the FY16 Partner Ready Knowledge Credits requirements, will the credits roll over to the next
program year?
No. Credits are valid only for the program year in which they are earned.
38. Will the Knowledge Credits requirements stay constant year to year?
Although Knowledge Credits requirements may change in future, the requirements will be fixed for the duration of a Partner Ready
program year and announced.
39. If an individual changes companies, what happens to the Knowledge Credits the employee had previously earned with their
employer?
Should the partner employee who earned the credits leave the company, the credits that individual earned will stay with the
company.
For example: If an individual moves from Partner A to Partner B on 10 July 2016, the credits earned prior to 10 July 2016 will
remain with Partner A. Once the individual’s partner organization changes within HPE systems, future credits earned by the
employee will belong to Partner B. Please review the Certification and Learning Assist Kit on how to change employers from one
company to another [Link]. If you experience any issues with transferring credits to your new place of
employment, please contact your regional Certification and Learning support for assistance [Link]@[Link].
40. How are Knowledge Credits different from Learning Plans?
Learning Plans offer a curriculum of learning activities a person can choose from to become competent in a portfolio area
according to their selected job role and competency level. Knowledge Credits are not particularly role-based, but are more centered on
the solutions/technologies
aligned with the Partner Ready specializations and offer the most current information partners can use to sell more and increase
their ongoing portfolio knowledge.
FAQ APJ
For HPE and Partner use. Page 7
41. Will Learning Plans highlight the courses and events that qualify as a Knowledge Credits offerings?
At this time, there is no special indicator of a Knowledge Credits activity within a Learning Plan; however, we will be looking at
enhancements to better align Learning Plans to Knowledge Credits activities.
42. Is there any Aruba training in the Knowledge Credits catalog that can earn Knowledge Credits?
Yes, there are several self-paced on-demand training activities available in the catalog and HPE will add to it as new training becomes
available.
FAQ APJ
For HPE and Partner use. Page 8
Partner Education Manager information
43. Is there a training guide available for the Partner Education Manager?
Yes. A Partner Education Manager Quick Reference Guide addressing Knowledge Credits is available.
44. Can the Partner Education Manager assign Knowledge Credits activities to individuals in the partner organization?
No. The current functionality will not allow direct assignment of a Knowledge Credit offering to an individual within the Partner
Education Manager’sorganization. However, the Partner Education Manager can identify activities that will increase product and
portfolio knowledge based on individual and business needs from the Knowledge Credits Catalog List found on the My Learning
Portal and direct individuals to complete those activities. Completion of an activity will then be recorded by HPE and tracked in
the Partner Learning Management Tool, enabling the Partner Education Manager to view their organization’s aggregate
Knowledge Credits achievements.
For additional questions
Visit the Contact our program page or use the “Chat now” feature on the HPE Partner Ready Certification and Learning website at
[Link].
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October 2015
