Rootstock has announced a new Implementation Certification. The news follows on from the launch of its QuickStart implementation methodology earlier this month. The new certification is for partners to gain evidence of their knowledge for potential customers. The course also provides education for new partners to quickly onboard and deliver successful implementations. Once completed, attendees will have achieved both product and implementation certifications. These indicate a knowledge of the product itself and how to implement it. Importantly, this is not a single-day course that partners can complete in a single day. The entire process includes courses and certifications that last approximately 60 hours in total.
Caroline Santander, SVP of Global Professional Services & Enablement, commented, “Implementing a Manufacturing ERP is a complex project, requiring guidance and support from partner resources that are both industry and ERP experts. As Rootstock grows, this certification will help customers quickly identify and select the partner resources who have a proven level of product knowledge and implementation success.”
What is the Implementation Certification?
The certification consists of five steps that culminate in an exam and a review of two case studies of completed implementation projects that demonstrate the knowledge gained during the program. The latter is a sensible approach by Rootstock as it not only includes academic learning it also demonstrates that the individuals can apply it in a real-world setting. After all, implementations rarely follow a completely standard template.
The courses appear aimed at an individual. It is not clear whether there is a cost or whether the certification applies to a partner, an individual working for a partner, or an individual working whilst they work for a partner.
The five stages of the Rootstock Implementation Curriculum are:
- Partner Learning Path. The initial education, which includes Salesforce elements, has five separate learning paths:
- Salesforce Admin Essentials: It is not clear whether this aligns with or requires the Salesforce Administrator certification. If it doesn’t, should Rootstock consider this?
- Introduction to Rootstock ERP
- Rootstock ERP Essentials
- Rootstock Financials Essentials
- RootForms, the document template creation capability
- Product Certification. Learners can either take the Rootstock ERP certification or the Rootstock Financials Certification exam
- Methodology Coursework. Takes the learner through a series of courses that apply to implementations.
It includes things such as:
- Rootstock Lightning
- Data Migrations
- API Integrations
It also includes details of the implementation methodology, but this does not appear to be the QuickStart implementation methodology, though it might be in the future. Other areas covered include how to transition a customer from implementation to customer success and how to create a custom experience with Rootstock. This last is a bit vague.
- Implementation Capstone. Partner resources take the Implementation Certification Exam and submit two implementation case studies.
- Certification Approval. The final step is a review of both the exam score, which must be at least 80% and of the case studies that were submitted by Rootstock, presumably to ensure that they reach a certain standard. It is not clear what guidance is given on the creation of the case studies nor what criteria Rootstock will use.
Matt Wolf, SVP of Global Alliances, said, “The Rootstock Implementation Certification will be instrumental in driving the maturity of our partner program going forward. Our partner ecosystem aims to support customer success broadly across the manufacturing industry, and our goal is to ensure customer satisfaction with certified partner resources. Certification is not just an exam; it’s proof positive that a resource has taken the time to learn our products and our methodology and has demonstrated real-world proficiency in implementations.”
Learners can access the certification program through Rootstock Learning Center (Registration required). Customers and prospects will be able to view a partner’s badges. However, it is unclear where these will be surfaced. They are not obvious on the Rootstock partner page yet, which would be the obvious location. Nor is it clear whose responsibility it will be to maintain that visibility. Rootstock is launching the program in January with three partners working to complete certification. Presumably, they will need to complete six implementations in order to gain the certification, which may mean it is some time before the certifications are awarded.
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
The certification programs will achieve a significant improvement in the maturity of the Rootstock partner ecosystem. There are, however, some questions that remain unanswered. How will partners maintain their certification? What happens when individuals leave partners? Do they take the certifications with them? If they don’t, how can Rootstock ensure the quality of the partner they left remains high?
Regardless of these questions, this is a well-thought-out certification process that should ensure that partners that achieve it have the practical experience to deliver implementation projects without the assistance of Rootstock professional services. It will be interesting to see who the first three partners are and whether the case studies are made public in any way. This is, unfortunately, unlikely, as clients rarely want the complete story of an implementation revealed, which is a shame. Prospects would be intrigued to read them.
