Press Release - supportgate.com

  Directory
    Suppliers
    Associations
    Publications
    Stock Index
    News Search
    Home

  Calendar of Events
     Find event | Submit event

  Career Corner
     Find job | Submit job

  RealMarket Today!
    Past Issues
    Subscribe
    Unsubscribe

Company Profile
Company Web Site

SSPA Announces New Certification Programs For Support Professionals

(San Diego, CA August 17, 2000) - The Software Support Professionals Association (SSPA) announced today the development of the SSPA Certification Program for Support Professionals. The program, developed in conjunction with forty companies representing the IT industry, will consist of support center industry-tailored training and certification testing. It will take maximum advantage of state-of-the-art delivery mechanisms for cost effective learning, via the Internet at www.supportgate.com. On-site classroom training and skills verification will also be included as an essential component of the program.

“The SSPA has once again been able to act as a catalyst to develop an industry-wide Certification Program,” said Bill Rose, SSPA Founder/Executive Director. “With the valued input of forty companies, we have been able to identify the specific career levels, focus on the skills needed in each area and develop the Certification Criteria. The end result is the most comprehensive individual certification offering in the industry.”

The SSPA -sponsored industry taskforce consists of the following companies: Acxion Corporation; Advanced Solutions Int'l; Apple Computer, Inc.; ARTISAN Software Tools, Inc.; Compucom D.M.A.C.; EBI Companies, Inc.; EMC; Epicor Software Corporation; Extensity, Inc.; FASCOR; Gateway; GEAC; H2 Technologies; HBOC; Hewlett Packard; InfoCure Enterprise/UNIX Division; Infosys Technologies Ltd.; Intuit; Lawson Software; Lockheed Martin; Pegasus; TransTech; The Reynolds and Reynolds Company; RIMS; Rockwell Software; The SABRE Group; Saga Software; Sage Software; SERENA Software; Service Strategies Corporation; Solution Bank, Inc.; Speedware Corporation; SPSS, Inc.; Sybase, Inc.; Tektronix; Tesseract Corporation; Vantive Corporation; Vertex, Inc.; WeSync.com, Inc. and Yahoo. Each has responded to in-depth support center operation questions and ranked preferences for various job-related items through a series of surveys.

The SSPA-led effort to provide the Support Center industry with individual certification standards has been achieved by calling upon some of the leading companies in the software support world to come together and define the program. The SSPA and Task Force have targeted the five levels of support typically found in today's center and have created the following individual certification levels:

CUSTOMER SERVICE QUALIFIED - (CSQ) For non-technical administrative support people.

CERTIFIED SUPPORT PROFESSIONAL - (CSP) Soft skills-based, it is designed for entry-level technicians.

CERTIFIED SUPPORT SPECIALIST - (CSS) Similar to the Certified Support Professional (CSP) in areas measured, for experienced technicians.

CERTIFIED SUPPORT MANAGER - (CSM) For the Customer Support Manager.

CERTIFIED SUPPORT EXECUTIVE - (CSE) For the ultimate “owner” of the support center function within an organization, the senior level executive.

“I am pleased to have been a part of the development of the SSPA Certification Program and particularly the coming together of several companies and people to obtain the end result,” said Raymond Haffey, President, Performetics, Inc. “This is one of those rare instances when a group of ingredients came together in such a way as to produce a truly unique and profound professional development experience at a time of tremendous industry need.”

For the past 10 years, the Software Support Professionals Association (SSPA) has led the industry by providing certification programs, content rich conferences, executive forums, roundtable meetings and industry recognized Awards Programs. For more information on the SSPA Individual Certification Program, please visit www.supportgate.com.

Founded in 1989, SSPA represents over 8,000 service professionals at Member companies worldwide. SSPA gives software service professionals opportunities to share ideas, discuss developing trends and network with their peers. SSPA offers its Members conferences, seminars, specialized training, executive forums and a variety of publications. For more information regarding the SSPA and other related divisions, log on to www.supportgate.com building Internet service communities, or send an email to info@supportgate.com.

Editorial Contact:
Ron Johnson
supportgate.com
909.244.7002
rjohnson@supportgate.com

top of page