Three key considerations for selecting a VMware training provider

[Evelyn_Ha]

Recognizing the need for training is the first step toward accelerating your return on VMware® technology investments. But how do you choose a training option given all the marketplace choices? Here are three important considerations to optimize your VMware training strategy.

Say your company has decided to invest in virtualization. You buy VMware to maximize the efficiency of your servers and cut costs. But what’s next? Just acquiring the latest software is not enough to drive success for your organization—your team also needs to know how to deploy and manage the technology effectively so you reap all its benefits. So, the next vital step is to invest in technical training for your team.  (Learn more about the importance of continuous learning in this blog).

Quality training also prepares your team members for technical and professional certification exams including VMware Certified Professional (VCP), VMware Certified Advanced Professional (VCAP), and VMware Certified Design Expert (VCDX). Certification is important to both the organization and individual team members. It validates the effectiveness of training and the readiness of your team for implementation and operations. At the same time, certification boosts individuals’ careers by affirming expertise and skillsets in particular areas. From the perspective of the employee, this is a huge win—it improves their value to the organization and their competitiveness among their peers.

When it comes to VMware training, there are a number of available training providers. Since most VMware training is offered for the same price across providers, how do you choose the right training partner? Here are three questions to help you choose the best VMware training option.  

1. What benefits am I getting?

VMware training has standardized pricing, but that doesn’t mean you will necessarily get the same “bang for your buck” from all providers. For example, some providers offer free certification exam vouchers. This can save hundreds of dollars at exam time!

Some providers offer incentives that are fun and rewarding for the individual. For example, HPE recently launched its HPE Knowledge Club, letting you earn rewards points that can be redeemed for gift cards from a wide variety of popular vendors—including restaurants, retail stores, and hotels—when you take training. We know that training, while crucial to building and updating skillsets, can be tiring. HPE Knowledge Club allows us to recognize hard work with a reward that YOU choose for yourself.

You start by accumulating points with the purchase of an instructor-led training (ILT) or virtual instructor-led training (VILT) course from HPE. (qualifying VMware training categories are shown in the image on the right - click the "+" signs on the webpage to explore specific courses). Gift card rewards start at 600 points—just 6 days of training—and increase with each incremental day of training completed. HPE Knowledge Club is currently available in the U.S. and Canada, but more countries may be added. Terms and conditions apply.

2. Do I trust this training provider to teach me everything I need to do my job and pass the certification exam?

Remember that motivations for training are often two-fold: you need to learn practical skills for your job and you need to pass the certification exam. Choose a training provider that you trust to help you achieve both important objectives. Oftentimes, this means finding a provider with proven experience and training credentials. Also, if your team is geographically dispersed, look for a vendor that offers global delivery capabilities to make sure your team gets the same high quality training experience regardless of location.

As a VMware Authorized Training Center (VATC), HPE has trained 45,000+ students. Moreover, HPE delivers training in 90+ countries and 45+ languages. This means you can attend HPE’s VMware training sessions with confidence—knowing that you will come away with the knowledge and skills to achieve certification and excel in your job regardless of where you are in the world.

Also, look for a provider that can satisfy your personal learning style. For instance, HPE offers multiple training delivery formats to accommodate your learning preferences and lifestyle. If you like an expert-led, structured experience, we recommend virtual instructor-led training (VILT) or instructor-led training (ILT) courses, when it is safe to be onsite. These courses take place in real-time and offer face-to-face interactions, live questions and answers, and introductions to an awesome cohort of classmates. The only difference between ILT and VILT is that ILT courses take place in traditional classrooms (at your site or an HPE Education Center) and VILT courses take place virtually in online classrooms. The added benefit of VILT is that you participate from any place of your choosing—your home office, a coffee shop, or even from your vacation spot.

If you prefer training at your own pace and at a time that is right for you, our VMware On Demand (individual eLearning) courses may a good fit. These self-paced online courses can be taken anytime, anywhere and are perfect for brushing up on selected skills through high quality learning content and innovative instructional tools.

3. Does this training provider offer anything special or unique to make it’s offering a real value-add?

Official VMware training content is provided by VMware to ensure quality and consistency across all training providers. And think about it—you don’t want a vendor to go off on their own with a unique set of training materials. VMware knows their technology better than anyone…and has curated the best set of materials to deliver the expertise and skills to achieve training objectives.

However, even though the material is standard, training vendors are still able to differentiate themselves and offer special value. How? The difference between an adequate training experience and an excellent training experience is the expertise of the people delivering the material. You need an instructor who can understand and review standard VMware training topics, so you get required information. However, the best providers have professional instructors who deliver next-level results: they combine instructional expertise and technical expertise. As instructors, they understand different learning styles and know how to make content resonate with individual learners. As technical experts, they can go deep into VMware technology and integration issues, offering practical solutions to complex issues based on years of hands-on, real world experience.

For example, our HPE instructors augment sessions with HPE-specific knowledge. VMware runs on industry leading HPE platforms, including HPE Synergy, HPE BladeSystem/ProLiant Servers, HPE SimpliVity 380 (Hyper Converged) and HPE Converged System, so instructors apply their in-depth knowledge of HPE technologies to suggest synergistic, cost-effective solutions. For extra tough student questions, HPE instructors also have access to HPE Product Managers to get the answer.

Another area that HPE adds unique value to VMware training is by conducting labs in our HPE Virtual Labs (vLabs) environment for select courses. Students have access to their own lab equipment where they can experiment and fine tune skills in a risk-free environment. Our 1:1 equipment ratio means each student has their own server login—no waiting or sharing! Our lab equipment includes the latest HPE servers and technologies—a highlight for all students, but especially beneficial for students who work with HPE hardware in their work environments.

HPE VMware Certified Instructor, George Vish II, discusses how instructors mentor students and provide personalized advice about integrating VMware software with their organizations’ infrastructures during classroom downtime and lab sessions. He says, “Taking VMware training from HPE Education Services gives the student the best of both worlds: instructors are not only experts in VMware virtualization technologies, but also authorities on how to optimize VMware running on the superior datacenter and information technology provided by HPE.”

Find out more about VMware training from HPE or contact your regional representative with any questions.