Park Place opens Uptime Academy access to boost Softcat skills

Park Place Technologies has opened access to its internal training portal, Uptime Academy, to partner Softcat in an initiative aimed at enhancing service delivery through shared technical knowledge.

The partnership, which includes Softcat's support services team, is designed to increase technical expertise in areas such as Third-Party Maintenance, Infrastructure Managed Services, and Entuity Software. By sharing its internal learning resources, Park Place Technologies is providing Softcat's team with comprehensive training covering both general IT concepts and specifics related to Park Place's services and methodologies.

Park Place Technologies collaborates with thousands of partners globally, and selected Softcat for this pilot to signal its commitment to partner enablement and to invest in Softcat's personnel. The company stated that the primary aim is to educate, upskill, and give sales enablement support to Softcat's support services team, equipping them to better support joint customers.

Uptime Academy, the internal Learning Management System at Park Place, includes hundreds of courses curated by in-house subject matter experts as well as content from external specialists. The system ensures consistent messaging regarding Park Place's offerings, compliance, and company culture across the organisation, while also enabling tracking of course and certification progress.

Ian Anderson, Senior Director, Partner Sales in EMEA at Park Place Technologies, commented, "Our internal Uptime Academy training portal offers hundreds of courses, ranging from IT basics to deep-dives into specific Park Place services. Sharing that knowledge base with a partner empowers and hopefully motivates its people to develop their talents, contribute to their personal growth, and fuel the success of Softcat and Park Place."

Softcat's decision to make use of Uptime Academy was based on a desire to strengthen the skillset of its support service teams, as well as to immerse team members in Park Place's messaging and sales methodology. The goal is for Softcat to function as an extension of Park Place Technologies in customer engagements.

Kevin Rickard, Senior Team Leader for Support Service Sales at Softcat, said, "Having access to the Park Place Uptime Academy has significantly empowered our specialists in several ways. It has enhanced our expertise, increased confidence when talking around managed services, and given us a competitive advantage. It has given us a detailed insight into how Park Place works and how their services, management, and fulfilment of contracts flow."

The initial trial at Softcat involved around twenty-four employees. Feedback from participants highlighted the accessible and engaging delivery style of the Uptime Academy courses, particularly noting the benefit of shorter, bite-sized lessons. Some team members have already shared their training achievements publicly.

Reflecting on the future expansion of the initiative, Ian Anderson added, "Following this successful trial, we are looking to expand access across other teams at Softcat and also look to roll similar initiatives to other partners globally. This initiative demonstrates Park Place Technologies' pioneering approach to partner enablement. We are committed to transparency and empowering our partners with the knowledge they need to ultimately be more successful in selling more to customers – meaning everyone wins."

According to Park Place Technologies, this approach aims to set a precedent towards greater transparency and collaboration within the IT services sector, where technical expertise has commonly been regarded as proprietary.