Do you charge to associate your certifications?

AlexWiley

For any of the users who have their Financials/I&C/Dev certifications- have you associated that certification with a partner? I'm curious about exactly what level of control or commitment (legally) happens when you do this, but I can't find any information on it (I don't think I'm using the correct terminology). Also, if there is a ballpark or generally accepted level of compensation for doing this, that would be nice to know as well

DenSter

Over the years I've received a number of emails from partners looking for certified people to have certs for their partner status. To me this is highly suspicious, because that means they don't have the right number of certified people working for them at the moment, so they would not 'deserve' to be a certified partner to begin with. This doesn't automatically mean that there is foul play involved (it's very easy to lose status just when one employee quits for instance), but it is definately more likely that their qualifications are questionable, so make sure you know who you're dealing with before doing something like that.

I would advise you to only associate your cert with a partner that you know and trust, and with whom you have an actual working relationship (as an employee or as a regular vendor, perhaps in return for a certain amount of work and access to partnersource). You do not want your name and reputation tarnished by this type of solicitation, but it can also be the beginning of a very fruitful and mutually beneficial relationship.

David_Singleton

Sorry but I can not see this as being acceptable by any moral or legal interpretation of the rules.

It is purely and simply wrong.

In the end it most certainly means that a customer some where is going to get screwed.

DenSter

In principle I agree with you David, associating certs with a partner for a fee, if that is all that it is, is not acceptable. Fishing for some anonymous stranger's certs just for the partner status sake is always a bad thing, and if anybody goes along with that they are just as much at fault, and in the end it is the customer who suffers.

If a partner does regular business with a certified professional though, if there is a real business relationship, I can see how associating certs with them can be a good thing. They would actually work together, the certs are real, there is mutual benefit, and the customer benefits from that as well.

AlexWiley

Yes, I think there was a misinterpretation of what my scenario would be. This is an existing MS Partner who wants to start supporting the Navision platform as well. I would be supporting the customer (sans development) so they wouldn't be using my certifications and then doing it on their own. As DenSter mentioned I do have lengthy conversations to have to make sure my name isn't damaged by a poorly conceived idea; but, my main concern was the rights I have over the use of my certifications. If things do start to go poorly, can I wake up one morning and call them to say "That's it, pull the plug, I'm out", or would it be locked in for a year or something? I'm worried that MS may have some 'lockout' period, or more drastically, a one time commitment.

My line of thought was that I am acting as a consultant helping them get this area of their practice off the ground, so in this case is it standard to receive compensation? I don't care if there isn't, I would do it anyways for the work and challenge. But I figure with a community to ask I would rather find out before I start negotiations with them on pay, etc. Please understand this is a legitimate business opportunity I am trying to consider and get information for, not some way to make a couple bucks off my training. With that in mind, I appreciate your input

matttrax

As far as I know, the certifications only have to be active when you enroll / renew your partnership. There's no script that runs every day to make sure partners have all the certs they need to maintain a competency or partnership.

Your certifications belong to you and you can take them at any time or choose not to register your MCP ID with that company anymore.

Alex_Chow

You can take your certification anywhere you want at any given time, there's no restrictions. That's why it's very stupid for a partner to pay consultants for their certifications.

David_Singleton

AlexWiley wrote:

Yes, I think there was a misinterpretation of what my scenario would be. This is an existing MS Partner who wants to start supporting the Navision platform as well. I would be supporting the customer (sans development) so they wouldn't be using my certifications and then doing it on their own. As DenSter mentioned I do have lengthy conversations to have to make sure my name isn't damaged by a poorly conceived idea; but, my main concern was the rights I have over the use of my certifications. If things do start to go poorly, can I wake up one morning and call them to say "That's it, pull the plug, I'm out", or would it be locked in for a year or something? I'm worried that MS may have some 'lockout' period, or more drastically, a one time commitment.

My line of thought was that I am acting as a consultant helping them get this area of their practice off the ground, so in this case is it standard to receive compensation? I don't care if there isn't, I would do it anyways for the work and challenge. But I figure with a community to ask I would rather find out before I start negotiations with them on pay, etc. Please understand this is a legitimate business opportunity I am trying to consider and get information for, not some way to make a couple bucks off my training. With that in mind, I appreciate your input

Yes this is very different to how I interpreted your initial post. I actually read it as you wanting to get certified and you were going to pay some people off the street to use their certifications.

In this case you would be working with this company and getting revenue for the support and work you do. Being certified should be a pre-requisite for you to be able to do the work, so I can't see how you could charge them for your certifications that you already have. On the other hand if they needed another certification that you don;t have I could see the case for them paying for the cost of the test and maybe the costs of some training materials books etc. that you incurred as out of pocket expenses.

In terms of damage to your name. You are entering into an arrangement with this company for far more than just a fer certifications, and I think you need to carefully plan this out over more than just a few months. It will take 2-3 years before the company is up and running in Navision, and you should be prepared for that length of commitment as should they.

I would suggest that they have 12 months to get sufficient certified people on board, and in that period they use your certifications, which is quite valid since you are genuinely working for them. If at 12 month they have not fulfilled their part of the bargain you should have the right to walk out.

ssingla

matttrax wrote:

As far as I know, the certifications only have to be active when you enroll / renew your partnership. There's no script that runs every day to make sure partners have all the certs they need to maintain a competency or partnership.

Just for your update: When you place a order with MS you need to have the required certified persons onboard else the order will not be register. My order has to wait a week when few employees left and I had to ask my senior technical (my partner too) to do the required certification.

mass

You guys have clearly iterated issues surrounding identifying with a partner.

Thanks.

David_Singleton

mass wrote:

You guys have clearly iterated issues surrounding identifying with a partner.

Thanks.

:-k what do you mean?

mass

I mean, certification is so important and challenging to obtain. I think that it should only be associated with an employer (partner) you are working for.

David_Singleton

mass wrote:

I mean, certification is so important and challenging to obtain. I think that it should only be associated with an employer (partner) you are working for.

Basically yes which Alex clarified that he WILL be working for the partner, so it makes sense to do it.