Global Knowledge investment in Remote Labs gives enterprises
added flexibility in IT training
Multi-million Euro investment enables
high quality skills development to be conducted
at any location across Europe, the Middle-East and
Africa
June 2007
Global Knowledge, Europe’s largest and most successful
provider of IT training and skills development services, has
announced the full opening of its new Remote Labs facility at its
headquarters in the UK. The Labs facility has been developed
with the full support of Cisco Systems – one of Global Knowledge’s
leading vendor partners, and is equipped with all the very latest
technologies from the world-leading networking solutions
company.
The venture represents a multi-million Euro
investment by Global Knowledge. It will enable the company’s
advanced curriculum of courses to be delivered anywhere, using
up-to-date and fully tested, remotely accessed equipment. The
Labs are hosted in a datacenter which is the largest facility of
its kind in the EMEA region. It is currently being used to support
courses right across Europe and as far as Russia, Singapore,
Australia, Brazil and North America.
The purpose-built facility – which is located
in the company’s European Headquarters in Wokingham – is capable of
supporting over 80 different courses and as many as 1000 delegate
students simultaneously, using the very latest Cisco Systems
equipment.
“Our Remote Labs infrastructure provides
trainers with everything they need to run a full curriculum
of Cisco courses”, says EMEA President of Global Knowledge, Richard
Pryor-Jones. “The lab environment has the benefits of emulating the
real world. In today’s global datacenter, engineers
rarely physically touch the equipment – the Remote Labs allows
delegates to learn the skills to manage, monitor and configure
equipment remotely from their desktop.”
The facility offers Global Knowledge, its
partners and its customers a number of advantages,
Richard Pryor-Jones notes. “The lab investment is providing
fantastic support to our vendors and
their channel partners by allowing advanced technology skills to be
delivered in countries and regions where it is difficult to provide
the right equipment on-site. A standard internet link permits
access to the very latest equipment and provides delegates with a
very high quality training experience.”
The investment in the Remote Labs is part of
Global Knowledge’s on-going commitment to growth
and expansion of its business in Europe. With over 40 dedicated
training centres in 11 countries offering more than 1000 courses,
Global Knowledge is the leading provider of training across the
region and is expanding rapidly. It is the leading accredited
provider of training and skills development in both Microsoft and
Cisco Systems technologies in Europe and also offers a growing
range of professional
IT skills and project management courses in areas such as ITIL and
PRINCE2.
Global Knowledge’s Learning Services
proposition provides enterprise organisations with a comprehensive
solution to all their IT training and skills development
requirements and the company’s iConnect web portal gives customers
a very easy way to view, book and manage training programmes
on-line.
The company is investing significant amounts
in developing both its course schedule and its training facilities
and resources right across Europe throughout 2007 with the aim of
further growing its business and underlining the company’s position
as the leading provider of high quality IT training in
the EMEA region. “There is a growing realisation that quality
really matters when it comes to IT skills development”, says
Pryor-Jones.
“Global Knowledge is an ambitious company and
one that is founded on the principles of quality and value. IT
plays a vital role in all enterprise organisations and to compete
effectively in today’s global markets, they need to derive maximum
value from their investment in technology. The training we provide
is designed to provide employees and IT workers with the skills
they need to get the very best from software and systems and from
themselves”, says Pryor-Jones.
The company is working much more closely with
many of its customers to develop and adapt courses to suit the
specific long-term needs of their organisations. “We know from
experience that intelligent investments made in quality development
of staff today will drive business growth tomorrow. This is why
large enterprises are increasingly making the on-going development
of IT skills a key pillar of their strategy going forward.”
Media contact
Harminder Sangha
Global Knowledge EMEA
+44 (0) 1189 777 766
Email: sanghah@globalknowledge.net
About Global Knowledge
Global
Knowledge is the largest privately held provider of training and
enterprise learning services for information technology (IT) and
management professionals. The company offers a broad array of
hands-on IT, project management, and professional skills training
featuring proprietary core and custom curriculum, as well as
content from leading companies, including Cisco, Microsoft, Nortel,
and Red Hat. Delivered in classrooms, at private facilities, or
over the Internet, Global Knowledge has helped Fortune 500
companies, organizations and government agencies leverage learning
to turn knowledge into productivity for employees, customers, and
channel partners. Founded in 1995, Global Knowledge employs more
than 1,200 people worldwide and is headquartered in Cary, N.C. The
company is owned by New York-based investment firm Welsh, Carson,
Anderson, and Stowe. For more information visit http://www.globalknowledge.net/.