Case Study: Speedy Course Development Boosts IT Sales Training Academy

Client: Rackspace
Industry: Cloud-based Computing/Software, Information Technology

Rackspace, a global leader in cloud-based services, needed to rapidly develop technical sales training for its channel partners through the Rackspace Partner Academy. Microassist was brought in to deliver interactive, media-rich eLearning courses, enabling Rackspace’s resellers to confidently promote a broad range of products. The result: accelerated course development, increased partner engagement, and faster sales growth.

About the Client

Rackspace is a San Antonio-based cloud infrastructure-as-a-service provider offering managed services alongside public, hybrid, private, and single-tenant cloud solutions. Serving over 300,000 customers, including many Fortune 100 companies, Rackspace operates a robust Partner Program, allowing channel partners to resell its cloud offerings or refer clients. The company also provides partners with sales training through the Rackspace Partner Academy.

The Challenge

Rackspace’s Partner Academy was highly successful in motivating and informing resellers, but this success came with a challenge: the demand for new courses exceeded the capacity of its single instructional designer. Initially, Rackspace hired a third-party vendor, but the slow pace of development and high management overhead created bottlenecks. The fast-paced cloud services market demanded rapid course creation, but Rackspace lacked a scalable, responsive learning solution. 

The Solution

Microassist, with its interdisciplinary approach, was brought in to fill this gap. The goal was to develop a series of technical online sales training courses to enhance partner knowledge of Rackspace products. The eLearning courses featured extensive narration, closed captioning, and interactive elements like illustrations, click options, and course objectives to ensure maximum engagement and information retention. This high-touch solution allowed channel partner sales reps to sell a wider range of Rackspace products and services confidently.

The Implementation

Microassist worked closely with Rackspace to design and deliver engaging, media-rich online courses that met the needs of Rackspace’s diverse channel partners. The development process was streamlined, ensuring new courses could be deployed quickly in response to the fast-evolving cloud services landscape. The courses were designed to work effectively even in noisy environments, with closed captions and narration to enhance accessibility.

The Results

Microassist’s expertise enabled Rackspace to scale its training program and meet the rising demand for channel partner education.

• Microassist rapidly developed high-quality sales training courses, allowing Rackspace to educate its partners on new products and services in real time.
• Rackspace’s partners quickly gained the skills and knowledge needed to confidently promote a broad suite of products.
• The Rackspace Partner Academy’s training library grew significantly, enhancing its ability to keep up with the rapid pace of new service introductions.

Through better training, Rackspace expects its partners to drive faster customer acquisition, contributing to Rackspace’s overall business growth.

Client Testimonial

“Microassist’s interdisciplinary team delivered exactly what we needed: rapid, high-quality course development. Thanks to their help, our partners are now equipped with the knowledge and skills to promote our products effectively, and our sales training is keeping up with the pace of our growing offerings.”

Conclusion

Microassist’s rapid course development solution helped Rackspace meet the growing demand for partner training. It allowed the Rackspace Partner Academy to scale and deliver critical technical sales training to a global audience. By enhancing partner knowledge, Rackspace is positioned for faster customer growth.

For More Information

For over 35 years, Microassist has provided broad-spectrum learning services for enterprise and government clients, focusing on long-term partnerships to help organizations share essential knowledge and skills. Contact us to learn how we can help your organization achieve similar success.