Meraki Masters .. how can I earn an invitation?

[MerakiJockey505]

Is the CMNA a pre-requisite? After reading about the program and the perks of the coveted Meraki Masters training, how could you not want to get in on that? How does one go about earning an invitation? It would be pretty sweet to have some troubleshooting questions put up in this community by the Meraki staff in a "contest" fashion with the prize being an invitation to training. Thoughts?

[Mr_IT_Guy]

I was going to post a topic similar to this. We've been moved to a "named account". Surely that means we should have access to some sort of advanced training/certification. I feel that  limiting the Master training just to partners is limiting the potential you can really give the community. @BradB, what are your thoughts?

[MerakiJockey505]

I agree, I am not a Cisco partner but would definitely be able to pitch the equipment.  I've already shifted several consulting buddies to team Meraki just by showing them features on the equipment we already have active. 

[NFL0NR]

I'll 3rd this

[BHC_RESORTS]

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@MerakiJockey505 wrote:
Is the CMNA a pre-requisite? After reading about the program and the perks of the coveted Meraki Masters training, how could you not want to get in on that? How does one go about earning an invitation? It would be pretty sweet to have some troubleshooting questions put up in this community by the Meraki staff in a "contest" fashion with the prize being an invitation to training. Thoughts?

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I also asked both my rep and someone fairly high up in the marketing department. Apparently the masters program is only for the top partners, and not for end users/end-clients.

I really wanted to attend it as well, as the CMNO was pretty basic, and I was looking for something much more challenging and in-depth to really solidify my understanding of Meraki.

[Jsnyder81]

While the “Masters” program may appear to be coveted due to the nice swag they get, for the most part it is a sales tool. Training includes a lot of “How to Sell” Meraki products.

It does give Masters more access to Meraki, but it is typically targeted at high level resellers.

While I’m not a master, I work with several and as an end-customer I doubt it would be a valuable technical experience.

[cta102]

Edit: This was in response to the posting by Jsnyder81

 

Just to say that you are pretty correct with your statement.

Although there is technical content a lot is for pre-sales both to produce relevant demos for a particular customer and also to point design teams in the right direction so a Meraki solution stands a chance of doing the intended task.

It also permits the Masters to see upcoming products and features and receive some early training.

As for the swag you do get a goodie bag but the real swag is getting to talk to the product teams.

[MRCUR]

For those of you who work with dedicated sales reps & engineers, I highly recommend working to a great relationship with those folks. I am not a Cisco partner so am not eligible for the partner specific certs/programs, but over the last few years have gotten the chance to speak directly with a number of the product managers, marketing folks, etc. and participate in some great betas. This didn't happen overnight, but if you talk to the right people you can get pretty great access to Meraki. 

[BradB]

As @BHC_RESORTS mentioned, the Meraki Masters program is, at this point, limited to our top reseller partners. 

As discussed in another thread, however, we're working on making more advanced technical materials available to a larger community of reseller partners and end customers. These forums present a good opportunity for users of all kinds to interact and learn from each other, and as the Community expands, we'll be looking to integrate training opportunities in new ways. It might be through local events, might be through self-paced online learning, or might be via any number of other channels. It won't be immediate, but know that we're thinking about it! 

[Ryan-Zimmerle]

I just attended a local event in Spokane that felt very CMNO.  I previously passed the CMNO class and this in person format was a much better experience and it offered some great networking opportunities.  

Ryan