CRN's Tech Elite 250 For 2017: Going Deep And Wide With Skills

(NOTE: This story was originally posted to CRN.com March 27.)

Getting Sharp, Staying Sharp

Solution providers need to do it all today, going beyond the deep skills they have in, say, network technology. They need to go deep and wide in their areas of expertise.

In addition to being experts in such traditional technologies as servers, networking and storage systems, solution providers are expected to have expertise in such demanding areas as security, converged systems and cloud computing. Coming up fast are business demands for expertise in such practices as digital transformation and leading-edge technologies like the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence.

That's why training and certification are more important. As solution providers evolve into strategic service providers, they need to continuously elevate their skill sets to meet their clients' demands.

CRN's annual Tech Elite 250 list honors an exclusive group of North American IT solution providers that have earned the highest number of advanced technical certifications from leading IT vendors. The following is a sampling of 25 of the solution providers on this year's list. The complete list is available for purchase by contacting Laurie Condon on the East Coast (lcondon@thechannelcompany.com) or Nora Uriarte on the West Coast (nuriarte@thechannelcompany.com).