Enventis Achieves Cisco Master Unified Communications Specialization in the United States

Enventis, a subsidiary of HickoryTech (Nasdaq: HTCO), has achieved both the Master Unified Communications Specialization from Cisco^®. This designation recognizes Enventis as having fulfilled the training requirements and program prerequisites to sell, deploy and support highly sophisticated Cisco unified communications solutions in the United States.

"We are very proud to achieve this prestigious specialization from Cisco, affirming Enventis’ ability to deliver secure, integrated solutions,” said John Finke, president and chief executive officer of HickoryTech. "As a Cisco Gold Partner with a Master Unified Communications Specialization, we help businesses become more efficient and productive by implementing unified communications services. Not only does this specialization underline the hard work and dedication our team devotes to our customers’ implementations, it differentiates us as a leading unified communications and network integrator.”

"As the network becomes the platform for driving communications and innovation, our customers are demanding an enhanced set of skills and capabilities from channel partners,” said Edison Peres, vice president and chief go-to-market officer for the Worldwide Partner Organization at Cisco. "Enventis’ investment in the Master Unified Communications Specialization ranks them among the industry’s elite.”

To achieve the Master Unified Communications Specialization, resale channel partners must first attain the Advanced Unified Communications and Security Specializations. Partners must then meet a series of stringent requirements in three categories: technology capabilities, sales expertise, and Cisco Lifecycle Services. Partners must possess a number of Cisco and industry-standard technical certification requirements, provide customer references that document Cisco-prescribed design and deployment capabilities, and show evidence that they have the infrastructure to support a full menu of Lifecycle Services offerings and capabilities.

More information regarding the Master Unified Communications Specialization can be found here.

The Cisco Resale Channel Program provides partners with the training required to build sales, technical and Cisco Lifecycle Services skills, and then validates their skills through a third-party audit. Cisco resale partner certifications—Select, Premier, Silver and Gold—represent an increasing breadth of skills across key technologies and a partner’s ability to deliver integrated networking solutions. Cisco resale partner specializations—SMB, Express, Advanced and Master—reflect an increasing depth of sales, technical and service expertise in particular technologies. Cisco master specializations provide Enventis access to comprehensive sales, technical, and lifecycle services training and support available from Cisco.

Enventis specializes in providing integrated communication solutions for businesses of all sizes – from enterprise multi-office organizations to small- and medium-sized businesses. In addition to its statewide fiber optic network, Enventis provides IP communications, transport, data and network integration services that combine voice and data into a single platform – reducing operating costs and enhancing performance. Enventis is a Cisco Gold Certified Partner.

About HickoryTech Corp.
HickoryTech Corporation (dba HickoryTech and Enventis) is a leading integrated communications provider in the markets it serves. With headquarters in Mankato, Minn., the corporation has approximately 450 employees and a regional fiber network with facilities-based operations in Minnesota and Iowa. Enventis serves businesses of all sizes across a five-state region with IP-based voice, data and network solutions. HickoryTech provides bundled residential and business services including high-speed Internet, Digital TV and voice services in its legacy telecom markets. The Company trades on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, symbol: HTCO. For more information, visit www.hickorytech.com.

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