IKON Education Services to Offer Help Desk Institute Certification Training

Business Wire, Feb 26, 2001

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

COLORADO SPRING, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 26, 2001

Expanded Access to Premium Training Program Facilitates Career

Advancement for Support Professionals

IKON Education Services, a business unit of IKON Office Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:IKN), and Help Desk Institute (HDI), a ThinkService professional community, and the world's largest membership association for service and support professionals, announced today that HDI has granted IKON a worldwide, nonexclusive license to deliver HDI's certification training programs.

HDI certification is the only truly open, standards-based, internationally recognized certification program for help desk professionals. The certification program is designed to certify three primary levels of help desk professionals: Help Desk Analyst (HDA), Help Desk Support Engineer (HDSE) and Help Desk Manager (HDM).

IKON Education Services is a premier provider of vendor-authorized technical training, including desktop business applications, advanced systems training, instructor-led, computer-based and online training and consulting services. In addition to its new partnership with Help Desk Institute, IKON Education Service's other vendor partnerships include Microsoft, Novell, GartnerInstitute, Computer Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), Citrix, CCTI Cisco Alliance Partner, iGeneration, ProSoft and Sylvan Prometric.

Initially IKON will provide training leading to the first level of certification, HDA. Courses will include "Essential Skills of the Help Desk Analyst" and "Understanding Help Desk Tools and Problem Solving Techniques." These courses will teach both the fundamental and advanced survival skills for today's increasingly complex help desk environment. In addition to preparing help desk analysts for HDA certification, the courseware is designed to improve overall success and job satisfaction for the support technician; and to enhance productivity and employee retention for the employer.

In the future IKON will also offer courseware leading to Help Desk Support Engineer (HDSE) and Help Desk Manager (HDM) certification.

"We are pleased to be partnering with an industry leader like IKON in order to bring this training to a larger audience," said Bill Sheehan, director of training, Help Desk Institute. "We feel that certification is an important step toward industry self-regulation and the standardization of acceptable service levels and professionalism of help desk professionals. HDI's granting of this license to IKON to provide training leading to this certification demonstrates the open nature of this unique program."

"Help desk skills are becoming increasingly valued by our corporate customers and provide a competitive advantage in the business world," according to Lorraine Ferguson, vice president for education at IKON. "This partnership with HDI reflects our ongoing commitment to provide the next generation of training just-in-time for individuals seeking to upgrade their skills and businesses seeking to gain an edge on the competition."

About IKON Office Solutions, Inc.

IKON Office Solutions, Inc. (www.ikon.com) is one of the world's leading providers of products and services that help businesses communicate. IKON provides customers with total business solutions for every office, production and outsourcing need, including copiers and printers, color solutions, distributed printing, facilities management, imaging and legal outsourcing solutions, as well as network design and consulting, e-business development, telecommunications services and technology training. With fiscal 2000 revenues of $5.4 billion, IKON has approximately 900 locations worldwide including the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, and Denmark.

About Help Desk Institute

Help Desk Institute's mission is to lead the customer support profession worldwide by setting the standards, establishing certification and training programs, and providing access to industry resources. HDI provides targeted information about the technologies, tools, and trends of the help desk and customer support industry. HDI sponsors an annual conference and expo, offers regional training, and publishes a wide range of training publications and research materials. Membership exceeds 7,500 with members from every continent worldwide. To become a member, or to obtain further information on the benefits of becoming a member, please visit the HDI web site at www.thinkhdi.com.

About ThinkService

ThinkService, was formed in 1999 with the merger of UK-based Customer Service Management (CSM) Group and Colorado Springs-based Help Desk Institute, thus forming the world's largest membership and subscription organization for customer service and support professionals. Think Service Inc. was founded to build and serve various professional communities by providing a wealth of valuable resources including membership services, web-based services, publications, training and certification programs, and industry research to a number of related communities in the service and support industry.