Acquia Practice Certification Program (APC)
The Acquia Practice Certification Program rewards partners who demonstrate a mastery of Acquia’s Cloud Platform in three separate areas of expertise: Drupal Cloud, Marketing Cloud and DXP. These certifications are awarded to organizations with a proven record of technical achievement, and a commitment to driving transformative business engagements on the Acquia Platform
What's a Certified Practice?
The Acquia Practice Certification Program was created to award organizations that have a proven record of technical achievements, and are committed to driving transformative business engagement on the Acquia Platform.
Attaining an Acquia Practice Certification validates that your organization is one that achieves excellence at every level of your organization. This is different from the Acquia Developer Certification that offers accreditation to individual. Qualifying organization complete a rigorous evaluation process.
Five Characteristics of Certified Acquia Partners
Achieving certification isn’t easy, requiring a high level of competency across the whole organization. We developed the program by defining the best practices of some of our most effective partners. We then consolidated that information into a specific set of accreditation criteria.
The best partners have the most experience. These teams develop an uncanny ability to anticipate client needs, often delivering projects in timelines that would challenge less experienced groups.
We look for a minimum level of certified developers. An organization’s delivery team should include certifications in back- and front-end development, and certification on the Acquia platform.
Whether the client needs to create hundreds of sites at scale using Acquia Site Factory, or they need an AI-driven solution for their Customer Data Platform, partners who understand the true benefits of our products are best positioned to serve their clients’ needs.
Acquia will ask partners to explain the support options they have available, including training options for their own teams, and support options for their clients.
Partners should maintain a culture that encourages accountability, integrity, continuous improvement, teamwork, and a commitment to ongoing technical education.
Benefits of the Acquia Practice Certification Program (APC)
Once completing the Acquia Practice Certification Program, you get access to a host of exclusive benefits only offered to accomplished partners including:
Preferred Status
Get higher visibility and preferred status within the Acquia sales organization. Our team sees practice certification as an indication of our most capable partners. The specialization and record of excellence makes you the first choice for specialized engagements.
Marketing
Become recognized as attaining Acquia’s highest “Stamp of Approval” by being receiving a Practice Certification Badge on your partner profile. As a certified partner you also get a host of other unique opportunities like a custom social campaign, invitation into targeted customer introduction Campaigns, as well as other advanced PR and thought-leadership opportunities.
Technical
Be front of line for many ongoing product beta programs and have access to technical briefing. Get expedited product sandbox access and certification vouchers.
Acquia Practice Certification Levels
Acquia Practice Certification signifies the highest levels of achievement for our partner. It’s an earned reward that proves your company can deliver flawlessly, time and time again. Where Acquia’s developer certification program offers accreditation to individuals, APC validates organizations. Acquia offers three certifications reflecting your practice’s expertise at delivering engagements on the Acquia platform.
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Drupal Cloud Certification
Highlights that you provide outstanding solutions on Acquia’s Drupal Cloud. Earning the special designation of Acquia Certified Drupal Cloud Practice.
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Marketing Cloud Certification
Highlights that you provide outstanding solutions using Campaign Studio, Personalization & Acquia CDP. Consultative engagements that transform businesses.
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DXP Cloud Certification
Our highest level of certification, awarded to partners with a proven record of delivering transformative business experience using both Marketing and Drupal cloud.
Certified Partners
Acquia would like to thank the first group of partners who participated in the initial launch of our practice certification program. This group met some of the highest standards of delivery, all with exceptional records for technical achievement. We look forward to welcoming more partners to this program, and are committed to helping each of them reach the highest levels of technical achievement.
| Who is eligible? |
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Any partner who has completed at least four projects on the Acquia platform within the last 24 months may apply for certification. Partners meeting this minimum standard will be required to complete a self assessment, then pass a rigorous evaluation process led by Acquia SMEs.
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| When can partners apply for certification? |
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Acquia will accept applications during an open enrollment period at the start of each quarter. Partners are strongly advised to complete a partnership self-assessment and prepare for their certification review well in advance of open enrollment.
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| How long does certification last? |
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Partners are awarded certification for one year. Partners will be reevaluated annually to maintain their certifications. Partners who do not maintain their qualifications risk losing their certified status.
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| How do partners renew their certifications? |
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Partners seeking to renew their certifications are expected to complete an annual practice self-assessment. In most cases, a partner will not be required to complete a team interview.
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| How long does the certification process take? |
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After returning the initial self-assessment, partner qualifications will be reviewed by Acquia teams and selected to advance to the interview stage of the process. At this stage, partners will be scheduled for a team interview with Acquia SMEs that is expected last approximately one hour. In all, the pre-certification review can take anywhere from two to six weeks, based on team availability.
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| What will be reviewed at the certification interview? |
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The purpose of the team interview is to gather information about the partner’s business and delivery processes as they relate to the Acquia platform, and help Acquia build a better understanding of overall best practices among our most valuable partners. For partners taking part in this early process, these interview will be fairly informal.
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| How much does certification cost? |
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Application to the program is free of charge, and partners who meet requirements are awarded certification without additional fees. Partners who don’t meet certification requirements may enroll in additional training. Special discounts for training may apply. Partners who are invited to participate won’t be required to make a monetary investment. Paid options for partners looking to earn certification more quickly will be made available after the Limited Availability period ends.
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| What if we don’t pass the certification process? |
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Partners who don’t qualify for certification will be provided with recommendations to strengthen their delivery capabilities. Partners can reapply to the program during the next open enrollment period.
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| What’s the difference between Acquia Practice Certification and certifications for developers? |
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Acquia Practice Certification is awarded to partner organizations, and is a measurement of their ability to deliver transformative digital experiences on the Acquia Platform. Individual certifications are awarded to developers who demonstrate their expertise within a particular product or skill set.
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| Where can I find out more about the program? |
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Partners looking for more information about practice certification are encouraged to discuss the program and its requirements with their partner managers. Partners can find further information on Acquia Academy.
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