Citrix (CTXS) revealed new information this week on the company’s upcoming networking data centers partner specialization, created to help resellers become experts in its Netscaler and firewall product portfolio.

Citrix announced its four new specialization tracks in January during the company’s Summit 2015 conference in Las Vegas, where it released the first three tracks to help partners develop skill differentiation from their competitors. The final specialization track is expected to launch during Citrix Synergy 2015 in May.

To achieve specialization in each track, partners are required to complete three customer validations as well as technical certifications and eLearning programs, culminating in an extensive practicum test. Since the program launched earlier this year, more than 900 validations have been submitted from 370 unique customers, with validation submissions growing week over week at a rate of 25 percent, according to John Carey, director of Worldwide Channel Strategy and Development at Citrix. About 75 percent of submitted validations have been completed thus far, with the rest still being reviewed.

“Based on the feedback that we are seeing so far, partners are very encouraged that we have met their expectations and they are certainly meeting our expectations,” said Carrey in an interview with The VAR Guy.

Additionally, more than 400 Citrix solution advisor partners have already completed the technical certification requirements for their specializations, with another 1000 partners currently in the process of completing their requirements. Carey said Citrix is on schedule to meet its annual goal of having 400 partners completely certified for the program, with even more solution providers expected to earn certification once the networking data centers practicum releases later this year.

Carey reported partners have already completed 1,600 e-learning courses required for each specialization. And success rates have been favorable for partners looking to complete the specialization practicum exams, with a recorded 90 percent pass rate so far. Registration for the practicums has also grown by a rate of 25 percent each week, signaling increasing partner interest in attaining full specialization, he noted.

“We’ve got layers of partners that we’re engaging with,” Carey said. “It’s really, really pleasing for us that we already have partners highly invested [in the program].”

Stay tuned to The VAR Guy for more information on each specialization next month during Citrix Synergy 2015 in Orlando.