IT infrastructure vendor F5 Networks Inc. has launched new, free training tools, and accreditation programs for resellers and distributors worldwide.

Dean Darwin, F5s vice president of worldwide channels, told Channel Partners magazine last week the additions come at a crucial time.

Weve been growing about 46 percent year-over-year,” he said. Were becoming statistically important to a lot of people. But I didnt have the training and in-depth content we needed without taking engineers out of the field.”

Thats why F5 designed Web-based curricula, debuted on Monday, as part of its UNITY partner program. The structure lets partners learn at their own pace, and its pointed at users expertise. For example, salespeople must go through 10 hours of content, while techies complete 12 hours worth of subject matter. And the payoff?

When you add value, you make extra money,” Darwin said.

The technical certification is available now, while the sales module will be available in the first half of the year. For now, the programs are English-only but F5 plans to offer other languages as well. 

The accreditation includes all of F5s products from the BIG-IP application delivery controller family to Data Manager, which does file virtualization.