06 Credentials
A Cloud Cruz credential proves a customer result, not course attendance. Partners climb five steps, from an accreditation in the first weeks to an advisor who runs the Readiness Review. Each step unlocks something real: a tier, the implementation package, or the right to deliver. (Decisions 22, 27, 47, 48, 52, 53, 64, 80, 81, 83)
All of this is synthetic. Cloud Cruz and its partners are invented.
The ladder
Badges are issued at the lifecycle stage where they're earned (decision 27). Levels 2 and 3 split into a technical track (hands-on implementation) and a business track (sales and project leads).
| Step | Stage | Technical track | Business track | Unlocks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales Accreditation | Onboard | Product, pricing plans and how to partner with Cloud Cruz | Counts toward onboarded and Select | |
| Technical Accreditation | Onboard | Platform basics in the sandbox | Counts toward onboarded and Select | |
| Level 1: Foundations | Enable | Exam plus a sandbox lab: connect a source, ship a first query | Required of everyone: the value proposition, co-positioning, and a joint plan to win a real target customer on the Problem Statement Canvas | The entry point for Levels 2 and 3 |
| Level 2: Delivery | Enable | 2 customer go-lives on the 30-day Launch plan, with customer sign-off and a usage event | 2 signed business cases, with a baseline and a target ROI confirmed at 90 days | The implementation package and the right to deliver the Launch plan; counts toward Premier |
| Level 3: Advisor | Enable | 3 Readiness Reviews run, with high-risk items closed | 3 accounts expanded on proven ROI, plus executive value reviews | Counts toward Elite |
Why technical people take the business Level 1: they co-sell in pods, so they need to explain the problem their own firm solves and why Cloud Cruz (decision 52).
The Problem Statement Canvas is a public framework (Marius Ursache, Disciplined Entrepreneurship Toolbox, 2018). It covers context, customer type, root problem, emotional impact, quantifiable impact, and alternatives and their disadvantages. The partner fills it in for a real customer it wants to win.
The Readiness Review
The Level 3 technical advisor runs a one-page review of a customer's Cloud Cruz setup on four pillars (decision 64). The format follows a common public architecture-review pattern: a fixed rubric, and high-risk items become the fix list.
| Pillar | The question |
|---|---|
| Trust | Is the data good, secure and reliable? |
| AI quality | Are the agent's answers accurate, and are they evaluated? |
| Cost | Will the bill surprise anyone? |
| Adoption | Are people actually using it? |
Outcomes, not claims
Every Level 2 and Level 3 result is measured against the customer's own baseline from kickoff, and the customer signs off (decision 52). A go-live counts when Cloud Cruz sees a usage event, not when a partner says so.
When a credential counts
- Accreditations don't expire (decision 80). They mark onboarding, and the 90-day product-use rule below already keeps inactive people from counting.
- Level 1 and above last 12 months. Partners recertify on major releases (decision 47).
- A person counts toward a tier only with an active credential and hands-on product use in the last 90 days (decision 47). Knowledge fades, and a badge shouldn't outlive the skill.
- The implementation package needs at least one Level 2 technical person on the deal (decision 53). During the 90-day beta, Cloud Cruz's partner solutions architect stands in, and the partner's people earn Level 2 from those go-lives (decision 91).
What it costs partners
Courses, labs and both accreditations are free. Level exams carry a fee, and every tier gets free exams each program year to cover it (decisions 48, 81):
| Exam | Fee |
|---|---|
| Level 1: Foundations | $100 |
| Level 2: Delivery | $150 |
| Level 3: Advisor | $150 |
| Tier | Free exams a year |
|---|---|
| Member | 5 |
| Select | 10 |
| Premier | 10 |
| Elite | 15 |
Free exams work at any level, recertification included, and reset every Apr 1, the launch anniversary. Anchor partners also get custom sessions and extra vouchers for large cohorts (decision 48). People on the accelerated onboarding plan get extra vouchers as an incentive to take the course and certify quickly, issued automatically so it runs for every partner on that plan (decisions 40, 81).
Internal note: why exams carry a fee. A free exam doesn't get taken seriously. People sit it without preparing, fail, and a second try means little too. A priced exam gets focus, especially when a person's company is paying or reimbursing it, so people prepare and try harder to pass. The vouchers make the exam free to the partner in practice, while it keeps a price, and a credential keeps its value.
Systems
- Credly issues badges in production, so partners get Cloud Cruz badges in the same wallet as their other cloud credentials (decision 22).
- Certifier issues badges in the demo (decision 27).
- introw hosts the courses, study material and the two accreditations.
- Pearson VUE proctors the Level 1, 2 and 3 exams and issues the vouchers; a pass triggers the Credly badge (decision 83).
- Salesforce keeps a Credential record per person, with level, track, issue date, expiry and last product use, so tier reviews read one source.
Why this saves time and money
Customers get partners who have already delivered, so fewer projects stall and fewer need rescue. Cloud Cruz spends its implementation package only where a proven Level 2 person is on the deal. Partners learn for free, most never pay for an exam, and they know exactly what each level takes.