Why choose a Kentico Quality Expert?

Defining the difference

Kentico Quality Expert is a designation conferred by Kentico on Gold Partner agencies that have demonstrated an exemplary standard of proficiency in delivering Kentico projects. It may also sound like a bit of savvy marketing. That’s why it’s important to get to grips with what the Quality Expert designation actually signifies and to understand how it differs from the Kentico Xperience Partnership programme. The Kentico Xperience Partnership, such as Gold Partner status, is just that—a partnership between Kentico and an agency to ensure that an agency has the right tools and support to develop Kentico products. Quality Expert status, however, is granted after an accreditation process. An agency must show not only that they work with Kentico, but that they do so at a particularly high standard. And like any rigorous qualification, it’s an investment toward the future.

What it takes to be a Quality Expert

Kentico Quality Expert status starts with proof that an agency is well established in the Kentico ecosystem. They have to already be Gold Partners and have at least two Kentico certified developers on staff. Additionally they have to have already delivered a minimum of three EMS-licensed Kentico builds.  After that, there’s a long and thorough audit process—Kentico only perform one or two a month worldwide—in which Kentico review two projects and grade them against a set of criteria. They look at many aspects of the project, including its adherence to best practice and how the agency has gone about improving the system. They also are interested in innovative UX and design. To gain the Quality Expert designation, the projects must achieve a score of at least a 70%. Only 22 Kentico Partners out of 1,000 worldwide have achieved it.

The direct impact for clients

After all that, what benefit does it give to the agency’s clients? For one thing, it’s an endorsement from Kentico themselves that this agency really knows what they’re doing. If you’re preparing to make a capital investment in a CMS, it’s important to know you’re handing the reins to a trusted collaborator. And should you change agencies for any reason, you can be assured that a Quality Expert will understand your Kentico CMS code base and will be able to work with it immediately.   Secondly, it’s an assurance from the agency that they take their focus on Kentico seriously. Otherwise they wouldn’t bother spending the time and money going through the audit process. Most importantly, it also means the agency is confident in themselves and they’re open to improvement.  The audit process necessarily means exposing their code and workflow to scrutiny—and potentially criticism. They wouldn’t do that if they weren’t prepared both to stand by the quality of their work and to grow from whatever feedback they received. That’s a good indication of how they’ll behave in the future. In an industry that evolves quickly, an agency with Kentico Quality Expert status is already looking ahead to what’s next. Want to talk more about your Kentico project? Get in touch.