1. GPS 2011 Slide - 1 CAPTURING LARGE DEALS. HOW TO TARGET LARGE DEALS AND CLOSE THEM. Success story from Oman

2. GPS 2011 Slide - 3 TARGETING LARGE DEALS > Public Sector > Middle East In the Middle East most large deals involve either one or more Government departments Requests for proposals are produced by the respective Ministry and the scope of work outlined Interested parties submit proposals to include detailed financials and these are binding If successful you should be prepared to pay between 5 and 10 percent of the total cost of the project. > Risks > Investment of time > Financial investment > Planning and resources

3. GPS 2011 Slide - 3 COUNTRY BACKGROUND - OMAN > Land Area of 309,500 KM Compared to the UK of only 242,900 KM Italy 301,336 KM > Population of 3.3m Compared to the UK of 62.4m Compared to Italy of 60.6m > Natural Resources Oil Gas Copper Fish Agriculture

4. GPS 2011 Slide - 4 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT > To train 93,507 Civil Servants > November 2008 – October 2011 > Across all 11 regions of Oman > Working with 39 independent Ministries > Using Omani graduates to deliver the IC3 program (jobseekers)

5. GPS 2011 Slide - 5 CHALLENGES > Voluntary program > New program > Started from ground zero - no infrastructure > Training had to be given outside of working hours > 4 days per week > 3 hours per evening 4.00 to 7.00 pm > All regions of Oman > Huge distances between regions and towns > Empty barren desert terrain > At best - Poor internet connectivity > At worst - no Internet connectivity > No trained personnel > Fierce competition from ICDL and Cambridge

6. GPS 2011 Slide - 6 SOLUTIONS > Created the infrastructure Ministry of Education - 300/350 local school Ministries with in-house training facilities, created in house labs -15 Ministries Certiport approved centres 5 - 44 > Established our own training centre Allowed us to train the Omani graduates 200 Allowed us to train the MoE teachers - 425 Allowed us to collaborate with the International Teacher Training and Coaching Council to provide recognized Train the Trainer courses.

7. GPS 2011 Slide - 6 SOLUTIONS > Offline Curriculum delivery-learning system developed by Certiport using USBs Benchmark & Mentor Practice Test Exams (US3 USBs) > Developed teacher and student packs All courseware translated into Arabic All materials available in English or Arabic Workshops for teachers on how to use the materials > Developed our own reporting system All 39 participating Ministries had 24/7 access to their individual data Sponsoring Government Agency had full overview of entire project

8. GPS 2011 Slide - 7 OUTCOMES > May 2009 - July 2011 > Over 100,000 IC3 exams successfully achieved > Trained 44,292 civil servants > Certified 30,727 (69% of individuals) > Trained and certified in the region of 500 trainers/teachers on GS2 standard > Upgraded over 100 Global Skills staff on GS3 standard -- Approved Educators > Capacity 10,000 students every 12 weeks; certifying 4,000 per month. > Invited to extend project for another 9 months

9. GPS 2011 Slide - 7 LESSONS LEARNT > Contract-Contract-Contract > Question everything prior to signing the contract and do not be rushed into signature with any verbal promises. > Ensure everything is in writing and officially agreed > Doing business with the Public Sector is very different from the Private Sector > Ensure there are clear roles and responsibilities for all key stakeholders > Allow at least 6 months for set up and buy-in from all stakeholders > Ensure there is an agreed communications and marketing strategy for the project with an agreed budget

10. GPS 2011 Slide - 7 LESSONS LEARNT > Prior to signing contract ensure you have between 5 and 10 percent liquid cash or a bank guarantee in place > Ensure you have sufficient cash flow and funds to cover at least 3 months at any given time > Securing BIG DEALS is not the normal Certiport Partner Model so make sure YOU - CERTIPORT - EXTERNAL PARTNER are clear on expectations set and support required. > Business survival is dependent on BIG DEALS. Selling solutions is the expectation. Selling exams only is no longer an option.