Certification

Overview

High quality APS packages benefit the entire APS and the platform Ecosystem. Making sure that every package works as promised is a top priority for the platform. At the same time, it is vital that the development of these packages be as straightforward as possible. The certification process described here was introduced to accomplish exactly those two goals: ensure both package quality and transparency in packaging.

Creating a great APS package is a multi-step process and what is being sold, how it is being sold and customer experience is just as important as the actual coding of the package. We recognize that and have designed our certification process to span and help with all aspects of package development. At a high level, we define the APS package development process having three distinct steps:

• Define, where we assess the readiness of the ISV from a technical and business perspective, and then define Service Offer (which outlines what is being sold and how it is being sold)
• Design, where the User Experience is defined, User Interface is mocked up, and design of the Resource Model for the package is completed
• Develop, where the package is coded and the necessary documentation is written

Each of these area depends on the previous step. As a result, our certification not only spans all three steps, it provides assistance at the end of each step to ensure the packager is ready to proceed to the next step. This helps to avoid costly mistakes and setbacks later in the development process. This process has been proven to both of the purposes:

• Helps an ISV have a successful and effective packaging process, which ensures the resulting package is safe and easy to install for a service provider
• Makes sure the package is easy for a service provider to sell and monetize

The APS Certification is FREE if you meet one of the following criteria:

• You are a platform customer developing an APS package.
• You are an Odin certified APS SI partner developing an APS package.
• You are building an APS package with a commitment for launch by a platform customer. Proof of commitment is required for the certification process.

For all others APS packages, the charge for certification will be $4500 per packages submitted into the certification process after August 1st, 2015.

To read more about why all APS packages should be certified, please go here. To get more detail on how the certification process works go here. And finally, to understand what it exactly means that a package is certified, please see below.

What does Certified for Odin Automation mean?

Certified for Odin Automation is a quality stamp from Ingram Micro Cloud that signifies that an APS package has gone through a rigorous review and testing process with experts from Ingram Micro Cloud to ensure the package is safe to install, has the right documentation, and makes sense from a business standpoint inside the platform.

There are several important points to note:

1. A certificate is valid for a certain version of the platform – for example, “Certified for Odin Automation 7.1.0+” means that the package is certified for platform version 7.1.1 and all later minor versions (7.1.2, 7.2, and so on), but not for a later major version (8.x, and so on).
2. A package can carry multiple certifications – Certified for platform version 6.5.0+ and Certified for platform version 7.1.0+ for example.
3. The final step in the certification – the technical review – is performed on the latest version of the platform, and it is this version that will appear in the certification. For example, if the latest platform version were 7.1.8, the package would be Certified for Odin Automation 7.1.8. If desired, an earlier version of the platform can be used for package certification. The desired version must be explicitly requested when the package is submitted for the Technical Review.
4. Every new version of a package needs to be re-certified. For example, when something is changed in the code of the package, we need to check that those changes are safe and valid for the package to retain its certification. This process is different from a new package certification and requires a change-log from the packager that will be used for the re-certification.
5. Only certified packages will be allowed in the APS Catalog.
6. Installing un-certified APS packages in the platform carries risk and is not supported. The platform partners who install an uncertified package may incur fees to have the support team correct any problems the package may have caused if those problems are outside the scope of normal support boundaries.

← Validation and Publication

Why Certify? →