DEMAND AND SUPPLY, AND SUPPLY, AND SUPPLY…
According to a recent press release, more than 1 million Cisco certifications have been issued since the creation of the program.
Mind you, this isn’t the number of exams taken (many certifications require multiple exams), nor is it the number of attempts or anything else equally reasonable. Rather, this is the number of certifications actually issued — and it’s a number I find astounding.
Not only is 1 million greater than the population of many small countries, but out of that 1 million, “nearly 20,000″ are for CCIE — the Ph.D. of Cisco certifications. This means that 2 percent of all those holding Cisco certifications hold the highest certification from that vendor (it’s not clear how many of those certifications are current).
As large a number as 1 million is, it’s not the front runner. According to Microsoft, 2,254,381 certifications have been issued since the certification program began in 1992, which averages to over 140,000 a year. Of those, 185 are certified as Microsoft Certified Architects (MCAs), currently the highest level of Microsoft certification. Among those with the second-highest level of certification — the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) — 113,454 are certified in Windows Server 2003, and over 685,000 are certified in older technologies.
If you add together just those who’ve held either a Microsoft or Cisco certification, then factor it by the approximately 6 billion people in the world, that means that on average, one of out every 1,800 people has been certified. Add to that the “more than one million CompTIA certifications [that] have been earned worldwide”, the half-a-million certifications that have come from Novell, the 50,000 from LPI and so on. Before you know it, the supply of certifications issued is immeasurable.
Given this type of increase in supply, is it any wonder that when viewed in even the most simplistic, “Econ 101″ perspective, the value of certification has gone down?
The 10 roles you need for ITIL configuration management
Many IT departments try to implement ITIL configuration management without giving much thought to the staffing of the configuration management service. Like any IT task, configuration management requires skilled people with standardized processes, but this aspect is often overlooked in the rush to find the perfect configuration management database (CMDB) tool.
What makes for the most effective configuration management team? The answer will depend somewhat on the size of the IT environment. The essential roles, however, are the same whether one expert plays three or four roles or volume dictates that one role requires two or three people. There are lots of creative ways to deploy these roles across an organization, but here are the essential roles you should consider when embarking on a configuration management service:
1. Configuration Management Architect
You need one strong technical leader who can be counted on as the expert in configuration management.
2. Requirements Analyst
You do have configuration management requirements, don’t you? This person will help you determine all the requirements needed to configure the environment.
3. Process Engineer
This may be more important at the onset, but Version 3 of ITIL calls for continuous process improvement.
4. Logical DBA
Configuration management is all about gathering, controlling, and accessing information; of course you need a DBA.
5. Trainer
Someone will need to create training materials and instruct all of your IT staff in how to access and support configuration management.
6. CM Integrator
Every CMDB is built from data stored across many sources. The integrator role supervises the reconciliation rules that bring those sources together.
7. Tools Support
Eventually, your entire IT staff will depend on information in the CMDB, and thus on the availability of the tools.
8. Impact Manager
This role specifically focuses on helping make configuration data intelligible to the rest of the IT organization. The key task here is to make sure relationships between configuration items are well defined, helpful, and accurate.
9. Reporting Support
Because the CMDB is a database, many users will want to create custom queries and specialized reports. Someone who understands the data deeply will help make this possible.
10. Data Quality Analyst
ITIL rightly points out that the best practice in configuration management is to constantly verify data and audit the database.
Not many organizations are large enough to have a dedicated 10-member team for configuration management. But anyone serious about building an effective configuration management service should consider who will accomplish these 10 key functions.
CCVP GETS A FACELIFT
With all the changes and advances in IP telephony, Cisco announced that it’s “enhancing” its Cisco Certified Voice Professional (CCVP) certification.
This certification requires five exams beyond the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) and focuses on integrating IP telephony solutions into underlying network architectures, as well as the ability to implement, configure and troubleshoot. Those who earn the certification are expected to know PSTN, VoIP, signaling protocols, voice gateways, gatekeepers and the Cisco Unified Border Element (CUBE).
After completing the CCNA, those who want the CCVP must take:
- Quality of Service (642-642)
- Cisco Voice over IP (642-436)
- Troubleshooting Cisco Unified Communications Systems (642-426)
Test takers must then choose two additional exams based on the product they’re specializing in. If that product is Cisco Unified CallManager 4.1, then the track becomes:
- Cisco IP Telephony 4.1, Part 1; Cisco IP Telephony 4.1, Part 2 (642-444)
- Implementing Cisco Voice Gateways and Gatekeepers (642-453)
If the product is Cisco Unified Communications Manager 6.0, then the track becomes:
Can A+ Certification Get You Started in IT?
Among the certifications available for computer professionals, A+ is probably the one cited most often as a starting point for careers in information technology (IT). More than 260,000 people have received A+ certification, viewing it as a way to find jobs as computer service technicians or to gain enough skills to move on to further training.
Sponsored by CompTIA, an industry organization, A+ certifies skills in entry-level PC technology. It is a vendor-neutral certification, with an emphasis on the expertise needed to work as a computer service technician, troubleshooting and repairing PCs.
Given its popularity, it is no surprise certain misconceptions have developed about A+ certification, especially among people just thinking about getting started in IT. Is A+ certification a “must” for entry-level IT jobs? Is it for programmer wannabes? Technicians? Here is a guide to help you decide whether A+ certification is right for you.
Is A+ certification an appropriate starting point for all IT careers?
No. The IT world is vast, with an astounding variety of jobs available, from tech support personnel to programmers. These jobs require different skills, training and experience. Will A+ help you find a job in tech support or servicing computers? Yes. Will it help you find a job as a Java programmer? That’s unlikely. Before you sign up for an A+ certification course, be sure it’s an appropriate credential for your career goals.
What do you learn in an A+ certification program?
A+ certification programs typically focus on the skills required for entry-level PC technicians. Students learn about installing, configuring, upgrading and repairing PCs. At New Horizons, the IT training company, a five-day or 10-day course includes instruction in computer architecture, memory, modems, printers, hard disk setup and operating system optimization.
Is a course required to receive A+ certification?
No. The A+ exam is available from Prometric and Pearson VUE. The certification exam actually consists of two tests — one focusing on core hardware technologies, the other on operating systems. For people who already have experience with PC troubleshooting, or have a lot of self-motivation, self-study with a book about A+, such as the A+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide by Michael Meyers, may be the route to passing the exam.
What sort of job does A+ certification qualify you to do?
CompTIA views the certification as a credential for technicians with six months of experience. Individuals with A+ certification may find jobs installing, repairing and configuring PCs, or working in technical support positions.
“It’s really for new entrants into the IT world,” Andrea Estevez, vice president of products and programs for New Horizons, says of A+ certification. “The folks who are taking these courses are people who are relatively new to IT.
Nick Henderson, for instance, was a truck driver when he decided to take the leap into the world of computers. “I could no longer do anything without being surrounded by computers,” he says. “I knew I had to deal with it.
Henderson, 45, returned to school for his GED, quit his job driving 18-wheelers, and took courses with New Horizons. “I didn’t know hardware from software,” he says. Eventually, he earned his A+ certification, which he views as a starting point into the world of IT jobs. He later earned Network+ certification, another CompTIA-sponsored credential, and landed an $18-per-hour job as a field technician for VoiceStream Wireless in Wichita, Kansas. He is looking to continue his IT education by studying other areas, such as the Unix operating system and Cisco technologies.
“There’s no limit to what you can do in this field,” Henderson says. “You set the pace.
No one would argue with that. But A+ isn’t for everyone. Mike Sweeny, managing director/project staffing for TWC, a strategic staffing consulting firm in Audubon, Pennsylvania, points out the expense of many training programs leading to certification. Should A+ be viewed as the only route to an IT career? It should not, though some people may think it is. “They’re misled by all the advertising that these schools do,” he says. “It’s light years away from getting a computer science degree.
In other words, consider your options and your expectations. Are you looking to enter the field as a service technician, and then move up? Or do you want to jump-start your career at a more advanced level, or in another area of IT, possibly by learning Java, networking or some other arena? The choice is yours.
Microsoft releases three new exams for its newest network operating system in March.
Windows 2008 Exams Go LiveThe Microsoft Learning Group has released three new exams for Windows Server 2008. All three are available worlwide at Prometric testing centers. The release comes quickly on the heels of the official release of Microsoft’s newest network operating system software in Los Angeles at the end of February.
Dangers of the new ASP.NET MVC framework
An interesting article by Mads Kristensen.
I’ve been following the new ASP.NET MVC framework quite close lately because it looks so damn cool. Not only does it make your website testable in a much richer way, but it also adds abstraction between your different UI tiers. It can do these things because it uses a somewhat strict code separation principle like all MVC frameworks do.
So instead of just adding an .aspx page (with its code-behind file auto-inserted by Visual Studio) to your website, the MVC framework wants you to add a model and a controller as well. The .aspx along with the model and controller is highly abstracted so you can replace one of them easily without changing the others. We know this from the class libraries and components we’ve build for many years – something called low coupling.
Why not tie exams to employment?
Here’s an idea worth considering: Currently in the IT world, multiple-choice and practicum-based exams are used to authenticate your skills, give you something to put on your resume and allow your employer to advertise that they have a certain number of certified administrators/technicians/etc.
It seems to me that here’s an opportunity for employers to incorporate practicum-based exams into the actual hiring process, and for testing centers to fulfill a purpose beyond what they currently do.
Imagine that the hiring choices at Acme have been narrowed down to three equally qualified applicants. All three have the same certifications, the same skills, and the same number of years working with Linux. To make the hiring decision easier — to really determine which of the three is the standout — why not send all of them to a neutral testing center where they take a hands-on, one-hour lab that asks them to perform some configuration/administration tasks?
In order for this to work, however, testing centers would need to refocus and incorporate exams from other parties that grade more than just basic questions. Centers would also need to make real equipment available — not just those old machines they took out of the classroom a few years ago and now use to deliver Vue/Prometric exams.
This may seem like a lot to ask. But anything that can help keep employers from making bad hiring decisions is well worth the cost of pursuing — and that’s likely a cost the Acmes of the world are more than willing to bear.
MICROSOFT TRAINING = SUCCESS?
Lutz Ziob, the general manager of Microsoft Learning, answered some questions recently on the need for Windows Server 2008 training and certification. In the interview, Ziob compares IT professionals today (unsung heroes) to “the men and women who designed and built the physical infrastructure that fueled” much of this era’s social and economic progress. Some the other quotes of note include:
“The more knowledge you have of our software, the better equipped you are to exploit its full capabilities.”
“Since 2006, we’ve seen the number of Microsoft Certified Professionals grow by almost 30 percent.”
“…in the coming months we will launch a new testing experience based on the Windows Server Hypervisor technology.”
“We’ve been moving toward the practical, scenario-based testing model since 2005, but Virtualization will allow us to do some great new things. I think it will revolutionize the testing experience because the real world scenarios and tasks will basically become the test.”
Check out the interview at Microsoft’s site; it’s well-worth a read.
Certification Proves Its Worth to IT Security Professionals and Employers
Holding the right certification is especially important now, thanks to Sarbanes-Oxley in the U.S. and increased scrutiny on security worldwide.
According to Certification Magazine’s 2007 Salary Survey, two of the five top paying certifications are ISACA’s Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) and Certified Information Security Manager (CISM). The CISM came in second with an annual average salary of $115,720, while the CISA scored fifth place with an average salary of $98,740. Clearly, as employers continue to realize the importance of information security and governance, they are relying on certifications to identify prospective employees with experience and expertise.
Holding the right certification is especially important now that Sarbanes-Oxley in the U.S. and increased scrutiny worldwide have focused attention not only on enterprise finances, but on the IT processes that support financial system control and reporting at nearly all organizations. The IT Governance Global Status Report-2008 from the IT Governance Institute (ITGI) found that more than 93 percent of global CEOs, CIOs and other senior executives surveyed recognize that information technology is vital for delivering the organization’s strategy. IT has become so critical to the business, according to the report, that 70 percent of the survey’s respondents regularly or always have IT on their organization’s board agenda.
“Certifications fill a critical need of employers, as they offer a way to identify highly qualified, experienced professionals,” said Lynn Lawton, CISA, FCA, FIIA, PIIA, FBCS CITP, international president of ISACA. “Boards and executives are increasingly realizing that their information technology deserves a high level of governance to minimize risks and add value, and they are looking for prospective employees with the experience and credentials to help them attain strong governance.”
ISACA-a nonprofit association of more than 65,000 IT governance professionals worldwide-has a long history in the IT certification space. In 1978, ISACA established the CISA designation, which has been earned by more than 55,000 professionals since inception. ISACA’s CISM certification was introduced in 2002, and it has since been earned by more than 7,000 professionals. Both designations are accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The association’s most recent certification, introduced in August 2007, is the Certified in the Governance of Enterprise IT (CGEIT) credential.
Many enterprises recognize ISACA’s CISA credential as the standard for information systems auditors. Its demand continues to grow as organizations increasingly expect their IS auditors to hold the certification: nearly 14,400 candidates registered for the June 2007 CISA exam, a 19 percent increase from the June 2006 exam. Overall, more than 25,000 candidates took the CISA exam in 2007. One employer that recognizes CISA is the US Department of Defense, which named CISA an approved credential for DoD level 3 information assurance professionals.
To earn the certification, a minimum of five years of information systems auditing, control or security work experience is required. Educational experience, such as a bachelor’s or master’s degree in the field, can be substituted for up to two years of work experience.
As businesses face increasingly complex security threats with the widespread use of mobile devices, security certifications such as CISM provide assurance to senior executives and boards of directors that their information security managers have the expertise to manage risks and safeguard the enterprise. Since it was introduced five years ago, nearly 8,000 professionals have earned the certification. Many organizations, including the US Department of Defense (DoD), are increasingly encouraging their security managers to earn this credential. CISM is one of only three approved credentials for the DoD’s level 2 and 3 information assurance professionals, and CISM exam registration increased by 40 percent from 2006 to 2007.
To earn the CISM designation, a minimum of five years of information security work experience is required. Educational experience, such as a bachelor’s or master’s degree in the field, can be substituted for up to two years of work experience.
Organizations are also looking for experienced IT governance professionals to help them control their information technology, reduce risks and add value from IT investments. According to the IT Governance Global Status Report-2008, 80 percent of organizations are considering implementing, are in the process of implementing or have already implemented IT governance, up from 58 percent in 2003.
The CGEIT designation identifies IT governance professionals who can help businesses with their IT governance practices. Supported by ITGI and built on ITGI’s intellectual property and input from subject matter experts worldwide, CGEIT covers the five focus areas of IT governance-strategic alignment, resource management, risk management, performance measurement and value delivery-as well as on frameworks that support IT governance (e.g., COBIT). It is designed for professionals who have a significant management, advisory or assurance role relating to the governance of IT and who wish to be recognized for their IT governance-related experience and knowledge.
To earn the CGEIT certification, applicants must prove at least five years of experience supporting an enterprise’s IT governance (or two years of IT governance experience and three years of management experience) and must earn a passing score on the CGEIT exam. The first CGEIT exam will be administered in December 2008. A grandfathering program, through which highly experienced IT governance professionals may apply for certification without taking the exam, is available for a short time period (see www.isaca.org/cgeitgfapp for details).
With the ever-changing landscape of the information technology (IT) field, employers rely in part on experience-based certifications that test real-world job knowledge to demonstrate that current and prospective employees are up to date in the field and have the necessary expertise, and the CISA, CISM, and CGEIT are designations with a lot to offer both information technology professionals and their employers.
Computer Certification: 2007 in Review and a Peek at What Lies Ahead
There was plenty going on in the certification marketplace in 2007, and the industry is showing signs of emerging from the relative doldrums of the last few years. From players large to small, certification vendors kept busy rolling out new exams and updating existing ones to incorporate the latest products and technologies. Going beyond maintenance, certification vendors are exhibiting an increasing will to revitalize the perception of computer certifications by employers and certification candidates, not just through wishful thinking, but with concrete action plans. It is not clear yet, however, how strong the will is to do this and what resources will truly be put into it, so success is far from assured.
No Shortage of New Certification Options
Throughout 2007, certification vendors continued to show their commitment to the day to day business of running certification programs. Microsoft, of course, was full of activity as usual, adding certifications for Microsoft Dynamics products and a new business certification program for Microsoft Office 2007 to replace the Microsoft Office Specialist program, as well as rolling out a batch of new exams including additional Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) and Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) tracks and Windows Vista exams and retiring old ones.
Also among the busiest, Cisco Systems rolled out a new entry level certification, the Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician (CCENT), which is a stepping stone to their former first level certification, the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA). They also launched a line of certifications for data center professionals and revamped the CCNA and CCDP exams and two new security certifications, Cisco Network Admission Control Specialist and Cisco IOS Security Specialist.
Sun Microsystems launched certifications for its latest platform versions, including Sun Certified Programmer for the Java Platform (SCJP), Standard Edition 6 and Sun Certified Systems Administrator for Sun Cluster 3.2 Software.
CompTIA launched Convergence+ and PDI+ (printing and document imaging), Lotus released Domino 8 developer exams, Cognos completely revamped its program, the Linux Professional Institute (LPI) finally activated its LPIC level 3 certification, SANS created the GIAC Secure Software Programmer (GSSP), and IBM and Nortel kept up a continual roll out of exams tied to new product releases. Numerous other vendors added or updated certifications this year or launched entirely new programs.
Most Notable New Certification
A tip of the hat goes to the folks over at SANS Institute for their new certification, GIAC Secure Software Programmer (GSSP). The certification itself is a solid one, addressing the critical skill area of secure coding practices and identifying developers who know how protect against application vulnerabilities. It is offered in specialties tied to particular languages such as C, Java, PHP, PERL, and others. The sharp way the GSSP fills a marketplace credentialing need is only half of the story; an equally admirable accomplishment is how SANS is going about the testing itself.
Bucking the trend of other certification exams out there, GSSP testing provides a service beyond simple pass/fail reporting, it provides detailed feedback on how the candidate performed on various objectives covered by the test. Each score report identifies individual strengths and weaknesses, reporting on how the candidate scored in each area in relation to the best possible score as well as the average score for each task area. You can view a sample score report on the SANS Web site.
This is a real service and which should be emulated by other certification vendors, putting the emphasis on skills improvement as well as on skill confirmation. Some of the original certification programs used to provide such feedback, if not in as much detail, but this has largely fallen by the wayside due to security concerns and other issues. CompTIA has been one of the few to keep up a version of this over time, and the SANS Institute has brought it back in a big way. Let’s hope that other certification vendors will consider doing the same, or even something better.
Trends in Certification Testing
From the test distribution standpoint, several things of note happened in 2007. First, exam security continues to be an issue of concern. Maintaining the integrity of the testing process is key to protecting the value of certification. In the past, tactics such as exposing candidates to a limited pool of questions, policing so called braindump sites, requiring photo IDs, and physical test center security have all been employed without complete success. Just this December, however, Cisco Systems announced that it will be introducing several innovations in the coming year to further combat exam fraud. These will include collecting digital photos and digital signatures of all test takers to further ensure the candidate’s identity. This is likely a first step toward using biometrics to confirm identity, not just with computer certification testing, but with other professional testing programs as well.
Perhaps also in response to security concerns, several vendors who have utilized online testing in the past have switched over exclusively to proctored testing. This includes SANS Institute’s Global Information Assurance Certification (GIAC) program, which has been employing online testing for many years.
Secondly, there have been several developments related to the testing networks themselves. Instead of using both of the major testing networks, Prometric and Pearson VUE as they have for many years, Microsoft and Cisco each announced a move to test exclusively through a single test provider. Interestingly, they made opposite choices, both announced at virtually the same time, with Microsoft contracting with Prometric and Cisco with Pearson VUE. Since both of these offer robust testing networks worldwide, this should not significantly affect certification candidates. It does show, however, that both of them offer the necessary worldwide reach, and it is no longer necessary to test through both in order to ensure test availability. Other certification vendors may well make a similar move in the coming year, leading to even stiffer competition than usual between Prometric and Pearson VUE, which could work out well for certification vendors. Prometric, by the way, has been spun off from The Thomson Corporation, and is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Educational Testing Service (ETS).
As far as the cost of certification exams, always of importance to certification candidates, the price of most of SAS Institute’s exam rose from $150 to $180, and Planet3 Wireless boosted their Certified Wireless Security Professional (CWSP) fee from $175 to $255, and CompTIA prices seem to have edged upward; otherwise, exam fees remained relatively stable throughout 2007.
Revitalizing Certification’s Value
Tt’s no secret that computer certification has been suffering through a bit of the doldrums in recent years, still serving a useful purpose but fading slowly farther from the star status among IT professionals and employers that it originally held. Rather than simply observing this trend, this year certification vendors seem to have decided it’s time to address the perceived diminishing value of certification head on and act to reverse it.
Just this November it was announced that Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft, Novell and Sun, CompTIA, and LPI (Linux Professional Institute), along with testing network providers Prometric and VUE and the Kaplan education company, have joined forces to create an Information Technology Certification Council (ITCC). The ITCC has the goal of driving the value of certification by addressing topics such as exam security, perceptions versus realities of IT certification value, return on investment, and training to testing ratios. The plan is to do this by targeting both employers and certification candidates. If this goes beyond the organizational stage, the combined might of these heavy hitters could be a real force for certification renewal. Individual certification vendors are also increasing general promotional activities for their programs.
The training to testing ratio has long been an issue of concern to certification vendors and is one of the things they are working to improve. Apparently, many IT workers take certification training but never take the exams to obtain the credential. There are probably multiple reasons for this, such as incurring additional expense with no guarantee of passing the exams and a feeling that the certification itself will not offer much additional value. To address the issue of expense, an increasing number of vendors are offering discount programs and free exam retakes. This year Microsoft, Novell, SAS Institute, and Sun Microsystems, among others, all ran free retake promotions.
This is all good, but what, besides generalized promotion and attention to test security, really needs to be done? Whether the value of certification will go up, down, or simply trot along in the future lies squarely in the hands of the certification vendors, who must address two inextricably intertwined tasks, first to create certifications that offer concrete value to IT professionals and then to convince employers that this value exists. A few certifications, such as Cisco’s high end Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) designation, have almost always had this winning combination; other certifications, such as Microsoft’s Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) and Novell’s Certified Novell Engineer (CNE) once had it but have largely lost it.
Recently some of the certification vendors, not just the biggest, seem to have developed a new dedication toward remedying this. This is evident in some of the previously mentioned developments, such as the formation of the ITCC, but how many times have we seen similar promising announcements only to have them fade silently away without ever achieving significant implementation? Hopefully this time will be different. Certainly they must already have a long list of plans, but they, as well as individual certification vendors, might also want to consider some of the following steps:
- Provide concrete incentives of some kind beyond current marketplace forces. This may seem superficial, but the market can be slow to respond and sometimes needs an extra push, even if a somewhat contrived one. These incentives should be career related, i.e., not trips and merchandise, because people don’t commit to time consuming and difficult tasks like training and testing in order to obtain a personal material reward, unless it’s more money. Exactly what these incentives might be should be ascertained through careful research (see next item). Perhaps it would include regular access to free or inexpensive professional advancement or training opportunities, significant discounts on products or technical support to employers, or something entirely new. Certainly some of these incentives exist already, but they need to be bigger, better, and more widely promoted so that everyone knows about them and they become a driving reason rather than a nice aside.
- Perform some heavy focus group activities with IT professionals to find out, if a certification were developed from scratch, exactly what they would want and expect it to do for them. Often such information is attempted to be gathered from test takers, but those are people who already chose certification. They will have good input, but the people who are not choosing certification need to be tapped as well. Rather than each vendor attempting this independently, pooling resources and quarterbacking via an organization such as the ITCC can make this much more possible.
- Renew activities to demonstrate to employers that certification is good for business and isn’t just a way for their employees to buff up their resumes. Already studies have been done showing increased ROI and so forth when employees are certified, but many of these are years old. Also, specific incentives such as those mentioned in the first item but from the employers perspective should not be overlooked.
- Continue to defend the integrity of certification through exam security.
- Continue with testing deals and promotions to bridge that gap between training and testing and pursue ways to get individuals to take that first certification exam.
2008
If 2007 was a year where certification vendors began showing increased commitment to building their certification programs, then 2008 needs to be the year where IT professionals and their employers are wooed back into the fold of computer certification in large numbers. This is most likely to happen by evolving certifications to the next level rather than solely by pushing what already exists. The SANS Institute has some good ideas for using certification exams to identify and measure improvement in skills on top of offering a credential, which would benefit both employers and employees. More ideas like this need to be developed. At times it seems like certification vendors are so focused on keeping a tight grip of control on their certification programs that the desires of the IT professional get lost in the shuffle, but this is something that needs to change. In 2008, innovation is in order, and it is time for computer certification to evolve to the next level.