Computer Certification: 2003 in Review and a Peek at What Lies Ahead

Published January 5, 2004
By Anne Martinez

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Wow, can you believe it? - The Certification Update newsletter is now entering its seventh year of publication! Novell's CNE is twice as old - hitting fourteen this year. Few people had heard of computer certification when Novell created the CNE in 1989, but what started as a simple sales tool for Novell triggered widespread recognition of the power of certification to make a resume stand out. Now, there are so many computer certifications it can be hard to choose which one is best, and to human resource departments, the technical resume that doesn't have any certifications near the top looks like its missing something.

Right now the value of certification in the IT industry is clouded by the confusion that results from the sudden abundance of titles. It's a challenge for IT professionals and employers to identify which certifications are worthwhile to pursue, while noting which are undoubtedly of high quality but will not personally benefit them, and discarding those which offer little value to anyone.

And then there is the legion of cheaters, who would help those who are not deserving or skilled pass certification exams through illegitimate means. When individuals who gain certification by these methods enter the workplace and can't perform as expected, everyone else who is certified is harmed.

But neither of those hurdles is insurmountable. For the first, Certification vendors are beginning to recognize the problem and attempt to reorganize their certifications into a consistent structure with identifiable levels. Plus, there are Web sites like GoCertify.com and others that organize the hundreds of certifications into manageable groups and help people choose among them.

For the cheaters, members of the computer industry have reached out and slapped them with the long arm of the law. In 2003 industry members brought successful lawsuits against several distributors of so-called braindumps. And a special consulting group, named Caveon < http://www.gocertify.com/news/certwatch031001.php>, formed by industry experts will make their lives even more miserable.

To be sure, there are additional, smaller barriers to surmount. For example, quality continues to be of concern. Most certification programs are well-run operations that pay careful attention to the definition of objectives and the creation and maintenance of exams that measure them. But there is no watchdog to assure that. Accreditation of certification programs, just as colleges are accredited, is likely to appear in the not too distant future, perhaps within the next few years.

In case you missed any of the certification happenings of 2003 (and who can keep track of it all?) here's a review of computer certification program developments:

Security is the Word

• Microsoft added security specialties to the MCSA and MCSE
  
  
• Sun Certified Solaris Security Administrator was launched.
  
  
• The National Security Agency (NSA) and ISC2 (International Information Systems Security Consortium Inc) created the ISSEP, a new computer security certification for the National Security Agency (NSA).
  
  
• ISC2 also expanded its well respected CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) program by adding "concentrations" and an associate program.
  
  
• Planet3Wireless released the Certified Wireless Security Professional (CWSP) title.
• Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) was created.
  
  
• Check Point added an entry-level security certification, the Certified Security Principles Associate (CCSPA).