Certification Watch Volume 11 #5

Written by Anne Martinez

Published: 01 May 2008

Certification news regarding a Cisco certification milestone, cure Microsoft exam retirements, a free beta from Brocade, and Citrix and Symantec certification changes.

Cisco Hits the Million Mark

Cisco has hit a major milestone with their certification program, issuing over 1,000,000 networking certifications across the globe including 20,000 Cisco CCIE expert-level credentials. They still have a little catching up to do to match Microsoft's over 2 million certified professionals, but 1,000,000 is a major milestone for any certification program. Congratulations to Cisco!

Microsoft to Retire a Dozen Exams in 2009

If you're in the process of earning a Microsoft MCAD, MCSD, or MCDBA credential, make sure you finish up by March 31, 2009, which is when 12 exams related to these certifications will be retired. You can see the full list on Microsoft's exam retirement page.

New Beta Exam Available from Brocade - Free

If you're interested in becoming a Brocade Certified Fabric Professional 8 Gbit/sec (Beta Exam # 142-060), you can try your hand for free while Brocade fine tunes their latest certification exam. The free beta will be available through May 20, 2008. It includes 200 questions and has a 4 hour time limit. Objectives are available on the Brocade web site.

Citrix Presentation Server Certifications Renamed

Citrix recently changed the names for its certifications and exams to reflect a change in the name of its Presentation Server 4 to XenApp. The content of these certification and exams have not changed - only the names. If you already have a certification with the old name and want a certificate with the new name, you can get it through the Citrix Certification Manager.

Symantec to Redesign, Revamp Certification Program

Symantec is in the process of designing and developing a new certification program. Planned changes include simplifying the program by creating a unified program incorporating all Symantec certifications under one system. Also in the works, a Symantec Certified Specialist track for end users of Symantec products. There's still quite a wait before the new program is rolled out though; it is scheduled to be phased in throughout 2009.

That's all for this edition of Certification Watch. Please keep your certification news and tips coming to the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..