Certification Watch Volume 15 #1

Written by Anne Martinez

Published: 17 January 2012

IT certification news about a new secure mobile app developer certification, cough Microsoft exam statistics, HP ExpertONE changes, and an ISC(2) program expansion.

Welcome to the first edition of Certification Watch for 2012. We hope you're hard at work on your training plans for this year - we'll keep the latest certification news coming to help you along the way.

Coming Soon: Secure Mobile App Developer

CompTIA and viaForensics recently announced plans to create a joint Secure Mobile App Developer credential that will debut later this year. The Secure Mobile App Developer credential will reportedly cover both Android and iOS operating environments.

This is the most recent addition to the expanding list of CompTIA credentials operated in partnership with a variety of organizations, a list which now includes CompTIA Cloud Essentials Professional (Cloud Credential Council), Linux+ Powered by LPI (Linux Professional Institute), and CompTIA Storage+ Powered by SNIA (Storage Networking Industry Association).

Microsoft Blogger Reports 2011 Milestones

In an year-end post, Liberty Munson of Microsoft provided an interesting summary of numbers related to the Microsoft Certification program in 2011. Highlights include:

• 12 New TS and Pro exams published
• >4000 candidates took beta exams in 2011
• >5000 new test items developed
• >1000 subject matter experts involved in the design and development of new exams

See the full posting on the Born To Learn blog. It would be nice to see how many people earned various Microsoft designations in 2011, but it's no surprise that's not included - that's a subject certification programs have kept pretty mum on in recent years.

2012 Microsoft Exam Retirements

Another Microsoft figure is 14 - the number of exams currently slated for retirement in 2012. Most are older upgrade exams, but 5 MCTS/MCITP exams are also on the list. The MCTS exams are for SharePoint Server 2007, Communications Server 2007, and Exchange Server 2007. The MCITP exams are both Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Messaging exams. For the full list see Microsoft's exam retirement page.

More Details on Recent HP Program Changes

In the last edition of Certification Watch, we promised you further details on the doings at the HP ExpertONE certification program. Read about it now in this new GoCertify article describing how HP has consolidated and renamed its certification programs.

(ISC)2 Expands Associate Program

(ISC)2, which offers several very popular security certifications including the CISSP, recently expanded its opportunities for individuals who have the book-learning but not the experience to earn the full-fledged versions of ISC2 certifications. To become an Associate of (ISC)2, candidates must pass the same exam as their more experienced professionals. If the required experience is obtained within the specified timeframe, the individual then earns the full-fledged certification. Associate status is currently available for CSSLP, CAP, CISSP, and SSCP credentials.

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..