The website channelinsider has a list of the top 10 certification vendors for resellers.

The article says that solution providers who have certified employees make more money and have better relationships with customers, among other benefits. That's something to think about if you provide IT services as your core business.

The top three vendors in this list aren't a big surprise:

1. Microsoft
2. Cisco
3. Oracle

Of Microsoft, channelinsider says:

"...No one can top this vendor’s market power and value of its certifications ... By far, enterprises and midmarket companies give Microsoft certifications their highest rating."

One thing I found very interesting about the survey is that virtualization vendors take three spots in the Top 10. That speaks volumes about the growing popularity of this exploding technology.

There's an interesting article over at InformIT that discusses Cisco certifications in-depth with two prominent credential-holders.

They have many wise things to say about Cisco certs, and certs in general, but a couple of comments stood out to me. The interviewer asked about the value of certs plus experience. Here's what they said:

"You shouldn't expect a certification to be much more than an interview-getter in terms of employment prospects. I'd rather see people treat certifications as a motivator to increase their knowledge than as a check mark on a resume. The certification might increase your chances of getting an interview; after that you need to rely on your knowledge and experience to impress the interview panel.

[Second speaker]Yes, certs can get you an interview but you still have to prove yourself. There are too many cheat sites available for an employer to assume that your certification means you actually know the technologies. Also, having a certification means that you're someone who goes the extra mile to improve themselves; that you take responsibility for your own knowledge and your own career."

This conforms to what I've always believed about certifications: They can be a foot in the interview door, and definitely speak to a candidate's desire to improve and learn. But they're most effective when combined with experience.

Sun, which was recently acquired by Oracle, is moving away from multiple-choice tests for its Java Programmer certification, and moving toward performance-based testing. In other words, you'll actually need to know ho to write code to pass the exam.

As CertCities reported, it's called the "Sun Java Programmer Plus" certification, and the beta exam is being released on July 22. It runs until July 31, and test participants will get to take the exam for free.

The new test will specifically test coding ability, rather than question-answering ability. "During the exam, you will be required to code solutions for typical programming problems rather than answering multiple choice questions," writes Sun.

Sun believes so firmly in this new testing methodology that it's retiring the previous Java Programmer certifications. The company didn't give a firm date, but said it would provide at least 90 days notice to credential holders.

This is an interesting move by Sun, and one of which I'm in favor. You should be required to demonstrate your ability to write code if you're a programmer. It should also increase the value of the certification; potential employers will know that did more than fill in circles to get this certification -- you actually had to write code.

Oracle has changed some of its certification holders' testing IDs, with the measure aimed at greater security.

Oracle recently blogged that some Prometric IDs, which serve as your passport for taking Oracle exams, was changed. The change was made for individuals who formerly used their social security number as their ID. Those have been replaced with Oracle-generated identifiers instead.

Oracle said the change was to heighten security. That makes sense, since using your social security number as a testing ID is a bad idea. Oracle says it tried to email everyone to whom the change applied, but some people couldn't be reached.

If that's you, finding out your new ID is easy. Log in to the Prometric site with your current Prometric username and password. Then navigate to the area where you can update your personal information, and you should find your new ID.

Prometric is Oracle's testing provider. Oracle says to use the new ID for all testing-related activities in the future. "You will no longer be able to use your social security number for any Oracle Certification purposes," the company states.

Big doings over at the Cisco certification department.

Cisco has announced four new certifications. They are:

• Cisco Certified Architect
• Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) Wireless
• Cisco Data Center Unified Computing Support Specialist
• Cisco Data Center Unified Computing Design Specialist

The Cisco Certified Architect is the highest level of the new certifications. Although it won't even be available until next January, the company did say it would require first holding the Cisco Certified Design Expert (CCDE) as a prerequisite. No formal training program yet exists, but candidates will have to defend their solutions before a review board.

The CCNP Wireless obviously trades on the growing popularity of wireless networks, even in the datacenter. Details are coming this July 24.

The two Data Center Unified Computing certifications revolve around Cisco's new cloud computing infrastructure, which it is calling the "Unified Computing System", or UCS. UCS was announced a few months ago and involves new Cisco-manufactured hardware servers that are pre-loaded with a virtualization stack.

Cisco says that courses and exams for the UCS credentials will be available by the end of this year.

It's obvious from these sketchy details that Cisco is significantly expanding its already impressive certification portfolio. Additional articles will be coming on all these new certifications in the coming months, so be sure to keep checking back for more.

I'm always looking for great new certification websites. If you have one you'd like me to take a look at, let me know. And I'll do the same for you. Here are some of the certification-related sites I visit most often. Check them out!

• CompTIA. The site for the independent certification vendor best known for the A+ certification.


• Certification magazine. Good articles, strong coverage of the industry.


• Microsoft Certified Professional Magazine. Mike Domingo does a great job updating this site, which focuses on (surprise!) Microsoft Certified Professionals.


• Cisco Learning Network. The web home for Cisco certification, one of the best cert programs around.


• Microsoft's Born to Learn blog. This Microsoft-operated site is updated very frequently, and has a fresh, folksy tone.


• Oracle certification blog. Another frequently-updated blog on the fast-growing Oracle certification program.

I visit many more than that, but these are some of my favorites. If you're looking for a good starting point to get up to speed on the certification world, begin with these.

Cisco recently revamped its highest-level certification, the Cisco Certified Internetworking Expert (CCIE), making substantial changes to the exam methodology as well as the content.

One of Cisco's best-known CCIEs, Scott Morris (recently featured on this site), wrote a lengthy article breaking down all aspects of the new certification. Overall, he gives the new focus and concentrations high marks. Morris writes:

"One of the large changes in the CCIE program is the focus on real life. It has long been a fundamental philosophy of life that the CCIE lab exam did not reflect on real life. Very often it showed you what NOT to do with your network, but tested well on a candidates deep understanding of protocols ... The 4.0 version of the CCIE R&S Lab Blueprint is instilling a sense of reality into the world."

While Morris doesn't think all the changes are good, he believes the CCIE will better reflect what network administrators do on a day-to-day basis. He also interviewed the CCIE program manager to get a sense of the thought processes that brought about the changes.

Ultimately, Morris feels that the CCIE has gained a lot more relevance with the changes:

"Personally, I think that the changes are great for the CCIE program, at least from the program-side of things. Troubleshooting is a seriously important concept for real-life networks."

Morris' article should be required reading for all those in CCIE preparation, or considering the CCIE.

Oracle reports that it has extended the beta program for its "Oracle Database 11g: Performance Tuning" certification exam (1Z1-054).

A beta is a pre-release product. Companies release betas so that customers can use the product and provide feedback to the vendor about strengths and weaknesses. In this case, Oracle is seeking more data to refine the exam. The company says that the exam tests the following skills and knowledge:

"Database 11g automatic tuning features, including SQL Tuning Advisor, SQL Access Advisor, Automatic Workload Repository and Automatic Database Diagnostic Monitor."

The beta exam is just $50, which is a good deal because it still counts toward the Oracle Database 11g Performance Tuning Certified Expert (OCE) certification.

Microsoft is ramping up its efforts to get folks to subscribe to its education blog, Born To Learn, in an unusual way.

Every day from now through the last day of June, each person who subscribes to the RSS feed and posts a comment is entered into a drawing for a free exam voucher. Microsoft is selecting three winners per day, so your chances of winning are probably pretty decent.

So, if you like being bribed, go ahead and sign up for the RSS feed and maybe you'll get lucky. Actually, the Born to Learn blog is, in my opinion, the best vendor-sponsored certification blog in the industry, so IMO it's worth your while in any case (and no, I don't work for Microsoft).

CDW Government, Inc. said in a recently-released report that although virtualization technology is increasing in popularity, education and training are sorely lacking.

In its 2009 Federal Virtualization Report, CDW said that although 79% of government agencies want to use virtualization, fewer than 50% have successfully implemented the technology. A big reason, according to the report, is under-trained or improperly trained employees.

Because of that, stated the report IT managers are calling for increased training, budget and education in virtualization. Certification will naturally be a part of that mission, as most major virtualization vendors offer certification programs, including Microsoft, Citrix and VMware.

Virtualization is a fast-growing technology that breaks the traditional bonds between hardware and software. It allows companies to save money by consolidating IT resources -- for example, instead of having one server operating system or software program on one physical server, virtualization enables many OSes and programs per single server.