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[Quality Assurance]A Parallel Postsecondary Universe: The Certification System in Information Technology - October 2000
58. NACSE does not stand alone in the accounting of IT certifications other than those issued by vendors such as Microsoft, Cisco or Novell. The Computer Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) and the Institute for Certification of Computing Professionals (ICCP) are notable certifiers who have nothing to sell. As Christianson and Fajan note, their "vendor-neutral" certifications, "cover many products and concepts," are "developed by a wide range of experts in a particular field," and "encompass a [broad] range of skills and abilities."(p. 528)
All vendor systems, for example, face the potential of crashes and "disaster recovery." Disaster recovery is, to use a conscious oxymoron, a generic specialization. Such specializations are similar to those in academic fields. So it is not surprising that we have an industry organization called the Disaster Recovery Institute (DRI) which has developed three levels of international certification in Business Continuity Planning. And with the increasing sophistication of hackers and virus originators, it was inevitable that the System Administration, Networking, and Security Institute (SANS) would launch a security certification program (including Web-based training), as it did in July 2000.
59. Another example of vendor/association collaboration is Novell's Certified Internet Professional (CIP), a credential developed in concert with the International Webmasters Association (IWA), the Association of Web Professionals, the Australian Web Developers, and the Association of Internet Professionals. There are five "tracks" in the program-Internet Business Strategist, Web Designer, Intranet Manager, Web Developer, and Internet Architect. Eleven (11) core courses support preparation on those tracks, and only one of the eleven, "Netware 4.11 Administration," is truly vendor-dependent (Novell). Separately, the IWA offers a Certified Web Professional designation available only to its 14,000 members (93 chapters in 31 countries, from Cambodia to Venezuela). In addition to examination in at least one of seven "Web disciplines" (the list is slightly different from that of the Novell CIP, in which IWA also participates), the CWP requires two years of qualifying job experience.
60. Beyond vendor/association collaboration lie joint vendor certifications. The most notable of these is the new "Certification Initiative for Enterprise Development," a cooperative undertaking of IBM, Novell, Oracle, Sun Microsystems, and the Sun-Netscape Alliance. This effort is described on Sun's Web site as "a multi-vendor Java technology training and certification initiative," and illustrates how a broad segment of the information technology industry recognizes and codifies the ties that bind. The key tie, in this case, is Java.
61. Increasingly, too, we find "cross-vendor recognized" examinations, a development that underscores the rationalizing trends in the industry, along with the competition for trained labor. Microsoft, for example, waives its networking examination requirement for those who are already certified by Novell, Banyan, or Sun as network engineers, specialists, or administrators. Novell waives its networking technologies exam requirement for those who already hold the MCSE (Microsoft) or Network+ (CompTIA) certifications. Intel exempts holders of CompTIA certifications (A+, Network+,and i-Net+) from its Technology Essentials examination (the relationship between the specific CompTIA certification and exemption depends on the track of the Intel certification for which one is a candidate). In the new Certification Initiative for Enterprise Development, the Sun Certified Programmer for the Java Platform examination is recognized by all corporate participants. In a way, these developments suggest that IT certifications ultimately prove to be generic. They are like piano concertos: practice one well, and you can learn the next one more easily.