Coverage
Certification Watch Volume 14 #16
IT certification news about Oracle Solaris 11 certification, new certification options from HP and Certiport, the CompTIA Network+ update, and changes to Adobe exam pricing.
By Anne Martinez
December 15, 2011
www.gocertify.com
Here Comes Oracle Solaris 11 Administrator
If you're already an Oracle Certified Professional, you can jump right in and take the upgrade exam (available for just $50 at the time of publication) and be among the first to earn the Oracle Solaris 11 Administrator credential. If you're starting from scratch, you'll have to wait a little longer, because the required Oracle 11 Advanced System Administration exam isn't quite ready yet.
Certiport Rolling Out New Exams
Certiport, which focuses largely but not exclusively on the education market, has been announcing new certification options at a rapid rate. Recent news includes an expansion of the Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) program currently offered through high schools, to which mobile development fundamentals and gaming development fundamentals tracks have been added. An HTML5 Fundamentals credential is planned for early 2012, upping the number of MTA certification options to 10.
Even more recently, Certiport announced an alliance with HP to bring architect-level certifications to the academic market through post-secondary institutions. The HP Accredited Technical Associate (ATA) program promises to prepare students for immediate employment by teaching and assessing their ability to design, implement and administer end-to-end and cloud IT solutions based on HP Converged Infrastructure technology. The program will fully launch in Q1 2012.
HP Delivers Multiple New Certification Initiatives
Speaking of HP, there's a lot going on with their ExpertONE certification program, in fact so much that we could fill the whole newsletter with it. We've got an article in the works that will explore some of the developments in more detail, so watch for that on GoCertify.com. In the meantime, recent HP announcements include:
- HP will be switching its exam provider from Prometric to Pearson VUE as of February 2012. If you want to take an exam at a Prometric center, purchase the voucher by January 16th.
- The creation of the HP Institute, which will administer the above-mentioned ATA credential offered in conjunction with Certiport.
- A new HP ExpertONE Fast Track program for HP Networking certification candidates who already hold other industry certifications.
- A split of the HP certification program into distinct tracks for IT professionals versus HP partners.
Updated CompTIA Network+ Exam Now Live
CompTIA recently announced that an updated edition of its Network+ exam is now available in testing centers worldwide. The new exam features a greater emphasis on network security, virtual networking, and increased attention to the OSI networking model. Conveniently, GoCertify has a fun (and free) game to help you brush up on your OSI knowledge. It's available in Android, iOS for iPhone/iPad, and web-based versions. The new Network+ exam code is N10-005. The previous version, N10-004, will remain available through August 31, 2012.
Adobe Certification Exam Prices Up
Adobe Systems has increased the US price of its certification exams from $150 to $180. The cost of recertification exams remains unchanged so far at $50.