Monday, January 6, 2014

Microsoft Decision Nixes Top-Level Certs lures IT Pros to Cloud

Microsoft recently announced the demise of their programs higher level certifications: Microsoft Certified Master and Microsoft Certified Architect. So what does it mean for your future as an Exchange administrator?

The MCA MCM program and origin in what was the ranger program in the category of Exchange. The program was originally created to improve the quality of Exchange deployments to reduce the number of support calls received Microsoft implemented due to bad software. In 2005, the Certified Architect certification was introduced, adding an additional level of technical certifications for most of the Masters.
At one time, Microsoft Learning has taken responsibility for these programs. Now, Microsoft Learning is running away from their responsibilities. In late August, all existing MCM, MCA aspirants and received the following message:

We are in contact with you to let you know that we are making a change in the certificate of Microsoft , Microsoft Certified Master and Microsoft Certified Solutions Architect certification. As technology changes, so do the certifications of Microsoft, and as such, we continue the development of the Microsoft Certification program. Microsoft will stop offering Masters - undergraduate and rotations Architect and will be removed from the certification exams Masters level from October 1, 2013.


Not long after the message was sent, on behalf of the IT community has begun to respond - greatly. There have been many angry messages and blog articles, like this one by Steve Goodman. The architects of the UC - A group of MVP, MCM and other fans - devoted a special episode in which several people have expressed concerns about how Microsoft Learning handled the situation.

Overall, the message of the company missed its target and, as such, was poorly received. Microsoft has sent the message on a Friday night before a long weekend, so it is impossible to answer questions or concerns from customers. What's more, no one expected this.

Immediately after the message was sent, people have taken several initiatives to bring this bad decision to the attention of Microsoft and request a response. One of these initiatives came from Jen Stirrup, SQL Server MCM, which has begun voting on Connect.microsoft.com to collect information and to join the community of MCM - MCA.

Tim Sneath , senior director of Microsoft Learning, replied on the thread Connect.microsoft.com for the decision. "Sure, we lose money (and not a small amount), but that's not the point that we only could do much more for the community in general at this level - . Whether we could create something for many more aspiring, "he said.

It should not surprise anyone that one of the main reasons for ending the program is that it is not making money for Microsoft Learning. But another big reason the company says it is ending the program is the lack of participation. Only a few hundred people around the world achieved certification, which is much less than Microsoft had hoped, Sneath said :


We wanted to create a certification that many people aspire to , and that would be the final peak of Microsoft Certified program , but with only [about] 0.08 % of all people being MCSE certified in the program of all programs simply hasn 't gained traction we had hoped .

Is Microsoft forcing IT pros into cloud?

Microsoft movement to end the high-level certification is one of many strange decisions the company has made recently. TechNet subscriptions to a couple of weeks ago, the sending of the first shock wave through the community were announced. Now is killing the higher level certifications, effectively leaving the MCSE certification as the highest attainable certification.

It is not uncommon in corporate environments to end a program fails to achieve its objectives. But the way Microsoft handled the situation - and the fact that he lost sight of the original purpose of the program - that is what is annoying. L ' company claims to have legitimate reasons for these changes, but others say it is all part of a broader strategy to dispose of professionals and force a move to the cloud. Could be part of a broader strategy to become a services company, and devices.

The dust has not yet settled, and I suspect that someone throw more light on the situation in the coming weeks. No matter what he does the next Microsoft, its recent actions delivered a blow to the confidence of his most loyal followers , but will IT professionals time to recover.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.