Cisco Certifications addressing skills the market demands...

Cisco certification indicates that individuals have attained specific skills and knowledge-, making them more valuable to their employers and more productive while opening further avenues for career advancement. Cisco has found that people with certifications also share a sense of common purpose and are committed to a high standard of conduct.




Cisco works continuously to maintain the relevance of its certification and training programs for evolving job roles and changing student and employer training needs. These programs make use of the latest tools for learning, social media and online collaborative communities. Cisco also regularly updates existing certification programs and develops new certifications to meet the needs of employers for experts in new and specialized areas of network technology.



New Certifications for Data Center Specialists

One example of current network advances is in the data center, where network engineers are working more frequently with storage, server and security professionals. The traditional separation of these roles is blurring as data center technologies converge throughvirtualization and unified computing.

To reflect the multiple skill sets required of data center specialists, Cisco is introducing two new certifications. The Cisco Data Center Unified Computing Design Specialist certification is suitable for data center architects who focus on designing data centers to support unified computing and data center virtualization. The Cisco Data Center Unified Computing Support Specialist certification is for engineers who deploy unified computing, virtualization and related technologies in data centers. Both certifications will confirm an individual's ability to design and manage revolutionary data centers that will help Cisco customers grow their businesses.



New Cisco TelePresence Certifications Support Business Collaboration

Today's business environment means employees are increasingly collaborating through high-quality voice, video and rich-media communications such as those provided by the Cisco TelePresence solution. Yet evolving an enterprise network to support video collaboration requires professionals with distinct skills in rich-media network design and support.



A new Cisco certification track will build knowledge and validate these skills for IT professionals. Attaining the Cisco TelePresence Solutions Specialist certification will help a midcareer voice specialist or network engineer master the planning, design, implementation and maintenance of Cisco TelePresence systems. Attaining the Cisco TelePresence Installations Specialist certification will help an installation professional master the physical deployment and construction of single-screen Cisco TelePresence systems.



Wireless: New Certifications for a Rapidly Growing Field - Borderless Networks

Employer demand is growing for wireless professionals who can design, implement, secure and operate wireless networks and mobility infrastructures. Cisco is addressing this market need with the new Cisco Certified Network Professional Wireless (CCNP Wireless) and Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert Wireless (CCIE Wireless) certifications.



The CCNP Wireless professional-level certification serves as the next step for individuals who have completed Cisco Certified Network Associate Wireless (CCNA Wireless) certification and are interested in advancing their careers in Cisco wireless technologies.



The CCIE Wireless certification verifies that candidates have the necessary expertise to design, manage and support wireless networks. This certification distinguishes wireless engineers in the industry and gives experienced professionals a path to be recognized as wireless experts.



CCIE R&S: Reflecting New Expectations for Network Experts

To reflect the growth of the network as a service platform, Cisco is revising the requirements for the Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert Routing and Switching (CCIE R&S) certification, the expert-level certification for network engineers. Specifically, the CCIE R&S written exam will add scenario-based questions and new topics such as multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) and virtual private networks (VPNs), which are common technologies used to design highly secure, scalable connectivity for the industry. The lab exam will now include hands-on troubleshooting of preconfigured networks to validate a candidate's skill in diagnosing and resolving network faults.



CCDA: Designing for New Network Services

The updated Cisco Certified Design Associate (CCDA) certification validates the knowledge and skills of associate-level network designers addressing increasingly complex network infrastructures. This certification now reflects job skills such as data center design, application networking design and network preparation for the integration of voice and video in a network.


Cisco Certifications Keep Pace With New Directions in Networking By Jeanne Beliveau-Dunn — October Certification Magazine