Cisco推出比CCIE级别更高的CCA認證


新聞來源:www.56cto.com 2009/07/01

http://www.56cto.com/html/Center/News/Cisco/41812.html

 

多年以來,CCIE(Cisco認證互聯網專家)認證一直是網絡職業人士夢寐以求的最高級別認證,目前全球獲得該認證殊榮的人也很少。不過,現在這種情况出現了變化。Cisco在周一又發布了一種比CCIE級別更高的新認證--Cisco認證架構師(CCA)。Cisco試圖通過CCA認證將CCIE的網絡工程技能與MBA的商業才幹結合起來。

在Cisco的CCA認證中,CCA將訓練報考者與首席商務運營主管們一起工作,以將商業需求轉換成有效的IT系統。 Cisco發言人Fred Wieller表示:“我們的研究顯示,如果一家公司購買了錯誤的技術和服務,那麽他們可能會浪費1000億美元。”産生這種浪費的原因是主管人員對商業需求有著深刻的認識,但是對IT架構缺乏認識,或者是對IT架構有著深刻的認識,但是對商業需求缺乏認識。CCA將訓練CCIE如何溝通以上兩個群體。

Cisco新公布的CCA認證不僅花費昂貴,而且也極不容易通過。CCA認證需要花費15000美元。報考者不僅必須擁有一個CCIE或CCDE(Cisco認證設計專家)認證,幷且需要有至少10年的相關行業的工作經驗。報考者必須提出申請,然而再經過Cisco的嚴格篩選才能參加培訓。一旦被允許參加培訓課程,報考者必須爲一系列商業需求提出一個架構解决方案。届時,考試委員會將會對培訓者進行質詢,培訓者則需要對方案進行答辯,幷進行修改。考試委員會由全球知名工程師和其它領域內的相關專家組成,成員不僅僅來自Cisco。

對此,Wieller表示:“這一認證將鼓勵企業將網絡架構視爲工作職能而不是工作的一部分。”一旦被允許參加培訓課程,認證程序可在數周內完成。

目前行業分析人士對于這種新認證十分贊成。市場研究機構Yankee Group的高級副總裁Zeus Kerravala表示:“CCIE目前已經是網絡工程師的最高級別認證。然而新推出的CCA認證在級別上將超過CCIE認證,這意味著一名擁有CCIE認證的網絡工程師將具有MBA的商業才幹。許多公司都會經常購買一些技術,然後再盤算如何利用這些技術。這種現象十分普遍。以商業標準看待這些技術目前是一種十分搶手的技能。”

Kerravala相信,CCA認證很快將與CCIE認證一樣具有價值。由于許多系統整合公司如今必須出示其雇員中獲得CCIE認證的比例,因此Kerravala相信系統整合公司將會率先派遣他們的雇員參加CCA認證。此外,Kerravala還認爲大型跨國公司的網絡工程師將也會熱衷于這種新的認證。他認爲未來這種認證甚至可能會代替某些商業研究生學位,今後一些合作複雜網絡的公司將能會專門尋求這種人才。

Cisco表示,未來CCA認證將會成爲一種精英認證,每年通過這種認證的人數也將會非常少。Cisco項目經理Sanjay Mehta稱,通過CCA認證的人數在頭兩年可能僅有兩位數水平。Cisco在今年秋季將開始接受CCA認證的申請,在明年一月份首批參加培訓人員將對他們的架構解决方案進行答辯。

With a new top-level network certification, Cisco could open a network engineer's career path straight into the executive boardroom.


At Cisco Live in San Francisco this week, Cisco Systems unveiled its Cisco Certified Architect program, a new pinnacle certification that sits atop Cisco's most elite career certifications, the Cisco Certified Internetworking Expert (CCIE) and Cisco Certified Design Expert (CCDE).

The Cisco Certified Architect (CCA) certification is about translating business requirements into technical specifications, according to Sanjay Mehta, product manager for Learning@Cisco. CCA candidates must go beyond demonstrating expertise with network architecture and show that they can communicate with C-level executives to understand business objectives and translate them into technological blueprints.

"An architect must be able to communicate and advocate proposed architecture," Mehta said. "They must have strong verbal communications and presentation skills. They must be able to demonstrate strong business knowledge, especially in finance and risk management. They must be able to operate on the fly, because they're coming across different market adjacencies that need to be linked and incorporated into an enterprise architecture."

Based on recent market research, Cisco estimates that companies will spend more than $100 billion buying the wrong networking technologies and services over the next five years, Mehta said, because of an emerging skills gap in the networking profession. The day-to-day operations of switching and routing are still critical functions in the networking profession, but Mehta said enterprises will increasingly need network architects who can look at "the big picture" and who can work with teams of engineers to make sure that different components of the network come together to serve business requirements.

Zeus Kerravala, group vice president for the Yankee Group, said the CCA certification will produce network architects who can help enterprises bridge the divide between IT and the rest of the business, which should help cut down Cisco's estimates for wasted spending.

"Historically, [Cisco's] certifications have revolved around technical understanding and technical prowess," Kerravala said. "With [CCA], that's only half the challenge. The other half of the certification is to be able to articulate the technology in business terms. I do think that helps the traditional engineer bridge that gap between IT and the business world much more easily."

But Kerravala said the CCA will also open up new career opportunities for network engineers.


"It's interesting," he said. "When you think of most corporate leaders, they usually come out of all areas of their senior leadership but IT. You'll often hear a CFO turned CEO or a COO turned CEO, but you never really hear that a CIO turned CEO. [CCA] should help create a career path for those people on the technology track who want to move more into a line-of-business world."

Mehta said Cisco expects fewer than 100 people to attain CCA status within the first few years of the program's existence, making it an elite program that could redefine a network engineer's career.

Heavy requirements set the CCA bar high

Candidates for the CCA program must have about 10 years of networking experience and must have attained CCDE certification. To be considered for the certification, a candidate must also submit a resume and a summary of a project in which he was a lead network architect or part of an architecture team that built a global, large-scale network. A panel of three judges, subject matter experts from both inside and outside Cisco, will review the candidate's application and conduct a phone interview with him to determine whether he has the experience to try for the certification.

If the judges decide that an applicant has the right experience, they will issue "an architectural challenge" to the candidate, Mehta said.

"It is … something like an RFP [request for proposals] process," he said, "where the individual would receive an assignment and have to come back with the technical specifications based on the challenge."

The candidate will essentially draft high-level architectural diagrams that specifically address the business requirements laid out in the challenge. Mehta said the candidates must demonstrate their technical expertise as well as their understanding of business requirements. The candidates will then have to present their written proposals to the panel of judges, much as a Ph.D. candidate would defend a doctoral dissertation.

"What [Cisco is] trying to do is replicate real-life environments," Kerravala said. "An almost Ph.D. dissertation defense is an interesting approach. That's the kind of thing [networking professionals] are going to have to prepare for if they want to bridge the gap between IT and the business world."

The panel of judges will start evaluating candidates in January. At $15,000, the CCA certification is far more expensive than the CCIE and CCDE certifications, which cost about $1,725. Some networking professionals may wonder whether the new certification is worth the hefty price tag.

"Considering that the CCIE itself normally carried with it a six-figure salary, this is almost guaranteed to be more than that," Kerravala said. "Considering that those who pass will be among the top 1% in their field, it's well worth $15,000 to be able to prove that."


De Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) is niet langer meer baas boven baas in het door de netwerkreus gedomineerde datacentrum. Het bedrijf brengt een nieuw topcertificaat uit voor netwerktechnici.

Het idee achter de nieuwe Cisco Certified Architect (CCA) is dat deze zijn uitgebreide technische kennis kan vertalen naar managementtaal. Je kunt dan als hoofdbeheerder van een groot datacentrum een sleutelrol spelen tijdens zowel de beslissing als de implementatie van ict-systemen.

Kandidaten kunnen met het papiertje in de hand concreet technische voorstellen doen op basis van sets van zakelijke eisen. Dat is ook waarop kandidaten worden geëxamineerd; aan de hand van lijstjes moeten de deelnemers een architectuur ontwerpen die aan al die eisen voldoet. Deze moeten ze vervolgens verdedigen voor een speciale commissie van vergevorderde netwerkspecialisten, zowel van Cisco als van andere partijen.

Topzwaar
Eenvoudig wordt het niet om een CCA te bemachtigen. Alleen deelname al kost rond de 15.000 dollar, en om mee te mogen doen is het op zak hebben van de CCIE of CCDE (Cisco Certified Design Expert) een vereiste. Je moet tenminste 10 jaar ervaring in het vak hebben, en zelfs met dat alles moet je door een goedkeuringscommissie. Het programma duurt enkele weken, voordat je het voorstel mag verdedigen.

Vanaf de herfst accepteert Cisco aanmeldingen, en begin volgend jaar moeten de eerste CCA's geslaagd zijn. Nederlandse opleiders konden tegenover Techworld nog niet bevestigen of en wanneer zij opleidingen gaan verzorgen die moeten leiden tot een CCA.

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