In August 2009, CompTIA will launch the 2009 Edition of CompTIA A+.  The 2009 Edition will consist of two exams, CompTIA A+ Essentials: Exam 220-701 and CompTIA A+ Practical Application: Exam 220-702.

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On Monday, Cisco announced a new certification, the Cisco Certified Architect, which will sit above the much coveted Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) and the Cisco Certified Design Expert (CCDE). Besides knowing and understanding the architectural design of networks, the Cisco Certified Architect will also understand how to map business requirements to the architectural design and be able to communicate that to others in the organization.

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A note to those not already Microsoft certified, I often get asked when a student passes their exam, “How will I receive my certificate?” in the past Microsoft would have sent you an MCP Welcome Kit with your paper certificate, this would have been sent automatically when you passed your first MCP exam

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Ktec Training have announced an Easter Offer where their MCSE 2003 Training Course Bundle is now £199 – Saving £100 was £299. The price is for a 12 Month Subscription with Anytime Online Access & includes video simulations and self test questions as well as downloadable PDF Notes.

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A number of you have recently asked me about the Microsoft exam 70-640: TS: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory and the newer Exam 83-640: TS: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory.

Exam 83-640 was released by Microsoft back in November 2008 and is a lab-based exam which will gradually replace the current version of the Exam 70-640, the study content and objectives are the same for both exams. 70-640 & 83-640

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This post is just a reminder to those considering taking one of Microsoft’s new certifications – MCTS, MCITP or MCPD on Windows Server 2008.

Microsoft have updated their exam retirement policy, unlike the MCSA & MCSE certifications on Windows Server 2003 which once passed will at the time of writing never retire, Microsoft have introduced a lifecycle policy for the MCTS, MCITP or MCPD, to ensure that these certifications are kept relevant and up to date.

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Microsoft started offering a free second chance to take and pass a Microsoft IT Professional, Developer, or Microsoft Dynamics certification exam back in September 2007, this offer was originally going to end on 31 January 2008, however due to demand Microsoft Learning and Prometric have just announced that they are extending the offer through to 30 June 2008

Of course being well prepared you will pass first time and will not need this, but just in case I will list a couple of useful links below:

For answers to your FAQ’s Click Here

To register for this offer visit Microsoft Learning,

Good Luck

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I recently received the Microsoft January MCP Flash. In this Microsoft encourages people to be amongst the first to become Windows Server 2008 qualified, which is unsurprising, however there was also an article focusing on the Windows Server 2003 certification.

Even though Windows Server 2008 is due for release next month and I will admit that from my experience and from what I have seen it is a great operating system, I know of a number of companies that I have been in contact with recently that are running Windows Server 2003 in an Active Directory environment and at this stage do not intend to migrate to Windows Server 2008, recognising this Microsoft can still see there is a demand for individuals with the appropriate skills and the Microsoft MCSA or MCSE 2003 certifications

The newsletter stated “These certifications will not change or retire with the release of Windows Server 2008. MCSA and MCSE will continue to be recognized and supported by Microsoft, and will be valued by organizations seeking skilled professionals on the Windows Server 2003 infrastructure all over the world. In the future, you can leverage your Windows Server 2003 certification for a shortened path to Windows Server 2008 certifications, when that makes sense for you.“

If you are still interested in these certifications and the upgrade paths available to Windows Server 2008, Microsoft has released a number of alternative electives, for example: exam 70-620 –TS on Windows Vista client, Configuring – can also be used as a core client or general elective exam on the MCSA or MCSE 2003 certification. For a list of the exams needed for MCSA 2003 click here, for MCSE 2003 click here.

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