Certification - November 2008 - (Page 60)

that leads to the SNIA Certified Architect (SCA) credential. This exam targets the complex topics and skills required to assess, plan, design and optimize storage networking solutions. In addition to passing the SNIA Storage Network Foundations exam, training for this credential normally includes a minimum of four days of instructor-led training, covering storage-networking assessment, planning and design. These skills and concepts enable candidates to build storage solutions using best practices and standards such as Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and IT Service Management (ITSM) principles. The SNCP is specifically designed to provide vendor-neutral foundations that can work in direct partnership with storage industry vendors’ product-based certification programs. By creating a combination of broad familiarity with storage networking technologies, as well as a focus on a particular vendor’s products, an individual has the requisite expertise to command respect and recognition in the marketplace. Accordingly, the highest level of accreditation in the SNCP — the SNIA Certified Storage Networking Expert (SCSN-E) — consists of a combination of all SNIA exams, plus a certification from one of the program’s storage industry partners. Partner companies are Brocade, Cisco, EMC, HP, Hitachi Data Systems and NetApp, with additional vendor partnerships in development. INTERFACE continued from page 55 “The business people love to say, ‘OK, here’s how it works’ and show their knowledge to the IT staff,” Edmonds said. “A lot of times, I actually encourage [the IT staff] to go in presenting a perception that they don’t know anything about what the business is doing with this, so that it builds the esteem of the business people [and] it develops the relationship. It becomes a close tie because the business person almost operates like a mentor to the IT staff. Plus, then [the IT staff has] an understanding of where that customer’s coming from and where they want to go.” While there’s no traditional career path at Symetra, IT employees can be promoted within their specialties. For example, an entry-level developer can ascend to one of the four levels of developers. “The things that determine being promoted to the next level include strengthening of leadership skills [and] broadening of knowledge across the business so they’re valuable between the various business silos,” Edmonds explained. Once employees reach the highest job level, IT specialist, they can move across the IT department because they have a solid understanding of the business and the applications that support those business units. “A lot of times you’ll see developers who have [good] communication skills move into architecture roles, the business analyst role [or] into management,” Edmonds said. “I’ve seen business analysts move into quality assurance [or] into management. And then I’ve seen a more complete circle where management staff wants to get out of the administrative red tape and move back into a business analyst role later on in their career. Typically, they don’t move back into a development role because the technology advances so fast [and] getting caught up usually doesn’t happen late in the career.” At the end of the day, Symetra is looking for an IT professional who likes to work with others, is motivated to learn, is not afraid of change and is adventurous. “A lot of the situations that you have to solve, [you] just have to dive in and try new things [and] think outside the box,” Edmonds said. 8 – Lindsay Edmonds Wickman, lwickman@certmag.com Certified Storage Networking Expert SNIA Certification: Strong Foundation, Global Growth Each month, more than 100 individuals validate their skills and knowledge and become SNIA certified. Where are these IT professionals coming from? • Thirty-seven percent are from the Americas. • Thirty-seven percent are from Europe, the Middle East and Africa. • Twenty-six percent are from Asia Pacific. Also, storage professionals in India are showing significant interest in SNIA’s certification program due to the increasing amount of offshore assignments in IT. 8 Rick Bauer is director of technology and education at the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA). He can be reached at editor@certmag.com. 60 CERTIFICATION MAGAZINE November 2008 http://www.itil-officialsite.com http://www.itil-officialsite.com http://www.itsm.info/ITSM.htm http://www.itsm.info/ITSM.htm http://www.snia.org/education/certification/scsne/ http://www.snia.org/education/certification/scsne/

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Certification - November 2008 Editor's Letter Contents Tech Careers Dear Techie Virtual Village Data Stream Academic Connection Troubleshooting What We Like Look Ahead The Gender Gap: IT Lacks a Woman’s Touch IT for Free: Volunteering Today Interface Technical Architect: Learning, Growing, Innovating Inside Certification Endtag Ad Index

Certification - November 2008

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