Highly Sought-after Training on VMware vSphere 4 and Advanced Datacenter Design Helps Drive Salary Premiums, Advance Careers for more than 40,000 VMware Certified Professionals Worldwide.
VMware, Inc., the global leader in virtualization solutions from the desktop through the datacenter and to the cloud, today announced growing momentum for VMware’s certification and education programs in response to the rapid growth of virtualization deployments worldwide that has created a large need for IT professionals with specialized skills.
Businesses are looking for individuals with the expertise to optimize and manage virtualized environments, thereby helping companies reduce costs, become more agile, and improve application service levels. For IT professionals who want to enhance their skill sets and increase their earning power, two certifications are available from VMware: VMware Certified Professional (VCP) and VMware Certified Design Expert (VCDX).
The VCP certification, which now includes certification on VMware vSphere 4, is designed for system administrators, system operators, systems engineers, and consultants working for end users, partners and resellers looking to demonstrate their expertise in virtual infrastructure and advance their careers. VCDX is an advanced certification for architects and consultants who are responsible for planning and designing VMware enterprise deployments. Certification courses are offered through VMware and VMware Authorized Training Centers (VATCs).
“Recent surveys show that despite the economic downturn, demand for jobs requiring virtualization skills remains strong, and virtualization skills are commanding premiums of 15 to19 percent higher than current base IT salaries,” said Carl Eschenbach, executive vice president, worldwide field operations, VMware. “The rapid growth of the VCP program — there are now more than 40,000 VCPs — underscores the market demand for virtualization skills. In fact, Channel Insider magazine’s 2009 Certification and Training Survey found that VMware certification is one of the most profitable vendor certifications.”
Ecosystem Partners See Value of VMware Training
“Network virtualization is a key component of next-generation datacenters, and it is clear that virtualization skills are essential to ease the adoption of these networking technologies and maximize the return on enterprise investments,” said Marcello Hunter, senior manager, Learning@Cisco. “We now incorporate VCP training into two of our Cisco Data Center Unified Computing certification programs. Teaming with top organizations in virtualization like VMware to develop authorized training, education and career certifications underscores our commitment to providing organizations and individuals with the technical knowledge and expertise needed to capitalize on the evolution of networking technology.”
"EMC’s demonstrated expertise in datacenter virtualization and enabling customers to realize the full benefits of a private cloud strategy results from not only best-of-breed technology and services, but also from EMC providing the necessary skills and competencies through world-class training and certification to our employees, partners and customers, ensuring their success,” said Tom Clancy, vice president, EMC Education Services. “As a VATC, EMC can deliver VMware training and provide virtualization skills, in addition to core EMC training and EMC Proven Professional certification. The powerful combination of VMware training and VCP certification, along with EMC platform training, offers the full skill set that customers need to deploy and integrate EMC technology in a virtualized environment.”
“Our authorized VMware training business has grown steadily over the last 12 months, even in a difficult economic environment,” said Michael K. Fox, senior vice president, enterprise solutions and product management, Global Knowledge. “We are seeing that VMware knowledge, skills and certification have become a requirement for many of our customers and partners, and our status as a leading VATC along with our commitment to high-quality training enables us to satisfy the demand.”
“Customers are looking for technology professionals who are experts at deploying large-scale virtualization that drives growth, increases efficiency and mitigates risk,” said Joe Stanis, worldwide director and general manager, Educational Services, HP. “As a strategic VMware authorized training partner with more than 20,000 students trained on VMware-authorized courses, HP offers VMware education programs that help students increase their technical skill set and become trusted virtualization experts within their organizations.”
VMware Education Programs
n addition to the VCP and VCDX certification programs, VMware is developing other innovative programs such as the VMware IT Academy to meet the growing demand for IT professionals with virtualization skills. The VMware IT Academy is a partnership between VMware and a growing number of academic institutions worldwide that equips students with VMware technical skills to complement a student’s chosen field of study. Through this new program, VMware provides free access to training and certification for instructors, and offers discounted course materials and certification vouchers for students. This program is helping VMware create a collaborative relationship with academic institutions whereby their students may qualify for VCP status and other VMware certifications.
“The VMware IT Academy program is one of a kind,” said Dr. Timur Mirzoev, assistant professor, Department of Information Technology, Georgia Southern University. “The educational services and resources offered by VMware give our students the foundation for tremendous IT careers. The training gives students a head start on professional advancement by teaching them best practices for networking, security, application deployments and much more in virtualized environments.”
The VMware IT Academy is part of VMware’s broader Education Services. VMware Education Services are designed to accelerate instruction and research in the rapidly maturing field of virtualized infrastructure. Educational courses for VMware products and technologies are available at more than 500 training locations in more than 60 countries and 35 languages from VMware and authorized VATCs.
