The 10 best IT certifications: 2012

By Erik Eckel


Takeaway: The certification landscape changes as swiftly as the technologies you support. Erik Eckel looks at the certs that are currently relevant and valuable to IT pros.

When it comes to IT skills and expertise, there are all kinds of "best certification" lists. Pundits are quick to add the safe bets: Cisco's CCIE (Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert), Red Hat's RHCE (Red Hat Certified Engineer), and other popular choices.

This isn't that list.

Based on years of experience meeting with clients and organizations too numerous to count, I've built this list with the idea of cataloging the IT industry's 10 most practical, in-demand certifications. That's why I think these are the best; these are the skills clients repeatedly demonstrate they need most. In this list, I justify each selection and the order in which these accreditations are ranked.
1: MCITP: Enterprise Administrator on Windows Server 2008

I love Apple technologies. The hardware's awesome, the software's intuitive and their systems make it easy to get things done fast while remaining secure. But it's a Windows world. Make no mistake. Most every Mac I deploy (and Mac sales are up 20 to 25 percent) is connected to a back-end Windows server. Windows server experts, however, can prove hard to find.

IT pros who have an MCITP (Microsoft Certified IT Professional): Enterprise Administrator on Windows Server 2008 accreditation demonstrate significant, measurable proficiency with Active Directory, configuring network and application infrastructures, enterprise environments, and (if they've chosen well) the Windows 7 client OS.

That's an incredibly strong skill set that everyone from small businesses to enterprise organizations require. Add this line to your resume, and you may be all set to find another job should your current employer downsize.

Honorable mentions for the top spot include the MCITP: Virtualization Administrator on Windows Server 2008 R2 and MCITP: Enterprise Messaging Administrator on Exchange 2010. Microsoft Exchange owns the SMB space. Virtualization initiatives are only getting started and will dominate technology sectors for the next decade at least. Administrators who can knowledgeably navigate Microsoft's virtualization and email platforms will only grow in importance.
2: MCTS

Not everyone has time to sit as many exams as an MCITP requires. The MCTS (Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist) certification is among the smartest accreditations an engineer can currently chase. As mentioned above, it's a Windows world. Adding an MCTS certification in Exchange, SharePoint, Virtualization, Windows Client, or Windows Server will strengthen a resume.

There is no downside to any of these MCTS accreditations. Each of the above tracks provides candidates with an opportunity to demonstrate proficiency with specific technologies that organizations worldwide struggle to effectively design, implement, and maintain every day.
3: VCP

Virtualization is all the rage. It makes sense. Hardware manufacturers keep cranking out faster and faster servers that can store more and more data. Tons of servers sit in data centers using just fractions of their capacities. Virtualization, which enables running multiple virtual server instances on the same physical chassis, will continue growing in importance as organizations strive to maximize technology infrastructure investments.

VMware is a leading producer of virtualization software. Tech pros earning VCP (VMware Certified Professional) certification give employers (both current and future) confidence they can implement and maintain VMware-powered virtual environments. And if you talk to the techs responsible for maintaining data centers, you'll frequently hear that VMware remains a favorite over Microsoft's Hyper-V alternative, although most sober IT pros will have to admit Hyper-V is improving and closing the gap.
4: CCNA

The next politically correct certification to list is the CCIE (Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert). However, that's a massive exam that few professionals realistically will ever have an opportunity to obtain. And while Cisco equipment frequently composes the network backbone, fueling numerous medium and large organizations, most organizations don't need a CCIE and don't have the resources to pay one.

That's why I believe the more fundamental CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) certification is a smart bet. A CCNA can help technology pros better familiarize themselves with the network OS's fundamentals, while simultaneously strengthening their resume. Particularly motivated candidates can proceed to earn a CCNA Security certification, as the network security focus is a critical component of enterprise systems.
5: CSSA

In early 2012, Dell announced its pending acquisition of SonicWALL. There's a reason Dell is buying the hardware manufacturer: SonicWALL has made great strides within the SMB unified threat management market.

Someone needs to be able to configure and troubleshoot those devices. The CSSA (Certified SonicWALL Security Administrator) certification not only proves proficiency in installing and administering the company's devices, certified professionals receive direct access to tier two support staff and beta testing programs.

Organizations are always going to require network devices to fulfill firewall, routing, and threat management services. SonicWALL has carved out quite a bit of market share — so much so that it will now have the marketing might of Dell helping fuel additional growth. Knowing how to configure the devices will help IT pros, particularly those who support numerous small businesses.
6: PMP

Too many chiefs isn't an IT problem I hear or read much about. Instead, it seems there's a lack of IT pros capable of sizing up a project's needs, determining required resources and dependencies, developing a realistic schedule, and managing a technical initiative.

The Project Management Institute is a nonprofit group that administers the PMP (Project Management Professional) certification. The exam isn't designed to earn a profit or motivate IT pros to learn its product and become unofficial sales cheerleaders. The PMP certifies candidates' ability to plan, budget, and complete projects efficiently, on time, and without cost overruns. Those are skills most every medium and large business needs within its IS department and such ability isn't going to be replaced by an app or third-party developer in our lifetimes.
7: CISSP

If you want to specialize in security, the (ISC)² (International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium, Inc.), which administers the CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) accreditation, is your organization. Its vendor-neutral certification has a reputation as one of the best vendor-neutral security certs.

Organizations' data, networks, and systems are increasingly coming under attack due to the value of personal, corporate, customer, and sensitive proprietary information. So individuals who demonstrate measurable success and understanding in architecting, designing, managing, and administering secure environments, developing secure policies, and maintaining secure procedures will stand out from the pack. In addition, the knowledge gained while earning the certification helps practitioners remain current with the latest legal regulations, best practices, and developments impacting security.
8: ACSP

There's more to the energy surrounding Apple than pleasant tablet devices, intuitive smartphones, and a stunning stock price. The company continues chewing up market share and shipping computers at rates 10 to 12 times greater than PC manufacturers.

The ACSP (Apple Certified Support Professional) designation helps IT pros demonstrate expertise supporting Mac OS X clients. Engineers, particularly Windows support pros and administrators increasingly encountering Macs, will be well served completing Apple's certification rack for technical support personnel. Benefits include not only another bullet for the resume but an understanding of Apple's official processes for installing, setting up, troubleshooting, and maintaining Mac client machines.
9: Network+ / A+

Yes, CompTIA's Network+ and A+ designations are, technically, two separate certifications. But they're both critical certs that test absolute fundamentals that every IT pro needs to completely understand.

In fact, there's an argument to be made that all IT pros should have both of these accreditations on their resumes. CompTIA is a well-respected, vendor-neutral (though vendor-supported) organization that continually develops and administers relevant certifications. The network, hardware, and software skills tested on the Network+ and A+ exams are basics that every self-respecting tech professional should master, whether they're performing budgeting tasks, deploying client machines, managing site-wide migrations, overseeing security, or administering networks and servers.
10: CompTIA Healthcare IT Technician

With an aging population, U.S.-based IT pros (in particular) should consider earning CompTIA's Healthcare IT Technician credential. Obviously, if you work in manufacturing, the credential may be a stretch. But manufacturers frequently lay off staff. And many others produce material for health-related purposes.

See where I'm headed?

The interest surrounding health-related technology is almost unparalleled. Look around the city where you live. During the recession, where have you seen growth? Are there lots of new bookstores opening? How about new single-family home developments? Seeing lots of new manufacturing centers?

Doubtful. Like many, you're probably seeing new medical services offices, immediate care centers, hospitals, outpatient facilities, dental practices, and similar health-related businesses.

They all need IT support. Support technicians, administrators, engineers, managers, and especially consultants who want to position themselves well for the future will do well to demonstrate their proficiency with health care technology's regulatory requirements, organizational behaviors, technical processes, medical business operations, and security requirements. IT pros could do worse with their time, that's for sure.

Prevent project cost overruns with these four essential processes

By Suzanne Thornberry

Joe Zink, now a system administrator with CNET Networks, once watched a fellow consultant's project turn into an expensive failure when the two worked together in San Jose. "His project cost went from $1 million to $3 million to cancellation," recalls the IT professional, adding that the project fell victim to scope creep—one of the most common reasons for project failure.

According to Gartner research, IT and application development projects often fail to be completed on time and on budget. In many small and midsize businesses, one third of the projects exceed budgets and schedules by almost 100 percent. In one particular industry, the scenario was even worse: Gartner analyzed tech projects implemented by healthcare delivery organizations and predicted that more than 60 percent would be at least 30 percent late or 20 percent over budget.

Fortunately, savvy IT leaders can help reduce the risk of cost overruns and outright failures by insisting on a thorough planning process that involves not only IT, but also any departments affected by the project.

1. Establish the scope and features before beginning work
Scope creep, according to consultant and author Richard Veryard, is known by various names, depending on the project phase. Early on, it's called "requirements creep," when the project team is defining problems to be tackled. Perhaps most often, it's called "feature creep," as more "solutions," or functions, are added to the specs.

The primary way to fight scope creep seems simple: Firmly establish the requirements and features of the project before getting started. But too often, in-house customers believe that an IT project can always make room for one more feature.

TechRepublic member Jesse Lo RE, VP of DigitalNine Corp., said that IT leaders need to establish a cross-departmental steering committee of project stakeholders as a first step to define the requirements. Lo RE believes that because project overruns are usually a result of factors outside of the project team, the steering committee can provide the "organizational buy-in" that's necessary to keep the project on track.

Jon Nelson, a TechRepublic member and CTO of Avnet Inc., said that once project requirements and features are mapped out, the next step is putting the requirements in writing and having a representative of each user community sign off. "If it's not written, then it's not real" is Nelson's first rule of project management. He pointed out that an e-mail validation is deniable, but a personal script on a paper contract is not. Maybe that's why in Nelson's 15-year IT career, none of his 16 large-scale projects have run over in time or budget.

Then, Nelson said, it's time for each business unit to prioritize its individual requirements.

2. Prepare your technical team to do its best
The early process of project planning encourages stakeholders to take ownership as they sign off on requirements. The next phase involves getting technical staff to sign off on capabilities and responsibilities.

At this stage, Nelson said it's critical to have a thorough understanding of the systems and tools that will be used to design and develop the project. The technical staff needs to validate the capabilities and weaknesses of the development environment.

"This step is so crucial," Nelson explained, "because it is at this step where the designers and developers testify to and commit to their own capabilities to deliver."

You should also take into account not only the staff's capabilities, but personalities, desires, and styles during this phase. With those factors in hand, you can then assign teams, determine schedules, and even provide working environments that provide the best potential for success. For example, if some people work best between noon and midnight, try to provide the flexibility to work those hours for optimal productivity. "After all," Nelson said, "the speed, quality, and value of your project is not a factor of the technology nearly as much as it's a factor of the technologists."

3. Thoroughly investigate a vendor's capabilities
While Nelson's advice can help tech leaders properly prepare the project team , few IT efforts are accomplished without help from an outside vendor. If the vendors are providing hardware or software components, it's a good idea to proceed cautiously.

Troy Atwood, an associate VP at CNET Networks, cites overpromising vendors as one chief cause of cost overruns, along with scope creep.

Atwood recalled a project deploying relatively new VPN WAN technology for TechRepublic as an example of a vendor overselling a product. Atwood and his colleagues interviewed three different companies, eliminated one early in the process, and then grilled the remaining two "very hard" on their technologies.

"I have a standing requirement for salesmen: I will not see them unless they bring a technical specialist with them," Atwood explained.

A major networking vendor won the contract, but Atwood and a colleague spent many nights on the phone with the company's tech support to iron out various issues. In retrospect, Atwood said the tech specialists they had met and talked with initially were actually trained on future product enhancements—not current technology in place. As the technology itself was so new, the team was not able to find help among colleagues and peers, either.

But Atwood later learned that there were people in the same boat. When TechRepublic was acquired by CNET, he discovered that CNET had experienced the same problems with the vendor. The experience taught Atwood a big lesson that most tech leaders learn: Even if you cover most of the bases, you are still running huge risks being an early adopter.

Fortunately for Atwood, two factors kept potential project overrun low. First, his team was highly trained and eventually ironed out the issues, saving the cost of hiring outside consultants. And second, the IT department had bought hardware that exceeded current needs. When the networking vendor finally released an improved IOS upgrade that fixed many of the issues, the hardware was already in place to handle the more demanding system. This forward-looking approach is rooted in one of Atwood's favorite mantras on project management: "Failure to plan is a plan to fail."

An ideal way to head off vendors who exaggerate products' capabilities is to find other techies who have implemented them. But that's not always easy, particularly for early adopters. "Communication helps you try to bridge the gap, but you never really bridge it," Zink said. "There's little in IT that we have been doing for five years."

4. Stay diligent about keeping the project on the right path
Even if initial planning includes business unit involvement, project teams still have to guard against scope creep after the project is underway. Zink believes that scope creep will always be a problem, due to the very nature of IT.

"IT is simply different from just about any other project, as the project is going to change in scope," said Zink, adding, "or, at least, someone is going to try to change the scope." Some IT leaders may allow minor changes if specified in writing, and the cost and time impact is approved. But others, like Nelson, have written contracts that can be used to close the project to any changes once underway.

Nelson also emphasized the human touch in keeping a project on the right path. He tries to maintain a strong dedication to the spirit, pride, and concerns of the development and deployment teams. Nelson lets his teams know that he's there throughout the process. Even in a 24/7 development environment, Nelson wrote, "if a member of my team was working, then I was working."

As a project moves along, it's important to keep user communities, as well as executive management, informed on progress. Recognizing milestones can help keep the team focused and give them something to celebrate. Milestones also can help you publicize your team's successes throughout the organization.

Zink, who holds a degree in accounting, recognizes another value of tracking a project: discovering what's not working.

"Try to discern early what areas or paths are leading to dead ends," Zink advised. If you can't find a path around those dead ends, it may be time to abandon the project before you sink three times the budgeted money into it, as his colleague in San Jose did.

And, Zink added, don't be surprised if something slips somewhere, despite best efforts. It'll simply be in sync with his favorite law of project management: It always takes longer than you expect.

Five questions to ask before approving a project

By Scott Lowe

Takeaway: By asking a few questions at the start of a project, organizations can improve their successful project completion rate and enjoy the fruits of their success instead of performing post mortems on failed initiatives.

It's common knowledge that technology projects often suffer from spectacular failure, whether that failure means that a project simply couldn't come to fruition or it fails to meet stated goals.  Believe it or not, though, not all IT projects need to fail.  By asking a few questions at the start of a project, organizations can improve their successful project completion rate and enjoy the fruits of their success instead of performing post mortems on failed initiatives.

1. How does the project fit into the current portfolio?

This is, perhaps, the most important question that should be asked at project inception and includes a number of component questions that make up the whole.  Project portfolio management is not always done well.  When poorly handled, this leads to organizations oversubscribing their finite IT resources, which in turn leads to failure across multiple projects.

In addition to ensuring that IT resources aren't overburdened, this question will provide answers to the following portfolio based information needs:

• What strategic goals does the project meet? Projects should be aligned with business goals. By outlining these goals ahead of time, projects can be better prioritized.
• Where does this project fall with regard to other projects? By ordering projects by priority, all members of the organization can see what will be worked on and when.

2. Do I really have the resources necessary for successful project completion?

Do you have a $20 appetite but only have $5 in your wallet?  That's also the case with many organizations that undertake complex IT projects.  Further, many projects underestimate both the people and the financial resources that will be necessary for successful completion.  As a part of answering this question, project leaders also need to gain a commitment from project participants that constant fires and shifting priorities will not sway them from meeting stated project goals.  This is the biggest challenge faced by project teams that have other organizational responsibilities.  There needs to be commitment at the executive level that the project will get the promised attention or agreement that a project can slip if other priorities come up.

Further, make sure to include all costs in project estimates.  Now, do you have enough money to get it done?  Don't try to do it for less than it will require.  While superhuman efforts might make it work, the end result will probably not be pretty.

3. Is the timeline that I've put forth truly achievable?

This question is related to the previous one, but it's really important.  Once you've created a timeline for the project, share it with some people before you commit to it.  Further, before you commit, add 25% to the timeline if you can.  No one will mind if you end up coming in a bit early because of overestimated time frames, but they will certainly mind if you miss milestones or an implementation deadline due to poorly conceived plans.

I want to reiterate here that it's critical that project teams be given the time necessary to focus on the project.  If a project manager sees that some members are continually being pulled, the entire project is in jeopardy.  This should be documented in regular project updates that are shared with stakeholders and the executive team.

4. What is the fallback plan in case of imminent failure or other issues?

No matter the planning, it's possible that a project will not come off as expected.  If this happens, what's your fall back?  Do you return to an original system?  Do you move forward with partial functionality?  Do you revamp the project schedule?

It's better to have an idea of a direction when things are going well than when you're under the gun.

5. Who are the stakeholders that need to be involved in the project?

Not every member of the company needs to be involved in every project, but you need to make sure that the right people are involved.  For every project, clearly outline every stakeholder and project participant and indicate their part in the process.  Perhaps the sales VP is the primary stakeholder in the project; this is a person that should receive regular complete project updates.  Maybe the accountant plays a small role late in the project.  This person should receive project status updates but may not need to attend every single project meeting.

Importantly, make sure that the right people remain highly engaged throughout the life of the project so that expectations remain constantly managed and so that you can draw on the business expertise that you will need to see projects through to successful completion.

Summary

From the high level project prioritization to handling hands-on items at the tactical level, there are some questions that project managers should ask before embarking on a new initiative.