VMware recently revamped their certification roadmap to focus on job roles instead of products. What does that mean for you? A few things stand out:
- New certifications better align with the everyday tasks you perform
- Flexible career paths enable you to move between roles
- Strong correlation between courses and certifications
As illustrated above, the VMware certification roadmap is broken into four areas based on job roles: Cloud, Datacenter Virtualization, End User Computing, and Cloud Application Platform. Each area contains three levels: Professional, Advanced Professional, and Expert.
New Roles Mean New Certifications
The debut of the job role focused roadmap has lead to a host of new certifications as well as a few name changes. Possibly, the most impactful change is to the good old VMware Certified Professional (VCP) certification. In the past, VCP was synonymous with VMware vSphere. With the release of additional Professional-level certifications, the old VCP has become VCP - Datacenter Virtualization (VCP-DCV). The "DCV" qualifier differentiates it from the other Professional-level certifications.
Another major change is the creation of the Cloud stack. It represents VMware's vision of moving beyond the datacenter to a cloud environment using vCloud Director and related components.
Moving through the Certification Tracks
One of the real benefits of this new model is the ability to move through the tracks based on the roles that you perform.
You can climb a single track. For example, you could follow the Datacenter Virtualization track by earning your VCP-DCV, VCAP - Datacenter Design (VCAP-DCD), and VCDX - Datacenter Virtualization (VCDX) certifications.
Alternatively, you can earn your VCP-DV, and then move directly to the Cloud track by obtaining the new VMware Certified Advanced Professional - Cloud Infrastructure Design (VCAP-CID) certification. By passing the VCAP-CID exam, you will automatically inherit the VMware Certified Professional - Cloud (VCP-Cloud) certification in addition to the VCAP-CID certification. This "certification inheritance" applies when moving between any two areas. When you pass an exam of a higher level in a new track, you automatically inherit the lower certifications of that new track.
Where to Start?
Professional-level certifications are now available in all areas. The following Advanced Professional certifications are currently available, and more are expected to be added soon.
- VMware Certified Advanced Professional - Datacenter Administration (VCAP-DCA)
- VMware Certified Advanced Professional - Datacenter Design (VCAP-DCD)
- VMware Certified Advanced Professional - Desktop Design (VCAP-DTD)
- Enterprise Integration Specialist
The Expert- level certifications require the greatest level of expertise as well as development. The only Expert-level certification currently available is the VCDX in the Datacenter Virtualization area. As more VMware professionals move up the tracks in each area and achieve Advanced Professional-level certifications, I would expect Expert-level certifications in other areas to be added.
