Security for your Computer

Security continues to be a critical topic. That’s not going to change. In fact,
its importance is only going to grow. One of the quickest ways to lose
shareholder value, client confidence, and sales is to suffer a data breach. And no self-respecting technology professional wants to be responsible for such a breach.

CompTIA’s Security+ accreditation provides a respected, vendor-neutral
foundation for industry staff (with at least two years of experience) seeking to demonstrate proficiency with security fundamentals. While the Security+
accreditation consists of just a single exam, it could be argued that any IT
employee charged with managing client data or other sensitive information
should, at a minimum, possess this accreditation. The importance of ensuring staff are properly educated as to systems security, network infrastructure, access control, auditing, and organizational security principles is simply too important to take for granted

. MCPD

There’s more to information technology than just administration, support, and networking. Someone must create and maintain the applications and programs that power organizations. That’s where the new-generation Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD) credential comes into play.

The MCPD accreditation measures a developer’s ability to build and maintain software solutions using Visual Studio 2008 and Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5. Split into three certification paths (Windows Developer 3.5, ASP.NET Developer 3.5, and Enterprise Applications Developer 3.5), the credential targets IT professionals tasked with designing, optimizing, and operating those Microsoft technologies to fulfill business needs.

A redesigned certification aimed at better-measuring real-world skills and
expertise, the MCTS Training will prove important for developers and programmers. Besides requiring candidates to pass several exams, the MCTS certification will retire when Microsoft suspends mainstream support for the corresponding platform. The change is designed to ensure the MCPD certification remains relevant, which is certain to further increase its value.


The Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) accreditation captures most of the networking company’s certification glory. But the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) might prove more realistic within many organizations.

In a world in which Microsoft and Linux administrators are also often expected to be networking experts, many companies don’t have the budgets necessary to train (or employ) a CCIE. But even small and midsize corporations can benefit from having their technology professionals earn basic proficiency administering Cisco equipment, as demonstrated by earning a CCNA accreditation.

As smaller companies become increasingly dependent upon remote access
technologies, basic Cisco systems skills are bound to become more important. Although many smaller organizations will never have the complexity or workload necessary to keep a CCIE busy, Cisco’s CCNA is a strong accreditation for technology professionals with a few years’ experience seeking to grow and improve their networking skills.