VMware has announced the details of their new VMware Certified Advanced Professional (VCAP)certification. I scribbled some notes from this morning’s VCAP conference call but after visiting VMware’s official announcement page, I see they have detailed out the certification path details nicely in the exhibit I’ve borrowed and posted below:
The VCAP in and of itself is a level of certification that fits technically between the VCP and VCDX levels of certification. Somewhat similar to the MCSE where an individual can bolt on a specialized designation to their letters, the VCAP was launched with two designations (one or the other is required to earn the base VCAP level of certification):
- Datacenter Administrator
- Datacenter Design
The VCAP is directly related to VCDX4 certification in that both exams are required for candidates which are not already VCDX3 certified (also note that VCP4 is required to sit either of the two new VCAP exams). In other words, the DCA and DCD exams are the VCDX4 version of written exams which map respectively to the Enterprise Administration and the Design exam which VCDX3 candidates would have sat.
The 41 individuals who are already VCDX3 certified must only sit the DCD exam to both upgrade to VCDX4 as well as achieve VCAP-DCD certification. If this same person would also like the VCAP-DCA designation, he (so far the current VCDX3 pool is all fellas) must pass the DCA exam. As a VCDX3 myself, I understand and appreciate the requirement to sit the new Design exam to upgrade to VCDX4, but I feel the additional exam requirement for a VCDX3 or VCDX4 to achieve DCA doesn’t make sense. I see it as additional exam revenue for VMware. Yes, technically I don’t need to become a VCAP-DCA but if that is something I’d like to add to my resume, the exam and the payment is required. I guess I was banking too much on the rumors that individuals who already passed the Enterprise Admin exam for VCDX3 would have been grandfathered in to the new certification. I’d write more but I need to board a plane. Comments welcome of course. 🙂
Update 5/26/10: According to the VMTN Roundtable podcast today, the VCAP-DCA exam will be available in July and the VCAP-DCD exam will be available in August.
VCAP Benefits:
- Industry/Peer recognition
- New certification logos
- VMworld discounts
- Allowed entry in VCAP community site (sounds like nothing more than a VMTN forum)
- Value-add live lab content which cannot be compromised by brain dump sites
