VMware Certification Updates - Summer 2017

Here's a summary of recent updates from the VMware Certification team:

New VCAP Design Certifications/Exams

Three new VCAP Design certifications have been released:

VMware Certified Advanced Professional 6.5 – Data Center Virtualization Design (VCAP6.5-DCV Design)

VMware Certified Advanced Professional 7 – Cloud Management and Automation Design (VCAP7-CMA Design)

VMware Certified Advanced Professional 7 – Desktop and Mobility Design (VCAP7-DTM Design)

There's a 50% discount on these exams if you take them at either VMworld event.

Community Ideas

You can now post "ideas" in the VCP and VCAP areas of the VMTN forums - suggestions that other users can vote on, that will be seen directly by the programs managers at VMware.

Read more here.

Differences Between VCP6.5-DCV Regular and Delta Exams

Compare the objectives in the exam guides for the regular and delta exams for VCP6.5-DCV, and you won't see any difference - does this mean the exam items themselves are the same, or are the delta exam items just a subset of those in the regular exam?

Well, no!

The exams were written by different teams, to slightly different criteria - as the delta exam is only for existing VCP6-DCV holders it is more focused on the upgrade content between vSphere 6.0 and 6.5.

Read more here.

Exam Time!

All "proctored" VMware exams delivered at Pearson VUE testing centres have been extended, giving more time to all candidates.

Read more here.

Sharing Your Certifications

Here are a couple of job aids that will help you share your certifications with recruiters/employers, or your mum!

How to print a certificate

How to create an online transcript

2017 - VCAPs around the world

Remember when VMware published a VCAP infographic in April 2016?

Well, it's time for the 2017 version - check this post here.

There are some quirks in the numbers - the UK shows as 309 on the map, compared to 448 last year, so year on year comparisons are hard - I guess they're showing a different metric this year (people versus certifications perhaps?)

I like the table showing the different solution areas - no surprise that DCV takes the top 2 spots, but it's NV that is a clear 3rd in spite of it's relative lack of maturity - clearly SDN is popular!

VMware Community Warrior

I received an email last week from Katie Bradley - she helps to manage the VMTN Community forums.

I'd been nominated and selected to be a Community Warrior, mostly for my contributions on the Training & Certification forum areas over the last 10+ years.

Katie made the announcement via this post on the VMTN blog, and has also created a new Community Warrior Program area within the communities themselves.

You can view my VMTN Community profile here, complete with it's shiny new Community Warrior badge.



Thanks to Katie for all her efforts, and to Jill Liles for the nomination!

New VCP6.5-DCV certification and exams

Well, there's a first - a VCP certification title for a minor version - and it just happens to be the latest VCP for vSphere itself, the VCP6.5-DCV!

You can read about the certification and exams using these links:

VCP6.5-DCV certification
vSphere 6.5 Foundations exam
VCP6.5-DCV exam
VCP6.5-DCV delta exam

We also see a return of PDF-based versions of the exam objectives - formerly known as the "exam blueprint", but now simply called the "exam guide". You can access the 3 guides using the exam page links above.

One thing to note about the Delta exam - it's only for current (not expired) VCP6-DCV holders - NOT VCP5-DCV holders - so essentially it's been created to give the simplest recertification option for active VCP6-DCV holders.

If you already hold a VCP certification, there are various paths available that involve the 3 new exams - check this page to find the right path for you. If you don't find the path that applies to you, click on "New Candidate Requirements" on that page.

Here's the official announcement on the VMware Education & Certification blog.

2017 - Where are all the VCPs?

VMware Certification have created a new infographic for 2017, with stats on numbers and locations of VCP holders:

Here's their blog post on the stats.

Spam - it ain't what it used to be!

When I was a kid, this was Spam:

Even if you've never eaten it, you might have seen the famous Monty Python video.

Nowadays, it seems this is spam:

SSDN Technologies seem to be my biggest fans - they just won't stop posting spam comments.

I've asked them to stop - they never appear to you guys anyway, as I moderate all comments first (for exactly this reason).

SSDN ignore my emails, and when I tweeted them they just blocked me - charming eh?

They're not alone of course - plenty of SEO companies and other training companies try too.