With Microsoft breaking up, here are a few guesses where the certification group will end up.
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With Microsoft breaking up, here are a few guesses where the certification group will end up.
- By Linda Briggs
- July 01, 2000
I was wondering if you’ve considered the impact of
[the government’s proposed split of Microsoft into two
companies] on the MCP program. If the OS group is split
into a separate company from Applications [as the government
proposes], where does that leave the vast majority of
the MCSE electives?
—Des Embrey, Department of Defense, Australia
Although it may be years before the court case is settled,
a breakup into two companies is certainly a possibility.
So I’m going to make some off-the-cuff predictions just
to get you thinking.
In a big restructuring last December, Microsoft was divided
into four key product areas: a platforms group (Windows
NT, 2000, and CE), a developer group (Visual Studio and
SQL Server), a business productivity group (Office and
BackOffice), and a consumer group. Certification has been
part of the Enterprise Customer Unit, which handles service
and support across Microsoft’s strategic product areas.
It’s hard to say where the certification group might
land in the event of a breakup, but I predict it would
be with the platforms (or in Justice Department-speak,
“OS”) group. Integration of the certification group into
platforms would be good news for several reasons. The
certification team develops exams around Microsoft’s OSs
and other products in order to create highly qualified
technical support personnel and product evangelists around
the world. As long as I’ve been observing the cert group,
it has worked at developing better relationships with
the product groups. Integrating with the people who focus
on platform development may remove some walls.
I also think the platforms group is where much of Microsoft’s
energy and attention will go in the next several years,
regardless of the court case. The applications market
is saturated in general and no longer a big growth area.
But Windows 2000 is at the center of all of Microsoft’s
crucial initiatives—driving product into more mission-critical
levels of the enterprise and across the Internet, evolving
many new and specialized server products, and surfacing
in other markets like consumer devices. Platforms is the
place to be.
If you specialize in Exchange and want a premium title,
you take a handful of core exams on the operating system,
then one elective on Exchange. The same is true for DBAs.
You can now take three SQL electives, but you still need
a heady dose of OS knowledge, when your true specialty
is administering or developing databases.
So here’s another prediction. In the event of a breakup,
I think we’d see a split of the certification program
too. Most of you will be Microsoft Certified Platform
Engineers and some of you Application Engineers. You’ll
work within separate certification programs and focus
on your areas of expertise more closely.
About the Author
Linda Briggs is the founding editor of MCP Magazine and the former senior editorial director of 101communications. In between world travels, she's a freelance technology writer based in San Diego, Calif.