So this is my first VMware blog post. I’ve had two major blocks to blogging. One I’ve not had time. Two working for a VAR a lot of the things I work on are on NDA or my employer wants to protect as they see the material as something of value which they can leverage. Take it or leave it that’s how it is.
For today’s topic I don’t have either of those constraints. VMware Partner Exchange (PEX) is over and my flight doesn’t leave till the morning. And my topic has nothing to do with any value proposition or bottom line.
What’s the topic about you might ask. I’m going to look at exam testing for VMware certs. Something that I felt was lacking at VMworld 2011 in Las Vegas last year was the testing. If you were there and wanted to take the opportunity to sit an exam you couldn’t because Pearson View did not have a testing center at VMworld 2011.
I found this an annoyance for two reasons. First I live in the middle of Kansas and if you look on a map you’ll see that there are limited testing centers that you can go to take a VMware exam. For me to take an exam I’d have to drive several hours to get to a testing center. The second part is finding the time to do it. I like many in the IT industry are busy. We can just say “ya know I’m going to go take my VCP on Monday.” It just doesn’t work for many of us. However VMworld is big and it’s been on the schedule for a while. It’s a perfect time to sit an exam.
I’m sure there are at least a few of you out there that would agree with this. So why are there no tests at VMworld? This week at PEX I got the chance to have lunch with a lot of VMware people. There is a very straight forward answer to this. Because it’s a hassle for both VMware and Pearson View, that and too few people were taking advantage of it.
Before someone says that’s not true it’s just that (insert company here) is not making money on it. There’s not a lot of money to be made by offering the exams at VMworld. VMware has to consume a room to put the testing center in it has to meet specific requirements. They also have guarantee a given number of tests are taken during the hours of operation. It’s not all that beneficial for Person View either. They have to divert staff and equipment to run a temporary testing center.
I bet someone out there is going to say, “way to tow the line Tony.” For those saying that I’d like to ask what certification(s) are you working on and where do you plan to do your testing? I have a feeling that many people stop at the VCP. This is probably because of where you work in the industry. Most people are not required to seek higher level certifications like the VCAP-DCD, VCAP-DCA, or the ever cherished VCDX. Why? Most likely because while the certifications are valuable they don’t help a lot of companies generate revenue so they don’t require it. The exception to this VMware Partners, it helps them distinguish themselves, as well as VMware having confidence in the certified person having the ability to perform with in the range of their certification.
For these reasons it makes a lot of sense that VMware doesn’t offer testing at VMworld any longer. I do want to give them props for offering it at PEX though. Why? Because this really gives partners who are busy the opportunity to fit it into their schedule. It also means that consumers are benefiting from more intelligent highly trained folks who have taken the time and put forth the effort to attend a partner event and show they know there stuff.
So in the end, even though it’s disappointing to some (myself included) that there is not a testing center at VMworld sometimes it’s not what works best for the individual its what’s best for the community. If you don’t like that then think of it this way, there can be one less session at VMworld to help you do your job better because it’s being taken up by a testing center that only a few people are taking advantage of.
Make it a happy day,
Tony
For additional reference see my post on the VMworld 2011 site: http://www.vmworld.com/thread/5085
