10 Cutting Edge Tech Elite IT Certifications

Tech Elite 250: Cutting Edge IT Certifications

In the hyper-competitive IT industry, you're nobody unless somebody certifies you. For solution providers, the expert status that top-shelf technical certifications carry can be the difference between landing a multi-million dollar customer account and going to bed hungry. But obtaining these valuable vendor certifications isn't easy; the requirements are steep and the technology hurdles are high.

Here are 10 cutting-edge certifications from CRN's Tech Elite 250 list in such areas as data center technology, virtualization and cloud computing.

Virtual Computing Company (VCE) Partner

The Virtual Computing Environment Company, or VCE, was originally launched as a coalition by Cisco, EMC, and VMware last year. VCE was recently transformed into a full-fledged, stand-alone company. And to be a member of the VCE partner community, solution providers must have quite a pedigree, possessing top-tier certifications for not just one vendor but all three of VCE's backers: Cisco, EMC and VMware. For example, a qualified VBlock reseller is also a Cisco Authorized Technology Provider for areas such as Data Center Unified Computing (DCUC), Data Center Network Infrastructure (DCNI), and Data Center Storage Networking (DCSN); an EMC Velocity partner certified in Celera, Clariion and/or Symmetrix products; and either a VMware Enterprise or Premier partner. It's a tall order, but it brings an elite distinction for a small number of qualified solution providers.

No. of Tech Elite 250 solution providers: 42

VMware VCenter Lighthouse Partner

VMWare's Lighthouse partner designation is the cream of the crop for VMware solution providers. An exclusive club of about two dozen solution providers, the Lighthouse partner initiative is an invitation-only group for early adopters of the vendor's vCenter Server, which is a virtualization management platform that can support up to 10,000 virtual machines. Members of the Lighthouse partner initiative are VMware Premiere level solution providers and have a high number of VMware Certified Professionals (VCPs), Sales Professionals (VSPs), and Technical Sales Professionals (VTSPs) on staff.

No. of Tech Elite 250 solution providers: 23

IBM Dynamic Infrastructure Specialty Elite: Virtualization & Consolidation

A relatively new partner designation, IBM introduced its Dynamic Infrastructure (DI) strategy for next-generation data center solutions in 2009 and soon after Big Blue recruited around 150 partners to become either DI Specialty or DI Specialty Elite partners. But even today, only a small number of IBM partners enjoy the DI Specialty Elite partner status; those eligible must have at least $2 million in annual IBM sales and must be authorized to sell four IBM brands in two or more hardware, software or services categories. A DI Specialty Elite partner for virtualization and consolidation, meanwhile, must also have at least four employees certified as IBM Virtualization and Consolidation Technical Specialists Tivoli and must also have a multiple certified employees for various Tivoli software, storage and server products.

No. of Tech Elite 250 solution providers: 11

Cisco Advanced Data Center Networking Infrastructure

Cisco's Advanced Data Center Networking Infrastructure (DCNI) specialization was designed by the networking giant to recognize the top tier of authorized partners with expertise in data center solutions. And it's a valuable status; Advanced DCNI certification and Advanced Data Center Storage Networking certification are both required by Cisco to sell the vendor's Unified Computing System (UCS) products. According to Cisco, the estimated the total cost for a DCNI specialization certification, including instructor-led training and exams, is more than $14,000 per certification and takes more than 200 hours to complete. An Advanced DCNI partner must also have dedicated personnel, including an account manager, systems engineer, field engineer, and two design specialists and support specialists for Cisco's Data Center Application Services

No. of Tech Elite 250 solution providers: 115

EMC Authorized Services Network (ASN) Implement

EMC Velocity partners within its Authorized Services Network are trained to deliver a variety of the storage giant's implementation and installation services. An ASN certified partner must be a member of EMC's Velocity Partner Program first. In addition, solution providers must also have an authorized EMC distributor (such as Avnet, Arrow, or Ingram Micro) to sponsor their application to the exclusive ASN group. The application process to become an ASN also looks at solution providers' vertical market expertise and regional focus along with their primary EMC business (storage, virtualization, backup & recovery, etc.) and solutions or product lines. Prospective ASN partners are also required to enroll in the EMC Proven Professional certification program, an exam-based training program for pre- and post-sales services. Once a solution provider has been approved as an ASN Partner, the company can also become an ASN Specialty Partner in areas such as backup, archiving, and consolidation.

No. of Tech Elite 250 solution providers: 76

HP Converged Infrastructure Elite

HP's Elite partners are the top level VARs of the world's largest technology company, so only the best HP partners are allowed into this select group. Within the HP Elite partner clique are several specialization areas, such as office printing, virtualization, storage and blade servers. HP introduced its Converged Infrastructure architecture in 2009 to compete more effectively against Cisco and IBM with new data center products (servers, storage, networks) designed to be integrated together instead of operating as silos in sprawling, disparate infrastructures. HP Converged Infrastructure Elite partners are certified experts in HP's new Converged Infrastructure portfolio and typically carry the highest level of qualifications related to HP's data center products. They are also characterized as having a high number of elite technical staff accreditations, such as HP Master Accredited Integration Specialists and System Engineer Specialists.

No. of Tech Elite 250 solution providers: 44

Cisco Master Security

Nearly five years ago Cisco introduced its "Master" specialization certification for partners. But despite the it's enormous channel, there are only two Master specializations within Cisco: unified communications and security. The Master Security Specialization is designated for Cisco partners with the foremost experience and expertise regarding security solutions. According to Cisco, partners with top-level security practices can become Master Security, regardless of their certification level (Premier, Gold, Silver, and Cisco Select partners can all apply), so it's less about size and stature and more about technical skill. In order to become a "Master," a solution provider must earn the Advanced Security Specialization first and then have five customer references for success delivery of security solutions and a number of employees with the Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) status. And once authorized, Cisco pays an annual visit to each Master Security member to audit the company's Cisco business as well as third-party certifications.

No. of Tech Elite 250 solution providers: 10

IBM Dynamic Infrastructure Specialty Elite: Business Resiliency

What is Business Resiliency, exactly? It may seem like a vague term, but it's a fairly straightforward description for solutions and services involved in designing, assessing and testing a business infrastructure. Similar to the Virtualization and Consolidation designation for IBM's DI Specialty Elite class, a Business Resiliency membership requires at least four employees to be certified as a DI Business Resilience technical specialist (IBM's recommends a minimum of two years of detailed hands on experience before pursuing this) and two employees with at least one sales and one technical certification for IBM storage. Business Resiliency also requires additional brand certifications around Tivoli, Power Systems, System X and System Z.

No. of Tech Elite 50 solution providers: 20

Dell Enterprise Architecture (EA)

When Dell acquired storage vendor EqualLogic in 2008, the computer maker introduced its Dell Enterprise Architecture certification based on EqualLogic's partner program. About a year later, Dell expanded the certification by adding two additional tracks to the Certified Partner designation: EA Certified Storage Specialist and EA Certified Server Specialist. EA Certified Partners must do at least $500,000 in Dell enterprise products each year, while Storage Specialist and Server Specialists must do at least $200,000 and have two sales and two technical accredited employees. EA Certified Partners, meanwhile, must meet all the sales and technical requirements of both Storage Specialists and Server Specialist tracks and must also complete one solutions training course in another area (such as VMware, Microsoft Hyper-V, Dell virtualization, etc.).

No. of Tech Elite 250 solution providers: 93

HP Microsoft Virtualization Elite

This one may seem like a typo or, at the very least, an oddity since one vendor is offering training and certification based one another vendor's technology. But it makes sense considering a few factors. First, HP and Microsoft formed a major $250 million alliance about a year ago based on cloud computing, virtualization and data center technology, which many saw as a response to Cisco's partnerships with EMC and VMware. Second, Microsoft is obviously a big player in the virtualization software space, and the alliance was formed to better integrate HP's Converged Infrastructure hardware with Microsoft's software such as Hyper-V and Windows Server. While HP offers a regular Virtualization Elite classification, the technology giant also began offering a more specialized Microsoft Virtualization Elite track as well that's designed to help VARs match, for example, HP Proliant servers with Microsoft System Center's Virtual Machine Manager.

No. of Tech Elite 250 solution providers: 14