New Updates in February 2012

Newly Released PrepKits

  • CRISC – Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control Practice Test
  • 303 Questions, 102 Quizzes, 235 Study Notes
    Exam ISACA Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control certification (CRISC) exam is designed for IT professionals who have hands-on experience with risk identification, assessment, and evaluation, risk response, risk monitoring, IS control design and implementation, and IS control monitoring and maintenance. .

  • CAS-001 – CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner Practice Test
  • 331 Questions, 100 Quizzes, 394 Study Notes
    CompTIA Exam CAS-001: Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP) exam is an internationally targeted validation of advanced-level security skills and knowledge. The CAS-001 CASP exam will certify that the successful candidate has the technical knowledge and skills required to conceptualize, design, and engineer secure solutions across complex enterprise environments.

     

PrepKit Upgrades

New uCertify Courses: As of 3/1/2012

Course Name: CompTIA Cloud Essentials (CLO-001)

Companies will continue to shift towards cloud environments in 2012 whether they are public clouds or privately managed and secured cloud environments- read full article here. Whether you are new to IT or an established IT professional, knowing the fundamentals of Cloud Computing is essential. CompTIA’s Cloud Essentials certification is an excellent way to get started.

 


Course Name: VMWare vSphere (VCP)

For the student looking to really get hands on with virtualization technology, check out our VMWare vSphere VCP test prep. As the demand for IT professionals with datacenter virtualization skills increases, achieving VCP certification confirms that you have the education needed to successfully install, deploy, scale and manage VMware vSphere environments, as well as the skills obtained by a minimum of six months experience with VMware infrastructure technologies.

 


Course Name: CompTIA Strata Green IT

Green computing is big these days. As companies look for ways to cut data center space, power and cooling costs, IT professionals that pass the Strata Green IT exam validate that they have the aptitude needed to effectively implement and measure Green IT programs and investments, including: A specialized knowledge of current IT methodologies. The ability to develop, deploy, and calculate true ROI for green IT initiatives. Knowledge of cost-cutting power management and IT virtualization techniques. Proven understanding of environmentally-sound waste disposal.


Course Name: Healthcare IT (HIT-001)

Electronic Health Records (EHR) are buzzing these days, with recent focus on Health Care Information Technology. With HIPAA regulations already in effect, and more on the way, the world is moving towards a digital age in health care. IT professionals looking to work in the healthcare industry need to understand the how these rules and regulations impact the way they do their jobs. CompTIA’s Healthcare IT Technician certification offers an excellent introduction to these topics.


Course Name: Project Management Professional (PMP)

Project Management Professional (PMP) PMP PMI’s certification provides the skills and abilities to manage large projects with critical paths, critical dates, available resources, and track the progress of the project from inception to completion. uCertify offers a great PMP course booked by a respected expert in the field with an excellent reference guide, videos and of course, hundreds of real world practice questions.


Course Name: Network+ 2012 (N10-005)

Network administrators have always played a crucial, behind the scenes role in keeping an organization’s infrastructure running smoothly and securely. With the continuous growth of IT adoption across organizations of all sizes across the globe, and the explosion of wireless technologies, keeping networks safe from external attacks is more important than ever. CompTIA’s Network+ 2012 edition broadens the spectrum for Network+ certification with coverage of virtual networking and advanced network security with seven layer of Open System Connection model.


Course Name: Storage+ Powered by SNIA (SG0-001)

CompTIA in collaboration with the Storage Network Industry Association (SNIA) recently released the Storage+ Powered by SNIA certification to fill the need for professionals configure basic networks to include archive, backup, and restoration technologies. The certification is comprehensive validation of the knowledge and skills necessary to support various solutions and technologies in data storage, storage networking, data protection, and the underlying interconnect technologies. An excellent certification for both network and system administrators.


Course Name: Advanced Security Practitioner (CAS-001)

With the growing threat of security attacks, organizations are paying much needed attention to protecting their networks and data. CompTIA’s Advanced Security course is targeted at individuals that have years of “hands-on” security, keeping networks running and secure. The depth of knowledge required is much more than for the Security+ course: the test candidate is expected to know about port scanners, vulnerability scanners, protocol analyzers, switchport analyzers, network enumerators, password crackers, fuzzing, and attack tool frameworks.

 


Course Name: Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA courses)

The MTA certifications need no introduction. uCertify has had practice tests for these exams for a while now, but they have recently been upgraded to courses with a reference guide and the status of being Microsoft approved courseware. The MTA certification creates a new entry point for these people to help them jumpstart their career aspirations. Each MTA Certification exam will cover a broad technology area, including:

  • Microsoft Software Development Fundamentals (98-361)
  • Microsoft Windows Fundamentals (98-362)
  • Microsoft Web Development Fundamentals (98-363)
  • Windows Server Administration Fundamentals (98-365)
  • Microsoft Database Fundamentals (98-364)
  • Microsoft Networking Fundamentals (98-366)
  • Microsoft Security Fundamentals (98-367)
  • Microsoft .NET Fundamentals (98-372)

Course Name: Program Management Professional (PgMP)

The PMI Program Management Professional certification exam is a complex certification ideal for project and program managers that multi-task multiple projects. It is a far more exclusive certification than the more common PMP cert, requiring more than double the experience years and hours. However, project managers looking for that major extra boost to direct enterprise critical projects, find the certification well worth the effort and cost.


Course Name: Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP)

The Business Analyst (BA) role has become essential in today’s workplace as a vital component of a successful project. The business analysis field has been accelerating at a rapid pace, and this acceleration has caused some understandable growing pains. Among the challenges are a lack of standardization, inconsistent terminology across organizations, and difficulty in assessing knowledge and skills of BAs. The CBAP (Certified Business Analysis Professional) certification program created by the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) is proof of a BA practitioner’s understanding and mastery of these standards for business analysis. 1:37 PM Friday, March 02, 2012

 

Top 15 IT certifications for 2012

If you want to begin or advance your IT career, certifications can give you an additional career advantage in 2012. Certifications are in demand not only for showing an employee/candidate’s proficiency in a particular area, but also because earning a certification reflects a higher standard of competency and quality in prospective and current employees. Certifications combined with experience can be a winning combination in today’s IT market, where there are a lot more job openings for credentialed candidates. If you are looking for ways to stand out from the crowd, try getting certified!

Here’s our list of top 15 IT certification picks for 2012:

1. CompTIA Cloud Essentials: Companies will continue to shift towards cloud environments in 2012 – this can be either public cloud environments or privately managed and secured cloud environments. Whether you are new to IT or an established IT professional, knowing the fundamentals of Cloud Computing is essential. CompTIA’s Cloud Essentials certification is an excellent way to get started for your cloud computing services.

2. Healthcare IT Technician: Electronic Health Records (EHR) are buzzing these days, with recent focus on Health Care Information Technology. With HIPAA regulations already in effect, and more on the way, the world is moving towards a digital age in health care. IT professionals looking to work in the healthcare industry need to understand how these rules and regulations impact the way these professionals do their jobs. CompTIA’s Healthcare IT Technician certification offers an excellent introduction to these topics.

3.  CASP: With increasing awareness of threats to an organization’s data security from various quarters, including browser-based threats, malware, phishing, data theft, email-based threats, and many more. Understanding how to design and build security solutions is essential for corporations and governmental agencies. CompTIA’s Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP) certification is an advanced enterprise level certification for those with 10+ years experience in IT administration and at least five years of hands-on security experience. The CASP certification is being added as part of the DOD Directive 8570 at the Technical Level III and IA Management Level II. The CASP certification exam has performance-based questions, and concentrates on new technologies such as IPv6, VoIP, and SaaS.

4- MCITP: Windows 2008 R2 Server Enterprise Administrator: Windows Administrators continue to be in high demand in 2012 also. The Windows Server 2008 certification exam has now been updated to reflect the latest technology, including R2. The MCITP Enterprise Administrator certification is proof that an administrator is capable of managing an organization’s large or small farm of Windows servers. The recent upgrade to Windows 2008 R2 includes virtualization topics and helping administrators get a good understanding of private cloud computing. Click here to know more.

5. PMI PMP: By earning the Project Management Professional certification, IT professionals prove that they have the knowledge and skills necessary to lead large scale projects to a successful conclusion by completing the project on-time, on-budget, and by using the allocated resources. It is notable that project management has emerged as an important job today, for instance, when companies initiate projects which they held back during the downturn, but now want those projects to be completed as cost-efficiently and quickly as possible. The PMP certification validates your skills for the hundreds of project management jobs where a PMP certification is a prerequisite or at least a preferred skill.

6. MCITP: Windows 7 Enterprise Desktop Support Administrator: This certification provides the knowledge to install, maintain, and manage the Windows 7 Enterprise Desktop operating system. During the last few years, Windows 7 has gained a lot of popularity in recent times and its implementation in the corporate world has increased by leaps and bounds over XP and Vista operating systems. Global Knowledge estimates that MCITP Enterprise Administrator-certified professionals earn $79,824 on average. Click here to learn more about this certification.

7. CompTIA A+ : While not a hot certification per se, CompTIA A+ certification continues to be popular for those just entering the field of IT. The A+ certification demonstrates a candidate’s competency as a computer technician who is knowledgeable not only in IT hardware maintenance, troubleshooting and installation, but also in the areas of networking and security. This vendor neutral certification covers several technologies and operating systems from such vendors as Microsoft, Apple Inc., Novell, and some of the Linux variations.
Many companies such as HP, Dell, and Intel have made A+ certification a requirement for IT employees, but so does the United States Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security.

8. CompTIA Network+ : Network+ is a certification that is used to measure skills of a network technician: understanding of network hardware, installation, and troubleshooting. Companies such as Dell, HP, Ricoh, Sharp, and Xerox recommend or require CompTIA Network+ for their networking technicians. It is a technical prerequisite option for IT technicians seeking to join the Apple Consultants Network, and is recognized by the U.S. Department of Defense. The latest version (released in 2012) of N+ is N10-005 exam.

9. CompTIA Security+ : The Security+ certification opens doors to advanced training and careers in the growing field of information systems security and it qualifies practitioners for the more advanced CASP (CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner) certification. This certification deals with computer security topics such as cryptography and access control, as well as business-related topics such as disaster recovery and risk management.
Organizations that employ CompTIA Security+ certified staff include Hitachi Information Systems (Japan), Trendmicro (Philippines), Lockheed Martin, the U.S. State Department, Prestariang Systems Sdn. Bhd. (Malaysia) and U.S. government contractors such as EDS, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman. CompTIA Security+ is one of the options for certifications required by the U.S. Department of Defense, for military personnel or military contractors engaged in information assurance activities. The Security+ credential may also qualify as an elective for Microsoft’s MCSA: Security and MCSE: Security certifications. Click  SY0-301 for more information on this certification.

10. MCITP: SharePoint 2010 Administrator : After the MCITP: SharePoint 2010 Administrator certification, the candidate will be able to deploy and design the infrastructure for Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Server.  According to Microsoft, candidates will be Senior Administrators with a minimum of two years of experience administering, deploying, managing, monitoring, upgrading, migrating, and designing SharePoint servers.  Click here to learn more about this certification.

11. MCPD: SharePoint 2010 Developer: Sharepoint is currently being used in the IT industry around the globe, and the need for SharePoint Developers is extremely high. You will need to work on designing custom code for solutions deployed to SharePoint servers. These days when business volatility is on the rise and time-to-market is the key, SharePoint 2010 enables the developers to customize SharePoint 2010 and deploy solutions that address specific business needs quickly and effectively. There are many job opportunities and advancements available for SharePoint knowledgeable and certified individuals. To know more about this certification, please click here.

12. CISSP: With information security being a priority for most companies, the CISSP certification is one of the hottest of all Security Certifications. This certification is approved by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) in both their Information Assurance Technical (IAT) and Managerial (IAM) categories for their DoDD 8570 certification requirement. The CISSP has been adopted as a baseline for the U.S. National Security Agency’s ISSEP program. This is one of the toughest and most respected certifications one can obtain in the security field. [Learn more..here]

13. Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator: The CHFI certification is focused on helping security professionals detect hacking attacks and other forms of computer sabotage and misuse. CHFI certifies the proficiency of a candidate on their ability to investigate the causes of an attack or other willful damage in area of cyber-security. According to the EC-Council, the CHFI program is not only aimed at IT security professionals, but is equally targeted towards meeting the needs of police and law enforcement officers in the defense, military and legal professionals. Several companies recruit Computer Hacking Forensic Investigators to protect their digital infrastructure and to proactively take appropriate steps against security breaches and other computer-related crimes within an organization. Learn more about this certification….[here]

14. MCPD .NET Developer: The MCPD .Net Developer certification validates that a candidate has a comprehensive set of skills that are necessary to design, build, and deploy applications successfully by using the Microsoft .NET Framework. This certification is a follow-up of the MCTS Developer certification and confirms that the candidate has succeeded in efforts to keep in touch with the latest in .Net technologies. Candidates for the MCPD typically have two to three years of relevant experience in developing and working with .Net technologies. Click here to learn more about this certification.

15. CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker): The Certified Ethical Hacker is a professional certification provided by the International Council of E-Commerce Consultants (EC-Council). This certification will provide the ability to secure and maintain a network as a penetration tester by learning to look for the infirmity and vulnerability in a network and the corresponding action to take to properly secure it. Ethical hackers, who are occasionally called “penetration testers,” identify flaws in the system that an unethical hacker would exploit. By having a formalized certification that is offered to companies, the CEH certification gives a positive, ethical perspective to hacking. To learn more about this certification, please click here.

New Updates in January 2012

Newly Released PrepKits

  • CLO-001 – CompTIA Cloud Essentials Practice Test
  • 259 Questions, 100 Quizzes, 137 Study Notes
    CompTIA Exam CLO-001: Cloud Essentials examines professionals on various parameters from basic knowledge of Cloud Computing to advance skills in implementing and troubleshooting issues related to Cloud Computing.

  • SGO-001 – CompTIA Storage+ Powered by SNIA Practice Test
  • 310 Questions, 100 Quizzes, 150 Study Notes
    CompTIA Exam SGO-001: Storage+ examines the individual’s intelligence, proficiency, and abilities to support various solutions and technologies in data storage, storage networking, data protection, and the underlying interconnect technologies.

  • CAS-001 – CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner Practice Test
  • 331 Questions, 100 Quizzes, 304 Study Notes
    CompTIA Exam CAS-001: Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP) exam is an internationally targeted validation of advanced-level security skills and knowledge. The CAS-001 CASP exam will certify that the successful candidate has the technical knowledge and skills required to conceptualize, design, and engineer secure solutions across complex enterprise environments.

PrepKit Upgrades

What are ProCert Labs approved coursewares?

ProCert Labs ProCert Labs is an organization who does quality assurance testing for technical training. They do quality testing for all the big names: Microsoft, Adobe, CompTIA, Cisco, etc.  It performs quality testing for the Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS), Microsoft Technical Associate (MTA), CompTIA Authorized Quality Content (CAQC), Certiport – Internet & Core Computing (IC3) and Adobe Certified Associate Approved Courseware (ACAAC) programs.

The ProCert review and subsequent approval ensures that both ProCert and the certifying authority (such as CompTIA, Microsoft, etc.) ensures that the concerned training content is of high quality with comprehensive exam coverage. Microsoft assures that the ProCert seal of approval ensures thorough, covering entire sets of topics, where the students does not have to go back to look for previous topics.

The ‘ProCert Approved Courseware’ logo represents that these quality assurance programs is a significant achievement, that distinguishes the courseware and training as a trusted courseware from Microsoft and critical part of preparing for a certification exam. To know more, please visit ProCert website.

uCertify works with ProCert Labs to have their prepkits verified from Microsoft for quality and full exam coverage, ensuring the best learning content for our customers. The Microsoft certified courseware are of great importance because they meets your training needs simple and fast. Microsoft get it under ProCert Labs, which tests the courseware and training in many formats; text based, web based, video basted, computer based, instructor led and self-study. The PrepKit approved has been tested and certified by Microsoft and has successfully passed that testing which assures success on using these courseware. And hence uCertify has earned the credit of Microsoft Vendor of Approved Courseware.