SNIA: Networking certifications on the rise

The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) has claimed a doubling of certified professionals since August 2007.

SNIA education committee chair, Catherine Rosenbrauer, attributed the increase to two main factors.

"SNIA has taken a more proactive role in scheduling and taking enrolments, and communicating the value of the certification to the industry, and the IT industry itself is looking for more transparency in the qualifications of its professionals," Rosenbrauer said.

She claimed the interest in certification was likely to continue as issues around green technology and the economic climate drove organisations to seek a competitive advantage through staff.

"We're also looking at broadening the courses that we offer, though they're in planning stages at the moment," she said.

This week the association announced an increase of more than 100 per cent of certified professionals since mid-2007. More than 40 had become accredited in the past two months alone.

Its program was designed to provide a vendor-neutral, systems-level foundation that professionals can integrate with and complement individual vendor certifications. Within the program are three courses: Storage Network Foundations; Storage Networking Management/Administration and Architect; and Assessment, Planning and Design.