Microsoft Rated Top Employer In Africa

Microsoft has been certified for the second year running as one of Africa’s Top Employers in 2013/2014 for its operations in Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, and South Africa. This makes the company part of the CRF Institute’s Top Employers in Africa Index along with the first class of certified multinationals.
Economies across Africa are growing rapidly and opportunities are abundant, but attracting, retaining, and engaging top talent remains a challenge. According to the CRF Institute, Microsoft has successfully demonstrated its excellence in the application of its Human Resources policies and practices across all of the countries where it operates, and this is the key criteria for certification.
Doing business in Africa does have similarities to other dynamic emerging markets where infrastructure and availability of technology can be limited. But Microsoft has a fundamental belief that no matter where it is in the world, the brand needs to stay consistent. This means that what is available to employees in the US or Europe is available to employees in Africa.
According to Cherise Mendoza, HR Lead in West East and Central Africa and Indian Ocean Islands: “We strive to make our programs, processes and overall way of working with our employees first class.”
The tech giant has been on the continent for over 20 years and sees enormous potential for growth, particularly within the ICT sector.
And with more businesses starting up and expanding across Africa, the company’s aim is to bring products and services that meet their unique needs and help grow their organisations.
“As we grow on the continent, we work continuously with our 10 000 partners across Africa to ensure the best possible reach and impact. We are constantly adding to our team of dedicated people on the ground who truly understand the African economic and business environment, this is what makes the difference,” says Mendoza.
In February this year, Microsoft launched its multi-million dollar 4AAfrika initiative, a new effort through which the company will actively engage in Africa’s economic development to improve its global competitiveness. “This forms part of our vision to give more people and businesses in Africa access to technology at a more affordable price.
“To achieve this vision, we have made a significant investment in our talent pool, to allow us to enable businesses in Africa to realise their full potential through innovative technologies,” says Mendoza.

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ICAN set to review syllabus

As part of it efforts to align with global trend in accounting profession, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) has announced plans to review its syllabus to give students competitive advantage.
Adedoyin Owolabi, 48th president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) who disclosed this at the presentation of accreditation/recognition certicates to tertiary institutions and tuition houses in Lagos recently said the rationale for the new syllabus is to meet the challenges posed by the world being a global village.
Owolabi pointed out that any profession which expects to be continuously relevant in the scheme of things must be prepared to equip its members for the capacity to adapt to the ever changing circumstances both locally and internationally.
According to him, “e Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria had tried to respond to these imperatives by continually revising its examination syllabus.”
Owolabi, in his keynote address said as a professional body committed to technical excellence, the institute embarked on accreditation of tertiary institutions when it realised the need to initiate quality control and improve pass rate of students in its various examination.
e ICAN president further urged the tertiary institutions being presented with certicates to sustain at all costs the standard to which the institute now lends credence, adding that to lower such standard will ultimately impact negatively not only on the quantum of professionalism in the country, but also on the global accounting profession.
Razak Jaiyeola, chairman, students’ affairs committee, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, in his welcome address reiterated the need for institutions being presented with the accreditation and recognition certificates by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, to seize the opportunity of this gesture to ensure that the high standard for which they were found worthy is continuously maintained.
Jaiyeola further disclosed that the Institute in her bid to continue to set the standards and ensure that students who are willing to pursue Accountancy profession are given the best, by introducing pre-accreditation exercise to newly established universities, adding that the essence is to oer advice and to help lay a solid foundation for the establishment of Accountancy departments in each of the tertiary institutions.
“It is my belief that every institution and recognised training centre present here today would see this ceremony as a good gesture from the Institute to provide technical support to the Accountancy profession in all institutions,” he said.
http://businessdayonline.com/2013/04/ican-set-to-review-syllabus/

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Microsoft plans to retire its Masters level certification exams by Oct. 1

Microsoft plans to retire its Masters level certification exams by Oct. 1 this year, generating strong protests on blogs and community forums from IT professionals.
The Redmond, Washington, software company, however, defended the move, with an executive stating that the Masters program reaches only "a tiny proportion of the overall community," and only a few hundred professionals had bagged the certification in the last few years. The certification was designed so that professionals could aspire to it as the peak of the Microsoft certified program.
The company said in an email to IT professionals that Microsoft will no longer offer Masters and Architect level training rotations and will be retiring the Masters level certification exams as of Oct. 1.
"The IT industry is changing rapidly and we will continue to evaluate the certification and training needs of the industry to determine if there's a different certification needed for the pinnacle of our program," Microsoft said in an email, reproduced in a blog post on TechNet by Neil Johnson, a Microsoft senior consultant.
The certifications that will be ended are Microsoft Certified Master, Microsoft Certified Solutions Master and Microsoft Certified Architect. These are top certifications for IT professionals working on Microsoft's products.
"As a Microsoft Certified Master, Microsoft Certified Solutions Master, or Microsoft Certified Architect, you have earned one of the highest certifications available through the Microsoft Certification program," Microsoft said in the mail. "Although individuals will no longer be able to earn these certifications, you will continue to hold the credential and you will not be required to recertify your credential in the future."
The criticism from professionals came fast and strong over the weekend. "It is a clear sign of how Microsoft values the skills of on-premises administrators of all its products (because all the MCSM certifications are going away, not just the one for Exchange)," wrote IT professional and author Paul Robichaux in his blog. "If all your messaging, directory, communications, and database services come from the cloud (or so I imagine the thinking goes), you don't need to spend money on advanced certifications for your administrators who work on those technologies," he wrote.
The decision to end the Masters program was a painful one, wrote Tim Sneath, senior director of Microsoft learning at Microsoft. The cost of running the program did not allow scaling further, and the US$20,000 program was limited to English and the U.S., creating non-technical barriers to entry, he wrote. Microsoft has decided to take a pause from offering the program, and see if there is a better way to have a new pinnacle certification, Sneath added.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2047982/microsoft-ends-top-masters-certification-exams-for-it-pros.html

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SNIA Qualified Storage Sales Professional

SNIA's Qualified Storage Sales Professional (SQSSP) credential is vendor neutral and is designed to validate storage concepts, terminology and basic customer need assessments. 
In direct response to firms requesting specialized training for their sales and marketing professionals, this vendor–neutral training and credential provides individuals withll the technologies in today’s complex data center. Increase the knowledge base and credibility of your sales professionals by arming them with a broad set of information about a variety of different solutions in the storage ecosystem. Demonstrate to your customers that as a field representative you can speak with authority and know–how. A SNIA credential on your business card provides just the “leg up” that tight economies and budgets now require.

Requires Passing

• SNIA Qualified Storage Sales Professional exam (S10-905).
• Click here to see detailed description of what will be covered in the exam.

Exam Specs

• 40 test items
• 90 minutes
• Cost: $100.00 USD payable via credit card on-line
• Passing score:  70%

This is an on-line non-proctored test designed for the Storage Sales Professional or those IT Sales Professionals who are entering the storage domain. The test is designed to be informative and will be updated frequently to meet the needs of the SNIA Qualified Storage Sales Professional participant.
The successful candidate will receive the use of the SQSSP logo and a certificate (pdf). Since it is a qualification test, it will not count towards the SNIA SCSN-E credential.

Please go to http://ibt.prometric.com/snia to take the test.  

Self Study Material

SNIA offers an E-Course study guide available online to give you the freedom to study at your convenience. For information on ordering an E-Course, please visit here.

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SNIA Certified Storage Architect (SCSA)

The SNIA Education Committee would like to make our education community aware that we have completed the “refresh” of two advanced level legacy versions of the Storage Networking Certification Program (SNCP) exams.
The following credentials will replace the existing credentials worldwide, effective February 2013, and we will issue a further notification when the exams are published and available.
Current certification holders will be able to refresh their credentials upon passing the new exam when it becomes available via Prometric. The current certifications will expire on January 31, 2014.
The new credentials will fall in line with industry standards and be current for a period of three years from the date of certification.
SNIA Certified Storage Engineer (SCSE) Certificate:
Storage Networking Management and Administration S10–201 (Current) Storage Networking Management and Administration S10–210 (New)
SNIA Certified Storage Architect (SCSA) Certificate:
Storage Networking Assessment Planning and Design S10–300 (Current) Storage Networking Assessment Planning and Design S10–310 (New)
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Requires Passing

• SNIA Architect – Assessment, Planning & Design exam (S10-300),
  and
• CompTIA Storage+ Powered by SNIA exam (SGO-001) - Description

Storage Architect - Assessment, Planning & Design

• 50 Questions
• Passing scored 66%
• 60 minutes in U.S. and Canada
• 90 minutes outside the U.S. and Canada

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Storage Networking Certification Program

Storage Networking Certification Program (SNCP)

 The SNIA Storage Networking Certification Program (SNCP) provides a strong foundation of vendor-neutral, systems-level credentials that integrate with and complement individual vendor certifications. The structure of the SNCP has been enhanced to reflect the advancement and growth of storage networking technologies over the past few years, and to provide for expanded offerings in the future. Through evolving and enhancing the SNCP, the SNIA is establishing a uniform standard by which individual knowledge and skill sets

Six good reasons for being SNIA certified
People often ask themselves about the real value of IT related certifications and whether it is worth their time and money to become certified. The short answer to the question is yes, an IT certification can be of great value especially if it’s in an area that you are trying to pursue as a career, and even more importantly if it is a vendor-neutral certification which complements specific product skills.

• The SNIA Storage Networking Certification Program (SNCP) provides a strong foundation of vendor-neutral, foundations-level credentials that integrate with and complement individual vendor certifications. SNIA certifications provide storage and data management practitioners with an industry recognised uniform standard by which individual knowledge and skill-sets can be judged.

Six good reasons why you should be SNIA certified:

1. Framework by which the competency levels of technical people can be judged.
   1. Hiring managers tend to view certifications as a more objective measure of a candidate’s skill level than self-reported skills and competency.
   2. Employers in the storage industry want to be able to compare prospective employees, and certifications are a way of achieving this. Having a certification from a recognised vendor is key but to have this also endorsed by the leading industry association adds huge credibility to the process. This tells the prospective employer that the knowledge acquired is both generic and specific and portrays the candidate as more versatile.
2. Provides HR departments with an insight into skill-sets and desire to improve knowledge
   1. HR departments looking to recruit will differentiate between those who have the relevant industry certifications and those who do not. They also associate certification holders as being self-starters, professionally minded, and with an aptitude and desire to improve their knowledge.
3. Achieve peer recognition amongst other IT professionals
   1. Personal networking is key to career development. Once individuals have attained IT certification, they join a group of skilled professionals who also hold similar credentials. Typically these groups are global and diverse; professionals who are keen to extend their knowledge via the sharing of ideas and information with their peers typically now join global social media platforms.  Many storage vendors invest time in creating a community of storage practitioners where the benefits to the individual may include special offers, discounts on other training,  access to beta versions and other incentives for their certified community.
4. Increased income potential
   1. Many recent studies have shown that organizations will offer a base salary premium simply on the basis that they will not have to bear the cost of certifications already obtained. The added market value that a certification brings can be as high as 30%-40%, with the average salary uplift potentially in the 5%-11% range. Skilled professionals in the storage industry are in demand everywhere and especially those that can demonstrate an advanced level of technical competence in the new breed of technologies for data management.
5. Increased employability
   1.  Globalization and economic realities have made the IT job market highly competitive. For long serving professionals – or even those just starting out –  demonstrating technical competency to a prospective employer is a must. IT certifications provide an industry-wide recognized method of doing that. Not only do the certificates provide a portfolio of the skills possessed by an individual, they also provide evidence of the mindset, determination and ambition. Certifications enhance the personal brand of an individual.
6. Winning SMB customer business
   1. As more and more small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) deploy networked storage solutions, if you are a reseller/integrator having certified technicians on the payroll can give you a competitive edge in winning business and giving the customer the reassurance they need. Customers want to know they are buying the right technology with the people who have the skills to help their business optimise their investment, and this only works if your technicians can demonstrate the right storage certifications and skills.
   2. More importantly, it will be assumed that the technical personnel will have the certifications from the vendor chosen, but having an industry backed credential adds to the customers confidence.
   3. Beyond the initial design and deployment, there is opportunity for service offerings, which also require specific evidence of skills acquired.

SNIA Certification Policies
 

SNIA Exam Security/Cheating Policy

It is the policy of SNIA to revoke or refuse a credential to any person suspected of using unauthorized materials obtained using websites that advertise exact copies of SNIA exams. Psychometric data from a person's testing session will isolate patterns of cheating and gives SNIA the right to take legal action.

SNIA Certification Pricing

The cost of High Stakes Proctored Exams is $200.00 USD.  That applies to the SNIA Storage Networking Management & Administration Exam (S10-201), and SNIA Storage Networking Design & Assessment (S10-300).  The CompTIA Storage+  Powered by SNIA exam is $264 USD. Outside the US, pricing may vary a small percentage up or down by country.  The SNIA Technology Elective Qualification Exams are $100.00 USD worldwide.

SNIA Exam Re-Take Policy

If you take a SNIA exam and do not pass it, SNIA requires that you wait 24 hours before taking it again. If you do not pass the exam a second time, you must wait seven (7) days. If a SNIA Exam is taken three (3) times without a passing score, you must wait 30 days to take it again.

SCSN-E Fulfillment Process

Once you have fulfilled the requirements for the SNIA Expert credential (SCSN-E) , you must email a .pdf copy or scan a paper copy of your SNIA Certification Partner credential to snia_certification@snia.org. It will be processed by SNIA and you will receive a .pdf of your SCSN-E certificate.

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NetApp & DataGroupIT are thrilled to invite you to our premium Technology Summit

Welcome to the BIG DATA registration

NetApp & DataGroupIT are thrilled to invite you to our premium Technology Summit.

BIG DATA 2012 in Lagos, Nigeria (formally known as “INNOVATION”) is a world-class conference and premium showcase for IT Technological Solutions, brought to you and Co-Organized by DataGroupIT and NetApp.

Now in its 5th successful year, the summit is widely recognized as the top IT event in the region and focuses on the strategic issues that enterprises and end-users in the IT environment are facing such as: Data Storage Technology, Big Data, Information Security, Virtualization and Business Continuity. If you’ve joined us in previous years - then you already know that...
If you haven’t - NOW is the time! Discover our passion and join us in driving the Nigerian market Go Further, Faster.


Who should attend?
The conference will be addressing top executives and IT professionals who wish to update their knowledge, network, share ideas and experience the biggest IT Technology Summit in the region.

Experience the world of IT with the top corporations and IT leaders in the industry.

To register to the event, please fill your details : The event closed See you in the following events More info: Contact Miss Oyoenisai Udonte for more info, email: oyoenisai@datagroupit.com Outlook Reminder

Agenda:

08:45 - 09:30	Reception and Registration Main Hall
09:30 - 09:45	Event Introduction | Start time & Welcome Address DataGroupIT
09:45 - 10:30	Intelligent, Immortal and Infinite - Managing your Future in a Big Data World NetApp more details...
10:30 - 11:00	Big Data – Practical Solutions for today Ryan Sayre | Strategic Advisor, NetApp more details...
11:00 - 11:15	FlexPod; A match made in heaven Rene Bosman | Manager, CISCO Data Center Solutions & Virtualization, Africa, CISCO
11:15 - 11:30	Mastering Big Data to Gain Valuable Insight in Real Time Oloruntoye Aderinola | Solution Manager - Business Analytics & Technology, SAP West Africa
11:30 - 11:45	Securing Data in Storage and Virtualized Environments Sébastien Pavie| Regional Sales Director, Middle-East & Africa, SafeNet more details...
11:45 - 12:00	Building a Software Defined Datacenter Grant Mufford|Regional Alliance Manager – OEM, VMWARE more details...
12:00 - 12:15	Coffee Break | Finger Food
12:15 - 13:15	Break Out Sessions 1st Floor (choose one upon registration) Build your cloud with FlexPod and CISCO Intelligent Automation Ayman Hamed | Consulting Systems Engineer Sales, CISCO, Classroom A2 Moving from Information Liability to Information Embassy Oloruntoye Aderinola | Solution Manager – Business Analytics & Technology, SAP West Africa, Classroom B2 more details... Protect your Storage & VMs – Key Management Sébastien Pavie | Regional Sales Director, Middle-East & Africa, SafeNet, Classroom C2 more details...
13:15 - 14:15	Break 2 | Lunch Upper floor main hall
14:15 - 14:35	Customer Success Story | City Business Computers ,EMEA
14:35 - 15:00	Closing Speech “Key Note” Speaker
15:00 - 15:30	Raffle & Give Away Distribution

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OVERVIEW OF IBM AIX EXAMS

IBM Certified System Administrator - AIX 7

Job Role Description / Target Audience

The successful candidate has at least 2 years experience administering AIX in a variety of environments, including virtualized systems, small business and enterprise-class data centers.  The AIX 7 administrator has strong networking and device management skills.  Additionally, the AIX administrator leads and mentors less experienced administrators and operators in their daily tasks.  

Recommended Prerequisite Skills

The qualified candidate is expected to have skills in the following areas:

• Configure and manage networking in AIX 
• Manage and configure VIO client partitions
• Manage devices
• Manage storage
• Use HMC and SDMC to manage system resources
• Perform user administration tasks (such as limiting resources, creating/using groups, etc). 
• Have strong knowledge of system backup and recovery
• Have strong and AIX installation and maintenance skills
• Configuring and managing system security
• Use NIM, WPAR Manager and Systems Director (base product)
• Understand PowerVM components such as AME, AMS, Shared Processor Pools, etc.

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CloudForms is Red Hat's answer to operating and managing an OpenStack environment

We agree that an all-public cloud isn't the answer, as VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger acknowledges," says Bryan Che, general manager of Red Hat's Cloud Business Unit.

"This is a conversation Red Hat has been leading for some time now. However, we do not buy into the premise that a private or a hybrid platform based on one vendor's technologies and products is the answer either, says Che That goes against the compelling industry trends of openness and choice that have increasingly put customers in control of their own destinies and strategic direction. Instead, we are focused on delivering what we believe customers really want: an open hybrid cloud."

For that to happen, Che says, a hybrid cloud can't just run on a homogeneous software stack. It needs to work across the enterprise's entire business and IT, spanning Red Hat, Microsoft, VMware and Amazon. That's where OpenStack comes in.

[ Get advice from those who are making decisions and discover innovative products or strategies in CIO's Leadership and Innovation newsletter ]

OpenStack is free open source software-actually a series of interrelated open source projects for controlling pools of processing, storage and networking resources through a datacenter-supported by a wide array of vendors, from Red Hat and IBM to Rackspace and HP.

CloudForms is Red Hat's answer to operating and managing an OpenStack environment. Its capabilities include a comprehensive cloud service catalog, chargeback and metering, service orchestration, policy and governance, reporting and forecasting and more. And, as Che notes, it can provide these capabilities from a diverse array of cloud environments-VMware, Red Hat, Amazon-all from a single pane of glass.

"This means, then, that with CloudForms, you can build and manage a hybrid cloud that spans not just Red hat technologies or VMware technologies but a choice and diversity of providers," he says. "And, you can do this all with a unified and interoperable set of tools and interfaces. In an open hybrid cloud, your cloud is not locked into a single vendor or technology stack; rather you can build and manage a cloud that spans all your important assets in an integrated and seamless way."

Red Hat also introduced a new product offering: Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Promotional Offering. It integrates Red Hat's enterprise Linux platform with its virtualization management system for servers and desktops. The Enterprise Virtualization Promotional Offering will be made available as a single subscription offering in fall 2013.

The open source solutions provider also announced its Red Hat Certificate of Expertise in Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), a class and certification intended to ensure that enterprise customers' IT professionals can deploy and manage OpenStack.

Red Hat says the class will cover essential OpenStack skills, including installing and configuring a Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform deployment, configuring and managing images and managing storage using Object Storage (Swift) and Block Storage (Cinder).

"We built the industry's leading Linux certification program by focusing on rigorous, hands-on testing of real-world skills," says Iain Gray, vice president of Global Services at Red Hat.

"Our Red Hat Certified Professionals love this because it is a meaningful test of their skills. IT employers love it because it offers assurance that the certificate holders can apply their skills and knowledge in real-world situations, says Gray. We have applied these same principles to the Red Hat Certificate of Expertise in Infrastructure as a Service. Organizations are seeking capable professionals to help bring OpenStack into their IT environments. As with Linux, we expect to set the benchmark for a technology that is rapidly proving to be a game changer in the industry

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Red Hat Unveils New Offerings, Cloud Certification at VMworld

The open source solutions provider is showing off demos of its forthcoming CloudForms 2.1 cloud management technology at VMworld in San Francisco. It also announced a new product that integrates Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization and Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server as well as a new training and certification program for OpenStack.

With VMworld 2013 in full swing in San Francisco, Red Hat wasted no time today showing off its upcoming cloud and virtualization offerings. The open source solutions provider unveiled demos of its forthcoming CloudForms 2.1 cloud management technology, a new product designed to integrate Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization and Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server, and a new training and certification offering for deploying and managing OpenStack.
"We agree that an all-public cloud isn't the answer, as VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger acknowledges," says Bryan Che, general manager of Red Hat's Cloud Business Unit.
"This is a conversation Red Hat has been leading for some time now. However, we do not buy into the premise that a private or a hybrid platform based on one vendor's technologies and products is the answer either, says Che That goes against the compelling industry trends of openness and choice that have increasingly put customers in control of their own destinies and strategic direction. Instead, we are focused on delivering what we believe customers really want: an open hybrid cloud."
For that to happen, Che says, a hybrid cloud can't just run on a homogeneous software stack. It needs to work across the enterprise's entire business and IT, spanning Red Hat, Microsoft, VMware and Amazon. That's where OpenStack comes in.
OpenStack is free open source software—actually a series of interrelated open source projects for controlling pools of processing, storage and networking resources through a datacenter—supported by a wide array of vendors, from Red Hat and IBM to Rackspace and HP.
CloudForms is Red Hat's answer to operating and managing an OpenStack environment. Its capabilities include a comprehensive cloud service catalog, chargeback and metering, service orchestration, policy and governance, reporting and forecasting and more. And, as Che notes, it can provide these capabilities from a diverse array of cloud environments—VMware, Red Hat, Amazon—all from a single pane of glass.
"This means, then, that with CloudForms, you can build and manage a hybrid cloud that spans not just Red hat technologies or VMware technologies but a choice and diversity of providers," he says. "And, you can do this all with a unified and interoperable set of tools and interfaces. In an open hybrid cloud, your cloud is not locked into a single vendor or technology stack; rather you can build and manage a cloud that spans all your important assets in an integrated and seamless way."
Red Hat also introduced a new product offering: Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Promotional Offering. It integrates Red Hat's enterprise Linux platform with its virtualization management system for servers and desktops. The Enterprise Virtualization Promotional Offering will be made available as a single subscription offering in fall 2013.

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