VMware announces compulsory bi-ennial VCP recertification

As a contractor, the big change here is that I can finally see VCP as a viable certification route. Taking physically present courses (and paying for them) is a massively expensive way to extend your CV as an independent.

Finally, I can get certification for the expertise I've developed over the years without the whole thing seeming like a money pit.For reference, I have certs from several others including M$ and Cisco.

The value of these certs for me is as door-openers for interviews and, on that basis, it was previously difficult to justify any of the VMWare certs relative to extending the others.

The only actual change here is that if you don't recertify when a new product is out, you'll lose the right to claim to be VCP. That said, most places I've been, saying you're a "VCP" is immediately followed up by "VCPx?" with x being the current VMware major version.

And since VMware for years have offered a grace period where existing VCPs can upgrade their VCP cert by taking the exam without a course within a few months of the new version being available, I don't see this as a big change.

I took both my VCP4 and VCP5 exams without courses after taking the mandatory course just for my VCP3 exam.

I wouldn't mind if it was actually useful. It's yet another example of an IT memory test. Absolutely no indication of technical ability. If you need to know config maximums, then pull out the docs.

Lack of long term thinking

VMware are probably the greediest and of the major U$A corporations when it comes to certification. The more enlightened companies run the certification programmes to provide a people with experience of a product.

There isn't much point in having product if few people can use of configure it.

VMware seem to be using it as a profit centre:

• Exams are more expensive than both Micro$oft and Ci$co

• New entrants before you take an exam, you must sit a course which costs £3,000

• If you have previously certified with an VCP, you have a 6 month Horizon window to sit the upgrade exam. If you don’t do it within this time window you have to attend a course!

VMware contents that by requiring attendance of a course they avoid people studying just for the exam rather than the material. Two points to this, as many who have attended a 5 day course can testify:

1. It is debatable how much you can learn over a 5 day period, by Thursday afternoon must people are in a stupor.

2. If you look at certification forums, VMware VCP try to braindump just as much as the Cisco or Microsoft people.

I don’t see the point of trying to turn certification into a money making exercise, as ultimately you will have less “people” around who understand your product.

Vmware time left

How much time does vmware have before Microsoft offering is good enough or better? Once microsoft get goings and starts to offer advantages through licence deals it might be game over for VMware.

Hyper-V/Microsoft's Awful Support Will Keep it From Dominating

Microsoft's horrible support for Hyper-V, especially when contrasted with VMware support, will keep it from dominating.

Any company using Hyper-V for large-scale environments needs a lot of luck.

VMware "not just hypervisor"

Had a chat with our VMware partner manager the other day and he stressed that VMware's focus is no longer the hypervisor, it's all the management and functionality they now provide - i.e. all the tech from the companies they've bought over the last 18 months. I think they realise that Hyper-V is taking a big chunk of their market and are trying to "reinvent" themselves. Good luck!