Brad Reese, Network World Cisco Subnet blogger, brings up a great question in his post Are CCIEs protecting their turf to the detriment of employers? Brad gives the question relatively light treatment in his blog entry (he is a Cisc-ite himself) but I do give Brad credit for covering topics "off the Cisco ranch" on this blog. While we don't have any systematically collected data (that I'm aware of) to truly examine this question empirically it is worth giving the question some attention and analysis.
There certainly are very strong defacto technology vendors in our industry, such as Microsoft, Cisco and Linux to name the some of the most prolific. But each has their own dynamic in the market.
Cisco
Clearly the big gorilla in networking and security, Cisco owns the market. When overtaking market share by single digit percentages would significantly move the needle for Cisco competitors, that tells you Cisco is more than just dominant in the market (of course the numbers tell the same story.)
Cisco clearly figured out the certification game early and it's been one of the success factors that's propelled Cisco's growth. Certifications not only created more Cisc-ite engineers who have deeper expertise but it also invests them in Cisco products and more importantly in Cisco IOS, the Linux command line equivalent of the networking world.
The cost for Cisco certifications are very expensive, and there lots of certifications with classroom training, written and lab tests. Who in their right might would spend thousands, or even over ten thousand dollars, only to have their company go with a different vendor. Cisc-ite engineers will begin losing the skills they've worked so hard to earn. So yes, Cisc-ites have a vested interest in perpetuating an all or nearly all Cisco shop, to no surprise. Am I whining? No, bully for Cisco for being smart enough to pull this off.
Come on network and security vendors. Will someone please create or put their marketing clout behind an existing security certification program that will give Cisco at least a tiny run for their money? You're not just giving ground to Cisco, you're giving up. Competition is good, and we need other competitive certifications.
Microsoft
For the last 25 years, Microsoft has been the operating system on the personal and business desktop, and played an ever stronger server role in the data center. Who here doesn't run Windows 2003 Server (or Windows of some sort) for domain controllers, file and print servers, email, and other business applications. Microsoft isn't quite as ubiquitous in the data center as say Cisco but it's pretty close.
Does the Microsoft's family of MCSE certifications play the same strong role as Cisco's CCNA & CCIE? Microsoft certifications play out a bit differently. Since "anyone" can pick up a Microsoft software CD, install it and claim they are proficient in Microsoft product-blah-blah, MS certs really are a tool for providing basic training [and deep technical and product training] and telling IT management that employees they hire should at least know something about what they are doing. MCSA is more equivalent to CCNA but I'd say CCNA has much more technical depth in it that an MCSA. At one point MCSEs weren't held in that high regard but I think more and more are coming around to the value of having it.
Do they bias IT decisions? Absolutely, people go with what they know unless they are motivated to change or want to expand their horizons. No doubt. Cisco and Linux don't provide the same easy of entry for entry level technical staff as Microsoft products.
Linux
Linux, like Apple, has it's roots in counter culture and that's still largely true today (though the acceptance of Linux is by far more pervasive than Apple.) Linux is free, open, totally customizable and configurable, with tons of advantage. It can, and does, replace Microsoft in many data centers, but usually must coexist alongside Microsoft technology.
It would probably be an understatement to say that Linux advocates bias IT decision making. In this case it is because of all the personal investment in learning the technology, the benefits Linux brings, and frankly the zealotry that comes from believing in something so strongly as to help continue its counter culture nature and proliferation.
Is there Linux in XYZ's IT shop? Drive through the parking lot or cruise the IT cubicles and look for the Linux license plates, bumper stickers or tshirts. Nuf said.
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Correction and Editor's Note:
I typo'd when talking about Microsoft and comparing and MCSE with CCNA. [Thanks to my colleague Jake R for pointing out that mistake.] That should have been a comparison of MCSA and CCNA.
My son Phil is getting his Microsoft training now (with the encouragement of Dad). Microsoft gets it, just as much or maybe more than Cisco, about the value of certifications. Salaries have also increased for Microsoft certified IT staff, helping them in their careers. Microsoft software is much more accessible to the masses than a piece of Cisco gear. That's especially true when you consider the relative barriers to entry of Windows UI vs. the IOS command line, so Microsoft has a clear advantage attracting technology users to their products. MCSA and MCSE accelerates that. Cisco will run into this same issue again with Microsoft's entry into the unified communications market (but that's for another blog post.)
The call to action is to other network and security vendors to create industry valuable, game changing certifications, like Microsoft and Cisco have done.
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