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SAN FRANCISCO, November 13, 2007 – The
Open Group, a vendor- and technology-neutral consortium focused
on open standards and global interoperability within and
between enterprises, today announced plans for a new certification
level, Distinguished Certified IT Architect, within the IT
Architect Certification (ITAC) program. In addition to this
new level, the organization also announced that over 2,000
individuals have become ITAC certified since the program’s
debut two years ago. This number reflects certifications
of professional architects from a diverse group of global
enterprises and government organizations such as Capgemini,
Credit Suisse, EDS, HP, IBM and Microsoft, to name just a
few.
“We have certifications for programmers, database
administrators and network engineers. These certifications
are specific to the technology and platforms that are used
within our organization,” said Tom Burke, chief architect,
The Washington Post. “Certification at an architectural
level should be based on open standards and be vendor and
technology neutral. That is why The Washington Post chose
The Open Group as its certification authority for IT Architects.”
Individuals certified at the new level must demonstrate
a history of significant breadth of impact to the business
through the application of IT architecture. Core attributes
possessed by the Distinguished Certified IT Architect include:
executive level communication skills; effective leadership
skills; responsibility for significantly complex architecture
engagements; a demonstrated architectural vision for key
business initiatives; and governance expertise. The new level
also provides for three distinct career paths including chief/lead
architect, profession executive and enterprise architect.
Operating under a peer-review model, ITAC certifies IT architects
that meet the global skill and experience-based open standard
developed by members of The Open Group. The program includes
direct certification of applicants as well as a process and
a set of criteria for accrediting an organization’s
internal certification programs.
“In order to achieve our goals, it is critical that
we attract and retain the best IT professionals in the market.
The independent, global and well-founded IT Architecture
Certification (ITAC) of The Open Group presents a strong
opportunity,” said Andreas Buzzi, head of Software
Engineering, Credit Suisse. “By following industry
best practices, The Open Group has defined an outstanding
benchmark for IT architects, which makes it easier to identify
the highly skilled and experienced professionals that Credit
Suisse is looking for. In addition, I am very much in favor
of The Open Group’s efforts to certify skills and experience,
rather than academic qualifications only.”
“As GTECH is a leading gaming technology and service
provider, having our architects ITAC certified was a sure
bet,” said Steve Lupo, senior research scientist & systems
architect, GTECH Corporation. “This program equips
us with an internationally recognized qualification that
demonstrates our architecture skills and experience has been
independently assessed and verified against a worldwide standard
benchmark.”
“The fact that over 2,000 individuals have achieved
IT Architect Certification is indicative of a growing trend
that certified architects are the next step in the development
of the architecture profession in IT,” said Len Fehskens,
vice president and global professional lead for Enterprise
Architecture, The Open Group. “Leading enterprise architecture
practices from around the world have adopted this certification
program because they realize the critical need for recognizing
architectural competence as defined by open, global standards
of excellence.”
The Open Group’s IT Architect Certification (ITAC)
program is the premier, global certification program for
certifying skills
and experience in the enterprise IT architecture community.
Based on the proven best practices in the industry, it
sets an independent, industry-wide standard for IT Architects
and creates a foundation for trust between suppliers and
customers.
The Open Group is a vendor-neutral and technology-neutral consortium, which drives the creation of Boundaryless Information Flow™ that will enable access to integrated information within and between enterprises based on open standards and global interoperability. The Open Group works with customers, suppliers, consortia and other standard bodies. Its role is to capture, understand and address current and emerging requirements, establish policies and share best practices; to facilitate interoperability, develop consensus, and evolve and integrate specifications and open source technologies; to offer a comprehensive set of services to enhance the operational efficiency of consortia; and to operate the industry’s premier certification service. Further information on The Open Group can be found at http://www.opengroup.org.
Note to editors: Boundaryless Information Flow and TOGAF are trademarks of The Open Group. All other company, brand and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
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