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MIAMI, IT ARCHITECTURE PRACTITIONERS CONFERENCE, July
18, 2006 – The Open Group, a vendor- and technology-neutral
consortium focused on open standards and global interoperability within and
between enterprises, today announced that more than 1,200 individuals have
achieved the organization’s IT Architect Certification (ITAC) since
it debuted just one year ago. This number includes IT professionals from
a diverse group of globally recognizable enterprises and government organizations,
such as Credit Suisse, EDS, HP, IBM, New Zealand Internal Revenue Service
and QR Systems Inc. ITAC is the premier global certification program for
certifying skills and experience in the enterprise IT architecture community.
Based on proven industry best practices, it sets an independent, industry-wide
standard for IT architects while creating a foundation for greater trust
between suppliers and customers.
Operating under a peer-review model, ITAC certifies IT architects
that meet the global open standard developed by members of
The Open Group for skills and experience in the field. 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. By defining criteria for
accrediting certified professionals, it also sets the foundation
for establishing a recognized IT architect profession. ITAC
is designed for both organizations with large IT architecture
practices and individual IT architects working within consulting
firms, user organizations or as independent consultants.
“We are looking to the IT Architect Certification
program to form a key component in the continuous professional
development of our IT architects,” said Brian Arbuckle,
technology standards manager at ScottishPower. “With
it, we can prove our IT architects meet a recognized open
standard, which we expect will provide benefits for both
ScottishPower and our employees.”
“A coherent and effective IT architecture is a business
imperative,” said Allen Brown, president and CEO, The
Open Group. “But developing and implementing this kind
of architecture means organizations must first employ great
architects. The fact that over 1,200 individuals from companies
such as Credit Suisse, EDS, HP and IBM have achieved IT Architect
Certification is tangible proof that businesses understand
the increased need for and importance of experienced IT architects
and quality control for their practices.”
Establishing an experience and skill baseline and setting
certification criteria for IT architects brings a number
of benefits to companies, governments, academic institutions
as well as individuals. Through ITAC, organizations gain
an industry-wide benchmark for selecting qualified individuals
to lead their critical programs as well as verify their
status in The Open Group Certification Directory. Companies
with accredited internal IT architect programs can gain
credibility and increased stature for their programs, while
certified professionals get a portable, globally recognized
credential. Additionally, academic institutions are able
to use the ITAC skills criteria for fine-tuning their IT
architecture curricula.
The initial certification cost is $1,250 per individual with
a subsequent $175 annual fee for maintaining a listing
in the Directory of Certified IT Architects. For complete
information about the program, including how to get certified
and how to become an accredited partner, go to: www.opengroup.org/itac
The Open Group’s IT Architecture Practitioners Conference,
now in its third year, is a globally recognized event created
by and for IT Architecture professionals to engage in interactive
discussions about a wide variety of topics impacting the
profession, such as SOA, architecture disciplines, architecture
team development, and setting up an architecture practice.
The conference examines the evolving disciplines of IT Architecture
with a focus on further defining a common set of core competencies
for individuals involved with professional enterprise architecture.
Additional information is available at:www.opengroup.org/events/
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 www.opengroup.org.
Note to editors:: TOGAF and Boundaryless Information Flow
are trademarks of The Open Group.
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