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New York, NY – July 19, 2005 –The Open Group,
along with other industry leaders including IBM, Hewlett
Packard, and Capgemini, announced today that its IT Architect
Certification program is “open for business”.
Experienced IT Architects can now apply for certification
in the program. The criteria for applicants are at www.opengroup.org/itac.
Developed in response to the increasing demand for experienced
IT architects, the program defines a set of worldwide standards
for measuring the skills and experience of IT architects
and for the operation of IT architecture practices within
enterprises. The Open Group IT Architect Certification program
will offer the first independent, comprehensive, global certification
for determining the skills, experience and knowledge of a
professional IT architect.
“The Open Group’s new IT Architect Certification
program represents an industry-wide recognition that IT architecture
has emerged as a true discipline and is one that makes critical
contributions to a modern enterprise. Industry standards
for measuring expertise and experience in this area have
been long overdue,” said Lauren States, Vice President,
Technical Sales and Software Group Enablement, IBM Software
Group. “The process introduced by The Open Group’s
IT Architect Certification program will ensure that the industry
has the right benchmark for identifying highly skilled and
experienced professionals who are experts in this field.”
"Certification is important for any profession and
it's something that IT Architects have lacked on an industry-wide
basis,” said Tony Redmond, VP and CTO, HP Services. “Certification
provides a comfort feeling for those who want to engage an
architect, an indication that the architect is skilled in
their profession and understands how to go about solving
IT problems in a consistent and reliable manner. Certification
further means that standards will be maintained, best practices
developed, and the rogue architects who give themselves the
title without any grounding in IT architecture concepts and
principles will gradually be eliminated from the industry.
All in all, certification for IT architects is long overdue
and HP is proud to support the Open Group in their initiative
to introduce and develop this important program."
“A well-defined IT architecture that supports the
needs of the business is highly dependent on ensuring that
key employees -- IT architects -- have the required ability,
experience and skills,“ said Andy Mulholland, Global
CTO, Capgemini. “We applaud The Open Group for leading
the initiative to create a recognized global standard that
will allow organizations to benchmark against these important
attributes.”
“The increasing demand on the world’s largest and most influential
companies to have the equivalent of a city planning perspective of their extensive
IT systems, rather than a piece by piece approach, is driving demand for skilled
IT architects,” said Allen Brown, President and CEO of The Open Group. “The
need to be assured that the architects they hire, or the consultants they retain,
have the necessary skills, is the key driver behind IT Architect Certification."
About the Program
Establishing an experience and skill baseline, and setting
certification criteria for IT architects will bring a number
of benefits to customers, companies, governments, academic
institutions, as well as individuals.
Organizations will gain an industry-wide benchmark for selecting
qualified individuals to lead their critical programs, and
will be able to verify their status in The Open Group Certification
Directory. Companies with internal IT architect programs
will gain credibility and increased stature for their programs.
Certified professionals will get portable credentials and
be able to choose the best of the available positions. Academic
institutions will be able to use the skills criteria for
fine-tuning their curriculum focused on IT architecture.
And finally, a recognized certification standard will help
ensure further industry development and elevate the practice
of IT architecture and the professionals who perform it.
Certification and Accreditation Criteria and Process
IT architects who wish to be certified will need to meet
the required levels of experience and skill and will be
interviewed by a peer panel of Certified IT Architects.
They will be able to achieve the IT Architect Certification
in two ways: either by applying directly to The Open
Group, or by going through a certification program that
has been accredited by The Open Group. The skill and
experience requirements for both the Direct Certification
and the Accredited Certification are the same.
All third-party IT architect certification and professional
development programs are eligible for assessment, including
programs operated by major consulting firms. Those meeting
the requirements will be accredited.
Certified IT Architects will be entitled to use an official
certification mark as an indication of their status, and
will be listed for public reference in the Certification
Directory maintained by The Open Group.
Pricing
The initial certification cost is $1250 per individual,
with a subsequent $175 annual fee for maintaining the Directory
of Certified IT Architects.
For complete information about the program, including how
to get certified, how to become an accredited partner, and
the Directory of Certified IT Architects, go to http://www.opengroup.org/itac.
About The Open Group
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 is a trademark of The Open Group.
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