Elimination Game

Microsoft's pending exam retirements could change the rules of IT education

- STEVE LINTHICUM

With my planned retirement date of June 30 from the California Community College system, it looks like I won't be the only one retiring. On that day, Microsoft will be retiring a whole series of somewhat outdated certifications that I will be eliminating from my résumé (see “Microsoft is Retiring its MCSA, MCSD, and MCSE Certification in June 2020”). Those include:

Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) [Windows Server 2012 – Private Cloud]

Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) NT4.0, Windows 2000 (Security Specialization)]

Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA 2012)

Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA) [Windows 2000 (Security Specialization)]

Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) [Virtualization Administrator]

Microsoft Certified Technical Specialist (MCTS) [Desktop Virtualization / Server Virtualization]

This change forecasts the importance of cloud computing and a general move away from the operational aspects that include hardware and server administration. What this tells me, and what I should be telling instructional faculty colleagues, is that we need to look toward whether there is a need to overhaul our traditional IT programs.

For those faculty enamored with teaching hardware, we need to recognize that, at least in the coastal regions of California, this isn't a place to house data centers. The reasons can be broken down into three simple truths. They are:

1) The high cost of electricity thanks to our utility companies (PG&E, SDG&E, and Southern California Edison).

2) The high cost of real estate.

3) Higher wages than other locations in the United States.