Microsoft Announces Expanded Premium Internet Certification

NEW YORK, Dec. 11, 1997 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the next step in the evolution of the Microsoft® Certified Professional (MCP) program. IT professionals can now earn the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) + Internet credential, confirming their ability to enhance, deploy and manage sophisticated intranet and Internet solutions that include a browser, proxy server, host servers, database, and messaging and commerce components. In addition, an MCSE + Internet-certified professional will be able to manage and analyze Web sites. Microsoft made the announcement at the Internet World trade show in New York City.

“The new certification is an extension to one of our existing premium certifications – MCSE,” said Donna Senko, group manager of the certification and skills assessment group at Microsoft. “With this credential, Microsoft continues to extend its programs and products to embrace the Internet. As we build our Internet technologies, we continue to develop our certification program to meet the needs of our customers.

“As the function of business intranets evolves toward business-critical applications, the complexity of those sites increases, and so do the requirements for managing them,” Senko said. Today’s intranets support core business applications that integrate databases and transactions, and provide distributed management of both content and infrastructure. Organizations with these needs must have a reliable way to measure the skills of IT staff implementing the tools that provide these functions. That’s where the MCSE + Internet certification becomes essential,” she said.

In addition to the core MCSE skills (i.e., planning, implementing, maintaining and supporting information systems in a wide range of computing environments using the Microsoft Windows NT® Server operating system and the Microsoft BackOffice® family of integrated server products), an MCSE + Internet credential qualifies IT professionals to customize, deploy and support Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 on desktops; host a Web server; implement, administer and trouble-shoot information systems that incorporate Microsoft TCP/IP; personalize and customize Web sites; and reliably deploy commerce components and new content while maintaining site availability and security.

Certification Requirements

The new extended credential requires IT professionals to pass seven core exams and two electives. Current MCSEs have the opportunity to increase their breadth of product knowledge with the new MCSE + Internet certification by passing three to five additional exams. IT professionals who hold the MCP + Internet credential (formerly referred to as MCP Specialist: Internet) can also extend their expertise by moving on to the MCSE track, then to MCSE + Internet. Currently, 5,600 people hold the MCP + Internet credential. All exams are available now for those who plan to step up from the MCP + Internet certification to the MCSE track. Courses and exams for the MCSE + Internet track are scheduled to be available in January.

Diagram 1: Steps to obtaining the MCSE + Internet credential

Benefits of the Microsoft certification program include industry recognition of knowledge and proficiency with Microsoft products; direct access to technical information through a secured area on the MCP Web site; and invitations to Microsoft conferences, technical training sessions and special events.

Microsoft offers the following additional certifications:

  • Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer

  • Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD)

  • Microsoft Certified Professional

  • Microsoft Certified Professional + Internet

  • Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT)

There are more than 170,000 Microsoft Certified Professionals worldwide. Microsoft’s worldwide training programs have trained more than 1.2 million people in the United States and more than 2 million students worldwide this year.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.

Microsoft, BackOffice and Windows NT are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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