News
New Certification Targets DBAs
In conjunction with the release of SQL Server 7.0, Microsoft has announced a new premium title targeting database administrators with expertise in SQL Server 7.0.
A new premium certification from Microsoft, the Microsoft Certified Database Administrator, is based around the skills required of an advanced database administrator, especially knowledge of SQL Server 7.0. The title, which requires passage of five exams, was announced today at COMDEX in November on the same day that Microsoft announced the release of SQL Server 7.0. Neither of the SQL 7.0 exams required are yet available—at press time; they were expected in beta form before the end of 1998. The released SQL 7.0 exams are expected in the first quarter of 1999.
According to Microsoft, holders of the new title “will be able to design and implement databases using Microsoft SQL Server 7.0, as well as help their businesses take advantage of the new features that SQL Server 7.0 offers.” Research shows that the sale of Microsoft SQL Server licenses is growing at a rate of more than 100 percent annually; research firm IDC projects a growth rate of greater than 50 percent from 1997 to 2001 for Windows NT-based databases.
The MCDBA requires passage of four core exams and an elective. Core exams include both SQL Server 7.0 exams, which are expected sometime in the first quarter of 1999 (SQL 6.5 exams cannot be applied), and two Windows NT exams: the Windows NT Server 4.0 exam, and Windows NT Server 4.0 in the Enterprise exam. Electives include existing exams on these products: Visual C++, TCP/IP, IIS 4.0, VB 6.0, along with a just-announced exam on data warehousing, “Designing and Implementing Data Warehouses with Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 and Microsoft Decision Support Services 1.0,” 70-019.
In announcing the title, Microsoft cited evidence of the growing demand for database administrators. In a July 1998 study from Microsoft, the database administrator position was one of five high-tech titles most in demand, with a projected 50,000-plus openings in the U.S. and Canada in the following 12 months.
Microsoft says the MCDBA is designed for those seeking advanced expertise in SQL Server and for companies demanding a qualified DBA to manage a SQL Server-based platform running line-of-business applications, data warehousing, electronic commerce and mobile computing applications.
For more information on the new title, go to www.microsoft.com/mcp/certstep/mcdba.htm.