Server+ - Post-Peek thoughts

[Liz Wannemacher]

Hey Liz, I'm impressed. A VP reading our post. Cool. First of all, Server+ is one of the only Vendor-Neutral Server Exam that actually is praised by the IT Server community. Take a moment to google Server+ and you will be amazed by the countless praises on multiple platforms. The only company that doesn't praise Server+ is CompTIA. Now to give credit, your team is great at marketing. A great example of this is Security+. Your team partnered with security vendors, experts, professionals, universities, instructors, and recruiters to promote countless seminars, videos, blog posts, social media campaigns, and events. The best I have seen!! Now all you have to do is wash, rinse, and repeat for Server+. The industry already sings Server+ praises, now it's time for your team to do the same. That's the confusion, the industry loves Server+ more than CompTIA does. To be honest with you, Rick Bulter has done more to promote Server+ than CompTIA has. (ok sorry I'll step down from my soapbox now)

THANK YOU, this is welcomed feedback. In advance of our launch, I would like to get a small group together (after the first of the year) to take a look at messaging and provide insight on marketing plan. Would you like to be involved? Also going to ask others in the thread (Rick, Steve, Lee...who else would like to join?). TY

 

[Lee McWhorter]

Always game to help out, sign me up.

 

[Steve Linthicum]

Also willing to participate. As I've explained, retirement was short-lived (we are required to not teach for the California public education entities for 180 days after "retirement)." While I enjoy the mailbox retirement money, I miss the classroom. So in the Spring, at this point, I'll be teaching 2 classes for Santa Ana College and 1 class for Saddleback College, with more activities on my dance card.

 

[Rick Butler]

To be honest with you, Rick Bulter (sic) has done more to promote Server+ than CompTIA has.

Ouch. I certainly appreciate the accolade, I'm not sure I want to take it at the expense of CompTIA, itself. Without pontificating too much, without CompTIA, there would be no Server+. I do see there are certs that do get a lot of attention, such as the Trifecta, which are CompTIA's bread and butter. But I'd love to see if we can bring in these outlier certs into more of an area of prominence.

Would you like to be involved? Also going to ask others in the thread (Rick, Steve, Lee...who else would like to join?).

I think I'm now involved by default, LOL. But yes, I would be honored to be a part of that conversation. Maybe perhaps see about becoming an SME for Server+ someday...who knows.

The #1 question that we have to always ask in marketing anything is this:

What need does the product satisfy?
​

I think @Steve Linthicum articulated a great opportunity and that's great. But if we want Server+ to become a more prominent thing, we have to illustrate why people need to get it.

Although the biggest players out there in bringing out that need will be the employers.

/r

 

[Steve Linthicum]

When looking at the Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities (KSAs) I think the job description linked below serves to identify what the exam objectives should focus on:

Server Administrator Job Description and Salary - FieldEngineer

Server Administrator is responsible for both servers and networks to ensure their smooth functioning. Get to know about Server Administrator job Description, Skills and Salary here.

www.fieldengineer.com

.

 

[Liz Wannemacher]

Also willing to participate. As I've explained, retirement was short-lived (we are required to not teach for the California public education entities for 180 days after "retirement)." While I enjoy the mailbox retirement money, I miss the classroom. So in the Spring, at this point, I'll be teaching 2 classes for Santa Ana College and 1 class for Saddleback College, with more activities on my dance card.

Welcome back!!!!

 

[Steve Linthicum]

I don't think I was ever gone .

 

[Teckkie2k]

THANK YOU, this is welcomed feedback. In advance of our launch, I would like to get a small group together (after the first of the year) to take a look at messaging and provide insight on marketing plan. Would you like to be involved? Also going to ask others in the thread (Rick, Steve, Lee...who else would like to join?). TY

Yea Count me in.

 

[Teckkie2k]

When looking at the Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities (KSAs) I think the job description linked below serves to identify what the exam objectives should focus on:

Server Administrator Job Description and Salary - FieldEngineer

Server Administrator is responsible for both servers and networks to ensure their smooth functioning. Get to know about Server Administrator job Description, Skills and Salary here.

www.fieldengineer.com

.

Steve, welcome back! We need you! I think this description is a good foundation.

 

[Rick Butler]

It's funny - I had a similar argument again today regarding whether replacing the Microsoft Technology Associate - Server (MTA-Server) with the Server+ for our school. While I love the Server+ as a cert, the question came up - is the vendor neutrality aspect of Server+ enough to make the switch.

MTA-Server is an entry level cert which focuses on rudimentary skills for managing Windows Server. It focuses on skills such as basic Active Directory management, group policy, and role management. In short, it's very much a software based certification.

Server+ is an entry level cert which focuses on the hardware aspects of server construction and management of data centers (including bollards...lol). Server+ is hardware centric.

What concerns me is what's already been discussed in this thread, how Microsoft seems very bent on leaving the on-prem world behind and putting all its proverbial eggs in the Azure basket. But there is still a lot of Microsoft networks out there; it's not going away any time soon. So it is creating this gap in skills. Microsoft is trying to make role-based certs, which is...fine...I guess? But what certs now focus on those skills for the 0-2 year administrator, besides MTA?

I kinda wish Server+ had added some of this to the objectives, because despite CompTIA's history as vendor neutrality, Microsoft systems still represent enough market share where managing MSFT systems is still very much a core competency.

Thoughts? Server+ vs. MTA-Server (Exam 365)

/r

 

[Steve Linthicum]

Rick, I've never seen a real buy-in of the MTA line of certifications achieving that "industry-recognized certification" label. I agree with what you are saying about the need for inclusion in a new Server+ certification of "Active Directory management, group policy, and role management." I think is important to recognize that as computing moves away from on-premises and towards the cloud, hardware knowledge loses some of its importance. As I look at my activities in the recent past, I have to ask when was the last time I opened a computer's case. With end-points (desktops, laptops, tablets, phones), it just doesn't happen anymore for most of us. The data center type jobs where physical access to machines is required are being more typically located outside of locations where electrical power, real estate, and wages are as high as we experience here in Southern California. So, I think to some extent we need to be mindful that software is where things are at (e.g. Software Defined Networking). That's my $0.02 for today.

 

[Rick Butler]

We adopted MTA because of a need to provide some warm up certs for MCP/MCSA back in the day. I know MTA was never really widely accepted as a certification, but based on the experience level of a 0-2 year IT student, we have seen that MCP/MCSA exams have historically been too much a challenge, which is what made MTA more attractive, not just as a cert, but as a body of knowledge.

I think the forefront of computing is moving away from on prem, sure, but not as fast in my experience. Still seems like there are alot of employers out there that have on-prem solutions running on Win2k8 and forward and looking for capable administrators at the junior level who can manage user accounts and group policy on Windows Servers. And I still find myself digging in computers, upgrading RAM. But I think in some period soon, in our very disposable society, the good old days of hardware maintenance will be all but gone. I know this is the way the industry is moving on the bleeding edge, but I still believe the rank and file of IT shops around the world still focus on physical assets and on-prem solutions. I believe they will do so for a long time to come.

I'll see you 2¢ and raise you another penny.

/r

 

[Steve Linthicum]

CompTIA appears to be well aware of the move away from hardware, as evidenced from the following content that was contained in today's CompTIA Smart Brief that an I received this morning:

Cloud technology patching
Switching to cloud technology can be a huge load off the shoulders of IT pros, with less hardware to maintain and immediate scalability of resources. But to keep cloud technology running smoothly, organizations still need to perfect their cloud technology patching processes. CompTIA has identified seven steps that should be included in a cloud patching plan. Visit the CompTIA Resource Center to learn more.

 

[Rick Butler]

CompTIA appears to be well aware of the move away from hardware, as evidenced from the following content that was contained in today's CompTIA Smart Brief that an I received this morning

Oh, I'm quite sure they are. But my hang up is not on what's coming down the pike, but what is in the channel now - and that is, a lot of MSFT technology that's still out there; technology that is not going away, despite where the industry is moving. Microsoft is moving away from MCP/MCSx certs in favor of their cloud stuff and pretty much leaving on-prem to twist. And, news flash, not everyone out there really wants to put their stuff in the cloud - there are many organizations that are unwilling or unable to do that.

If they wanted to create role-based certs, why couldn't they then create them for on-prem? Seems to me that could have been done just as easily, which leaves me to question their motives behind it.

Maybe the fact that MTA is remaining unchanged might open up more to providing those on-prem support skills.

On a wider angle, I've often noted this disparity in technical training. Do we teach to the bleeding/cutting edge of technology, knowing that the largest glut of the industry would not be implementing the newest technology and techniques, or do we play to the audience of what students will actually experience when they get out in the field.

I just see a hole developing here.

 

[Chris Gehringer]

Well, I'm not sure I think the A+ should be reduced to a single exam, because of how it's positioned in the industry as being that second step into the field for new initiates. CompTIA has benefitted with the stair step model to help students get into IT.
/r

Rick, I'd like to hear more about this. Could you expound on your thoughts on this and how it relates to the two-cert A+? I struggle with getting students through all this content (especially if they are new to it) in 120 hours (one academic year with 5 x 40 minute periods per week).

 

[Rick Butler]

Could you expound your thoughts on this and how it relates to the two-cert A+?

Well, I know there are folks here on CIN that would disagree with me, but I don't believe A+ can be a single exam, but rather, keep it at the two test battery. 120 contact hours to cover all of A+ is not enough, not by a long shot in my opinion. Even if we took into account the overlap between Core 1 and 2, I wouldn't dream of compressing the A+ into anything less than 200 contact hours for new learners, just to cover all of the didactic, and that's even after having them learn IT Fundamentals before starting A+. I would be real interested to know if your students were able to pass the A+ cert exams, given that short of a time, contact wise.

Our college has run CompTIA classes for well over ten years and we're hard pressed to get students through all the material in a way that helps them retain it, and we devote two six-week terms at 5 hours a day, four days per week. (20 hours per week -for a total of 240 hours contact for A+) And we STILL require an hour per night for out of class work and laboratory (48 additional hours).

Does that help?

/r